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(FY20) Defense Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (DEPSCoR)

Agency: Air Force Office of Scientific Research

Assistance Listings
  • 12.431 -- Basic Scientific Research

Archived opportunityLast Updated: May 13, 2026

View version history on Grants.gov

The Department of Defense (DoD) announces the fiscal year 2020 (FY20) Defense Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (DEPSCoR). The program is sponsored and managed by the Basic Research Office, Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering (OUSD [R&E]), awarded by the Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR), and administered through the Office of Naval Research (ONR). The DoD plans to award FY20 DEPSCoR appropriations through this announcement.


The aim of DEPSCoR is to improve the research capabilities at institutions of higher education (IHE) in eligible States/Territories to perform competitive basic research in science and engineering that is relevant to the DoD mission and reflect national security priorities. 


The Basic Research Office anticipates approximately $7.2 million in total funding will be made available for this program to fund approximately twelve (12) awards up to $600,000 (total cost) each. Each award will be funded up to $200,000 (total cost) per year for three (3) years in the form of a grant. 


The FY20 DEPSCoR competition seeks proposals addressing the following topic areas as detailed in the full announcement in the Related Documents folder:


  1. Cognitive and Computational Neurosciences
  2. Space Science
  3. Agile Science of Test and Evaluation
  4. Materials with Extreme Properties
  5. Propulsion and Energetics
  6. Computational Architectures and Visualization
  7. Optoelectronics
  8. Probability and Statistics
  9. Molecular Structure and Dynamics
  10. Social and Behavioral Science
  11. Biotronics
  12. Aerospace Structures and Materials
  13. Ocean Acoustics
  14. Machine Learning, Reasoning, and Intelligence
  15. Power Electronics & Electromagnetism, Adaptive & Machinery Controls and Advanced Machinery Systems

Eligibility

Eligible applicants

Miscellaneous

  • Other

Additional information

This funding opportunity aims to create basic research collaborations between a pair of researchers, namely 1) Applicant/Principal Investigator (PI), henceforth referred to as Applicant, a full-time faculty member who has never served as a PI on a prior DoD-funded award and 2) Collaborator/co-Principal Investigator (co-PI), henceforth referred to as Collaborator, an investigator who will provide mentorship to the Applicant and has served as a PI on a DoD-funded research award actively between 1 October 2013 and 30 September 2020. This structure is aimed at introducing potential applicants to the DoD’s unique research challenges and its supportive research ecosystem. The website https://discover.dtic.mil/products-services/ is a non-comprehensive repository of government-funded scientific, technical, and engineering information for the DoD. Researchers new to DoD and Applicants are encouraged to visit the site as a starting point for identifying past and present DoD-funded researchers. While each member of the collaboration should be in a tenure-track appointment or tenured at IHE in DEPSCoR-eligible States/Territories, you do not need to be in the same state. Likewise, the Applicant and Collaborator can have appointments at the same IHE. Though this is a collaboration between the Applicant and Collaborator, the Applicant’s IHE will submit the proposal. The Applicant and Collaborator are eligible to apply to this announcement if both IHE are located in an eligible State/Territory. States/Territories are deemed eligible to submit proposals for DEPSCoR research grants based on meeting both of the following criteria: 1. Falls into a specific range of DoD R&D S&E funding to IHE in that State/Territory as defined in legislation -- AND -- 2. Contains an advanced degree granting program in science, mathematics, and/or engineering. IHE in the following 37 States/Territories are eligible to receive awards under this announcement: Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Guam, Hawaii, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, Puerto Rico, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, U.S. Virgin Islands, Vermont, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.

Grantor contact information

Description

Elaina L Barker Grants Officer

Email

If you have difficulty accessing the full announcement electronically, contact the Grants Officer.

elaina.barker@us.af.mil

Documents

File nameDescriptionLast updated
Research__Related_Budget_V1.4.pdf
Research & Related Budget [V1.4]
Dec 2, 2020 09:49 PM UTC
Research__Related_Senior-Key_Person_Profile_V2.0.4
Research & Related Senior/Key Person Profile [V2.0]
Dec 2, 2020 09:53 PM UTC
R__R_Subaward_Budget_Attachments_Form_V1.4.4
R & R Subaward Budget Attachment(s) Form [V1.4]
Dec 2, 2020 09:55 PM UTC
SF424_R__R_V3.0.0
SF424 (R & R) [V3.0]
Dec 2, 2020 09:52 PM UTC
Research_And_Related_Other_Project_Information_V1.4.4
Research And Related Other Project Information [V1.4]
Dec 2, 2020 09:53 PM UTC
Research__Related_Personal_Data_V1.2.pdf
Research & Related Personal Data [V1.2]
Dec 2, 2020 09:54 PM UTC
Disclosure_of_Lobbying_Activities_SF-LLL_V2.0.0
Disclosure of Lobbying Activities (SF-LLL) [V2.0]
Dec 2, 2020 09:55 PM UTC
Project_Abstract_Summary_V2.0.pdf
Project Abstract Summary [V2.0]
Dec 2, 2020 09:48 PM UTC
Project_Narrative_Attachment_Form_V1.2.pdf
Project Narrative Attachment Form [V1.2]
Dec 2, 2020 09:49 PM UTC
Grants.gov_Lobbying_Form_V1.1.pdf
Grants.gov Lobbying Form [V1.1]
Dec 2, 2020 09:54 PM UTC
Project-Performance_Site_Locations_V3.0.pdf
Project/Performance Site Location(s) [V3.0]
Dec 2, 2020 09:48 PM UTC
DEPSCOR_-_FOA-AFRL-AFOSR-2020-0004_Amendment_2_Published_22_JULY_2020.doc
DEPSCOR - FOA-AFRL-AFOSR-2020-0004_Amendment 2_Published 22 JULY 2020
Jul 22, 2020 05:26 PM UTC
DEPSCoR_Webinar_Questions_and_Answers.docx
DEPSCoR Webinar Questions and Answers
Jul 30, 2020 03:21 PM UTC
DEPSCoR_FOA_Overview_Slides_from_Webinar_on_21_JULY_2020.pdf
DEPSCoR FOA Overview Slides from Webinar on 21 JULY 2020
Jul 22, 2020 05:17 PM UTC
Second_Posting_of_Questions__Answers_as_of_17_June_2020_-_FOA-AFRL-AFOSR-2020-0004.docx
Second Posting of Questions & Answers as of 17 June 2020 - FOA-AFRL-AFOSR-2020-0004
Jun 17, 2020 07:16 PM UTC
FY20_DEPSCoR_Webinar_Bulletin.pdf
FY20 DEPSCoR Webinar (Bulletin)
Jun 23, 2020 07:00 PM UTC
DEPSCOR_-_FOA-AFRL-AFOSR-2020-0004_Amendment_1_Published_22_MAY_2020.doc
DEPSCOR - FOA-AFRL-AFOSR-2020-0004_Amendment 1_Published 22 MAY 2020
May 22, 2020 05:29 PM UTC
First_Posting_of_Questions__Answers_as_of_22_May_2020_-_FOA-AFRL-AFOSR-2020-0004.docx
First Posting of Questions & Answers as of 22 May 2020 - FOA-AFRL-AFOSR-2020-0004
May 22, 2020 05:30 PM UTC
Representation_for_Tax_Delinquency_Felony_Conviction_and_Internal_Confidentiality_Agreeme.pdf
Representation for Tax Delinquency, Felony Conviction, and Internal Confidentiality Agreeme
May 5, 2020 03:51 PM UTC
DEPSCOR_-_FOA-AFRL-AFOSR-2020-0004.doc
DEPSCOR - FOA-AFRL-AFOSR-2020-0004
May 5, 2020 02:59 PM UTC

Link to additional information

OUSD Basic Research Directorate FY20 DEPSCoR Pilot

Archived: March 16, 2021

Application process

This site is a work in progress. Go to www.grants.gov to apply, track application status, and subscribe to updates.

Award

$7,200,000

Program Funding

12

Expected awards

$200,000

Award Minimum

$600,000

Award Maximum

Funding opportunity number:

FOA-AFRL-AFOSR-2020-0004

Cost sharing or matching requirement:

No

Funding instrument type:

Grant

Opportunity Category:

Discretionary

Opportunity Category Explanation:

--

Category of Funding Activity:

Science technology and other research and development

Category Explanation:

--

History

Version:

11

Posted date:

May 5, 2020

Archive date:

March 16, 2021

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