Funder: Dept of the Army -- Materiel Command
Due Dates: April 11, 2025 (Questions) | April 25, 2025 (Applications due by 5:00 PM ET)
Funding Amounts: Typical awards: $50,000–$3,000,000 for 12 months; total program funding ~$34M; no-cost extension possible.
Summary: Supports U.S. universities in acquiring major research equipment or instrumentation to advance research and education in areas important to national defense.
Key Information: For-profit institutions are not eligible; applications must be validated by Grants.gov by the deadline—submit at least 2 business days early.
Description
This opportunity, administered by the Department of the Army (in partnership with the Office of Naval Research and Air Force Office of Scientific Research), is part of the Defense University Research Instrumentation Program (DURIP). The program aims to enhance the research and educational capabilities of accredited U.S. higher education institutions by funding the acquisition of major research equipment or instrumentation. The focus is on supporting research and research-related education in science, mathematics, and engineering fields that are relevant to the Department of Defense (DoD) mission and national security priorities.
DURIP is intended to enable institutions to address DoD problem sets, foster the growth of the U.S. STEM workforce, and strengthen research infrastructure. Proposals must clearly articulate how the requested equipment will impact research and education in DoD-relevant disciplines.
Due Dates
- Application Inquiries and Questions: April 11, 2025 (11:59 PM Eastern Time)
- Full Application Deadline: April 25, 2025 (5:00 PM Eastern Time)
- Applications must be submitted and validated by Grants.gov by the deadline. Validation can take up to 48 hours; early submission is strongly recommended.
Funding Amount
- Award Range: $50,000 to $3,000,000 per grant (exceptions above $3M are rare and require prior approval; AFOSR will not consider requests above $7M)
- Total Program Funding: Approximately $34,000,000 (pending appropriations)
- Project Duration: 12 months (no-cost extension up to 12 additional months possible with justification)
- Cost Sharing: Not required, but voluntary cost sharing is allowed and may be necessary for exceptions above $3M
Eligibility
- Eligible Applicants:
- Accredited U.S. institutions of higher education with degree-granting programs in science, mathematics, and/or engineering
- University Affiliated Research Centers (UARCs) are eligible
- Not Eligible:
- For-profit educational institutions
- Federally Funded Research and Development Centers (FFRDCs)
- Other Notes:
- No limit on the number of proposals or awards per institution
- Proposals may be submitted to more than one DoD agency, but only one agency will fund a selected proposal
Application Process
- Submission Platform: Grants.gov
- Required Registrations:
- SAM.gov (active registration and UEI required)
- Grants.gov account (with Authorized Organization Representative role)
- Application Components:
- SF-424 (R&R) cover page
- Project summary/abstract (≤4,000 characters, publicly releasable)
- Technical proposal (≤25 pages, PDF)
- Budget and justification (itemized, based on recent quotes)
- Biographical sketches (≤5 pages per PI/key person)
- Current and pending support for all key personnel
- Facilities and other resources
- Additional attachments as needed
- Allowable Costs:
- Acquisition of major equipment/instrumentation (including reasonable design, construction, assembly, installation)
- Computing equipment for DoD-relevant research
- Travel for testing/acceptance of equipment
- Unallowable Costs:
- Construction or modification of buildings or building systems
- Purely instructional equipment or general-purpose computing facilities
- Salaries for faculty, postdocs, or students
- General research materials/supplies not directly related to the equipment
- Review Criteria:
- Impact on DoD-funded or DoD-relevant research
- Importance to DoD missions
- Enhancement of research-related education in DoD-relevant disciplines
Additional Information
- Research Areas: Proposals must align with DoD research interests. Refer to the following for current priorities:
- Security and Compliance:
- All proposals undergo a risk-based security review for foreign influence.
- Institutions hosting a Confucius Institute or with personnel in malign foreign talent programs are ineligible.
- Export control compliance is required.
- Reporting:
- Interim and final performance reports required; see agency-specific instructions.
External Links
Contact Information
- Business/Contracting Contacts: See full NOFO for additional business points of contact per agency.
- General Army Materiel Command Contact: Contact Form | Email: usarmy.redstone.usamc.mbx.public-affairs@army.mil | Phone: (256)-450-9422