ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS · GRANT
FY26 DEFENSE ESTABLISHED PROGRAM TO STIMULATE COMPETITIVE RESEARCH (DEPSCoR) – RESEARCH COLLABORATION (RC)
Air Force Office of Scientific Research · Science and Technology
- Deadline
- Apr 5, 2027 (162 days left)
- Who can apply
- Others
- Award range
- $200,000 to $600,000
- Expected awards
- 24
- Total program funding
- $14 million
- Your own money required
- No cost sharing or matching required
- Opportunity number
- NOFOAFRLAFOSR20260004
- Posted
- Aug 10, 2026
- Assistance listing
- 12.431
More on who can apply
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 directly funded research Prime 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 directly funded research Prime award actively between 1 October 2018 and 30 September 2026. This structure is aimed a
What it funds
The Department of Defense (DoD) announces the fiscal year 2026 (FY26) Defense Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (DEPSCoR) – Research Collaboration (RC) opportunity. 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 FY26 DEPSCoR appropriations through this announcement. DEPSCoR's objectives are to:(1) increase the number of university researchers in eligible States/Territories capable of performing science and engineering (S&E research responsive to the needs of the DoD; and(2) enhance the capabilities of institutions of higher education (IHE) in eligible States/Territories (listed below) to develop, plan, and execute (S&E) research that is relevant to the mission of the DoD, and competitive under the peer-review systems used for awarding Federal research assistance;(3) increase the probability of long-term growth in the competitively awarded financial assistance that IHE in eligible States receive from the Federal Government for S&E research. Consistent with these long term objectives of building research infrastructure, the DoD intends to competitively make, and fund from fiscal year 2026 appropriations, multiyear awards for S&E research in areas relevant to the DoD’s mission and important to national security. The Basic Research Office anticipates up to $14.4 million in total funding will be made available for this program to fully fund and award up to twenty four (24) grants up to $600,000 (total cost) each. Each grant award will be funded up to $200,000 (total cost) per year for three (3) years. Awards…
Open the official notice on Grants.gov ↗What to do next
- Open the official notice on Grants.gov and download the full announcement (the NOFO) and any attachments.
- Check you can apply: the eligible applicants above, and any detail in the notice's eligibility section.
- Register your organization in SAM.gov (choose "all awards") and create a Grants.gov account; allow several weeks the first time.
- Apply through Grants.gov exactly as the notice says, before Apr 5, 2027. Late applications are usually not accepted.
New to this? Applying for a federal grant, step by step · Register to apply · How to read the notice · Write the narrative · Build the budget · Agency contact: denise.johnson.19@us.af.mil & nicole.thomas.20@us.af.mil
From Grants.gov's official daily extract of Oct 25, 2026. The notice on Grants.gov and its attachments are what count. UX Contract is independent and not a government website.