OpenOpportunity NOFOAFRLAFOSR20260003

FY26 DEFENSE ESTABLISHED PROGRAM TO STIMULATE COMPETITIVE RESEARCH (DEPSCoR) CAPACITY BUILDING (CB)

Air Force Office of Scientific Research · Department of Defense

At a glance

FY26 DEFENSE ESTABLISHED PROGRAM TO STIMULATE COMPETITIVE RESEARCH (DEPSCoR) CAPACITY BUILDING (CB) is an open federal grant opportunity from the Air Force Office of Scientific Research (Department of Defense). Applications are due April 5, 2027. Individual awards are listed as $750K – $1.5M, with about 4 awards expected and $6M in total estimated funding. Applicant types listed as eligible include others (see notice). Cost sharing is not required. It is funded under Assistance Listing 12.431 (Basic Scientific Research).

Summary assembled from the official notice's fields. The official notice governs.

Key facts

Aug 10, 2026Posted
Apr 5, 2027Application deadlinenext date
May 5, 2027Archived

Posted: Aug 10, 2026
Close date: Apr 5, 2027
Archive date: May 5, 2027
Award floor: $750,000
Award ceiling: $1,500,000
Est. total funding: $6,000,000
Expected awards: 4
Cost sharing: Not required
Funding instrument: Grant
Opportunity category: Discretionary

Who can apply

Others (see notice)

Additional information on eligibility (from the notice)

This funding opportunity aims to support the strategic objectives of IHEs (either individually or in partnership with others) in DEPSCoR States/Territories to achieve basic research excellence in areas of high relevance to the DoD. IHEs in the following States/Territories are eligible to apply for this DEPSCoR opportunity under this announcement: Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Guam, Hawaii, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, 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 see eligibility table in III A.

Can your organization apply?

A quick check against the listed applicant types — other requirements in the notice still apply.

Based on the published notice. Review the official notice for complete eligibility requirements.

What it funds

Official synopsis as published by the agency, formatted for readability.

The Department of Defense (DoD) announces the fiscal year 2026 (FY26) Defense Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (DEPSCoR) – Capacity Building 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.

(2) enhance the capabilities of institutions of higher education (IHEs) 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; and

(3) increase the probability of long-term growth in the competitively awarded financial assistance that IHEs in eligible States/Territories receive from the Federal Government for S&E research.

The Basic Research Office anticipates up to $6 million in total funding will be made available for this program to fully fund and award between one to four grants up to $1.5 million (total cost) each. Each grant award will be funded up to $750,000 (total cost) per year for two (2) years.

The award is subject to funding availability. The Basic Research Office reserves the right to select and fund for award all, some, part, or none of the proposals received. There is no guarantee of an award.

Additional information from the agency ↗

How to apply

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Read the full announcement (NOFO)Eligibility, evaluation criteria, page limits and required attachments are in the full notice on Grants.gov. Open ↗
Confirm eligibility and fitCheck your organization type above; no cost sharing is required.
Register (or renew) in SAM.gov and get a UEIFree. New registrations can take several weeks; registrations must be renewed every year. Open ↗
Set up Grants.gov accessCreate a Grants.gov account and make sure someone has the Authorized Organization Representative (AOR) role. Open ↗
Open the application packageUse opportunity number NOFOAFRLAFOSR20260003 on Grants.gov (Grants.gov Workspace). Open ↗
Prepare narrative, budget and attachmentsFollow the notice's format exactly — page limits and required forms are common reasons applications are rejected.
Submit before April 5, 2027Submit a few days early and keep your Grants.gov confirmation and validation emails.

Assistance Listing

What is an ALN?

12.431Basic Scientific ResearchProgram →

Reported obligations under ALN 12.431

Historical data · not a prediction

FY24

$764M

FY25

$751M

FY26

$800M est.

Source: SAM.gov Assistance Listing 12.431. Program-wide totals, not awards from this specific opportunity.

Agency contact (as published)

Denise M Johnson Grantor
7036965968

Quick answers

When is the deadline for this opportunity?

According to the official notice, applications are due April 5, 2027. Confirm the deadline and submission time on Grants.gov before applying.

Who is eligible to apply for this opportunity?

The official notice lists these applicant types as eligible: Others (see notice). Additional restrictions may apply; review the full notice.

How much funding is available through this opportunity?

Per the notice, individual awards are listed as $750k – $1.5m, total estimated program funding is $6,000,000 and the agency expects to make about 4 awards.

How do I apply for this opportunity?

Applications are submitted through the official source, not through GrantsJunction. Open the official notice on Grants.gov (opportunity NOFOAFRLAFOSR20260003), and review the full announcement and application package. Organizations applying through Grants.gov generally need an active SAM.gov registration and a Grants.gov account, which can take several weeks to set up.

Matched on shared Assistance Listings, agency, categories and eligible applicant types.

OpenALN 12.431