Fiscal Year (FY) 2023 DoD Research and Education Program for Historically Black Colleges and Universities and Minority-Serving Institutions (HBCU/MI) | W911NF 22 S 0010

Opportunity Information: Apply for W911NF 22 S 0010

The Fiscal Year (FY) 2023 DoD Research and Education Program for Historically Black Colleges and Universities and Minority-Serving Institutions (HBCU/MI) is a discretionary Department of Defense grant competition (Funding Opportunity Number W911NF 22 S 0010) administered through the Department of the Army, Materiel Command. The program is designed to strengthen the role that HBCUs and other eligible minority-serving institutions can play in defense-related science and engineering by investing in research capacity, faculty-led investigation, and student training in areas tied to long-term national security needs. In practical terms, the opportunity is meant to help institutions build stronger and more competitive research programs while also expanding STEM education pathways that lead students into the defense-relevant workforce.

The FOA lays out three core goals. First, it seeks to enhance research programs and institutional capabilities in scientific and engineering disciplines that matter to DoD mission needs and broader national security functions. Second, it aims to increase the capacity of HBCU/MI institutions to participate more fully in DoD research programs and activities, which often requires not only strong ideas but also sustained research infrastructure, effective teams, and the ability to execute multi-year technical work. Third, it intends to increase the number of graduates, including underrepresented minorities, in STEM fields that align with defense priorities, emphasizing the education-and-workforce pipeline alongside the research itself.

A key requirement is that proposed projects must be basic research. DoD defines basic research as systematic study intended to build fundamental knowledge and understanding of phenomena and observable facts, without a specific end-use application, product, or process as the immediate objective. The emphasis is on foundational science and early-stage engineering understanding that can inform future applied research and development. The FOA frames this basic research scope broadly across disciplines tied to long-term security needs, including physical sciences, engineering, environmental sciences, life sciences, and information sciences, so long as the work is genuinely focused on fundamental questions rather than near-term product development.

Within that basic-research boundary, principal investigators are encouraged to propose innovative approaches that simultaneously advance the research topic and strengthen their institution. The announcement explicitly connects research excellence with institutional development: projects should help the institution build stronger science and engineering programs, become more competitive for a wider range of defense research opportunities, and attract and retain talented students by involving them in current, high-quality research. Student exposure to state-of-the-art research environments is presented as a strategy for encouraging longer-term STEM persistence and motivating students to pursue STEM careers relevant to the defense mission.

The DoD does not prescribe a single model for how applicants should meet these goals. Instead, the FOA emphasizes that institutions differ in their existing facilities, equipment, and research capabilities, and therefore expects applications to reflect the applicant institution's unique needs and strengths. This means proposals can vary in how they build capacity, train students, and conduct the research, as long as the plan is coherent, mission-relevant in the long-term sense, and grounded in fundamental research. In other words, applicants have flexibility to design projects that fit their context, whether the main constraint is equipment, lab capability, personnel development, or building a more robust research culture and pipeline.

From the published opportunity data, awards are provided as grants with an award ceiling of $800,000, and the agency anticipated up to 150 awards. The opportunity falls under the Science and Technology and other Research and Development activity category, listed under CFDA number 12.630. The FOA was created on May 17, 2022, with an original closing date of August 12, 2022. Eligibility is described as "Others" with additional eligibility details referenced in the full announcement, which typically means applicants must confirm they meet the specific HBCU/MI and related institutional eligibility criteria described in the complete FOA text.

• The Department of Defense, Dept of the Army -- Materiel Command in the science and technology and other research and development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Fiscal Year (FY) 2023 DoD Research and Education Program for Historically Black Colleges and Universities and Minority-Serving Institutions (HBCU/MI)" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 12.630.
• This funding opportunity was created on May 17, 2022.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Aug 12, 2022. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $800,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 150 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Others (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification).

Apply for W911NF 22 S 0010

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