DOD Releases 2023 Defense Education & Civilian University Research (DECUR) Partnership
The Department of Defense (DOD) released a funding opportunity announcement (FOA) for Minerva’s Defense Education and Civilian University Research (DECUR) partnership. DECUR’s goal is to develop basic partnerships between Professional Military Educational (PME) institutions and civilian universities by providing funding to study security-related basic social science research and education. The Minerva Research Initiative’s goal is to improve DOD’s ability to address global challenges by cultivating strategic interests around social and cultural issues. The Minerva Research Initiative competition highlights research related to six topics, including:
- Socio-economic vulnerability to climate change
- Deterrence in the future operating environment
- Russian speakers in online spaces
- Power and influence in the era of strategic competition
- The Artic as a polar crossroads
- Management and information in the Defense environment
Projects that support the 2022 National Defense Strategy are of particular interest to the Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD). More information on the Minerva program is available here.
The DECUR application process will take place in two stages, which requires the submission of an initial white paper that will be assessed by a DOD grants officer. DOD will then provide advice to proposers and invite the most relevant and promising proposed projects to submit a full application. White papers should be submitted no later than September 13, 2023, at 3:00 PM ET. Upon invitation, full applications should be submitted no later than November 21, 2023, at 3:00 PM ET. DOD intends to fund five to six awards at $200,000 per year for two years, for a total award amount of $2 million in funding.
Applications should include a principal investigator (PI) from a civilian university and a co-PI from a PME. All U.S. based civilian universities and PME institutions associated with the Air Force, Army, Navy/Marine Corps, and Joint PME may submit applications. DOD encourages submissions from Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and Minority Institutions (MIs). Non-profit institutions and commercial entities may be included on university-led teams only as sub-awardees.
The full solicitation can be found at www.grants.gov under Funding Opportunity number “HQ003423NFOEASD13.”