Funding Opportunity Announcement FY2021 Department of the Navy (DON) Historically Black Colleges and Universities/Minority Institutions (HBCU/MI) Program | N00014 20 S F007

Opportunity Information: Apply for N00014 20 S F007

The FY2021 Department of the Navy (DON) Historically Black Colleges and Universities/Minority Institutions (HBCU/MI) Program is a discretionary grant opportunity administered by the Office of Naval Research (ONR) to strengthen minority-serving institutions and grow the pipeline of minority STEM talent for the U.S. defense community, with particular relevance to the Navy and Marine Corps. The program is designed to build both people and capability: it supports basic, naval-relevant science and technology research while also aiming to deepen faculty and student engagement in STEM discovery and expand long-term research capacity at participating institutions. Proposed work is expected to connect clearly to the DON science and technology (S and T) mission, align with the Naval Research Development Framework, and address problems or knowledge gaps that matter to naval needs.

A central emphasis of this funding announcement is capacity building through meaningful research at minority-serving institutions (MSIs). The DON HBCU/MI Program explicitly seeks to enhance research and educational capabilities in scientific and engineering disciplines that are critical to Navy and Marine Corps missions. It also encourages collaborative, cross-institutional approaches that bring new perspectives to naval S and T challenges, and it places strong value on student involvement, including underrepresented minority students, in STEM areas relevant to naval priorities. Applicants are expected to communicate, in a clear and succinct way, how their research advances basic naval-relevant S and T, how it integrates faculty and students into the work, and how it leaves the institution better positioned for future research and education.

Eligibility is narrow and institution-specific. Awards can only go to U.S.-based MSIs of higher education that have degree-granting STEM programs. Under the governing statutory authority referenced in the announcement, eligible applicants must either be institutions of higher education that qualify for assistance under Title III or Title V of the Higher Education Act of 1965, or be accredited post-secondary MSIs. Institutions that are not formally designated as an HBCU or a Tribal College or University (TCU) have an added documentation requirement: they must include, with the initial white paper submission, a current-year Department of Education letter certifying eligibility for Title III or Title V assistance. If that letter is missing at the white paper stage for an institution that is neither an HBCU nor a TCU, the institution is treated as ineligible and the white paper is not reviewed, making this a strict, up-front compliance item.

The funding opportunity also imposes personnel and team-structure constraints that shape how projects must be proposed. The Principal Investigator and all proposed personnel are required to be U.S. citizens as of September 15, 2020, which is identified as the white paper due date. The award structure is single-PI only: co-PIs are not allowed, and sub-awards are not permitted, meaning the proposing institution must plan to execute the work internally rather than distributing portions of the project to other organizations through subcontracts or subgrants. While collaboration is encouraged in concept, these rules mean any collaboration must be structured in a way that still complies with the single-PI and no-subaward restrictions.

From a budgeting standpoint, cost sharing is explicitly not expected and is not used as an evaluation factor, so applicants are not rewarded for offering to cover costs outside the grant. However, the announcement does cap how much of the total budget can be used for PI support (salary plus fringe benefits): this category may not exceed 15 percent of the total budget. In addition, faculty salary support is limited to no more than three months per year of funding, which is a common federal research constraint intended to keep the focus on the research and student engagement rather than primarily funding faculty compensation.

Administratively, the opportunity is listed under Funding Opportunity Number N00014-20-S-F007, categorized as a grant in the science and technology and other research and development activity area, with CFDA number 12.300. The original closing date is shown as December 8, 2020, and the listed award ceiling is $450,000. Overall, the opportunity is best understood as ONR using targeted research funding to help MSIs build durable STEM research strength and produce more highly trained minority scientists and engineers who can contribute to Navy and Marine Corps mission needs, while requiring tight compliance with citizenship, institutional eligibility documentation, and project structure rules.

• The Office of Naval Research in the science and technology and other research and development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Funding Opportunity Announcement FY2021 Department of the Navy (DON) Historically Black Colleges and Universities/Minority Institutions (HBCU/MI) Program" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 12.300.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2020-08-04.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2020-12-08. (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 $450,000.00 in funding.
• Eligible applicants include: Others.

Apply for N00014 20 S F007

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