Fiscal Year (FY) 2024 National Science Portal (NSP) | FOAAFRLAFOSR20240008

Opportunity Information: Apply for FOAAFRLAFOSR20240008

The Fiscal Year (FY) 2024 National Science Portal (NSP) opportunity (Funding Opportunity Number FOAAFRLAFOSR20240008) is a discretionary federal grant program run by the Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR). It falls under the Science and Technology and other Research and Development activity category (CFDA 12.800) and is designed to strengthen and expand basic research capacity while also growing the pipeline of diverse STEM talent aligned with Department of Defense (DoD) needs. In practical terms, the program is meant to use the proven strengths of Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Minority Serving Institutions, and Tribal Colleges (HBCU/MSI/TCs) as anchor institutions for larger, more ambitious research efforts that can develop into sustained centers of excellence.

At the heart of the NSP concept is the idea of accelerating research in DoD-critical scientific areas while simultaneously increasing participation in STEM from historically underrepresented communities. The solicitation emphasizes building on institutional excellence and translating it into durable capability: stronger research infrastructure, better-supported faculty, expanded student involvement in high-impact research, and a clearer pathway for students into STEM careers. The NSP framing is not just about funding individual projects; it is about creating an ecosystem at eligible institutions that can consistently produce cutting-edge basic research and skilled researchers over time.

A key feature of this opportunity is that the technical topics it aims to support are distinct from AFOSR's standing open Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) titled "Research Interests of the Air Force Office of Scientific Research." The NSP topics do not fit neatly inside a single existing AFOSR program area and are positioned as more cross-cutting. This matters because it signals that proposals are expected to bridge disciplines, connect methods and communities that do not usually collaborate, and produce synergies that speed progress on DoD-relevant research and development. The emphasis on multidisciplinary work suggests that strong applications will likely integrate multiple technical perspectives and build a cohesive plan for how the combined effort will move the science forward faster than isolated projects would.

The solicitation lays out three main objectives. First, it aims to attract and support faculty and students in conducting cutting-edge basic research within the technical areas specified in the full announcement (referenced as Section 1). Second, it seeks to build the capacity needed to sustain and expand that research, which typically implies investments in people, research structures, and enabling resources that make continued progress possible beyond a single award period. Third, it focuses on attracting students into educational pathways leading to STEM careers, explicitly including careers in government service, the defense industrial base, and academia. This combination makes the NSP both a research program and a workforce-development effort, with the expectation that research excellence and talent development reinforce each other.

Eligibility is listed as "Others," and the program description makes clear that HBCU/MSI/TCs are central to the intended applicant pool and beneficiaries. The NSP model is framed as a way to capitalize on demonstrated excellence at these institutions while expanding their capacity in strategically important research areas. While the summary information does not enumerate partnership requirements, the repeated focus on multidisciplinary synergy strongly hints that collaborative structures, whether within an institution or across multiple organizations, may be important for competitiveness, especially when tackling complex, cross-domain basic research problems.

From a funding perspective, this is a grant with an award ceiling of $4,500,000 per award and an anticipated total of three awards. Those figures indicate a relatively selective competition with a small number of relatively large awards. The closing date is July 26, 2024, and the opportunity was created on May 3, 2024, which implies a fairly standard application window for developing a substantial research and capacity-building proposal.

Overall, this opportunity is best understood as an AFOSR investment in institution-centered research portals that combine high-quality basic research with deliberate capacity building and student pipeline development. The program is intentionally positioned outside the standard AFOSR BAA topic lanes and is meant to encourage broader, multidisciplinary research efforts that can advance DoD-relevant science while also expanding and diversifying the national STEM workforce. For full details on the specific technical areas, required proposal elements, and evaluation criteria, applicants are directed to the complete announcement referenced in the solicitation.

• The Air Force Office of Scientific Research in the science and technology and other research and development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Fiscal Year (FY) 2024 National Science Portal (NSP)" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 12.800.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2024-05-03.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2024-07-26. (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 $4,500,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 3 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Others.

Apply for FOAAFRLAFOSR20240008

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