Office of Naval Research (ONR) Navy and Marine Corps STEM Education and Workforce Grant Program

Federally Funded Research & Development Centers (FFRDCs), including Department of Energy National Laboratories, are not eligible to receive awards under this FOA. However, teaming arrangements between FFRDCs and eligible principal applicants are allowed so long as they are permitted under the sponsoring agreement between the Government and the specific FFRDC.

Navy laboratories, military universities, and warfare centers as well as other Department of Defense and civilian agency laboratories are also not eligible to receive awards under this FOA and must not submit either white papers or applications in response to this FOA. If any such organization is interested in the program described herein, the organization may contact ONR STEM Program Office, onr_stem@navy.mil, to discuss potential projects. The subject line of the email shall read “N00014-18-S-F003 Potential Project Inquiry.” As with FFRDCs, these types of Federal organizations may team with eligible applicants from that are submitting white papers under this FOA.

University Affiliated Research Centers (UARC) are eligible to submit white papers under this FOA unless precluded from doing so by their Department of Defense UARC contract.

Cost sharing is not expected and will not be used as a factor during the merit review of any application hereunder. However, the Government may consider voluntary cost sharing if proposed.

As the capacity of the DoN Science and Technology (S&T) workforce is interconnected with the basic research enterprise and STEM education system, ONR recognizes the need to support efforts that can jointly improve STEM student outcomes and align educational efforts with Naval S&T current and future workforce needs. This announcement explicitly encourages projects that improve the capacity of education systems and communities to create impactful STEM educational experiences for students and workers. Submissions are encouraged to consider including active learning approaches and incorporating 21st century skill development. Projects must aim to increase student and worker engagement in STEM and enhance people with needed Naval STEM capabilities. ONR encourages applications to utilize current STEM educational research for informing project design and advancing our understanding of how and why people choose STEM careers and opportunities of naval relevance.

While this announcement is relevant for any stage of the STEM educational system, funding efforts will be targeted primarily toward projects addressing the below communities or any combination of these communities:

• Secondary education communities;
• Post-Secondary communities;
• Informal science communities;
• Current naval STEM workforce communities.

Project scope may range in size and complexity. Projects that are already established with prior funding sources or have established stakeholders are especially encouraged to consider the following scope areas:

• Develop and implement exploratory pilot projects that seek to create new educational experiences within educational and training communities.
• Develop larger cohesive STEM education and training activities that strengthen the capacity of regional communities and stakeholders to improve STEM education and training.
• Establish meetings of stakeholders that must seek to connect relevant people and organizations to explicitly develop broader projects for impacting entire communities.

The technical content of any idea must establish naval relevance within the priority areas as outlined in the “Naval Research and Development Framework and Addendum”, https://www.onr.navy.mil/our-research/naval-research-framework. Broad priority areas are as follows:

• Augmented Warfighter
• Integrated & Distributed Forces
• Operational Endurance
• Sensing & Sense-Making
• Scalable Lethality

While not a formal requirement or program focus of this FOA, applicants are strongly encouraged to consider under-represented and under-served populations including women and minorities in project plans. Special audience priority areas may include, but not be limited to, military dependent children, veteran initiatives, and education systems integral to naval science and technology. All efforts should improve education and training outcomes and connections to naval STEM careers.

Applicants are encouraged to understand the significant reorganization of STEM funding across the Federal government. Applicants seeking to improve general national STEM performance rather than a focus on Naval workforce needs, and particularly efforts aimed at the P/K-9 levels, are encouraged to seek funding from one of the designated lead agencies: The Department of Education, the National Science Foundation, or the Smithsonian Institution.

White papers should:

• Be innovative and novel to address the program description;

• Create meaningful content and participant experiences that meet Naval STEM education and workforce priorities, and that will expose participants to elements such as Navy and Marine Corps STEM skills, content, careers, facilities and personnel (uniformed, civilian, active duty or retired);

• Collect a set of program-specific measures of performance and measures of effectiveness appropriate to the goals of the project;

• Contain a strategy for self-sufficiency, such that following the completion of ONR’s investment, the effort will have a clear financial sustainability path and leave enduring organizational capability; and

• Be distinct from those types of efforts requested by ONR’s Long Range BAA.

Specific application evaluation criteria for this FOA are included in Section II. E.
Proposers whose efforts are primarily to purchase supplies and materials, cover the cost of student tuition, stipends, labor, internship costs, or provide salary and/or travel support are discouraged from applying.