Office of Naval Research Minerva Research Initiative Grant

All responsible sources from academia, including DoD institutions of higher education and foreign universities, may submit proposals under this BAA. Non-profit institutions and commercial entities may also be included on a university-led team, performing research as subawardees and receiving funding for their efforts. Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and Minority Institutions (MIs) are encouraged to submit proposals and join others in submitting proposals. However, no portion of this BAA will be set aside for HBCU and MI participation.

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

Navy laboratories and warfare centers as well as other Department of Defense and civilian agency laboratories are also not eligible to receive awards under this BAA and should not directly submit either white papers or full proposals in response to this BAA. If any such organization is interested in one or more of the programs described herein, the organization should contact an appropriate ONR POC to discuss its area of interest. The various scientific divisions of ONR are identified at http://www.onr.navy.mil/. As with FFRDCs, these types of federal organizations may team with other responsible sources from academia and industry that are submitting proposals under this BAA.

University Affiliated Research Centers (UARC) are eligible to submit proposals under this BAA unless precluded from doing so by their Department of Defense UARC contracts.

Teams are encouraged and may submit proposals in any and all areas. However, Offerors must be willing to cooperate and exchange software, data and other information in an integrated program with other contractors, as well as with system integrators, selected by ONR and Minerva Research Initiative leadership.

Some topics may cover export controlled technologies. Research in these areas is limited to “U.S. persons” as defined in the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) -22 CFR § 120.1 et seq.

For Grant applications:

The Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act of 2006 (Public Law 109-282), as amended by Section 6202 of Public Law 110-252, requires that all agencies establish requirements for recipients reporting information on subawards and executive total compensation as codified in 2 CFR 33.110. Any company, non-profit agency or university that applies for financial assistance (either grants, cooperative agreements or other transaction agreements) as either a prime or sub-recipient under this BAA must provide information in its proposal that describes the necessary processes and systems in place to comply with the reporting requirements identified in 2 CFR 33.220. An entity is exempt from this requirement UNLESS in the preceding fiscal year it received: a) 80 percent or more of its annual gross revenue in Federal contracts (and subcontracts), loans, grants (and subgrants), and cooperative agreements; b) $25 million or more in annual gross revenue from Federal contracts (and subcontracts), loans, grants (and subgrants), and cooperative agreements; and c) the public does not have access to information about the compensation of the senior executives through periodic reports filed under section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 or section 6104 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986.

All responsible sources from academia, including DoD institutions of higher education and foreign universities, may submit proposals under this BAA. Non-profit institutions and commercial entities may also be included on a university-led team, performing research as subawardees and receiving funding for their efforts. Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and Minority Institutions (MIs) are encouraged to submit proposals and join others in submitting proposals. However, no portion of this BAA will be set aside for HBCU and MI participation.

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

Navy laboratories and warfare centers as well as other Department of Defense and civilian agency laboratories are also not eligible to receive awards under this BAA and should not directly submit either white papers or full proposals in response to this BAA. If any such organization is interested in one or more of the programs described herein, the organization should contact an appropriate ONR POC to discuss its area of interest. The various scientific divisions of ONR are identified at http://www.onr.navy.mil/. As with FFRDCs, these types of federal organizations may team with other responsible sources from academia and industry that are submitting proposals under this BAA.

University Affiliated Research Centers (UARC) are eligible to submit proposals under this BAA unless precluded from doing so by their Department of Defense UARC contracts.

Teams are encouraged and may submit proposals in any and all areas. However, Offerors must be willing to cooperate and exchange software, data and other information in an integrated program with other contractors, as well as with system integrators, selected by ONR and Minerva Research Initiative leadership.

Some topics may cover export controlled technologies. Research in these areas is limited to “U.S. persons” as defined in the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) -22 CFR § 120.1 et seq.

For Grant applications:

The Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act of 2006 (Public Law 109-282), as amended by Section 6202 of Public Law 110-252, requires that all agencies establish requirements for recipients reporting information on subawards and executive total compensation as codified in 2 CFR 33.110. Any company, non-profit agency or university that applies for financial assistance (either grants, cooperative agreements or other transaction agreements) as either a prime or sub-recipient under this BAA must provide information in its proposal that describes the necessary processes and systems in place to comply with the reporting requirements identified in 2 CFR 33.220. An entity is exempt from this requirement UNLESS in the preceding fiscal year it received: a) 80 percent or more of its annual gross revenue in Federal contracts (and subcontracts), loans, grants (and subgrants), and cooperative agreements; b) $25 million or more in annual gross revenue from Federal contracts (and subcontracts), loans, grants (and subgrants), and cooperative agreements; and c) the public does not have access to information about the compensation of the senior executives through periodic reports filed under section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 or section 6104 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986.

All responsible sources from academia, including DoD institutions of higher education and foreign universities, may submit proposals under this BAA. Non-profit institutions and commercial entities may also be included on a university-led team, performing research as subawardees and receiving funding for their efforts. Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and Minority Institutions (MIs) are encouraged to submit proposals and join others in submitting proposals. However, no portion of this BAA will be set aside for HBCU and MI participation.

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

Navy laboratories and warfare centers as well as other Department of Defense and civilian agency laboratories are also not eligible to receive awards under this BAA and should not directly submit either white papers or full proposals in response to this BAA. If any such organization is interested in one or more of the programs described herein, the organization should contact an appropriate ONR POC to discuss its area of interest. The various scientific divisions of ONR are identified at http://www.onr.navy.mil/. As with FFRDCs, these types of federal organizations may team with other responsible sources from academia and industry that are submitting proposals under this BAA.

University Affiliated Research Centers (UARC) are eligible to submit proposals under this BAA unless precluded from doing so by their Department of Defense UARC contracts.

Teams are encouraged and may submit proposals in any and all areas. However, Offerors must be willing to cooperate and exchange software, data and other information in an integrated program with other contractors, as well as with system integrators, selected by ONR and Minerva Research Initiative leadership.

Some topics may cover export controlled technologies. Research in these areas is limited to “U.S. persons” as defined in the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) -22 CFR § 120.1 et seq.

For Grant applications:

The Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act of 2006 (Public Law 109-282), as amended by Section 6202 of Public Law 110-252, requires that all agencies establish requirements for recipients reporting information on subawards and executive total compensation as codified in 2 CFR 33.110. Any company, non-profit agency or university that applies for financial assistance (either grants, cooperative agreements or other transaction agreements) as either a prime or sub-recipient under this BAA must provide information in its proposal that describes the necessary processes and systems in place to comply with the reporting requirements identified in 2 CFR 33.220. An entity is exempt from this requirement UNLESS in the preceding fiscal year it received: a) 80 percent or more of its annual gross revenue in Federal contracts (and subcontracts), loans, grants (and subgrants), and cooperative agreements; b) $25 million or more in annual gross revenue from Federal contracts (and subcontracts), loans, grants (and subgrants), and cooperative agreements; and c) the public does not have access to information about the compensation of the senior executives through periodic reports filed under section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 or section 6104 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986.

All responsible sources from academia, including DoD institutions of higher education and foreign universities, may submit proposals under this BAA. Non-profit institutions and commercial entities may also be included on a university-led team, performing research as subawardees and receiving funding for their efforts. Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and Minority Institutions (MIs) are encouraged to submit proposals and join others in submitting proposals. However, no portion of this BAA will be set aside for HBCU and MI participation.

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

Navy laboratories and warfare centers as well as other Department of Defense and civilian agency laboratories are also not eligible to receive awards under this BAA and should not directly submit either white papers or full proposals in response to this BAA. If any such organization is interested in one or more of the programs described herein, the organization should contact an appropriate ONR POC to discuss its area of interest. The various scientific divisions of ONR are identified at http://www.onr.navy.mil/. As with FFRDCs, these types of federal organizations may team with other responsible sources from academia and industry that are submitting proposals under this BAA.

University Affiliated Research Centers (UARC) are eligible to submit proposals under this BAA unless precluded from doing so by their Department of Defense UARC contracts.

Teams are encouraged and may submit proposals in any and all areas. However, Offerors must be willing to cooperate and exchange software, data and other information in an integrated program with other contractors, as well as with system integrators, selected by ONR and Minerva Research Initiative leadership.

Some topics may cover export controlled technologies. Research in these areas is limited to “U.S. persons” as defined in the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) -22 CFR § 120.1 et seq.

For Grant applications:

The Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act of 2006 (Public Law 109-282), as amended by Section 6202 of Public Law 110-252, requires that all agencies establish requirements for recipients reporting information on subawards and executive total compensation as codified in 2 CFR 33.110. Any company, non-profit agency or university that applies for financial assistance (either grants, cooperative agreements or other transaction agreements) as either a prime or sub-recipient under this BAA must provide information in its proposal that describes the necessary processes and systems in place to comply with the reporting requirements identified in 2 CFR 33.220. An entity is exempt from this requirement UNLESS in the preceding fiscal year it received: a) 80 percent or more of its annual gross revenue in Federal contracts (and subcontracts), loans, grants (and subgrants), and cooperative agreements; b) $25 million or more in annual gross revenue from Federal contracts (and subcontracts), loans, grants (and subgrants), and cooperative agreements; and c) the public does not have access to information about the compensation of the senior executives through periodic reports filed under section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 or section 6104 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986.

The program focuses on areas of strategic importance to U.S. national security policy. It seeks to increase the Department’s intellectual capital in the social sciences and improve its ability to address future challenges and build bridges between the Department and the social science community. Minerva brings together universities, research institutions, and individual scholars and supports multidisciplinary and cross-institutional projects addressing specific topic areas determined by the Department of Defense. The Minerva Research Initiative aims to promote research in specific areas of social science and to promote a candid and constructive relationship between DoD and the social science academic community.

The Minerva Research Initiative competition is for research related to the four (4) topics and ten (10) subtopics listed below. Detailed descriptions of the topics can be found in Section VIII, “Specific Minerva Research Initiative Topics.” The detailed descriptions are intended to provide the proposer a frame of reference and are not meant to be restrictive. Innovative proposals related to these research topics are highly encouraged. White papers and full proposals are solicited which address the following topics (described in Section VIII of this solicitation):

(1) Identity, Influence, and Mobilization
(1-A) Culture, identity, and security
(1-B) Belief formation and influence
(1-C) Mobilization for change
(2) Contributors to Societal Resilience and Change
(2-A) Governance and rule of law
(2-B) Resources, economics, and globalization
(2-C) Additional factors impacting societal resilience and change
(3) Power and Deterrence
(3-A) Power projection and diffusion
(3-B) Beyond conventional deterrence
(4) Innovations in National Security, Conflict, and Cooperation
(4-A) Analytical methods and metrics for security research
(4-B) Emerging topics in conflict and security

Proposals will be considered both for single-investigator awards as well as larger teams. A team of university investigators may be warranted because the necessary expertise in addressing the multiple facets of the topics may reside in different universities, or in different departments of the same university. The research questions addressed should extend across a fairly broad range of linked issues where there is clear potential synergy among the contributions of the distinct disciplines represented on the team. Team proposals must name one Principal Investigator as the responsible technical point of contact. Similarly, one institution will be the primary recipient for the purpose of award execution. The relationship among participating institutions and their respective roles, as well as the apportionment of funds including sub-awards, if any, must be described in both the proposal text and the budget.

FULL ANNOUNCEMENT is available on the Grants.gov website by scorlling to the top of the synopsis page and clicking on the “FULL ANNOUNCEMENT” box.