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Air Force -- Research Lab · Department of Defense

Research and Development (RAD) Directed Energy (RD) University Assistance Instruments

Open · Opportunity RDK-RAD-FOA-2024 · Assistance Listing 12.800

Key facts

Deadline
Due Jul 18, 2029 · 1015 days left
Award size
Up to $49M
Cost share / match ?
Not required · Work out your budget and match
Who can apply
Anyone (unrestricted)
Where
Anywhere in the U.S., including Tennessee

Before you apply: federal grants require an active SAM.gov registration (Unique Entity ID) and a Grants.gov account. Registration is free but can take weeks, so start now, not when the deadline is close. Grant-ready checklist

How this fits you

  • Available in Tennessee (nationwide program)
  • No cost share required
  • Tennessee recipients since 2023: 22

Tell us who you are to see whether you're eligible.

More from Air Force -- Research Lab

Read the official notice View on Grants.gov Add deadline to my calendar Sign in to save

About this grant

Original Solictation: • Closing Date of the FOA • FROM: 18 July 2024 • TO: 18 July 2029 • Cost Ceiling • $49M • Contracting/Agreements Points of Contact (POC) • Agreements Officer • Mariah Salazar • Agreements Specialist • Monique Esquibel-Sena • Emails: mariah.salazar@us.af.mil; monique.esquibel_sena@us.af.mil Solicitation Amend 1: • Closing Date of the FOA • FROM: 18 July 2024 • TO: 18 July 2029 • Cost Ceiling • $49M • Contracting/Agreements Points of Contact (POC) • Agreements Officer • Mariah Salazar • Agreements Specialist • Monique Esquibel-Sena • Emails: mariah.salazar@us.af.mil; monique.esquibel_sena@us.af.mil (Revisions made: Updated information on Mandatory Letter of Intent to allow for interested parties to submit Letters of Intent through Valid Eval portal) Solicitation Amend 2: • Closing Date of the FOA • FROM: 18 July 2024 • TO: 18 July 2029 • Cost Ceiling • $49M • Contracting/Agreements Points of Contact (POC) • Agreements Officer • Mariah Salazar • Agreements Specialist • Monique Esquibel-Sena • Emails: mariah.salazar@us.af.mil; monique.esquibel_sena@us.af.mil (Revisions made: Added detail for Letter of Intent Evaluation Criteria) Solicitation Amend 3: • Closing Date of the FOA • FROM: 18 July 2024 • TO: 18 July 2029 • Cost Ceiling • $49M • Contracting/Agreements Points of Contact (POC) • Agreements Officer • Mariah Salazar • Alternate Agreements Officer • Jennifer Jaramillo • Agreements Specialist • Monique Esquibel-Sena • Brendan Merritt • Emails: mariah.salazar@us.af.mil; monique.esquibel_sena@us.af.mil, jennifer.jaramillo@us.af.mil, brendan.merritt@us.af.mil (Revisions made: Changed Letter of Intent review from 10 business days to 30 business days, Added verbiage to Section, D. Review and Selection Process, on Security Risk Review, added Agreement Specialist, Brendan Merritt, brendan.merritt@us.af.mil) Solicitation Amend 4: • Closing Date of the FOA • FROM: 18 July 2024 • TO: 18 July 2029 • Cost Ceiling • $49M • Contracting/Agreements Points of Contact (POC) • Agreements Officer • Mariah Salazar • Alternate Agreements Officer • Jennifer Jaramillo • Agreements Specialist • Monique Esquibel-Sena • Emails: mariah.salazar@us.af.mil; monique.esquibel_sena@us.af.mil, jennifer.jaramillo@us.af.mil (Revisions made: Changed Attachment 2 of Solicitation to DoD R&D General Terms...

Eligibility (from the notice)

See FOA for Eligibility

Should we apply? (2-minute check) Ask a partner for a letter

Your schedule, working back from the deadline

  1. Oct7
    Check that your SAM.gov registration is active (or start it now)
    Grants.gov: allow up to 10 business days for SAM registration, weeks or months if information isn't verified. It must be renewed every year. Grants.gov
  2. Jun27
    Ask partners for letters of support or commitment
    Suggested: partners need time to write and sign letters.
  3. Jul11
    Finish a complete draft for a final review
    University grant offices require final versions about 5 business days before the sponsor deadline. Emory Office of Sponsored Programs
  4. Jul16
    Submit
    Grants.gov: submit at least 24–48 hours before the deadline: uploads fail, systems slow down, errors need fixing. Grants.gov blog
  5. Jul18
    Deadline
    From the funder.

Save this grant to put these dates in your tracker and private calendar.

What the official notice requires

Pulled from the funding notice 1._RDK-RAD-FOA-2024_AMEND3.pdf (23 pages) so you can see the requirements at a glance. Each item shows the notice's own words; open the page to read it in context. The notice itself always controls.

Registrations you need first

  • Grants.gov · p. 2
    “Amendments to the original funding opportunity announcement (FOA) will be posted to the Grants.gov Webpage: https://www.grants.gov/.” Open page 2
  • SAM.gov · p. 3
    “Unique entity identifier and System for Award Management (SAM) E.” Open page 3
  • Unique Entity ID (UEI) · p. 19
    “Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) Number will also be given upon SAM registration.” Open page 19

New to these? SAM.gov registration can take weeks, so start early: grant-ready checklist.

Steps before the deadline

  • Letter of intent · p. 1
    “Prior to submitting a full application, Recipients are required to submit a Letter of Intent through the Valid Eval Portal at https://usg.valideval.com/teams/afrl_rad/signup.” Open page 1
  • Letter of intent · p. 6
    “Prior to submitting an application, Applicants are required to submit a Letter of Intent.” Open page 6
  • Letter of intent · p. 6
    “Applicants are required to submit a Letter of Intent through the Valid Eval Portal at https://usg.valideval.com/teams/afrl_rad/signup, which will then be reviewed for potential selection, to submit a full application.” Open page 6
  • Letter of intent · p. 9
    “Actions Required by Applicants/Recipients at letter of intent submission.” Open page 9

What to submit

  • Project abstract or summary · p. 15
    “Include a concise (not to exceed 300 words) (publicly releasable) abstract describing the research objective, technical approaches, anticipated outcome and impact of the specific research, and public purpose in accordance with 32 CFR §22.205.” Open page 15
  • Budget narrative / justification · p. 16
    “In addition to the Research and Related Budget forms available on Grants.gov, the budget proposal should include a budget justification for each year, clearly explaining the need for each item.” Open page 16
  • Form SF-424 · p. 23
    “Attachment IV, SF424 5.” Open page 23

Length limits

  • Any: 20 pages max · p. 11
    “Any application pages more than the allowable 20-page limitation will not be reviewed.” Open page 11
  • Include: 300 words max · p. 15
    “Include a concise (not to exceed 300 words) (publicly releasable) abstract describing the research objective, technical approaches, anticipated outcome and impact of the specific research, and public purpose in accordance with 32 CFR §22.205.” Open page 15

Formatting rules

  • double-spaced · p. 17
    “Spacing – single or double spaced” Open page 17
  • 12-point font · p. 17
    “Font – Times New Roman 12 point” Open page 17
  • single-spaced · p. 17
    “This includes cover page, charts, graphs, maps, and photographs when printed using the formatting requirements set forth above and single spaced.” Open page 17

Cost share or match

  • Cost share / match · p. 11
    “Cost Sharing or Matching Cost sharing is not required under this FOA.” Open page 11

Mistakes that get applications rejected

  • Could get your application rejected · p. 6
    “Letters of Intent and/or Applications received after the Final Submission Deadline will be deemed late and will not be accepted for review.” Open page 6
  • Could get your application rejected · p. 11
    “Applications must substantially comply with the application submission instructions identified in (Section IV - Submitting the Application) or they will be rejected.” Open page 11
  • Could get your application rejected · p. 11
    “Any application pages more than the allowable 20-page limitation will not be reviewed.” Open page 11
  • Could get your application rejected · p. 12
    “Applications submitted without prior submission of a Letter of Intent, will NOT be considered for the proposed effort.” Open page 12
  • Could get your application rejected · p. 13
    “Valid Eval will result in being disqualified for potential award.” Open page 13
  • Could get your application rejected · p. 19
    “If an applicant has not fully complied with the requirements by the time the Federal awarding agency is ready to make a Federal award, the Federal agency may determine that the applicant is disqualified.” Open page 19

Who in Tennessee has won this program

22 awards to Tennessee recipients in 3 counties since federal FY2023. Largest shown:

Past Tennessee recipients
RecipientWhereAmountFY
University Of TennesseeTullahoma, Franklin County$17.9M2024
Vanderbilt UniversityNashville, Davidson County$5M2022
University Of TennesseeKnoxville, Knox County$2.2M2022
University Of TennesseeKnoxville, Knox County$2M2021
University Of TennesseeKnoxville, Knox County$980K2019
Vanderbilt UniversityNashville, Davidson County$897K2020
Vanderbilt UniversityNashville, Davidson County$731K2023
University Of TennesseeKnoxville, Knox County$601K2020
University Of TennesseeKnoxville, Knox County$541K2023
University Of TennesseeKnoxville, Knox County$450K2021
University Of TennesseeKnoxville, Knox County$447K2022
University Of TennesseeKnoxville, Knox County$435K2021

Source: USAspending.gov. Past awards show who this program funds; they don't guarantee future awards.

About the program (12.800)

Air Force Defense Research Sciences Program

How applications are judged

Awards decisions will be based on a competitive selection of proposals resulting from a peer and/or scientific review.

Matching requirements

This program has no statutory formula. Matching requirements are not applicable to this assistance listing. MOE requirements are not applicable to this assistance listing.

Examples of funded projects

Not Applicable.

Program listing on SAM.gov

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