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Office of Naval Research · Department of Defense

Fiscal Year (FY) 2027 Department of the Navy (DoN) Historically Black Colleges and Universities/Minority Institutions (HBCU/MI) Program

Open · Opportunity N0001426SF001 · Assistance Listing 12.300

Key facts

Deadline
Due Dec 11, 2026 · 65 days left
Award size
$450K – $525K
Total available
$1.6M · about 3 awards
Cost share / match ?
Not required · Work out your budget and match
Who can apply
Other (see eligibility)
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 Hamilton County (nationwide program)
  • No cost share required
  • Tennessee recipients since 2023: 25

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

More from Office of Naval Research

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

About this grant

Key programmatic objectives of the DoN HBCU/MI Program are achieved through the implementation and performance of three program goals: • enhancing the research and educational capabilities of HBCU/MIs in scientific and engineering disciplines critical to the defense mission of the U.S. Navy and U.S. Marine Corps, • encouraging cross-institutional, collaborative efforts that explore innovative solutions to naval science and technology (S&T) challenges, and • increasing the engagement of students in STEM fields important to the U.S. Navy and U.S. Marine Corps. This particular NOFO aims to enhance the research capacity and research infrastructure for HBCU/MIs. Competitive white papers and invited full proposals submitted to this NOFO must clearly and succinctly describe efforts that advance basic naval-relevant S&T, engage faculty and students in STEM discovery, and expand the research capacity of participant institutions. This announcement is only for research efforts that also promote student/faculty engagement, and expand the institution’s research capacity. This announcement is not intended for projects that focus on non-research STEM activities. The technical content of any proposed effort must contribute to the S&T mission and vision of the DoN. Deadlines White Paper Inquiries and Questions-Email: don_hbcufoa@navy.mil 09 September 2026 (Wednesday) White Papers must be received no later than 18 September 2026 (Friday) at 5:00 PM Eastern Time Application Inquiries and Questions 04 December 2026 (Friday)

Eligibility (from the notice)

As provided in 10 U.S.C. §4144, eligibility for this competition is only open to “covered educational institutions,” which are defined as:A. institutions of higher education eligible for assistance under Title III or V of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1051 et seq.); orB. accredited post-secondary minority institutions.The Principal Investigator (PI) and all proposed personnel must be U.S. citizens on September 18, 2026 (Friday), the date white papers are due. In addition, the PI must have a full-time tenured, tenure- track, or tenure-track equivalent academic appointment at one of the seven types of covered educational institutions.This is a single PI award. No Co-PIs and no sub-awards will be permitted.

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. Nov20
    Ask partners for letters of support or commitment
    Suggested: partners need time to write and sign letters.
  3. Dec4
    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. Dec9
    Submit
    Grants.gov: submit at least 24–48 hours before the deadline: uploads fail, systems slow down, errors need fixing. Grants.gov blog
  5. Dec11
    Deadline
    From the funder.

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

Writing the need statement? Hamilton County facts with citations.

What the official notice requires

Pulled from the funding notice N0001426SF001_002.pdf (44 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.

Award size and project length

  • Project period: 3 years · p. 6
    “Funding Details Under this NOFO, ONR intends to award as follows: o Total Amount of Funding Available: $1,575,000 o Anticipated Number of Awards: 3 o Anticipated Range of Individual Award Amounts: $450,000 - $525,000 o Previous Year(s) Average Individual…” Open page 6
  • Award amounts here are per year · p. 9
    “Each individual award will be up to a maximum of $150,000 per year with additional funding for materials, equipment, and supplies for a maximum of up to three (3) years.” Open page 9

Registrations you need first

  • Grants.gov · p. 19
    “Field 4c - Previous Grants.gov Tracking ID:” Open page 19
  • SAM.gov · p. 20
    “In addition, the Financial Assistance General Certifications and Representations must be completed in SAM.gov (https://sam.gov/).” Open page 20
  • Unique Entity ID (UEI) · p. 26
    “Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) and System for Award Management (SAM) All applicants submitting proposals or applications must: a.” Open page 26

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

What to submit

  • Resumes or bios of key staff · p. 18
    “The ROM must be formatted as a table that summarizes projected costs per category, per year and provides the totals of both columns and rows. o Curriculum Vitae (2.0 Page Maximum; not included in page limit):” Open page 18
  • Project abstract or summary · p. 20
    “PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT The Project Summary/Abstract must identify the research problem and objectives, technical approaches, anticipated outcome of the research, if successful, and impact on DoW capabilities.” Open page 20
  • Budget narrative / justification · p. 24
    “Budgets proposing direct charging of administrative or clerical salaries must be supported with a budget justification which adequately describes the major project and the administrative and/or clerical work to be performed.” Open page 24
  • Timeline or schedule of completion · p. 32
    “Highly competitive proposals will clearly describe inherent limitations in the approach and/or methodology proposed; provide a well-planned, realistic timeline for project milestones; and include a budget that reflects realistic, reasonable, and justifiable…” Open page 32

Length limits

  • 5 pages max · p. 16
    “The following components are excluded from the 5-page limit: o Cover page, o Cited references, and o PI’s curriculum vitae (CV) ii.” Open page 16
  • Summary: 5 pages max · p. 16
    “N0001426SF0001; o Title of proposal; o PI’s name, telephone number, and e-mail address; o PI’s Institution and the Institution’s MI Status; o Focus Area; o Naval TPoC’s name, e-mail address, and Navy affiliation o Summary (0.5 Page Maximum):” Open page 16
  • Technical Concept: 5 pages max · p. 16
    “The summary should not include any proprietary or confidential information and should be suitable for public release. o Technical Concept (1.5 Page Maximum):” Open page 16
  • Student Engagement Strategy: 0 pages max · p. 16
    “As a reminder, cited references will not be included in the 5- page limit of the white paper. o Student Engagement Strategy (1.0 Page Maximum):” Open page 16
  • Future Naval Relevance: 0 pages max · p. 16
    “Competitive white papers will provide an explicit list of tasks for each student who will contribute to the project. o Future Naval Relevance (1.0 Page Maximum):” Open page 16
  • ROM: 0 pages max · p. 18
    “o Rough Order of Magnitude (ROM) (1.0 Page Maximum):” Open page 18
  • Curriculum Vitae: 0 pages max · p. 18
    “The ROM must be formatted as a table that summarizes projected costs per category, per year and provides the totals of both columns and rows. o Curriculum Vitae (2.0 Page Maximum; not included in page limit):” Open page 18
  • 0 pages max · p. 18
    “The CV will not be included in the 5- page limit of the white paper but must not exceed the 2.0 page maximum. c.” Open page 18

Formatting rules

  • single-spaced · p. 15
    “Spacing – single-spaced” Open page 15
  • 12-point font · p. 15
    “Font – Times New Roman, 12-point” Open page 15

Dates in the notice

  • September 18, 2026 · p. 9
    “The Principal Investigator (PI) and all proposed personnel must be U.S. citizens on September 18, 2026 (Friday), the date white papers are due.” Open page 9

Mistakes that get applications rejected

  • Could get your application rejected · p. 9
    “White papers and full proposals with budgets that exceed $525,000 will be considered non-responsive.” Open page 9
  • Could get your application rejected · p. 26
    “The demographic information may be accessible to the reviewer but will not be considered in the evaluation.” Open page 26
  • Could get your application rejected · p. 29
    “Proposals with attachments submitted in word processing, spreadsheet, or any format other than Adobe PDF will not be considered for award.” Open page 29
  • Could get your application rejected · p. 31
    “Applications received by Grants.gov after the established due date for the program will be considered late and will not be considered for funding by the Office of Naval Research.” Open page 31
  • Could get your application rejected · p. 33
    “Evaluation Applications will not be evaluated against each other since they are not submitted in accordance with a common work statement.” Open page 33

Who in Tennessee has won this program

25 awards to Tennessee recipients in 4 counties since federal FY2023 · 0 in Hamilton County. Largest shown:

Past Tennessee recipients
RecipientWhereAmountFY
University Of TennesseeKnoxville, Knox County$7.4M2018
University Of TennesseeKnoxville, Knox County$5.2M2025
Vanderbilt UniversityNashville, Davidson County$5M2023
Collaborative Composite Solutions CorporationKnoxville, Knox County$5M2020
University Of MemphisMemphis, Shelby County$2.2M2023
University Of TennesseeKnoxville, Knox County$1.6M2020
Vanderbilt UniversityNashville, Davidson County$1.2M2021
Tennessee State UniversityNashville, Davidson County$1.2M2024
University Of TennesseeKnoxville, Knox County$1.1M2021
Vanderbilt University Medical CenterNashville, Davidson County$849K2022
University Of TennesseeTullahoma, Franklin County$832K2022
University Of MemphisMemphis, Shelby County$815K2025

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

About the program (12.300)

Basic and Applied Scientific Research

How applications are judged

Award decisions will be based on a competitive selection of proposals resulting from a scientific and cost review. Evaluations will typically be conducted using the following evaluation criteria: 1. Overall scientific and technical merits of the proposal; 2. Potential Naval relevance and contributions of the effort to the agency's specific mission; 3. The offeror's capabilities, related experience, facilities, techniques or unique combinations of these which are integral factors for achieving the proposal objectives; 4. The qualifications, capabilities and experience of the proposed Principal Investigator (PI), team leader and key personnel who are critical in achieving the proposal objectives; and 5. The realism of the proposed costs and availability of funds.

Matching requirements

Statutory Formula: Title This program has no statutory formula., Part This program has no statutory formula., Subpart This program has no statutory formula.,Public Law This program has no statutory formula..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

Fiscal Year2018: Properties and Performance of Compositionally Complex AlCrFeMn Alloys for Marine ApplicationsFiscal Year2019: Generalized Computations for Learning, Memory, and Decision Making in Artificial and Biological Neural NetworksFiscal Year2021: 100 drifting wave buoys were deployed in the Southern Ocean. Storms in the Southern Ocean generate energetic waves that radiate across the Pacific, Atlantic , and Indian ocean. Progress in ocean Internet of Things (IoT) technology enables the grantee to collect unprecedented data densities, which directly improves ocean and wave theories, validate and constrain ocean and atmospheric models, and provide a ground truth for satellite remote sensing data. The technology deployed by the grantee was developed with ONR sponsorship. It represents a shift in global ocean sensing toward a distributed paradigm with massive arrays of low-cost internet-connected nodes.Fiscal Year2025: Data Fusion and Assimilation for Multiscale 3D Velocity and Wall Stress Reconstructions in a Tip Gap Flow. The overarching goal of the proposed work is to advance knowledge of flow physics and cavitation inception in tip gap flow fields through the...

Program listing on SAM.gov

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