Air Force Fiscal Year 2027 Young Investigator Program (YIP)

What the official notice requires

Pulled from the funding notice FA955026S0003FY27YIPFINAL.pdf (49 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

• Award amounts here are per year · p. 1

  “YIP awards are funded up to $150,000 per year for three years, for a total of $450,000.” Open page 1

Registrations you need first

• Grants.gov · p. 2

  “Amendments to the original Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) will be posted to the Grants.gov Webpage: https://www.grants.gov/.” Open page 2

• Unique Entity ID (UEI) · p. 26

  “(2) Obtain a UEI Number All entities applying for funding, including renewal funding, must have a Unique Entity Identifier (UEI).” Open page 26

• SAM.gov · p. 26

  “As of April of 2022, the federal government stopped using the DUNS number to uniquely identify entities registered in the System for Award Management (SAM).” Open page 26

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

Steps before the deadline

• Pre-proposal · p. 3

  “KEY DATES Pre-proposal inquiries and questions, regarding white papers and the submission of those white papers, must be received in writing by electronic mail to the address(es) of this NOFO not later than 17 September 2026 at 11:59 PM Eastern Time to be…” Open page 3

What to submit

• Data management plan · p. 2

  “The proposals will need to include a data management plan, outlining how samples and data collected in the program will be stored and managed.” Open page 2

• Form SF-424 · p. 15

  “Biosketch, C urrent and Pending ( Other) Support , and Collaborators and Other Affiliations (to be submitted with SF-424);” Open page 15

• Budget narrative / justification · p. 23

  “Collaborators and Other Affiliations Training Certification(s) Compliance Attestation Privacy Act Disclosure Form (See Appendix 2) R&R Personal Data Form None R&R Budget Form Budget Justification R&R Subaward Budget Attachments Form Subaward Budget R&R…” Open page 23

• Form SF-LLL · p. 29

  “Administrative and National Policy Requirements for more information and links to the full text of these items. 18 You must attach the completed SF-LLL Disclosure of Lobbying Activities if your grant amount exceeds $100,000 and has lobbying activity to…” Open page 29

• Project abstract or summary · p. 30

  “Publicly Releasable Project Summary / Abstract You must attach the Project Summary / Abstract to field 7 of the R&R Other Project Information form.” Open page 30

• Resumes or bios of key staff · p. 32

  “R&R Senior/Key Person Profile (Expanded) Form You must attach a short biographical sketch and list of significant publications (vitae) for each Senior/Key Person.” Open page 32

Length limits

• Page Limitation: 5 pages max · p. 21

  “Page Limitation – 5 pages maximum (excluding cover page, curriculum vitae, and references) White Paper and Curriculum Vitae Content” Open page 21

• You: 2000 characters max · p. 30

  “You must provide a concise abstract of 300 words or less with your proposal (no more than 2000 characters).” Open page 30

Formatting rules

• 12-point font · p. 21

  “Font- Times New Roman or Garamond 12 point” Open page 21

Mistakes that get applications rejected

• Could get your application rejected · p. 46

  “Failure to provide required reports, or providing reports after required due dates, could lead to being considered ineligible for future awards.” Open page 46