Minerva Research Initiative’s (Minerva) Defense Education and Civilian University Research (DECUR) Partnership
Funding Agency:
- Department of Defense
The Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD) is interested in receiving applications for Minerva’s DECUR Partnership. The DECUR Partnership aims to develop collaborative basic research partnerships between PME Institutions and Civilian Research Universities by supporting fundamental scientific research that improves the capacity of security-related basic social science research and education. Building upon the success of Minerva’s university research awards, the DECUR Partnership aims to pair civilian university researchers with PME faculty to facilitate collaborative research in the fundamental understanding of the social and cultural forces shaping U.S. strategic interests globally. OSD is particularly interested in projects that align with and support the 2022 National Defense Strategy.
The Minerva Research Initiative competition is for research related to six (6) topics listed below. Innovative white papers and applications related to these research areas are highly encouraged. Detailed descriptions of the interest areas—which are intended to provide a frame of reference and are not meant to be restrictive—can be found in Appendix One: Research Topics. Topic 1: Socio-economic vulnerability to climate change Topic 2: Deterrence in the future operating environment Topic 3: Russian speakers in online spaces Topic 4: Power and influence in the era of strategic competition Topic 5: The Arctic as a polar crossroads Topic 6: Management and information in the Defense environment Applications must include a civilian university Principal Investigator (PI) and a PME co-PI. Applications that include PME students in the research design, i.e. has a pedagogic component that uses basic research in social science to think through social science to address security challenges, will be looked upon favorably. The research questions addressed should extend beyond standard disciplinary approaches to include innovative multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary methodological approaches.
Outside of the civilian university PI and the PME co-PI, the size of research teams is not limited, though the maximum award amount will be $400,000 distributed evenly over two years.
Tuesday, December 12, 2023 1500 Eastern
Michael Fanizzo, Jr. Grants Officer, WHS/AD E-mail: michael.j.fanizzo.civ@mail.mil