The Minerva Research Initiative (Minerva) emphasizes questions 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 and other research institutions around the world and supports multidisciplinary and cross-institutional projects addressing specific interest areas determined by the Department of Defense. The Minerva program 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 eight (8) 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 B: Minerva Research Topics of Interest. Topic 1:
Topic 1:
Societal Cohesion in Crisis
Topic 2:
Considering Societal Resilience at Multiple Scales
Topic 3:
Sociotechnical Adaptation to Climate, Food, and Water Stress
Topic 4:
Social Impact of Technological Change
Topic 5:
Parasocial Relationships, Social Media, and Radicalization