FY26 Defense Established Program To Stimulate Competitive Research (DEPSCoR) – Capacity Building (CB)

The Department of Defense (DoD) announces the fiscal year 2026 (FY26) Defense Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (DEPSCoR) – Capacity Building (CB) opportunity. The program is sponsored and managed by Office of the Under Secretary for War, Research and Engineering (OUSW-R&E)/Science & Technology (S&T), Foundations, Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering (OUSD [R&E]), awarded by the Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR), and administered through the Office of Naval Research (ONR). The DoD plans to award FY26 DEPSCoR appropriations through this announcement.

IAW 10 U.S.C. 4010, DEPSCoR's objectives are to: (1) increase the number of university researchers in eligible States/Territories capable of performing science and engineering (S&E) research responsive to the needs of the DoD; (2) enhance the capabilities of institutions of higher education (IHEs) in eligible States/Territories (listed below) to develop, plan, and execute S&E research that is relevant to the mission of the DoD, and competitive under the peer-review systems used for awarding Federal research assistance; and (3) increase the probability of long-term growth in the competitively awarded financial assistance that IHEs in eligible States/Territories receive from the Federal Government for S&E research.

Consistent with these long-term objectives of building research infrastructure, the DoD intends to competitively make, and fund from fiscal year 2026 appropriations, multiyear awards for capacity building strengthens basic research infrastructure and science and engineering capabilities at universities in underutilized states and territories to support Department of Defense national security priorities in IHEs.

DEPSCoR Webinar

For details and registration, please visit

(https://dod-basicresearch.nvision.noblis.org/program/depscor)

Tuesday, 25 August 2026

2:00 - 4:00 PM