DoD Research and Education Program (REP) for HBCU/MI Equipment and Instrumentation

PROGRAM DESCRIPTION

The DoD is soliciting applications for the acquisition of equipment/instrumentation under the Fiscal Year 2025 Research and Education Program for HBCUs/MIs. The Research and Education Program is designed to enhance the research capabilities of HBCUs and MIs and to strengthen their STEM education programs. The purpose of the funding under this FOA is to (1) support the acquisition of equipment/instrumentation to augment existing capabilities or to develop new capabilities in research areas of interest to DoD, and (2) attract students to pursue studies leading to STEM careers. Although funding provided under this FOA cannot be used for student support, in order to further DoD’s objective of attracting students to pursue studies leading to STEM careers, applicants must address the impact of the requested equipment/instrumentation on student participation in research.

An application may request DoD funding ranging in the aggregate from $200,000 to $1,000,000. An application that requests aggregate funding of less than $200,000 or more than $1,000,000 will be considered non-responsive and will not be accepted for review.

INTERNAL REVIEW PROCESS

UCI may submit no more than 3 applications in response to this call for proposals. Therefore, interested applicants are asked to submit an internal proposal via UCI Review by 11:59pm PT on Tuesday, March 18, 2025, to be considered for one of the 3 available application slots. The internal proposal should consist of the following:

• Project Narrative (max 2 pages) – which must clearly describe the requested equipment/instrumentation and explain how it will enhance UCI/s research/research-related education capabilities and the quality of UCI’s STEM programs (if applicable please describe how the requested equipment/instrumentation will interface with existing resources).
• Budget Overview (Up to 1 page): A basic budget outlining project costs is sufficient; detailed budgets are not required.
• List of departments/units that are expected to benefit from the acquisition of this equipment
• Biosketch of PI and CoPIs (3 page max each)
• Supporting documentation – such as vendor quotes (optional)

If necessary, an ad hoc committee will be convened to review the preliminary proposals. In the case of a review, the process will be completed as quickly as possible to allow the selected applicant enough time to complete their proposal by the sponsor deadline of April 28, 2025. Please refer to the Research and Education Program FOA for more information about this program.

Questions about our internal campus review process may be directed to Mike Gallo in the Office of Research, at magallo@uci.edu.