FY2019 Office of Naval Research Historically Black Colleges and Universities/Minority Institutions (HBCU/MI) Program | N00014 19 S F004

Opportunity Information: Apply for N00014 19 S F004

The FY2019 Office of Naval Research (ONR) Historically Black Colleges and Universities/Minority Institutions (HBCU/MI) Program is a Department of the Navy funding opportunity designed to strengthen the pipeline of minority STEM talent and expand the research capacity of Minority-Serving Institutions (MSIs) in areas that matter directly to Navy and Marine Corps missions. The core purpose is twofold: support basic, naval-relevant research that advances the Department of the Navy science and technology priorities, while also improving the long-term research and educational capabilities at participating HBCUs and other eligible MSIs. A major emphasis is student engagement, particularly for underrepresented students, so that funded research also functions as a training ground that builds skills, experience, and career pathways into the defense STEM workforce.

This program is administered by ONR under the policy and guidance of the Department of the Navy HBCU/MI Program, and it is structured around a white paper process followed by invited proposals. In practical terms, institutions submit white papers describing basic research ideas aligned to Navy needs; ONR then invites selected teams to submit full proposals. The opportunity is explicitly focused on basic research rather than late-stage product development, but it is still expected to be clearly connected to naval missions and to contribute to the Navy and Marine Corps science and technology vision.

The technical scope is anchored in the Naval Research and Development Framework and is organized into three broad research thrusts. The first is Information, Cyber, and Spectrum Superiority, reflecting the Navy's need for faster, more confident decision-making in complex operational environments. This thrust includes work on Assured Command and Control (C2), which aims to shorten "data to decisions" timelines through persistent sensing, timely intelligence, decision support, and resilient information transport. It also covers Electromagnetic Maneuver Warfare (EMW), emphasizing spectrum awareness and management, electronic warfare, surveillance, and secure, resilient computing and communications architectures that can operate in contested environments. A third component is Full Spectrum Cyber technologies, focused on protecting networks, platforms, data, information systems, and real-time control systems through assured system design, automated defenses against advanced threats, host hardening, and data assurance. Example topic areas listed under this thrust include advanced RF electronics and materials, communications and networking, decision-making methods, data science and analytics, electronic warfare, sensors and processing, machine learning and reasoning, optimization, and precision navigation and timing.

The second major thrust is Mission Capable, Persistent, and Survivable Sea Platforms, which targets technologies that improve the capability, endurance, and survivability of naval ships and submarines in a distributed but networked force. Priorities described in the announcement include power and energy improvements for surface ships (including the demands of future electric weapons and high-power sensors), energy management and pulsed power, and computational tools that model platform interactions with the operational environment. Undersea dominance is highlighted as a continuing priority, with attention to countering advances in ultra-quiet submarines and improving mobility and survivability through materials, acoustics, intelligent control, and various mechanics disciplines. The thrust also calls out sustainment and maintainability, modularity and interface standards, reduced logistics burden, corrosion control, environmental quality, affordability, and validated design tools for rapid and accurate evaluation of advanced platform concepts. Example research areas here include naval engineering, advanced power systems, survivable sea platforms, unmanned sea platforms and autonomy (including power), advanced naval materials, undersea energetics and countermeasures, environmental quality, and corrosion control.

The third thrust is Aviation, Force Projection, and Integrated Defense, covering sea-based aviation and weapons research aimed at countering or defeating threats at longer ranges and higher speeds. The announcement points to emerging operational needs such as electric weapons with deep magazines and low cost-per-kill, directed-energy systems for layered defense, networked weapons to improve probability of kill and reduce redundant targeting, and improved warhead materials and electromagnetic launch concepts enabling smaller and longer-range rounds. It also emphasizes future naval fires and precision strike supported by better targeting and decision support across air, surface, undersea, and expeditionary forces. On the platform side, it highlights improved aerodynamic control for unconventional aircraft designs, advanced propulsion concepts such as variable-cycle technologies for efficiency across flight regimes, and power and thermal management to support next-generation weapon and sensor loads. Structures, materials, and autonomy are also emphasized, with autonomy framed as both a near-term lever to reduce risk and improve manning effectiveness and a long-term path toward persistent and rapid-response capabilities.

Eligibility and participation rules are central to this FOA and are relatively strict. Awards are limited to U.S.-based MSIs of higher education that have degree-granting STEM programs. Under the cited statutory authority, eligible applicants must either be institutions eligible for assistance under Title III or Title V of the Higher Education Act or be accredited post-secondary MSIs. For institutions that are MSIs but not formally designated as an HBCU or a Tribal College or University (TCU), the FOA requires proof of Title III or Title V eligibility in the form of a current-year U.S. Department of Education eligibility letter. Importantly, if that letter is required and not submitted with the initial white paper, the institution is deemed ineligible and the white paper will not be reviewed.

The personnel requirements are also explicit: the Principal Investigator and all proposed project personnel must be U.S. citizens as of January 16, 2019, which is the white paper due date referenced in the announcement. The award structure is single-PI only, meaning no co-PIs are allowed, and sub-awards are not permitted. That constraint effectively requires the proposed work to be executed within the applicant institution without funded external partners, even though the program broadly encourages collaborative participation across HBCU/MIs in the larger sense. Finally, cost sharing is not expected and is not used in merit review, signaling that proposals should be evaluated on technical merit, relevance, and program goals rather than the applicant's ability to contribute matching funds.

Administrative details in the source listing describe the opportunity as a discretionary grant administered by ONR, within the Science and Technology and other Research and Development activity category (CFDA 12.300). The funding opportunity number is N00014-19-S-F004, it was created on November 2, 2018, and the original closing date listed is April 19, 2019, with the white paper due date specifically identified as January 16, 2019.

• The Office of Naval Research in the science and technology and other research and development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "FY2019 Office of Naval Research Historically Black Colleges and Universities/Minority Institutions (HBCU/MI) Program" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 12.300.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2018-11-02.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2019-04-19. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Eligible applicants include: Others.

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