Fiscal Year (FY) 2022 Department of Defense Multidisciplinary Research Program of the University Research Initiative (MURI) | N00014 21 S F003

Opportunity Information: Apply for N00014 21 S F003

The Fiscal Year (FY) 2022 Department of Defense Multidisciplinary University Research Initiative (MURI) funding opportunity is a discretionary research grant competition run under the broader University Research Initiative (URI). It is sponsored and administered through the Department of Defense research offices, specifically the Office of Naval Research (ONR), the Army Research Office (ARO), and the Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR). Through this program, DoD supports university-led teams that can tackle ambitious, high-risk basic research questions, especially work aimed at understanding fundamental phenomena or achieving capabilities that have not been demonstrated before.

MURI is built around the idea that major scientific leaps often happen at the boundaries between disciplines, so proposals are expected to be genuinely multidisciplinary and structured as coordinated research efforts rather than isolated single-investigator projects. The program has been in place for more than 25 years and is described as having a strong track record of producing breakthrough science with spillover effects into broader scientific progress, economic growth, and long-term military-relevant technologies. A defining feature of MURI is hands-on technical stewardship: Service program officers actively manage awarded projects and provide research guidance throughout the period of performance, which signals an expectation of ongoing interaction, progress tracking, and alignment with the program's research goals.

From an administrative standpoint, this opportunity results in financial assistance awards rather than procurement contracts. Awards are primarily issued as grants, with an important exception noted for ARO submissions, where the Army may issue either grants or cooperative agreements depending on the nature of the effort and the level of expected government involvement. All awards made under the announcement follow DoD terms and conditions implementing federal assistance rules, including the Uniform Guidance found in 2 CFR Part 200 (covering administrative requirements, cost principles, and audit requirements). In practical terms, applicants should be prepared to follow standard federal grant compliance expectations around budgeting, allowability of costs, reporting, and audits.

Eligibility is limited to institutions of higher education, including public and state-controlled universities and private universities. The funding activity category is Science and Technology and other Research and Development, and the listing is associated with CFDA number 12.300. The opportunity was posted by ONR under Funding Opportunity Number N00014-21-S-F003, created on March 22, 2021, with an original closing date of September 27, 2021. The posted award ceiling is $1,500,000, indicating the maximum amount anticipated per award under this notice, although the number of expected awards is not specified in the provided data.

Several key procedural points are emphasized. DoD reserves full discretion to fund all, some, or none of the proposals submitted in response to the announcement, meaning submission does not imply any commitment to make awards. The government does not reimburse any proposal development costs, and submitted technical and cost proposals (and related materials) will not be returned. Proposals are treated as competition-sensitive information and are only shared internally as needed for evaluation, reflecting standard confidentiality handling during peer and programmatic review.

Overall, this MURI announcement is designed for university research teams ready to propose high-impact, multidisciplinary basic research with the potential to open new scientific directions. It combines competitive grant funding with active engagement from DoD program officers and requires adherence to the federal assistance framework that governs budgeting, performance, and reporting for federally funded research.

• The Office of Naval Research in the science and technology and other research and development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Fiscal Year (FY) 2022 Department of Defense Multidisciplinary Research Program of the University Research Initiative (MURI)" 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 2021-03-22.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2021-09-27. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $1,500,000.00 in funding.
• Eligible applicants include: Public and State controlled institutions of higher education, Private institutions of higher education.

Apply for N00014 21 S F003

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