FY22 Young Investigator Program | N00014 21 S F008

Opportunity Information: Apply for N00014 21 S F008

The FY22 Young Investigator Program (YIP) is a research grant opportunity run by the Department of Defense through the Office of Naval Research (ONR). It is designed to find and support early-career academic scientists and engineers who are just beginning to establish independent research programs and who show strong potential for high-impact, creative work. The program is meant to build long-term connections between outstanding new faculty and the Department of the Navy's science and technology research priorities, while also helping these investigators strengthen both their research and teaching trajectories at their institutions.

The core eligibility focus is on researchers in their first or second full-time tenure-track (or tenure-track-equivalent) academic appointment. Applicants must have earned a PhD or equivalent degree on or after January 1, 2014, which effectively targets individuals in the early years of their independent careers. While the program is centered on faculty at institutions of higher education, it also notes that individuals in comparable roles at US nonprofit organizations are encouraged to apply, reflecting ONR's interest in supporting promising early-career investigators who can contribute to Navy-relevant research even if their appointment is not at a traditional university.

Proposed work must align with research areas that ONR program officers oversee and consider priorities within the ONR Science and Technology (S&T) Departments. Rather than limiting applicants to a narrow topic list in the notice itself, ONR directs applicants to the S&T sections of its website for current areas of interest and to identify the relevant divisions and program managers. A major practical expectation of this opportunity is early communication: applicants are strongly encouraged to contact the appropriate ONR program officer before submitting a proposal to discuss fit, relevance, and technical direction. ONR provides program officer listings through its technology areas and program manager pages, which is intended to help applicants position their ideas within ONR portfolios and avoid submitting proposals that are misaligned with active Navy research interests.

From a funding-opportunity structure standpoint, this is a discretionary grant program under CFDA 12.300 and falls within the broad category of science and technology and other research and development. The eligible applicant organizations include public and state-controlled institutions of higher education and private institutions of higher education. The funding opportunity is identified as N00014-21-S-F008, created September 1, 2021, with an original closing date of October 29, 2021. ONR anticipated making around 15 awards under this solicitation. The listing shows an award ceiling of $510,000,000, which appears as an upper bound in the posting metadata and is not, by itself, a typical per-award figure; applicants should rely on the full funding opportunity announcement (FOA) for the actual expected award size, allowable costs, performance period, and any budget constraints or formatting requirements.

Overall, the FY22 ONR YIP is best understood as an early-career faculty research program that pairs promising new investigators with ONR program priorities, with the dual intent of advancing Navy-relevant science and accelerating the careers of researchers likely to become leaders in their fields. The most important strategic steps for a competitive application are choosing a research direction clearly connected to ONR-managed technical areas and engaging a relevant program officer early to confirm alignment and refine the proposed scope before submission.

• The Department of Defense, Office of Naval Research in the science and technology and other research and development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "FY22 Young Investigator 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 Sep 01, 2021.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Oct 29, 2021. (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 $510,000,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 15 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Public and State controlled institutions of higher education, Private institutions of higher education.

Apply for N00014 21 S F008

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