Fiscal Year (FY) 2023 Department of Defense Multidisciplinary Research Program of the University Research Initiative (MURI)- Army Submission | W911NF 22 S 0007

Opportunity Information: Apply for W911NF 22 S 0007

The Fiscal Year 2023 Department of Defense Multidisciplinary University Research Initiative (MURI) - Army Submission is a competitive research funding opportunity run under the broader DoD University Research Initiative (URI). It is sponsored and managed by the DoD basic research offices, including the Office of Naval Research (ONR), the Army Research Office (ARO), and the Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR). This particular listing is the Army-facing submission track administered by the Department of the Army, Materiel Command, and it is issued as a formal Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) under DoD Grants and Agreements regulations (DoDGARS), specifically 32 CFR 22.315(a). The FOA makes clear that DoD may choose to fund all, some, or none of the submissions, and that applicants should not expect any reimbursement for the costs of developing white papers or full proposals.

Programmatically, MURI is aimed at high-risk, high-reward basic research that benefits from a multidisciplinary team approach and targets problems where fundamental understanding or capabilities do not yet exist. The announcement emphasizes that MURI is not meant for incremental advances; it is intended to push into new scientific territory and has a track record over more than 25 years of producing breakthroughs that can influence science broadly, support economic growth, and eventually enable transformative military technologies. A defining feature of MURI, highlighted in the FOA, is hands-on involvement by Service program officers who actively manage awarded projects and provide research guidance over the life of the effort.

From a submission and handling standpoint, the DoD states that white papers and proposals are treated as sensitive, competition-related information and will only be shared internally for evaluation purposes. Materials submitted in response to the FOA (technical, budget, or otherwise) will not be returned. The FOA also notes that embedded hyperlinks are part of the document and that applicants should not expect a separate Request for Proposals (RFP) or additional solicitation document later; the FOA is intended to serve as the core public announcement.

In terms of award structure, the funding instruments are grants and cooperative agreements, with an important nuance for Army Research Office submissions: ARO may issue either grants or cooperative agreements depending on the anticipated level of government involvement in the technical work and project oversight. Any award made under this opportunity is governed by DoD financial assistance terms consistent with the Office of Management and Budget guidance in 2 CFR Part 200 (Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards). In practical terms, that means standard federal rules will apply around allowable costs, budgeting, financial management, reporting, and audit responsibilities.

The opportunity is categorized as discretionary funding for science and technology and other research and development activities, and it is associated with CFDA number 12.431. Eligibility is listed broadly as "Others" with additional clarification expected in the full eligibility text associated with the FOA, which typically means applicants should carefully verify which institutions or entity types qualify under the specific DoD/ARO rules for this cycle.

Key dates listed in the opportunity include staged deadlines for engagement and submission. White paper questions were due by May 2, 2022, and white papers themselves had to be received by May 16, 2022 at 11:59 PM Eastern Time. For full applications, questions were due by August 26, 2022, and complete applications were due by September 9, 2022 at 11:59 PM Eastern Time. The listing also provides a stated award ceiling of $1,500,000 and an expected number of awards of about 100, reflecting the program’s scale across the DoD agencies participating in MURI, even though the Army submission track is only one portion of the overall effort.

Overall, this FOA is best understood as a DoD basic research competition designed for university-led, multidisciplinary teams proposing ambitious research agendas with the potential to open entirely new areas of understanding or capability. Applicants are expected to follow a white paper to proposal pipeline, accept that proposal preparation costs are not reimbursable, and be prepared for close interaction with DoD program leadership if selected for funding.

• The Department of Defense, Dept of the Army -- Materiel Command in the science and technology and other research and development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Fiscal Year (FY) 2023 Department of Defense Multidisciplinary Research Program of the University Research Initiative (MURI)- Army Submission" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 12.431.
• This funding opportunity was created on Feb 10, 2022.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Sep 09, 2022 White Paper Inquiries and Questions 02 May 2022 White Papers must be received no later than 16 May 2022 at 1159 PM Eastern Time Application Inquiries and Questions 26 August 2022 Applications must be received no later than 09 September 2022 at 1159 PM Eastern Time. (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.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 100 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Others (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification).

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