Building EPSCoR-State/National Laboratory Partnerships

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), through its Office of Science (SC), has announced a Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) DE-FOA-0003615 titled "Building EPSCoR-State/National Laboratory Partnerships." This initiative is administered by DOE's Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR) and seeks to strengthen research collaborations between academic institutions in EPSCoR jurisdictions and DOE National Laboratories. These partnerships are designed to advance early-stage, fundamental scientific research in energy-related domains, support student and early-career researcher development, and build long-term institutional research capacities within eligible regions. EPSCoR is a federal-state partnership aimed at addressing the geographic disparity in federal research funding by enhancing the research capabilities of institutions in designated jurisdictions. This NOFO encourages applications that propose innovative research collaborations, involving students at the undergraduate through postdoctoral levels, with a strong emphasis on leveraging DOE national laboratory infrastructure and user facilities. Projects must align with DOE mission areas and can fall under the Office of Science domains such as Basic Energy Sciences, High Energy Physics, Fusion Energy Sciences, and others, or under DOE’s Applied Energy programs like Nuclear Energy, Electricity, and Environmental Management. Applicants are required to submit a pre-application by March 18, 2026. Only those who are encouraged based on this pre-application may proceed to submit a full application by May 21, 2026. Eligible applicants must be from designated EPSCoR jurisdictions, which include 28 U.S. states and territories. DOE National Laboratories are not eligible to receive funding directly under this NOFO but may participate as collaborators. Nonprofit and for-profit institutions may apply, but academic institutions must be part of the research team. Projects must include a substantive role for students or postdoctoral fellows and must be led by institutions that perform the majority of scientific work, as measured by budget allocation. The maximum award size for individual projects is $1,000,000 over a four-year period, with expected annual funding between $150,000 and $250,000. The DOE anticipates issuing 30–35 awards, pending the availability of $35 million in total funding. There is no cost sharing requirement, although institutional or jurisdictional commitments are expected to be demonstrated through resources like lab space, faculty time, or student support. Proposals that suggest research supporting commercial interests or customer needs will be rejected without merit review. The research must be fundamental in nature and contribute to the public domain. The application process includes submission through Grants.gov for the full proposal and through DOE’s PAMS portal for pre-applications. Applications must adhere to strict formatting and content guidelines, including the use of machine-readable PDF files, detailed project narratives, and various appendices such as data management plans, synergistic activities, and letters of commitment from participating national labs and jurisdictions. Proposals will be reviewed for scientific merit, technical approach, budget reasonableness, and the strength of proposed collaborations. Awards are expected to be announced by June 2026, with project performance periods beginning around August 1, 2026. Successful projects will run approximately four years and must include progress reports aligned with DOE reporting expectations. This NOFO is part of DOE EPSCoR’s ongoing effort to build durable research infrastructure in underfunded regions and enhance U.S. competitiveness in scientific discovery and innovation.

Ensure national lab letters are signed by authorized management; Strong jurisdictional and institutional commitment strengthens competitiveness; Focus on alignment with DOE mission priorities and early-stage research.