NDEP STEM Open NFO

The Department of War (DoW), through its Washington Headquarters Services Acquisition Directorate (WHS/AD), has issued a Notice of Funding Opportunity (NFO) under the National Defense Education Program (NDEP) to support science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education and workforce initiatives. This opportunity, HQ003423NFOEASD01, invites innovative proposals aimed at enhancing STEM education and workforce development efforts that align with the DoW’s strategic and technological priorities. The NFO is structured as a continuously open announcement, with specific funding opportunities issued as amendments, each requiring submission of a mandatory white paper to be considered for advancement to the full application stage. The NDEP seeks to support programs across a wide array of STEM-related areas, including K-12 education, two-year institutions and community colleges, manufacturing engineering, and critical technology workforce development. The funding aims to address national security needs by cultivating a future-ready technical workforce capable of meeting the complex challenges in defense technologies. Additionally, the NFO supports programs targeted at specific populations such as student veterans, military-connected children, and underrepresented groups. Strategic partnerships, program evaluation, data analytics, and scholarship support are also eligible topics, reflecting a broad but mission-aligned investment in STEM talent pipelines. Applicants must follow a two-step application process. First, they must submit a white paper in response to a specific NFO amendment or Industry Day/Opportunity Day announcement. White papers must follow a mandatory template and include a cover page, summary, technical concept, relevance to topic(s), estimated cost, and resumes. The Department will review white papers to identify those of merit, which will be invited to submit full applications through Grants.gov. Applications must adhere to stringent formatting and content requirements and will be evaluated based on technical merit, cost realism, relevance to DoW missions, and other factors. This funding opportunity is open to a wide range of eligible applicants including industry, non-profit institutions, institutions of higher education, state and local educational agencies, and consortia. Federally Funded Research and Development Centers (FFRDCs) may participate as sub-recipients but are not eligible to lead applications. Religious organizations may also apply on equal footing. All applications must disclose any organizational conflicts of interest. Applications that do not follow the submission protocols or fail to meet eligibility requirements will not be reviewed. Awards will be made contingent on the availability of funds and may cover varying performance periods depending on the scope of work proposed in the white paper and subsequent full application. While no specific funding amount is guaranteed, awards will align with the objectives outlined in each amendment. Applicants must comply with detailed reporting requirements, including monthly, semi-annual, annual, and final financial and performance reports. Acknowledgment of support, adherence to ethical standards, and compliance with applicable federal policies, including those on human and animal research, are mandatory. The NFO is designed to allow the Department to adapt funding priorities through amendments, meaning potential applicants must monitor Grants.gov for new calls and submit white papers in response to specific topics. The current NFO closes on February 8, 2028, and as of the latest amendment dated March 23, 2026, it remains open. For inquiries related to this opportunity, interested parties can contact Jonathan Bertsch, Grants Officer, at [email protected]. Additional programmatic inquiries can be directed to [email protected].

Use the mandatory white paper template and submit exactly as instructed; failure to comply results in disqualification.