Bilateral Academic Research Initiative (BARI) Program Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE)

The Bilateral Academic Research Initiative (BARI) Program is a collaborative funding initiative jointly supported by the United States Department of Defense (DoD), through the Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD), and the Republic of Korea’s Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE). The initiative is administered under the authority of 10 U.S.C. 4001 and falls under Assistance Listing 12.630. The purpose of this grant opportunity is to fund fundamental, high-risk basic research with a primary focus on "Foundational Approaches to Embodied Intelligence for Future Generations of Robotics." The initiative is international in scope, requiring participation from both U.S. universities and South Korean research institutions. The BARI program targets transformative research that advances robotics technologies by embedding intelligence within components—such as sensors and actuators—of robotic systems. This embodied intelligence enables distributed cognition and learning, allowing for component reusability, adaptive performance, and integration across complex robotic platforms. The program emphasizes interdisciplinary collaboration across fields like material science, AI, neuroscience, and mechanical engineering, and encourages exploration of biologically inspired models. All research must aim to remain within the bounds of basic research as defined by the DoD and be openly published. The funding opportunity provides up to $6,000,000 USD from the DoD to support U.S.-based academic teams, with expected annual funding capped at $1,500,000 USD. A separate but parallel award of up to ₩8,000,000,000 KRW will be provided by MOTIE through KEIT to support South Korean research partners. Between three to five principal investigators are expected to be supported on each national team. The period of performance for each award is four years, and no cost-sharing or matching is required. Funding may not be used to support DoD labs or Federally Funded Research and Development Centers (FFRDCs), nor for acquisition of specific telecommunications or surveillance equipment. Eligibility is limited to consortia that include at least one accredited U.S. Institution of Higher Education offering science or engineering degrees and at least one research institution in South Korea. U.S. institutions must submit a joint white paper and proposal on behalf of both research teams. The submission process consists of two stages: a white paper submission by May 30, 2025, followed by full proposal submission by August 29, 2025, if invited. White papers are to be submitted via email, while full proposals must be submitted through Grants.gov. Applications will be evaluated based on scientific merit, innovation, cross-disciplinary potential, strategic alignment with DoD and MOTIE objectives, and the level of collaboration and student training. Contact information for technical and administrative questions is provided in the announcement. For the U.S., inquiries should be directed to Dr. David Montgomery at david.w.montgomery61.civ@mail.mil. For South Korea, Dr. Ilwoo Park at ektmfla97@keit.re.kr is the point of contact. Administrative issues should be addressed to Jonathan Bertsch or Fedline Crowell at the Washington Headquarters Services Acquisition Directorate. Notification of award decisions is tentatively scheduled for September 29, 2025, with awards expected to begin November 1, 2025.

Submit white papers early due to possible email delivery delays; ensure detailed collaboration plans and balanced effort between countries.