The Department of Defense is keeping its doors open to organizations across the United States capable of delivering innovative STEM education, outreach, and workforce development programs that align with national defense priorities. The NDEP STEM Open Notice of Funding Opportunity is a standing announcement with no fixed competition cycles, giving eligible applicants a continuous entry point into one of the federal government’s most strategically significant STEM investment programs.
About the DOD NDEP STEM Open NFO Program
Administered by Washington Headquarters Services under the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering, the National Defense Education Program STEM Open NFO operates under Assistance Listing 12.006. Rather than running a standard competitive cycle, the program posts ongoing amendments and announcements, such as Industry Days and Opportunity Days, that open specific funding topics as resources become available. These amendments may require a mandatory white paper submission before a full application is invited. The program targets a broad range of STEM activities connected to the DoD’s critical technology areas, workforce pipelines, and education ecosystem, including support for two-year community colleges, manufacturing engineering education, scholarship programs, and strategic institutional partnerships.
Funding Size
- Award range: $100,000 to $10,000,000 per award
- Funding is released through individual amendments to the open NFO as specific opportunities are posted
- FY2024 average award across the broader 12.006 listing: $4,000,000; median: $3,000,000
Who Can Apply
- Nonprofit institutions and civil society organizations
- Institutions of higher education including community colleges and universities
- State and local educational agencies
- Industry partners and for-profit entities
- Consortia combining any of the above
- Foreign entities will not be considered under any circumstances
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Geographic Eligibility
- United States only
- Foreign entities and internationally based organizations are explicitly excluded
Sector or Thematic Focus
- STEM education and outreach programs aligned with DoD critical technology areas
- Support for STEM education at two-year institutions and community colleges
- Manufacturing engineering education programs
- STEM scholarship programs and student pipeline development
- Strategic partnerships and institutional collaborations in STEM
- Program evaluations, assessments, data analytics, and visualization
Application Process
The program does not follow a single annual deadline. Applicants monitor Grants.gov for active amendments and Industry Day or Opportunity Day announcements tied to specific topics of interest. When an amendment is active, organizations may be asked to submit a mandatory white paper by email to osd.dodstem@mail.mil before being invited to submit a full application through Grants.gov. White papers submitted outside an active amendment window will not be evaluated.
Required Materials
- White paper submission addressing all areas in the relevant NFO amendment or announcement, formatted per the amendment instructions
- Full application through Grants.gov if invited, addressing all evaluation criteria
- Active SAM.gov registration with a valid Unique Entity Identifier
- Active Grants.gov account with authorized organization representative approval
Key Dates
- Open NFO deadline: 8 February 2028
- Specific topic deadlines set by individual amendments as they are posted
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Selection Notes
- White papers that fail to address the areas specified in the active amendment will not be evaluated and will not receive an invitation to submit a full application
- Only white papers submitted in response to an active, currently open amendment are accepted
- Applicants should monitor Grants.gov regularly for new amendments, as specific topic windows open and close independently