For all activity, prospective Principal Investigators (PI) should reach out the closest regional office to reach an International Program Officer before submitting any formal documents or proposals. The process for Research & Development (R&D), Conference Support Package (CSP), and Windows-on-Science (WOS) opportunities are slightly different, but each one begins with a dialog between the PI and the IPO.
In general, grants are for academic institutions or non-profit institutions whose primary purpose is fundamental basic research. For more specifics regarding eligibility, terms and conditions, please consult the most recent version of the AFOSR Broad Agency Announcement at www.grants.gov (search keyword “AFOSR”).
Funding Timelines
The US Fiscal Year begins runs 1 Oct to 30 Sep. Grant proposals funding timelines vary greatly depending on the funding source and availability. Grants are not processed in the order they are received. For more information, please contact the IPO for your region and scientific area.
First Engagement
The process begins with a discussion, either in person or through e-mail, between the prospective PI and an International Program Officer (IPO) of the PI’s region. Prospective PIs should not submit a proposal without first contacting an IPO. If there is mutual interest, the IPO will request a whitepaper via e-mail.
Whitepaper
The purpose of the whitepaper is to have an efficient starting point for further technical discussion between the PI and the IPO, and for the IPO to garner additional interest in the topic with other US government agencies.
There is no officially required template for the whitepaper. However, AFOSR recommends that the white paper be:
Submit Full Proposal to Grants.gov
Upon deciding to move the topic forward, IPO will invite the PI to submit a full proposal into the www.grants.gov system. This requisite step is not a guarantee of funding. The full proposal should include modifications to the white paper based on earlier discussion as well as the items in
Please see SAM registration process for administrative support for how to submit proposals into grants.gov, which should be done through the institution business office, rather than the academic researcher.
Grant Award
Only the AFOSR contracting officers can issue grants to the institution. The contracting officer is never the same person as the IPO. Upon award, an AFOSR contracting officer will notify the institution business office and the PI of the award (FAXXXX-XX-X-XXXX).
Upon award, AFOSR will contact the institution business office on how to receive the grant funding.
Please refer to the BAA regarding additional reporting requirements and terms and conditions of the grant. Sections F.3.d is of particular importance as the PI conducts and publishes their research:
F.3.d Acknowledgement of Research Support
You must acknowledge support provided by the Government in all materials based on or developed under our awards. The requirement extends to copyrighted and noncopyrighted materials published or displayed in any medium. The following language must be used unless the award document provides different instructions: “This material is based upon work supported by the Air Force Office of Scientific Research under award number FAXXXX-XX-X-XXXX.” You must require any sub recipients or subcontractors under your award to include this acknowledgement too.
Reporting
The IPO may reach out and request research updates at any time. Requests for updates are likely during the Feb - Apr, when AFOSR conducts program reviews. Further, requests for updates may be associated with sharing past work or reports with AFRL researchers.
For scheduled reporting, please refer to the Grant Deliverables page for more detailed instructions post-award.