FY19 Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) for the Office of Naval Research (ONR) Navy ROTC Cybersecurity Training Program | N00014 19 S F009

Opportunity Information: Apply for N00014 19 S F009

The FY19 Office of Naval Research (ONR) Navy ROTC Cybersecurity Training Program funding opportunity (N00014-19-S-F009) is a Department of Defense discretionary grant program designed to strengthen the future STEM workforce that supports U.S. Navy and Marine Corps technological advantage. The central purpose is workforce development: ONR is looking for proposals that either build on existing training efforts or introduce new, creative approaches that produce more capable, better trained people who can respond to emerging cyber and electronic warfare challenges. In practice, the program is aimed at growing both hands-on technical competence and longer-term research capacity among students, with an emphasis on preparing participants for real defense-relevant cyber and EW problem sets.

The opportunity is primarily focused on university students enrolled in ROTC programs, and it is explicitly open to ROTC students regardless of which military Service their ROTC affiliation is tied to. At the same time, proposals are allowed to include civilian students as well, so long as the overall effort supports the core training and workforce goals. ONR indicates that projects can vary widely in scope and complexity, which gives applicants flexibility to propose anything from targeted skill-building modules to larger, multi-part training and research experiences, as long as the outcome is a stronger pipeline of cyber and electronic warfare talent.

ONR highlights several areas of particular interest. First is expanding the technical skills taught to university students, especially those in ROTC programs. Second is directly growing participants cyber and electronic warfare skills, which suggests a preference for practical, defense-oriented competencies rather than purely theoretical instruction. Third is developing participants research capacity, meaning proposals that teach students how to conduct meaningful R&D, work with mentors, and contribute to publishable or otherwise defensible technical outputs. Another notable element is the emphasis on convening stakeholders: applicants are encouraged (and described as needing) to establish meetings that connect relevant people and organizations with the explicit intent of building broader projects that can influence whole communities, not just a single cohort. This points to a program interest in scalable partnerships and sustained ecosystems, such as collaborations among universities, ROTC units, labs, industry partners, and local or regional cybersecurity organizations.

A defining feature of the program structure is that student participants earn funds by performing research under supervision. The model described pairs participants with a graduate student mentor and a faculty principal investigator (PI), positioning the experience as a guided research apprenticeship rather than only coursework or short workshops. The notice describes an intended student pay rate of $18 per hour for up to 15 hours per week, which signals that ONR expects consistent engagement over time and structured work plans suitable for part-time research during the academic year or similar periods.

From an administrative standpoint, the funding instrument is a grant under the Science and Technology and other Research and Development activity category (CFDA 12.330). Eligible applicants are limited to institutions of higher education, including both public/state-controlled universities and private universities. The announcement was created June 4, 2019, with an original closing date of June 3, 2020. The listed award ceiling is $750,000, and ONR projected up to 100 awards, indicating an intent to fund a relatively large number of efforts, potentially spanning a range of sizes and approaches rather than only a few very large projects.

Overall, this FOA is best understood as a capacity-building and talent-development program centered on cyber and electronic warfare readiness. Competitive proposals would typically show a clear plan for improving technical training outcomes, providing authentic research experiences with strong mentorship, and building durable networks among stakeholders that can extend the impact beyond a single class or campus, while keeping the focus on preparing a diverse, high-quality STEM workforce aligned to Navy and Marine Corps needs. For details beyond this summary, ONR directs applicants to the full notice for additional requirements and application instructions.

• The Department of Defense, Office of Naval Research in the science and technology and other research and development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "FY19 Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) for the Office of Naval Research (ONR) Navy ROTC Cybersecurity Training Program" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 12.330.
• This funding opportunity was created on Jun 04, 2019.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Jun 03, 2020. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $750,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 100 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Public and State controlled institutions of higher education, Private institutions of higher education.

Apply for N00014 19 S F009

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