Regional Alliances and Multistakeholder Partnerships to Stimulate (RAMPS) Cybersecurity Education and Workforce Development | 2025 NIST RAMPS 01

Opportunity Information: Apply for 2025 NIST RAMPS 01

The Regional Alliances and Multistakeholder Partnerships to Stimulate (RAMPS) Cybersecurity Education and Workforce Development opportunity is a National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) National Initiative for Cybersecurity Education (NICE) program funding opportunity focused on building community-based, employer-informed partnerships that create clearer cybersecurity career pathways tied to real local and regional workforce needs. The core idea is to bring together multiple stakeholders in a given area so they can coordinate around specific cybersecurity occupations where employers are experiencing skill shortages, then collectively develop training, education, and work-based learning approaches that produce job-ready talent for the local economy. Rather than supporting isolated training efforts, RAMPS emphasizes structured collaboration among organizations that can align curriculum, credentials, recruitment, placement, and long-term workforce planning.

This opportunity is offered as a discretionary cooperative agreement under CFDA 11.620, within the Science and Technology and other Research and Development activity category. The cooperative agreement structure typically signals that NIST expects to be more actively engaged than it would be under a standard grant, which may include involvement in project direction, collaboration, or monitoring to help ensure the work stays aligned with program goals. The funding opportunity number is 2025 NIST RAMPS 01. The NOFO was created on 2025-05-01 and the original application closing date is 2025-07-01. NIST anticipates making around 16 awards. (The award ceiling is not specified in the provided source information.)

Eligibility is broad but clearly defined. RAMPS is open to all non-Federal entities, including accredited institutions of higher education, nonprofit organizations, for-profit organizations incorporated in the United States, and state, local, territorial, and Indian Tribal governments. At the same time, the NOFO draws firm boundaries around who cannot apply: individuals and unincorporated sole proprietors are not considered non-Federal entities for this program and therefore are ineligible, and foreign public entities and foreign organizations are also not eligible to apply. Federal entities are not eligible to receive RAMPS funding, but they may participate as collaborators as long as they do so without receiving funding under this award.

A key requirement is that the applicant must demonstrate, through partner commitment letters, that the proposed project is truly a multistakeholder workforce partnership and not just a single organization acting alone. Specifically, the application has to show that at least one institution of higher education or nonprofit training organization (that is not the applicant) is committed to participating, and that at least one local employer or an owner/operator of critical infrastructure (that is not the applicant) is also committed to participating. This requirement reinforces the program's focus on linking training supply to employer demand, while ensuring that employers and training providers have a real seat at the table from the start.

Beyond the minimum partner types required, the program strongly encourages broader ecosystem participation to increase reach and impact. Examples of encouraged partners include institutions involved in the Federal CyberCorps Scholarship for Service (SFS) Program, National Centers of Academic Excellence in Cybersecurity (NCAE-C) programs, and Advanced Technological Education (ATE) programs, as well as K-12 schools, training and certification providers, state and local governments, economic development organizations, and other community organizations. This emphasis suggests NIST is looking for partnerships that can span the full talent pipeline, from early awareness and preparation through postsecondary education, short-term training, credentialing, and direct connection to employment opportunities in cybersecurity and cybersecurity-adjacent roles.

Overall, RAMPS is designed to help communities build durable, coordinated workforce strategies that respond to employer-identified cybersecurity skill gaps, strengthen regional talent pipelines, and create practical pathways into cybersecurity jobs. The program prioritizes partnership-driven planning and execution, backed by documented commitments, with the goal of producing measurable workforce outcomes that matter to local employers and critical infrastructure operators.

• The National Institute of Standards and Technology in the science and technology and other research and development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Regional Alliances and Multistakeholder Partnerships to Stimulate (RAMPS) Cybersecurity Education and Workforce Development" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 11.620.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2025-05-01.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2025-07-01. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 16 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Others.

Apply for 2025 NIST RAMPS 01

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