The Department of Defense (DoD) has issued a Broad Agency Announcement for a new competition in the Minerva Research Initiative (MRI). This Initiative, initially fostered by former Secretary of Defense Robert Gates' interest in greater DoD involvement with the social sciences, "draws upon the knowledge, ideas, and creativity of the nation's universities, to foster a new generation of engaged scholarship in these sciences that seeks to meet the challenges of the 21st century."
According to DoD, "the goal of the Minerva Initiative is to improve DoD's basic understanding of the social, cultural, behavioral, and political forces that shape regions of the world of strategic importance to the U.S." The research program will:
- Leverage and focus the resources of the Nation's top universities, analogous to the Cold War development of Kremlinology and game theory.
- Seek to define and develop foundational knowledge about sources of present and future conflict with an eye toward better understanding of the political trajectories of key regions of the world.
- Improve the ability of DoD to develop cutting-edge social science research, foreign area and interdisciplinary studies, which is developed and vetted by the best scholars in these fields.
In 2009, DoD funded seven awards in its program and another 17 in a joint solicitation with the National Science Foundation.
The 2011 MRI solicits white papers and full proposals that propose basic research in the following seven topics:
- Strategic Impact of Religious and Cultural Changes
- Terrorism and Terrorist Ideologies
- Science, Technology and Military Transformations in China and Developing States
- National Security Implications of Energy and Environmental Stress
- New Theories of Cross-Domain Deterrence
- Regime and Social Dynamics in Failed, Failing, and Fragile Authoritarian States
- New Approaches to Understanding Dimensions of National Security, Conflict, and Cooperation
DoD will consider proposals both for single-investigator awards as well as larger, multi-institution teams. DoD anticipates that the single investigator awards will range from $30,000 to $500,000 per year, with typical awards in the range of $100,000 to $300,000 per year. Awards in the upper end of the range will be made only for extremely meritorious proposals. Each individual award will be for a maximum term of three years.
Large team awards will range from $500,000 to $2 million per year, with typical awards in the range of $1 million to $1.5 million per year. Awards in the upper end of the range will be made only for extremely meritorious proposals. Each team award will be for a three year base period with one two-year option period to bring the total maximum term of the award to five years.
This MRI competition is open to institutions of higher education (universities), including DOD institutions of higher education and foreign universities. Non-profit institutions and commercial entities are also eligible to compete as collaborators on university-led proposals.
The applications will undergo a multi-stage evaluation procedure. The respective evaluation panels composed of government subject matter experts and members of the academic community will assess proposals first. Findings of the evaluation panels will then be forwarded to senior DoD officials who will make funding recommendations to the awarding officials standard criteria in addition to program balance and the availability of funds.
Response Due Dates:White Papers: Thursday, 1 September 2011. Full Proposals: Monday, 7 November 2011.
For further information contact: Dr. Erin Fitzgerald, Erin.Fitzgerald.ctr@osd.mil.
For the full solicitation go to:
http://www.arl.army.mil/www/pages/8/research/Minerva_Draft_BAA_Final_July2011.pdf