FY2018 Office of Naval Research (ONR) Young Investigator Program (YIP)

Description

The Office of Naval Research (ONR) is interested in receiving proposals for its Young Investigator Program (YIP). ONR's Young Investigator Program (YIP) seeks to identify and support academic scientists and engineers who are in their first or second full-time tenure-track or tenure-track-equivalent academic appointment, have begun their first appointment on or after 31 December 2012, and who show exceptional promise for doing creative research. The objectives of this program are to attract outstanding faculty members of Institutions of Higher Education (hereafter also called "universities") to the Department of the Navy's Science and Technology (S&T) research program, to support their research, and to encourage their teaching and research careers.Proposals addressing research areas (as described in the ONR Science and Technology Department section of ONR's website at www.onr.navy.mil) which are of interest to ONR program officers will be considered. Contact information for each division (a subgroup of an S&T Department) is also listed within the S&T section of the website. Applicants are STRONGLY ENCOURAGED to contact the appropriate Program Officer who is the point of contact for a specific technical area to discuss their research ideas. A list of most Program Officers and their contact information can be found at: http://www.onr.navy.mil/en/Science-Technology/Contacts.aspxBrief informal pre-proposals may be submitted to facilitate these discussions but are not required. Such discussions can clarify the content and breadth of the priority research areas and enhance the match between a subsequent proposal and Department of the Navy research needs. Please allow adequate time for such discussions with the ONR Program Officer. An individual wishing to apply for a Young Investigator award must submit a research proposal and at least one letter of support through the appropriate university officials. Refer to Section V “Evaluation Criteria” regarding the importance of the letter(s) of support in the overall evaluation criteria and Section IV “Application and Submission Information” regarding its content. Applications received without at least one letter of support will be considered incomplete and will not be considered for award. The research proposal should follow the format described in FOA Section IV entitled, “Application and Submission Information.”Applicants may request up to $170,000 per year for three (3) years. These funds may be budgeted against any reasonable costs related to conducting the proposed research, for example, salary for the Young Investigator, graduate student support, supplies, and applicable indirect cost. Additional funds (beyond the basic $170,000 yearly amount) for capital equipment which enhances the Young Investigator's proposed research may be requested for the first budget period based on the needs of the research. Requesting funds for capital equipment will not decrease the probability of receiving an award. Additional support for equipment will be decided separately from award selections and will depend upon availability of funds.Applicants awarded grants under the ONR Young Investigator Program have the opportunity to supplement the basic $170,000 per year award through a "matching funds" enhancement available only to those receiving an ONR award. Proposals submitted against this FOA do not require applicants to identify if they will seek “matching funds” or provide additional documentation. As an incentive for becoming involved with other Department of the Navy research activities, the Office of the Director of Research of ONR may match on a 1-for-1 basis, the first $25,000 of additional Department of the Navy funding which a successful applicant obtains each year to support additional, collaborative research with a Navy laboratory during the YIP award. Potential sources of research support eligible for the 1-for-1 match include Navy laboratories and ONR Program Officers. Thus, these "matching funds" can provide research support over and above the basic $170,000 per year award (e.g., an additional graduate student; additional research task; etc.).A Young Investigator is not prohibited from receiving more than $25,000 from other Department of the Navy sources; however, the Office of the Director of Research will match on a 1-for-1 basis only the first $25,000 each year, if funds are available. Other Navy support eligible for matching funds can be arranged at any time and generally will not have been identified at the time of the initial award. ONR Program Officers may assist, upon request, Young Investigators in identifying potential collaborators at Navy laboratories or other Navy organizations interested in funding additional research.Upon completion of the three (3) year award period, Young Investigators may apply for continued support under ONR's Long Range BAA. Decisions about continued funding outside the context of the YIP will be made following a review of the new proposal by the appropriate Program Officer based on the merits of the proposal, ONR's research priorities, and the creativity and productivity exhibited during the previous Young Investigator research program.The ONR Young Investigator Program is highly competitive with typically less than 10 percent of applicants receiving awards. In 2017 more than 360 proposals were submitted resulting in 34 Young Investigator awards. Past awardees have submitted outstanding research proposals and possessed outstanding records of prior professional accomplishments. Given that "past performance" is a selection criterion, applicants are advised that the biographical information submitted as part of the proposal (see "Qualifications" under "Proposal Content,” below) should list all relevant past and present activities. See Section V, “Evaluation Criteria” for more details regarding evaluation of submitted proposals.A proposals not selected for the Young Investigator Program may still be considered for an ONR grant award. The proposal would be in competition with all other research proposals submitted in response to ONR solicitations. Historically, only a limited number of proposals initially submitted to the YIP FOA have been awarded other funds. The YIP is not a "research initiation" opportunity with standards that are less demanding than ONR's other research grant programs; instead, it is intended to confer honor upon awardees beyond the funding being provided. Consideration of any YIP proposal to another ONR research grant program is at the discretion of the program officer.

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