Grants / Department of Defense / Washington Headquarters Services

HQ003425NFOEASD04: Defense Innovation OnRamp

Closed Closed January 27, 2025 Opportunity HQ003425NFOEASD04 ☆ Save

This grant is closed. Who won this program's grants before is below, and similar open grants are at the end of the page. It is in our archive of Washington Headquarters Services notices from 2024.

• Award ceiling$40.0 million
• Expected awards1
• Cost sharingNot required
• Funding typeCooperative Agreement

Key dates

Who can apply

This opportunity was open to the applicants described in the notice.

• Others (see text field entitled "Additional Information on Eligibility" for clarification)

Only U.S. organizations are eligible.

Is this a realistic fit?

• Past Congressionally Directed Assistance awards averaged $16.9 million; this notice allows up to $40.0 million per award.
• Most of the program's money (68% over five years) went to nonprofits.
• No cost sharing or match is required.

What the grant funds

The Defense Innovation Unit (DIU), Office of the Secretary of Defense, is interested in receiving proposals for its Defense Innovation OnRamp. DIU is building a unified Defense Innovation OnRamp, which will include Flagship DIU offices, physical presence via a distributed team, physical and digital OnRamp Hubs, and other relationships with the academic, startup, and commercial sectors to enable non-traditional, dual-use, and/or commercial technology companies to work with the Department of Defense to rapidly support warfighter needs. The Defense Innovation Unit is focused on strengthening the national security innovation base by lowering the barriers to entry for talent and non-traditional companies to work with DoD. The Defense Innovation OnRamp is a core part of DIU’s strategy to develop a robust regional presence in order to tap into the extant commercial technology ecosystems and innovation base. This strategy includes distributed DIU offices, a regional team, OnRamp Hubs, and other relationships with the academic, startup and commercial sectors. At present, DIU operates out of 5 regional offices, has approximately 30 regionally focused representatives, and partners with over 100 universities. In the last year, DIU, with extensive support from Congress, established five OnRamp Hubs in Phoenix, Arizona; Dayton, Ohio; Honolulu, Hawaii; Seattle, Washington, and Wichita, Kansas. The recipient(s) will design, develop and manage a network of offices, physical and digital hubs, and other collaborative partnerships and projects designed to lower the barriers for entry for commercial and dual-use technology into the DoD. This will involve collaboration between a diverse set of stakeholders including private industry, private capital, research organizations, government stakeholders, academia, regional economic development organizations, DoD mission partners, other government entities, and others, with the intent of sourcing, developing, and executing viable solutions that lower entry barriers while attracting and helping scale new commercial technology and talent into the national security innovation base. The recipient(s) sought for this NFO will provide direction to improve the ways in which non-traditional companies and talent can work with the Department of Defense and grow regional defense innovation ecosystems, and oversee the execution.

Category: Other.

Applying now

This notice no longer takes applications. Agencies often post the same opportunity again under a new number, so check the program's notices on Grants.gov and the similar open grants below.

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