Basic Scientific Research (12.431)
Basic Scientific Research (Assistance Listing 12.431) is run by the Department of the Army, part of the Department of Defense. It awarded $2.8 billion in 3,478 grants from fiscal 2021 to 2025, about $814,091 per award on average. 13 funding opportunities are open or forecast now.
The typical award was $249,955. Half of the 3,478 awards fell between $99,454 and $524,691, and they ranged from $255 to $106 million.
- Awarded, FY 2021 to 2025$2.8 billion
- Grant awards3,478
- Typical award$249,955
- Awarded in FY 2025$557 million
- Size rank127 of 1824
- Type of assistanceProject grants
Key findings
- Annual funding rose from $528 million in fiscal 2021 to $557 million in fiscal 2025.
- It is the 127th largest of 1,824 federal grant programs by five-year awards.
- The 20 largest recipients received 41% of the money.
- Awards went to recipients in 50 states and territories.
What the program funds
To support basic research, and enhance fundamental knowledge in the chemical, life, physical, engineering, materials, mechanical, computing, information, network, mathematical, earth, and social sciences, related to long-term national security needs. The insights gained from this research hold significant promise for advancing Army programs and operations.
Open opportunities
- Fiscal Year (FY) 2027 Department of War (DoW) Defense University Research Instrumentation Program (DURIP)
- UNITED STATES MILITARY ACADEMY Broad Agency Announcement
- FY26 DEFENSE ESTABLISHED PROGRAM TO STIMULATE COMPETITIVE RESEARCH (DEPSCoR) – RESEARCH COLLABORATION (RC)
- FY26 DEFENSE ESTABLISHED PROGRAM TO STIMULATE COMPETITIVE RESEARCH (DEPSCoR) CAPACITY BUILDING (CB)
- Fiscal Year (FY) 2027 Department of War (DoW) Multidisciplinary Research Program of the University Research Initiative (MURI)
- LPS Qubit Collaboratory (LQC)
- DEVCOM ARMY RESEARCH LABORATORY BROAD AGENCY ANNOUNCEMENT FOR FOUNDATIONAL RESEARCH
- DEVCOM ANALYSIS CENTER BROAD AGENCY ANNOUNCEMENT FOR APPLIED RESEARCH
- ARMY APPLICATIONS LAB BROAD AGENCY ANNOUNCEMENT FOR DISRUPTIVE APPLICATIONS
- US Army Combat Capabilities Development Command Broad Agency Announcement
- Staff Research Program
- Low-Cost Chip-Scale Atomic Clock (LC CSAC)
- Broad Agency Announcement for Fundamental AI Research
Rules from the program listing
Who can apply
Eligible applicants under this BAA include institutions of higher education, nonprofit organizations, state and local governments, foreign organizations, foreign public entities, and for-profit organizations (i.e. large and small businesses). Awards will not be made to individuals.
What the money can and cannot pay for
Basic Research in the mathematical, physical, engineering, biological and geosciences providing knowledge necessary for the Army to make informed decisions about further exploratory development to provide the technology base from which Army capabilities are drawn. Partial support of symposia in the listed disciplines. Programs to encourage careers in science and engineering by supporting outstanding graduate, undergraduate and high school students pursuing studies in areas of Army concern. Programs to increase the number of science and engineering graduates from under-represented minority groups. Programs providing means for universities to buy major, high-cost research equipment.
Matching requirements
This program has no statutory formula. Matching requirements are not applicable to this assistance listing. This program has MOE requirements, see funding agency for further details. Not Applicable
Award range and average, in the agency's words
Range: $1,374,000.00-$1,500,000.00 and Average Award: $1,457,744.00
Examples of funded projects
Fiscal Year2018: INTERNET OF BATTLEFIELD THINGS - The overall objective is to develop the fundamental understanding of dynamically-composable, adaptive, goal-driven Internet of Battlefield Things (IoBTs) to enable predictive analytics for intelligent command and control and battlefield services. DCIST -Develop the underpinning science to extend the reach, situational awareness, and operational effectiveness of Intelligent System/Soldier teams against dynamic threats in complex and contested environments and provide technical and operational superiority through fast, intelligent, resilient and collaborative behaviors.Fiscal Year2021: Develop Protein Crystal Polymer Hybrids; Listening to the Bioelectronic Signature of Cells; Corrosion Investigation and Modeling; Decoding Multisensory Information at Different Spatiotemporal Scales of Neuronal Resolution; Social Intelligent Agents; and Experimental Strain-Based Tissue Damage Analysis to Model Impact and Blast-Induced Traumatic Brain Injury Scenarios.Fiscal Year2023: Example 1: Texas Tech University was awarded a grant W911NF2410035 for effort titled “Using fNIRS to Predict and Diagnose the Cause of Performance Decrements in Vigilance Tasks: An Initial Investigation in a Simulated Automated Platoon Task” in the amount of $57,918.
Funding history and past recipients
From fiscal 2021 to 2025, Basic Scientific Research (12.431) awarded$2.8 billion across 3,478 grant awards, an average of $814,091 per award.
Who usually wins
Colleges and universities received 81% of the money, nonprofits 9.0% and businesses 7.6%.
| Recipient type | Awards | Amount | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Colleges and universities | 2,687 | $2.3 billion | 81% |
| Nonprofits | 646 | $256 million | 9.0% |
| Businesses | 56 | $214 million | 7.6% |
| Small businesses | 53 | $62.0 million | 2.2% |
| Other | 35 | $14.8 million | 0.5% |
| State and local governments | 1 | $300,000 | less than 0.1% |
By state
49 states have a page for this program: those that received at least $1 million or 10 awards.
| State | Awards | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| California | 370 | $348 million |
| Maryland | 125 | $319 million |
| Massachusetts | 199 | $300 million |
| Texas | 203 | $221 million |
| Pennsylvania | 138 | $175 million |
| Tennessee | 475 | $111 million |
| North Carolina | 120 | $108 million |
| Illinois | 141 | $104 million |
| New York | 204 | $96.2 million |
| Indiana | 86 | $71.1 million |
| Florida | 97 | $59.3 million |
| New Jersey | 63 | $55.2 million |
| West Virginia | 4 | $51.0 million |
| Michigan | 87 | $49.9 million |
| Virginia | 98 | $47.1 million |
| Montana | 13 | $43.5 million |
| Wisconsin | 45 | $43.0 million |
| Arkansas | 20 | $41.5 million |
| Minnesota | 35 | $37.7 million |
| Missouri | 58 | $34.4 million |
| Colorado | 73 | $33.1 million |
| Connecticut | 34 | $31.8 million |
| Arizona | 65 | $31.4 million |
| Georgia | 52 | $30.8 million |
| Ohio | 39 | $27.3 million |
| Kentucky | 9 | $27.1 million |
| Washington | 35 | $26.2 million |
| Delaware | 27 | $25.6 million |
| Alabama | 25 | $18.4 million |
| District of Columbia | 34 | $17.9 million |
| North Dakota | 7 | $17.0 million |
| Iowa | 24 | $12.1 million |
| South Carolina | 32 | $11.5 million |
| Rhode Island | 61 | $10.1 million |
| South Dakota | 5 | $9.9 million |
| Mississippi | 8 | $9.8 million |
| New Mexico | 22 | $8.7 million |
| Oklahoma | 18 | $8.4 million |
| New Hampshire | 9 | $7.3 million |
| Louisiana | 13 | $4.7 million |
| Nebraska | 10 | $4.0 million |
| Oregon | 9 | $3.3 million |
| Nevada | 8 | $3.0 million |
| Idaho | 4 | $3.0 million |
| Utah | 13 | $2.7 million |
| Kansas | 8 | $2.4 million |
| Hawaii | 3 | $2.1 million |
| Wyoming | 1 | $1.7 million |
| Vermont | 5 | $1.6 million |
| Puerto Rico | 2 | $420,624 |