Federal grant programs / Department of Homeland Security

Centers for Homeland Security (97.061)

Also known as (COE)

• Awarded, FY 2021 to 2025$141 million
• Grant awards10
• Typical award$17.6 million
• Awarded in FY 2025$250,000
• Size rank704 of 1,823
• Type of assistanceCooperative agreements, project grants

Key findings

• Annual funding fell from $25.7 million in fiscal 2021 to $250,000 in fiscal 2025.
• It is the 704th largest of 1,823 federal grant programs by five-year awards.
• The 9 largest recipients received 100% of the money.
• Awards went to recipients in 9 states and territories.

What the program funds

The goal of the DHS Centers of Excellence (COE) program is to engage the academic community to conduct strategic and innovative research and education in support of DHS's strategic mission goals. The overarching objectives of the COE program are to: (1) develop and transition impactful mission-relevant science and technology; (2) create strategic partnerships among universities, commercial interests, and public agencies; (3) educate the next generation of homeland security technical experts; and (4) train the current workforce in the latest scientific applications. DHS COEs are multidisciplinary, university-led consortia that engage leading experts to conduct groundbreaking research on threats facing the Homeland. The DHS COEs work closely with DHS Components, as well as other homeland security operators at state, local, and tribal levels to research, develop and transition mission-relevant science and technology solutions. Additionally, the DHS COEs also work to educate the current and next generation of highly skilled homeland security science and engineering professionals. To accomplish this objective, DHS S&T has developed the following DHS Centers of Excellence (COEs) and associated objectives: The Arctic Domain Awareness Center: Addressing Rapid Changes through Technology, Innovation, and Collaboration (ADAC-ARCTIC) conducts research and education activities to addresses critical gaps for federal state, local and tribal operators with Arctic homeland security missions, tackling challenges such as maritime safety, infrastructure protection, and emergency response. The Center for Accelerating Operational Efficiency (CAOE) develops enhanced analytic tools to enable homeland security operators to realize achievable improvements in operational efficiency, and to support real-time decisions related to homeland security threats and hazards. The research will aid in identifying the economic impact of security threats and hazards, and to critically assess risks to operators missions and the people and property they protect. The Cross Border Threat Screening and Supply Chain Defense (CBTS) Center develops solutions, protocols, and capabilities that detect, assess, and respond to known and unknown biological threats and hazards that could adversely impact the Nation’s people, agriculture, and economy. The Critical Infrastructure Resilience Institute (CIRI) conducts research that enhances the ability to prepare and more rapidly recover from catastrophic disruptions, supporting DHS, State, Local and industry partners ability to solve complex, interdisciplinary challenges that affect critical infrastructure. The Coastal Resilience Center (CRC) conducts research that strengthens the Nation’s ability to safeguard people, infrastructure, and economies from catastrophic hazards such as floods and hurricanes. The overarching goal of the Center is to advance the understanding of coastal hazards and support successful planning and recovery by the public and private entities most impacted by these events. The Soft-target Engineering to Neutralize the Threat Reality (SENTRY) Center focuses efforts to protect transportation environments and public venues, improving systems of collaboration across the many public and private entities, mainly at the state and local levels, as well as producing new engineering approaches to securing crowded spaces with novel design concepts. The goal of SENTRY is to advance research that safeguards spaces where traditional methods to physical security are impractical to implement at scale. The National Counterterrorism Innovation, Technology, and Education (NCITE) Center conducts research and develops solutions, tools, and capabilities to support homeland security and law enforcement operations at Federal, State and Local levels to detect, assess, and respond to terrorist activities that would harm the people, infrastructure and economy of the United States.

From the federal Assistance Listing. Read the full listing on SAM.gov.

Open opportunities

No opportunity under this program is open or forecast on Grants.gov right now. Programs often post once a year, so the funding history below shows what to expect.

Rules from the program listing

Who can apply

Eligible applicants are accredited U.S. institutions of higher education.

What the money can and cannot pay for

The funds may be used for research and educational purposes. Per program authorization within the Homeland Security Act. Refer to Program Guidance.;

Matching requirements

This program has no statutory formula. Matching requirements are not applicable to this assistance listing. MOE requirements are not applicable to this assistance listing.

Quoted from the program's federal Assistance Listing. The notice of funding opportunity is the official source for each competition's rules.

Who usually wins

Colleges and universities received 74% of the money, state and local governments 26%.

By state

8 states have a page for this program: those that received at least $1 million or 10 awards.

Award amounts are federal obligations reported to USAspending.gov for fiscal 2021 to 2025; see how our data works.