Discovery Challenge Thrusts (DCTs) | Apply Online

Opportunity Summary:

The Discovery Challenge Thrusts (DCTs) opportunity is a special Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) issued by the Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR) to support high-impact basic research aligned with a set of defined “thrust” topic areas described in the full announcement. The program is set up to fund cutting-edge scientific work that tackles fundamental problems, with an emphasis on ambitious ideas that can move a research area forward rather than incremental extensions of existing work. AFOSR indicates that proposed research should be responsive to the specific challenges and goals laid out in the topic write-ups in the full BAA, and applicants are encouraged to discuss fit and scope with the relevant AFOSR program manager early in the process.

The solicitation is designed for interdisciplinary research efforts and anticipates that many projects will be executed by teams that combine complementary expertise needed to address complex challenges. Multi-investigator collaboration is strongly encouraged, but it is not a strict requirement, meaning a single investigator could still apply if the proposed approach credibly covers the needed skills and depth. The expected period of performance is three years, and AFOSR anticipates making multiple awards. The funding instrument types listed include grants, cooperative agreements, and procurement contracts, indicating AFOSR may select the mechanism that best matches the nature of the work and the level of government involvement expected.

In terms of funding scale, AFOSR notes that the total resources available will depend on proposal quality and available funds, but the total is expected not to exceed roughly $3 million per year across the program. The announcement suggests an approximate distribution of about $1 million per year for each of three topic areas, implying that awards may be organized around three distinct thrusts with separate technical leadership and budgets. Exact award sizes and counts are not fixed in the synopsis and are likely clarified in the full announcement and dependent on the proposed scope, technical merit, and portfolio balance.

Eligibility is broadly open: “all responsible” applicants from academia and industry may submit, with no set-aside for any particular group. At the same time, AFOSR explicitly encourages participation from small businesses, historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs), minority institutions, and minority researchers. There is no cost-sharing or matching requirement, although voluntary cost sharing is encouraged. The funding opportunity falls under CFDA 12.800, Air Force Defense Research Sciences Program, and is categorized under Science and Technology and other Research and Development.

AFOSR also encourages (but does not require) submission of a short white paper, capped at five pages, summarizing the core idea and, importantly, explaining how it is different from what others are doing. This is a common way to get early feedback on relevance and novelty before investing in a full proposal. In addition, coordination with the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) is encouraged but not mandatory, suggesting that proposals that connect to AFRL interests or capabilities may be viewed favorably, but applicants are not obligated to build that relationship to be eligible or competitive.

Key dates from the synopsis show the opportunity was posted March 31, 2008, with an original and current closing date of July 1, 2008, and an archive date of July 31, 2008. Applicants are directed to retrieve the complete requirements, topic descriptions, and submission instructions through the “FULL ANNOUNCEMENT” section on Grants.gov (accessed by selecting the full announcement box at the top of the synopsis page). For technical questions, the synopsis points applicants to the program manager contacts listed within each topic section of the full announcement, and for electronic access issues it provides a point of contact: Ricky Christie, Procurement Analyst, at 703-696-5968.

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