Notice of Funding Opportunity for the Rural Economic Development Loan and Grant Programs for Fiscal Year 2026 is sponsored by Agriculture Department; Rural Business-Cooperative Service. The Rural Business-Cooperative Service (RBCS or Agency), a Rural Development (RD) agency of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), invites applications for loans and grants under the Rural Economic Development Loan and Grant Programs (REDLG or Programs) for fiscal year (FY) 2026, subject to the availability of funding. This notice is being issued prior to the passage of a FY 2026 Appropriations Act, which may or may not provide funding for this program, to allow applicants sufficient time to leverage financing, prepare and submit their applications, and give the Agency time to process applications within FY 2026. Based on FY 2025 appropriated funding and current budget situation, the Agency estimates that approximately $50,000,000 for Loans and $10,000,000 for Grants will be available for FY 2026. Successful applications will be selected by the Agency for funding and subsequently awarded to the extent that funding may ultimately be made available through appropriations. All applicants are responsible for any expenses incurred in developing their applications. Action: Notice. Published in the Federal Register on 2025-09-15. Federal Register document number: 2025-17770.

Notice of Funding Opportunities for the Strategic Economic and Community Development Program for FY 2026 is sponsored by Agriculture Department; Rural Business-Cooperative Service; Rural Housing Service. The Under Secretary for Rural Development (RD or Agency) is seeking applications for the Strategic Economic and Community Development (SECD) priority, as reauthorized by Section 6401 of the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018 (2018 Farm Bill) for projects that support multi-jurisdictional and multi-sectoral strategic community investment plans. In Fiscal Year (FY) 2026, the covered RD programs will implement SECD by reserving loan and grant funds from the appropriations of the programs covered by this funding priority. This notice describes the requirements by which RD will consider projects eligible for covered programs' reserved funds and information needed to submit an application. Information on FY 2026 funding amounts can be found under SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION, section B. Federal Award Information of this notice. Published in the Federal Register on 2026-02-02. Federal Register document number: 2026-01934.

The Department of Defense FY2026 Defense University Research Instrumentation Program (DURIP) provides funding for U.S. universities to acquire research equipment and instrumentation in areas important to national defense, including AI and machine learning hardware. The program is administered jointly by the Army Research Office (ARO), Office of Naval Research (ONR), and Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR), with approximately $34 million available and 95 awards anticipated. DURIP funds the acquisition of specialized computing hardware for AI/ML research (GPU clusters, TPUs, neuromorphic processors), robotics and autonomous systems testbeds, sensor arrays and data collection systems for machine learning training, high-performance computing infrastructure for defense-relevant AI research, and laboratory equipment for human-AI interaction studies. The program specifically supports equipment that enhances research-related education in DoD-priority disciplines. While general-purpose computing is not eligible, computing equipment directly supporting DoD-relevant AI research programs qualifies. No cost sharing is required.