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.