OVC FY24 National Joint Training Conference for VOCA Victim Assistance and Victim Compensation Administrators (2022-2024) – Invited to Apply (Discontinued)

Human-Environment and Geographical Sciences Program (HEGS) is sponsored by National Science Foundation (NSF). Supports basic scientific research about the nature, causes, consequences, or evolution of the spatial dimensions of human behaviors, activities, and dynamics as well as their interactions with environmental and social processes across a range of scales. This includes research on socio-environmental systems and human-environmental interactions, which can encompass aspects of polycentric governance and common pool resources. The program has a new Transdisciplinary REsearch in Environmental Social Science (TREES) track for integrating social and environmental science.

The FY2026 Department of Defense Multidisciplinary University Research Initiative (MURI) program supports basic research in science and engineering at U.S. institutions of higher education, with emphasis on multidisciplinary research where more than one traditional discipline interacts. The Army, Navy, and Air Force basic research offices are seeking applications across 22 topic areas including artificial intelligence and autonomy, information sensing and processing, and systems manipulation. MURI grants typically provide $1.25 million to $1.5 million per year for three years with option to extend two additional years. Approximately $170 million in total funding is available annually across all topics. The program is administered through the Office of Naval Research (ONR), Army Research Office (ARO), and Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR).

The NSF Convergence Accelerator is a grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) that funds multidisciplinary teams working to solve national-scale societal challenges through convergence research and innovation. Launched in 2019 under NSF's Directorate for Technology, Innovation and Partnerships, the program operates in two phases: Phase 1 awards are up to $750,000, with successful teams advancing to larger Phase 2 awards. Eligible applicants include institutions of higher education and nonprofit or for-profit organizations. Track I and Track K focus on specific high-priority topics announced each funding cycle. The next deadline is June 15, 2026. Proposals must comply with updated NSF research security policies effective July 2025.

TechAccess: AI-Ready America (NSF 26-508) is a landmark national-scale initiative to accelerate AI readiness and adoption across the United States by establishing State/Territory Coordination Hubs. Each hub receives up to $1 million annually for three years (with a possible one-year extension) to serve as a central resource for AI education, workforce development, and technology deployment within their state or territory. Hubs are responsible for maintaining an AI Learning and Resource Navigator, strategic planning and evaluation for AI readiness, hands-on AI deployment support for businesses and government, training coordination across K-16 and workforce systems, and priority sector coordination in energy, agriculture, healthcare, and manufacturing. The program operates in three rounds: Round 1 selects 10 hubs (July 2026), Round 2 selects 20 hubs (January 2027), and Round 3 fills remaining slots (July 2027). This represents one of the largest federal investments in AI workforce readiness, aiming to ensure every state has coordinated AI adoption infrastructure.

The NSF CyberAICorps Scholarship for Service (CyberAI SFS) program is a new solicitation (NSF 26-503) that combines AI and cybersecurity education and workforce development into a unified program. It replaces the prior CyberCorps SFS program with expanded AI focus, reflecting the critical intersection of artificial intelligence and cybersecurity. The program has two tracks: the Scholarship Track supports institutions in providing scholarships to students pursuing AI and cybersecurity careers in government service, with student stipends of $27,000/year (undergraduate) or $37,000/year (graduate), plus tuition and professional development allowances. Recipients commit to government service equal to the length of their scholarship. The Innovation Track funds transformative educational projects developing new curricula, instructional materials, professional development programs, experiential learning, and communities of practice in AI and cybersecurity. The program reflects the growing national need for professionals who understand both AI systems and cybersecurity, including using AI for cybersecurity defense and securing AI systems themselves. Two scholarship track competitions run in 2026: FY2026 (April 3 target) and FY2027 (July 21 hard deadline).

The NSF Trailblazer Engineering Impact Award supports individual investigators who propose novel research projects with potential to catalyze new industries or capabilities and address national needs. Priority research areas explicitly include artificial intelligence, bioengineering, quantum engineering, robotics, and nuclear engineering, though proposals addressing other emerging engineering frontiers are considered. The program specifically encourages researchers to pursue new research directions distinct from their previous work, emphasizing transformative innovation. Awards provide up to $3 million over three years with a three-phase submission process: letters of intent due January 20 2026, preliminary proposals due March 10 2026, and full proposals due July 24 2026. Each project supports a single PI with no collaborative proposals or co-PIs permitted. Full proposals must include a workforce development plan. This program is distinct from the NSF Future Manufacturing program which supports larger convergent team projects and from the NSF National Robotics Initiative 3.0 which is specifically scoped to human-robot interaction research.

The USDA NRCS Conservation Innovation Grants (CIG) program is a competitive program that drives public and private sector innovation in natural resource conservation through projects that develop new tools, approaches, practices, and technologies for application on private lands. The program has three components: CIG Classic for national-scale innovation projects, CIG On-Farm Conservation Innovation Trials for field-testing new conservation approaches with farmers, and state-level CIG for localized innovation. CIG is increasingly funding AI and precision agriculture technologies, including machine learning-based irrigation scheduling, AI-enhanced soil health monitoring, precision application systems, drone and satellite-based crop monitoring using computer vision, and predictive analytics for conservation planning. Recent awards have included a $2.4 million University of Hawaii project for an AI-enhanced weather-based irrigation scheduling tool that uses machine learning to optimize water use. The program specifically targets innovative technologies not yet commonly adopted, making cutting-edge AI agricultural tools a strong fit. Projects must demonstrate on-the-ground conservation benefits addressing water quality, air quality, soil health, or wildlife habitat while improving agricultural operations. The 2026 cycle deadline has not yet been announced but typically falls in spring-summer, with announcements on Grants.gov. All projects require at least 1:1 non-federal matching funds, and NRCS evaluates proposals based on innovation, conservation impact, scalability, and partnership quality.

The NSF ACCESS (Advanced Cyberinfrastructure Coordination Ecosystem: Services & Support) program allocates compute time on NSF-funded high-performance computing systems including GPUs at TACC (Stampede3), PSC (Bridges-2 and Neocortex AI), SDSC (Expanse), NCSA (Delta), and other partner facilities for AI and ML research, training, and education. Four allocation tiers: Explore (one-page abstract, approved within days, ideal for course projects or initial AI exploration); Discover (small research projects); Accelerate (substantial AI/ML campaigns); Maximize (largest tier, semi-annual review with submissions June 15-July 31, 2026 for awards starting October 1, 2026). No PI status required — postdocs, graduate students, and faculty can apply independently. Particular emphasis on broadening participation: students at minority-serving institutions, primarily undergraduate institutions, and community colleges have streamlined paths. The Neocortex Cerebras CS-2 system at PSC offers specialized AI accelerator access for large-model training. ACCESS serves as the default entry point for U.S. academic researchers seeking GPU/TPU/accelerator access for AI projects without dedicated cluster access.

AHRQ funding opportunity PA-24-266 supports phased R21/R33 projects developing and testing digital healthcare solutions, including AI- and machine-learning-enabled tools, to improve the quality, safety, and effectiveness of healthcare delivery. The R21 exploratory phase provides up to roughly $275,000 and the R33 development phase up to roughly $1,000,000, enabling teams to move promising digital and AI health innovations from concept toward validated, deployable solutions.

Air Force SBIR topic DAF26BX04-DP025 seeks very low-cost kinetic defeat solutions for countering small unmanned aircraft systems (C-sUAS), emphasizing AI-enabled autonomous detection, tracking, targeting, and interception of hostile drones. The goal is affordable, scalable counter-drone systems that use machine learning and autonomy to identify and neutralize threats with minimal operator burden. The topic funds a Direct-to-Phase-II style effort up to roughly $2 million. Proposals close August 19, 2026.

DevX Autonomy is an open-call solicitation from the Army Applications Laboratory seeking autonomous and unmanned system solutions, including AI-based perception, navigation, and multi-agent coordination for ground and aerial platforms. The program accepts proposals on rolling monthly deadlines and makes awards generally between $500,000 and $2,000,000 to small businesses and innovators developing embodied autonomy technologies.