The Department of Defense's Multidisciplinary University Research Initiative (MURI) funds high-risk basic research projects through the Office of Naval Research, Army Research Office, and Air Force Office of Scientific Research. This grant opportunity does not cover the cost of proposal creation, and submissions will not be returned. Research should aim for groundbreaking outcomes in science, economic growth, and military technology. Awards are typically grants, but the Army Research Office may also use cooperative agreements. The terms will align with federal guidelines for grants. No further formal information requests or solicitations will be issued.

The Department of Defense (DoD) Multidisciplinary University Research Initiative (MURI), one element of the University Research Initiatives (URI), is sponsored by the DoD research offices. Those offices include the Office of Naval Research (ONR), the Army Research Office (ARO), and the Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR) (hereafter collectively referred to as "DoD agencies" or “DoD”).

This publication constitutes a Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) as contemplated in the Department of Defense Grants and Agreements regulations (DoDGARS) 32 CFR 22.315(a). The DoD agencies reserve the right to fund all, some, or none of the proposals received under this FOA. The DoD agencies provide no funding for direct reimbursement of proposal development costs. Technical and budget proposals (or any other material) submitted in response to this FOA will not be returned. It is the policy of the DoD agencies to treat all white papers and proposals submitted under this FOA as sensitive competitive information and to disclose their contents only for the purposes of evaluation.

A formal Request for Proposals (RFP), solicitation, and/or additional information regarding this announcement will not be issued.

DoD's MURI program addresses high-risk basic research and attempts to understand or achieve something that has never been done before. The program was initiated over 35 years ago and it has regularly produced significant scientific breakthroughs with far reaching consequences to the fields of science, economic growth, and revolutionary new military technologies. Key to the program’s success is the close management of the MURI projects by Service Program Officers and their active role in providing research guidance.

Awards will take the form of grants. FOR ARO SUBMISSIONS ONLY, awards will take the form of grants and/or cooperative agreements. Any assistance instrument awarded under this announcement will be governed by the award terms and conditions that conform to DoD’s implementation of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) circulars applicable to financial assistance. Terms and conditions will reflect DoD implementation of OMB guidance in 2 CFR Part 200, “Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards.”