Our editorial team is keeping abreast of the current status of federally funded opportunities. Such opportunities advertised here, to our knowledge at time of publication, are active. However, please continue to check solicitation websites for updates to U.S. Government opportunities of interest.

What is a Limited Submission?

A limited submission solicitation places a cap on the number of proposals Auburn may submit to a sponsor. Auburn coordinates limited submissions with notifications via this newsletter and competitions created in the Auburn University Competition Space (InfoReady). To apply to any limited submission posted in this newsletter, click on the link within the announcement. Please refer to the Limited Submission Procedures page for a general list of requirements.

Found a Limited Submission opportunity that interests you?

If so, please contact the PSFS office sooner than later so that an internal competition can be created for a timely, university-wide, fair and equitable selection process that allows for ample time for review, feedback and revisions.

DOS: Feed the Future Innovation Labs

The Office of Global Food Security of the U.S. Department of State invites eligible applicants to submit a statement of interest (SOI) to serve as a Management Entity to design, host, and lead a Feed the Future Innovation Lab (FtF Innovation Lab). U.S. investments in agricultural research through the FtF Innovation Labs benefit the world’s poorest regions while also providing major benefits in the United States. The FtF Innovation Labs are structured to advance progress toward poverty reduction and hunger by developing innovative solutions that address the root causes of poverty and hunger through targeted research that meets one or both of the following core objectives: 


(1) Advances agricultural science and research to increase productivity, mitigate threats to production systems, and support food systems to reduce hunger and malnutrition through enhanced supply of nutritious and safe foods; and/or 


(2) Increases demand for individual and household consumption of nutritious, safe foods as part of healthy diets, and improves market pathways and opportunities for government and private sector actors to promote consumption of nutritious and safe foods.

Institutional Limit: Two (2) Applications

Internal Deadline: March 19, 2026, 4:45pm

**Funder Statement of Interest Due: April 9, 2026, 11:59pm ET
(funder due date has been extended from April 3 as listed in the NOFO)

Funding Opportunities

Samsung: Strategic Alliance for Research and Technology (START)

Samsung's START Program aims to identify emerging technologies and conduct frontier research in collaboration with the academic community. As part of SRA's expanding efforts to strengthen industry-academic partnerships, this program enables researchers to work with R&D teams on early-stage innovations in various topics, including Robotics/Physical AI, Agentic AI, Multimedia, Digital Health & Advanced Sensors for Health and related topics.

Abstracts Due: March 24, 2026, 5:00pm PT

DOE: Early Career Research Program 2026

The purpose of this program is to support the development of individual research 

programs of outstanding scientists early in their careers and to stimulate research careers in the areas supported by the Office of Science.

Early career researchers may apply to one of seven Office of Science program offices: Advanced Scientific Computing Research; Biological and Environmental Research; Basic Energy Sciences; Fusion Energy Sciences; High Energy Physics; Nuclear Physics; and Isotope R&D and Production. Proposed research topics must fall within the programmatic priorities of DOE’s Office of Science, which are provided in the program announcement.

To be eligible for the program, a researcher must be an untenured, tenure-track assistant or associate professor at a U.S. academic institution who is within 10 years of having earned a doctorate degree. 

Pre-Applications Due: March 24, 2026, 5:00pm ET

Ovarian Cancer Research Alliance (OCRA): Collaborative Research Development Grant – Microsoft AI for Health

This program supports innovative research on ovarian and related gynecologic cancers utilizing AI or machine learning. Interdisciplinary collaborations within or across institutions to advance oncology, gynecology, and computational methodologies for improved cancer understanding and treatment are encouraged.

LOIs Due: March 25, 2026, 5:00pm ET

National Academies Gulf Research Program

Early Career Research Fellowship: Community Track - Climate Risk, Health & Decision Making 

This program invites applied research that identifies how climate-related stressors (e.g., heat, flooding, pollution) affect human health, community resilience, and regional economies. Based on stakeholder/community demand and consultation, fellows should collect and analyze data, create tools, models, or communication approaches that connect climate science to local decision-making and public health interventions. All proposed projects must focus on communities within the U.S. Gulf region.

Applications Due: March 25, 2026, 5:00pm ET

***

Workforce Development for the Energy Transition

This funding opportunity supports the development of educational programs that will enable participants to acquire skills, knowledge, and credentials to enter careers involved in the decommissioning of orphaned and abandoned oil and gas wells.

Specifically, the GRP is seeking applications for sustainable, data-driven, industry-engaged projects that will provide education and training opportunities for participants without a bachelor’s degree and ready those participants to become part of the orphaned and abandoned well-decommissioning workforce. Preference will be given to projects that provide competencies for decommissioning wells in an offshore environment. 

Applications Due: April 8, 2026, 5:00pm ET

National Fish & Wildlife Federation: National Coastal Resilience Fund

The National Coastal Resilience Fund invests in nature-based conservation projects to protect coastal communities from natural hazards like storms and floods by restoring, increasing and strengthening natural infrastructure (coastal marshes and wetlands, dune and beach systems, oyster and coral reefs, rivers and floodplains, coastal forest, and barrier) thus also restoring and improving fish and wildlife habitat.

**Non-federal match is not required but is encouraged to demonstrate broad support for the project, especially for larger scale and/or higher budgeted projects.

Preliminary Proposals Due: March 31, 2026, 11:59pm ET

Creative Capital Award and State of the Art Prize

Creative Capital Award supports experimental and bold projects across visual arts, performing arts, film, literature, and technology. Emphasizing interdisciplinary and socially engaged practices, it seeks to push thematic and formal boundaries, fostering groundbreaking ideas that redefine artistic expression and impact.

The State of the Art Prize aims to recognize and support one artist from every U.S. state and inhabited territory, with an unrestricted artist grant of $10,000. The State of the Art Prize recipients will be selected from the Creative Capital Award applicants.

Applications Due: April 2, 2026, 3:00pm ET

Alabama Department of Economic & Community Affairs (ADECA): Alabama Research & Development Enhancement Fund (ARDEF)

The purpose of the ARDEF Program is to encourage new and continuing efforts to conduct research and development activities within the state. The Fund is designated to receive appropriations from the legislature, or from the receipt of gifts, grants, or federal funds to be expended for the purpose of increasing employment opportunities and products and services available to the citizens of Alabama. Proposed applicants must demonstrate the potential to improve employment opportunities and products and services available in Alabama through new and continuing research and development activities.

*This progrma requires a cost match.The required matching funds shall be cash, grants, or contracts specifically provided for the proposed research project. State funds cannot be used as match.

Applications Due: July 29, 2026, 11:59pm CT

Webinar:
ADECA will host a virtual grant application workshop for the ARDEF Program 
March 10, 2026
10:00am CT

Register here.

Important Updates

Updated NIFA Grants Application Guide

USDA-NIFA has issued its updated Grants Application Guide dated March 2026.

Key 2026 updates include -

1) required use of SciENcv for the biosketch/current & pending support forms

2) a required Mentoring Plan for AFRI projects

3) a shift from RFA to Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) terminology.

4) All applications must be submitted by 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time on the deadline date.

For specific program inquiries, contact the National Program Leader (NPL) listed in the specific NOFO.

Compliance with NASA's China Restriction

NASA grant and cooperative agreement recipients are reminded that NASA is restricted by law from using appropriated funds to engage in bilateral participation, collaboration, or coordination with China or Chinese-owned companies. This restriction applies to all activities conducted under NASA awards.

When submitting grant proposals, applicants’ Authorized Organizational Representatives sign an attestation affirming that the applicant will not engage in such restricted activities, at the prime recipient level or at any subrecipient level. Additionally, the NASA Grant and Cooperative Agreement Manual (GCAM, Section 9.4 effective March 21, 2025) - which governs all NASA grants and cooperative agreements - contains explicit language regarding this restriction.

What this means for our institution:

• Do not engage in bilateral coordination, collaboration, or participation with China or any Chinese-owned companies or Chinese universities, including individuals working for such entities, under your NASA award. This restriction includes direct sharing of NASA-funded research data through any means, including IT systems, as well as bilateral joint publications with authors affiliated with the Chinese government or Chinese companies or universities.
  
• Ensure all project activities comply with the terms and conditions of your award and the GCAM.
  
• Failure to comply may result in remedies for noncompliance, including award termination, disallowed costs, or referrals for consideration of suspension or debarment proceedings.

For questions regarding NASA grants, please contact your NASA Grant Officer.

Explaining the NIH Public Access Policy

Researchers who publish NIH-supported work are subject to the NIH Public Access Policy, which requires manuscripts to be submitted to PubMed Central and be publicly available from the date of publication. While previously this policy allowed for a 12-month embargo, as of now public access in PubMed must be immediate upon publication.

While some scholarly publishers encourage authors to pay a fee to publish open access in their journals, paying open access fees is never required to comply with NIH policy. Instead, it is critical researchers save their author accepted manuscript (AAM), the version of the article that was accepted after peer review but does not yet have any publisher copyediting or formatting. This version may be double-spaced, have a ragged right margin, or have tables and figures at the end of the text, but content should otherwise be the same as the final published article.

The AAM should be deposited into PubMed Central without delay upon acceptance, and the date it becomes available should coincide with the article’s date of publication.

Auburn researchers supported by federal funding should routinely save and retain the AAM version of all articles on which they have authorship. Compliance with NIH and other federal public access policy is the responsibility of the grant PI, not the corresponding author, for any given work.

For researchers with questions about providing public access to their AAMs, subject librarians at Auburn University Libraries are available to help.

Hanover Research Webinars

Reimagining the Broader Impacts in Grant Writing

Thursday, March 26, 2026

11:00am CT

​This session will present strategies for designing and communicating broader impacts that align with current federal priorities, including practical ways to demonstrate project relevance and impact for a wide audience.

Register Here.

• 2026 Calendar of Webinars
• Recently posted to the archives: Revamping Your Grantseeking Strategy in a Changing Landscape

25th Annual Rural Health Conference: AI and Resilience - Empowering Rural Healthcare

April 9, 2026
8:00am - 3:30pm
Bryant Conference Center
Tuscaloosa, AL

This conference offers a day of Medical and AI speakers as well training sessions in the mission to raise the standard for rural health through AI and statewide collaborative initiatives.

Hanover Research Queue Proposal Review Availability

Slots available March 20 - June 1 and after June 24


Auburn University has partnered with Hanover Research for a number of grant development solutions including Pre-proposal Support; Proposal Development; and Capacity Building. Hanover's full-service grant development solutions are available to set goals, build strategies to achieve key grant-seeking objectives, and develop grant proposals that are well-planned, researched, and written. 

For information regarding Hanover’s core capabilities and project timelines, click here. If you are interested in a slot in the queue, please e-mail Tony Ventimiglia.

Council on Government Relations (COGR) Resource Page


This resource page offers continually updated information concerning Administration Transition in regards to federal funding.

Hanover GLC Modules for NIH, NSF-CAREER & Grant Development


The Hanover Research Grants Learning Center (GLC) on-demand grant development training portal offers faculty enrollees the unique opportunity to receive targeted training through self-paced, interactive modules with step-by-step guidance and templates for prospective applicants to develop compelling proposals. In addition to NIH and NSF-CAREER modules, AU faculty now have access to a variety of new modules on grant seeking, development and revisions.

Auburn faculty interested in signing up for this training should contact Christine Cline for registration information.

Free CITI Training Modules

Auburn subscribes to several training modules via the CITI Program website that may be of interest to researchers and research administrators. Each module is self-paced and can be finished in one or multiple sessions. Click on the link above to read descriptions.



• Essentials of Grant Proposal Development
• Essentials of Research Administration

Important Updates to the Proposal Submission Process

The university is implementing an important update to the university’s proposal review and submission workflow to reduce administrative risk and ensure Auburn is positioned for success in an increasingly complex research environment.

This updated process adds a final, standardized step in which all proposals—across all colleges and units—route through the Office of Sponsored Programs (OSP) for compliance review and submission.

• Begining May 1, 2026, OSP or the appropriate College Level Designee must be engaged in the review process at least fourteen (14) business days prior to the sponsor deadline to allow for adequate time to review any request for proposal (RFP) and all associated proposal documents prior to submission.

• The final and complete proposal package must be in the OSP queue in Endeavor (Specialist Review) at least seven (7) business days prior to the sponsor deadline for OSP to complete the final compliance review before moving forward with submission by OSP. 

Further guidance will be located on the OSP website under Guidance and Forms.

The federal funding landscape is changing daily, necessitating extra due diligence on the part of funding seekers. When perusing a solicitation, 1) make sure you are viewing the latest version, 2) read all notes in the headers and margins, and 3) follow provided links to ensure a solicitation is still active and accepting applications.