ORAU is a 501(c)(3), not-for-profit organization that has been working with government agencies, universities, and corporate entities since 1946. They integrate academia, government, and industry to advance the nation’s learning, health, and scientific knowledge to build a better world. Through our specialized teams of subject matter experts, decades of experience, and collaborations with our consortium of more than 160 major Ph.D.-granting institutions, ORAU is a recognized leader when the priorities of our federal, state, local, and commercial customers require innovative solutions.

Whether the scope is federal, state or local, ORAU provides a streamlined approach to working with world-class experts to efficiently and effectively solve your problems and address your challenges. Our areas of expertise include:

• Workforce Solutions – We provide scientific and technical staffing support, bringing highly qualified professionals to your organization to fulfill critical project and business requirements.
• Scientific Assessment – We support scientific and technical peer reviews and conduct evaluations to inform research investments and programs.
• Health & Environment – We support worker and public health and instill public confidence in environmental cleanup.
• Preparedness & Response – We train and prepare state and local communities for natural disaster response.
• Research & University Partnerships – We support and advance scientific research in collaboration with more than 160 member institutions in our university consortium.

ORAU offers grants to catalyze research and increase awardee's access to partnerships and research facilities across the consortium. These awards are designed to help align faculty from research universities with industry and governmental needs to grow partnerships designed to attract additional funding.

The Ralph E. Powe Junior Faculty Enhancement Awards program offers seed money to junior faculty at member universities to enrich the research and professional growth and often leads to additional from other sources. ORAU awards $5,000 to 35 junior faculty members annually. That award is matched by the researcher’s university. Research must fall into one of these areas:

• Engineering and Applied Science
• Life Sciences
• Mathematics/Computer Sciences
• Physical Sciences
• Policy, Management, or Education

ORAU-Directed Research and Development Grants This investment program provides a path for funding innovative research-based approaches/solutions that fall within the intersection of core capabilities of ORAU and our member universities’ research interests. We envision ODRD-funded projects to result in proposals that can generate new sponsored research jointly performed by ORAU and partner universities.

The Innovation Partnerships Grant Program is structured to build stronger relationships between university members and ORAU collaborators by focusing on research and education topics that align well with ORAU’s expertise and current priorities. Each member university is limited to two awards per fiscal year. Up to $4,000 may be requested to support an in-person or virtual event that involves participants from more than one ORAU member institution, including students. Innovation Partnerships Grant applications should focus on focused workshops/conferences that highlight your university’s strategic STEM research and education growth areas, and where collaborations with other member universities would add value. We are specifically interested in events that can bring more thought leadership in building a national strategy for STEM education and workforce capacity building. Member universities are encouraged to collaborate around this topic in anticipation of federal funding initiatives.