2021 Office of Naval Research (ONR) Global Research Opportunity: Global-X Challenge | N00014 21 S SN10

Opportunity Information: Apply for N00014 21 S SN10

The 2021 Office of Naval Research (ONR) Global Research Opportunity: Global-X Challenge is a discretionary, competitive grant program (Funding Opportunity Number N00014 21 S SN10; CFDA 12.300) aimed at sparking bold, high-impact research ideas that could eventually translate into breakthrough capabilities for the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps, while also offering clear potential value for commercial markets and the broader public. The program is positioned as an early-stage catalyst: it focuses on basic and applied research that can uncover and validate disruptive concepts, with the expectation that the most promising results could later be accelerated through separate, agile follow-on development efforts. In other words, ONR Global is looking for credible, game-changing ideas that can be demonstrated and de-risked enough to justify faster maturation afterward, rather than incremental upgrades to existing technologies.

A central feature of the Global-X Challenge is its strong emphasis on international participation and multinational collaboration. ONR Global explicitly recognizes that many of the most creative scientific and engineering advances occur outside the United States, and this opportunity is designed to bring those researchers into a structured, mission-relevant challenge environment. Teams are encouraged to be multinational and multidisciplinary, and while it is not an absolute requirement, ONR Global expects most teams will include at least two non-U.S. research entities (from academia, industry, or the broader research community). U.S.-based organizations are allowed to participate, but they are not required, and the program is clearly intended to be dominated by non-U.S. participants, with the majority of team members expected to be outside the United States. Individual researchers are also allowed to join more than one team, which supports cross-pollination of expertise across multiple proposed concepts.

From an administrative and award-structure standpoint, each team must designate a lead Principal Investigator (PI) whose organization is outside the U.S. That non-U.S. institution serves as the prime awardee and is responsible for submitting the white paper or proposal, managing the project, and distributing funds to co-PIs and any sub-recipients. Importantly, ONR Global makes a single award per team to the PI's institution, and that prime institution carries responsibility for all grant requirements, including compliance with funding conditions and any applicable terms and conditions. The opportunity is open to researchers from academia and industry, provided that the participating organizations and individuals are not subject to U.S. sanctions or otherwise excluded from doing business with the U.S. Government. Applicants are responsible for ensuring compliance with relevant sanctions rules, export controls, and similar legal limitations.

The evaluation and integrity framework is also highlighted in the announcement. ONR Global is joined in reviewing and evaluating Global-X Challenge submissions by experts from signatory nations of the International Cooperative Engagement Program for Polar Research (ICE-PPR), which signals a collaborative, international review perspective. All evaluation panel members operate under non-disclosure agreements and must certify that they have no personal or organizational conflicts of interest. In addition, ONR Global and other U.S. federal employees are bound by federal laws that protect trade secrets and proprietary information, reinforcing that sensitive technical details submitted for review are intended to be handled under formal confidentiality and legal protections. Teams themselves are responsible for arranging any additional non-disclosure agreements among their members if needed, especially when sharing proprietary background information across institutions and borders.

In terms of what ONR Global wants to fund, the program is explicitly designed for disruptive, revolutionary capability advances within multidisciplinary technology challenge areas (the announcement references challenge areas described elsewhere in the full solicitation). ONR Global is not interested in proposals that mainly offer evolutionary, state-of-the-practice improvements, nor concepts that are already being supported through existing research programs. The goal is to surface genuinely new approaches and demonstrate, through research results and evidence, that these ideas can work and are worth accelerating. The opportunity therefore favors proposals that can articulate a clear leap in capability, a compelling technical rationale, and an execution plan that produces convincing proof points rather than marginal progress.

Key logistical details from the source information include an award ceiling of $1,000,000 and an original closing date of July 9, 2021, with the opportunity published by the Office of Naval Research and categorized under science, technology, and other research and development. Eligibility specifics are governed by the associated Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) N00014-21-S-B001, which applicants are directed to review for full requirements and guidelines.

• The Office of Naval Research in the science and technology and other research and development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "2021 Office of Naval Research (ONR) Global Research Opportunity: Global-X Challenge" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 12.300.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2021-05-05.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2021-07-09. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $1,000,000.00 in funding.
• Eligible applicants include: Others.

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