Minerva Research Initiative

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The Office of Naval Research (ONR) is interested in receiving proposals for the MinervaResearch Initiative (http://minerva.dtic.mil), a DoD-sponsored, university-based social science research program initiated by the Secretary of Defense. This program is a multi-service effort. Ultimately, however, funding decisions will be made by OSD personnel, with technical inputs from the Services. The program focuses on areas of strategic importance to U.S. national security policy. It seeks to increase the Department’s intellectual capital in the social sciences and improve its ability to address future challenges and build bridges between the Department and the social science community. Minerva brings together universities, research institutions, and individual scholars and supports multidisciplinary and cross-institutional projects addressing specific topic areas determined by the Department of Defense. The MRI aims to promote research in specific areas of social science and to promote a candid and constructive relationship between DoD and the social science academic community.The Minerva Research Initiative competition is for research related to the three (3) topics and eleven (11) subtopics listed below. Detailed descriptions of the topics can be found in Section VIII, “Specific Minerva Research Initiative Topics.” The detailed descriptions are intended to provide the proposer a frame of reference and are not meant to be restrictive. Innovative proposals related to these research topics are highly encouraged. White papers and full proposals are solicited which address the following topics (described in detail below in Section VIII of this solicitation): (1) Belief Formation and Movements for Change(1-A) Belief formation and influence(1-B) Group identities and cultural norms(1-C) Movements for change(1-D) Collaboration and competition between violent groups(2) Models of Societal Resilience and Change(2-A) Economic factors(2-B) Energy, environment, and resource factors(2-C) Other factors impacting societal stability and change(3) Theories of Power and Deterrence (3-A) The role of the state in a globalized world(3-B) Cyber norms and governance(3-C) Beyond conventional deterrence(3-D) Emerging topics in power and deterrenceProposals will be considered both for single-investigator awards as well as larger teams. A team of university investigators may be warranted because the necessary expertise in addressing the multiple facets of the topics may reside in different universities, or in different departments of the same university. The research questions addressed should extend across a fairly broad range of linked issues, where there is clear potential synergy among the contributions of the distinct disciplines represented on the team. Team proposals must name one Principal Investigator as the responsible technical point of contact. Similarly, one institution will be the primary recipient for the purpose of award execution. The relationship among participating institutions and their respective roles, as well as the apportionment of funds including sub-awards, if any, must be described in both the proposal text and the budget. *************************************************The FULL ANNOUNCEMENT is available on the grants.gov website by scrolling to the top of the synopsis page and clicking on the "FULL ANNOUNCEMENT" box surrounded by the dotted line at the top of the page.

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