The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) announced this week $35 million in funding opportunities for a new DHS Center of Excellence (COE) for Terrorism Prevention and Counterterrorism Research (TPCR). Accredited United States colleges and universities are invited to submit proposals as the center lead or as an individual partner to work with the lead institution in support of the center’s activities.
“By partnering with universities, S&T delivers practical results by developing multidisciplinary, customer-driven solutions while training the next generation of homeland security experts,” said William Bryan, Senior Official Performing the Duties of the Under Secretary for Science and Technology. “Once awarded, this COE will leverage emerging technologies and analytic techniques to provide innovative solutions for preventing and countering terrorism.”
This funding opportunity is posted at http://www.grants.gov/. The deadline for submitting proposals is September 6, 2019. DHS plans to fund this new COE through a cooperative agreement for 10 years for a total of approximately $35 million.
The TPCR COE will research and develop solutions to support DHS counterterrorism operations. This includes solutions that help prevent terror attacks by countering the radicalization of people and their mobilization to violence. TPCR will also educate a skilled workforce trained in the latest methods to identify and protect the nation from terrorist threats.
The rapidly-evolving, diverse terrorist threat continually exploits technological advances to adapt the nature and expand the reach of its tactics. TPCR will support academic-led innovation that supports DHS in staying a step ahead of emerging terrorist tactics.
DHS is soliciting proposals from multi-disciplinary research and education teams that will work closely with DHS and other subject-matter experts to develop successful innovations to confront the future counterterrorism challenges DHS faces. The teams will need various combinations of academic disciplines, including engineering, data analytics, and mathematics.
The DHS COEs are university consortia that work closely with DHS operating components to research, develop, and transition mission-relevant science and technology, and to educate the next generation of homeland security technical experts. TPCR will be required to engage with DHS operational components and fully understand the operational environment to help better identify technical and training gaps. Each DHS COE is led by a U.S. college or university and has multiple partners from universities, commercial industry, DHS, Federally Funded Research and Development Centers, and other federal, state, and local agencies.
The notice of funding opportunities for the Terrorism Prevention and Counterterrorism Research COE Lead Institution and Partner Institution are available at grants.gov. S&T will conduct an informational webinar for interested applicants on August 6, 2019 at 3 p.m. EDT. During the call, DHS will discuss the notice of funding opportunity and provide an opportunity for interested applicants to ask questions. The webinar can be accessed at https://share.dhs.gov/rwo6kbeg53be/; it will be recorded and posted on www.grants.gov for future reference.
