TT4D: Where Defense R&D Money Comes from and Why it Matters
by Jeff Decker, PhD and Nilay Papila, PhD Technology Transfer for Defense, Stanford University
Securing research funding from the Department of Defense (DoD) requires more than just a set of research questions that fill a gap, deep technical expertise, and a well-written proposal. A winning research proposal also needs to communicate how the proposed research aligns with the national security and defense priorities relevant to the organization from which you are requesting funding. Funding for defense research is tightly linked to strategic documents like the National Security Strategy (NSS), the National Defense Strategy (NDS), and the service-specific strategies of funding organizations like the Army, Navy, andAir Force.
Strategy documents define the capabilities the military needs to develop, and in turn, guide funding decisions. As a researcher, it’s critical to identify how your work supports the DoD’s broader goals and mission. This article outlines how to utilize these strategy documents to strengthen your proposal, ensuring that it addresses key defense needs, which will increase your funding chances. By aligning your research with these priorities and highlighting its impact on defense challenges, you demonstrate its value beyond academia—positioning your work as a critical component of the nation’s defense innovation ecosystem.
Origins in Strategy
National Security Strategy (NSS): The foundation of all defense-related funding begins with the President’s National Security Strategy (NSS), which outlines the broader security objectives of the U.S. government. The NSS identifies threats, priorities, and geopolitical challenges that the country faces, shaping where defense resources should be directed.
National Defense Strategy (NDS): Following the NSS, the Secretary of Defense develops the National Defense Strategy (NDS), which refines how the Department of Defense (DoD) will contribute to achieving the security objectives outlined in the NSS. The NDS identifies specific defense priorities and strategic tasks for the DoD, such as ensuring joint force readiness and building advanced capabilities in emerging areas like cybersecurity and energy resilience.
Science and Technology Strategies: More germane to researchers, each department also establishes their research priorities to support the attainment of medium- and long-term strategic goals. These research priorities are laid out in science and technology strategies such as:
What This Means to Researchers
When seeking DoD research funding, it is essential to recognize that government agencies do not fund research solely for its academic merit. Defense-related research must align with the strategic goals, capability needs, and research priorities outlined in the above strategies. For example, if your research focuses on battery technology, such as increasing energy density, it’s important to understand how that technology can directly support defense priorities. A purely academic exploration of battery chemistry will not be as compelling to funders as a proposal framed around its application to and impact on military needs—such as enabling longer-lasting power systems for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) or microgrids for field operations.
Key Insight: The government is interested in research that can solve, or lead to solving, specific defense challenges or contribute to operational capabilities, like increasing the endurance of mission-critical systems.
Steps for Creating a Strong Research Proposal Using Strategy Documents
Review Service Component Strategies: Before submitting a research proposal, carefully review strategy documents from the relevant Service Component (e.g., Army, Navy, or Air Force) to understand their specific research and development goals. These strategies will guide you in aligning your research with the military’s operational needs.
Action: Use the links provided above to examine the latest strategy documents.
Identify Alignment with S&T Goals: Look for areas where your research fits within these research priorities. For instance, if the Army strategy emphasizes "operational energy resilience," your research on battery storage could contribute by supporting microgrids in remote or contested environments. Even if the strategy does not explicitly mention "battery research," the applications of your technology are likely highly relevant to these broader objectives.
Relate Use-Cases to Technical Benefits: Once you've identified where your research aligns with defense priorities, emphasize the specific technical benefits your work brings to these use-cases. In our battery example, this might include how improved energy density can enhance the operational life of field-deployed systems, or how energy storage can ensure the survivability of microgrids in contested environments.
Example: Frame your battery research in terms of how it supports "multi-domain operations" or "resilient command and control systems," as referenced in the strategy documents.
Highlight Alignment in the "Impact" Section: Make sure to discuss the alignment between your research and the funding organization’s strategic objectives in the "Impact" section of your whitepaper or proposal. Demonstrating how your research helps realize key defense goals will make your proposal more attractive to reviewers.
Example: "This research will directly contribute to the Army’s goal of operational energy resilience by enabling longer mission durations for autonomous systems through advanced energy storage solutions." Whenever possible, discuss the impact in quantifiable terms.
Consider Securing Letters of Support: Engage with government personnel who have an interest in the use-case your research addresses. These connections can help secure letters of support, which reinforce the value of your research and its alignment with DoD priorities.
Action: Reach out to contacts in organizations like ARL, ONR, or AFRL to discuss your proposal’s potential and request endorsements.
Conclusion
Understanding the strategic underpinnings of defense research funding is crucial for crafting a compelling proposal. By reviewing DoD strategy documents, identifying where your research aligns with specific military needs, and emphasizing the real-world applications of your work, you increase your chances of securing funding. Proposals that connect research to the strategic objectives of defense agencies stand out and are far more likely to receive support.
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Technology Transfer for Defense (TT4D) at Stanford University specializes in matching Defense Department funding with academic research projects. In the past six years, TT4D has worked with numerous faculty members at more than a dozen universities to help them win Defense Department grants and with the Office of Naval Research, totaling more than $13 million, to support research funding and transition academic technologies from lab to defense capabilities. TT4D is based at Stanford University and is run by Jeffrey Decker, PhD, program director, Precourt Institute for Energy, Fu-Kuo Chang, professor of Aeronautics and Astronautics, and Nilay Papila, PhD, senior program manager, Precourt Institute for Energy. To contact the TT4D team, visit techtransferfordefense.stanford.edu.
To read previous TT4D posts, see:
TT4D: Tech Transfer for Defense's 4-Step Guide to Winning Defense Department Research Funding
TT4D: How to Find Existing Research Broad Agency Announcements
TT4D and Researchers Looking for Government Financing $$$: Prepare and Submit Your Application
TT4D: Maximizing Your Event's Impact with Army Conference Support