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Department of Energy Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (DOE EPSCoR)

What is DOE EPSCoR?

The U.S. Department of Energy's Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (DOE EPSCoR) is a federal-state partnership program designed to enhance the capabilities of designated states and territories to conduct sustainable and nationally competitive energy-related research.

Program Overview

DOE EPSCoR Funding Opportunities

The following is a list of programs for which the University of Iowa is eligible to submit applications:

EPSCoR Implementation Grants

Description: To improve research capability through the support of a group of scientists and engineers, including undergraduate students, graduate students, and post-doctoral fellows, working on a common scientific theme in one or more EPSCoR jurisdictions.

Sponsor Deadline: Odd Calendar Years (Anticipated)
NOTE: Limited Submission Opportunity: Applicant institutions are limited to no more than one application per program area.

EPSCoR-State/National Laboratory Partnership Grants

Description: Supports early-stage energy research collaborations with the DOE National Laboratories.

Sponsor Deadline: Even Calendar Years (Anticipated)

NOTE: Limited Submission Opportunity: Applicant institutions are limited to no more than two applications per program area.

DOE EPSCoR Goals and Objectives

DOE EPSCoR fosters competitions for scientific and engineering research in states and territories that have demonstrated a commitment to develop their research bases and to improve the quality of science and engineering research conducted at their universities and colleges.

The goals of DOE EPSCoR are to: 

  • Improve the capability of designated states and territories to conduct sustainable and nationally competitive energy-related research.
  • Establish foundational research capabilities in designated states and territories through increased human and technical resources, training scientists and engineers in energy-related areas
  • Build beneficial relationships between scientists and engineers in the designated states and territories with the 10 world-class laboratories managed by the Office of Science, leverage DOE national user facilities, and take advantage of opportunities for intellectual collaboration across the DOE system.

Sources: https://ess.science.energy.gov/epscor/, https://science.osti.gov/bes/epscor/About

 

DOE EPSCoR Eligibility

The DOE EPSCoR eligibility follows that of the NSF EPSCoR. Currently, twenty-five states and three territories are eligible for NSF EPSCoR funding. The CHIPS and Science Act of 2022 has frozen the NSF EPSCoR jurisdiction eligibility through Fiscal Year 2027. Therefore, Iowa is an eligible DOE EPSCoR state.

Below is a map of eligible states/territories:

A map of the United States with some states colored in blue and some in tan. The states in blue are eligible including: AL, AK, AR, DE, HI, ID, IA, KS, KY, LA, ME, MS, MT, NE, NV, NH, NM, ND, OK, PR, RI, SC, SD, VI, VT, WV, WY, and GU.

Source: https://science.osti.gov/bes/epscor