Each year, Boise State’s Federal Initiatives Program seeks project topics that have a compelling state or national interest, align with our Blueprint for Success, support Idaho federal delegation priorities, and meet federal agency mission requirements while enhancing existing relationships with those agencies. The federal appropriations process plays a key role in securing funding for these initiatives. The Federal Initiatives (also known as Directed Funding) Program is an opportunity to partner with federal agencies and realize research collaborations through an additive budgeting process in Congress. This is one of many approaches to support strategic research programs, with the peer-reviewed, competitive process by far the most common.
We are now accepting proposed project ideas for the FY26 Federal Initiatives Program. A strong project should build on Boise State’s existing research strengths and capacity, catalyze and foster new collaboration opportunities, and include outcomes that support a sustained research effort. Projects may be pursued in the Departments of Defense, Energy, Commerce, Interior, amongst others. Projects with NSF, NIH, or other agencies that only solicit competitive, peer-reviewed projects for funding are not eligible.
All official Boise State University requests for Federal Initiative funding require prior approval and authorization. The following process will be utilized for Federal Initiatives for the FY26 Federal Budget Cycle:
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Submit Project Ideas via slides no later than October 25, 2024 to Megan Daigneau (megandaigneau@boisestate.edu).
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Slide 1: Project title, investigator(s), and unit(s)
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Slide 2: Provide an overview of the project, including the goal, objectives, and the regional/national need it addresses (4-6 bullets)
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Slide 3: Describe how it builds capacity, enables new collaboration opportunities, and catalyzes key research areas. (3-5 bullets)
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Slide 4: Outline the anticipated outcomes and impact of the proposed project to Boise State and the region. Detail the long-term sustainability plan. (3-5 bullets)
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Slide 5: Include federal agency alignment, existing partnerships within the agency, and rough budget estimate.
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Meet with Larry Grossman, C|T Group, in person, November 2024 (exact date TBD) to discuss the proposed project, its regional/national impact, potential for success, and potential federal agency partnerships.
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DRED reviews ideas in collaboration with C|T Group, considering funding trends, potential for long term sustainability, member interests, and overall project viability. Projects that provide a robust sustainability plan will be given priority.
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Targeted decision date on projects to move forward, December 2024.
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White paper submission for projects selected to move forward, December 2024/January 2025.
If you have questions in preparation of your slides, please contact Chad Watson (chadwatson1@boisestate.edu).