# Project 303 — DEPSCOR

**Program element:** 0601110D8Z — Basic Research Initiatives  
**Project:** 303  
**Component:** Defense-Wide  
**Appropriation:** 0400 — RDT&E, Defense-Wide  
**Budget Activity:** 1 — Basic Research  
**Vintage:** President's Budget PB2027  
**Canonical URL:** https://hitchintel.com/programs/0601110D8Z/303  
**Parent:** https://hitchintel.com/programs/0601110D8Z

## Summary

Project 303 — DEPSCOR requests $13.5M in FY2027, 15% of the $87.1M requested for program element 0601110D8Z, down 33% on FY2026. 1 R-2A activity decomposes the request, 1 new this cycle.

## Funding profile

| Fiscal Year | Estimate Type | Amount ($M) |
|---|---|---|
| FY2025 | Actual | 0.0 |
| FY2026 | Enacted | 20.0 |
| FY2027 | Request | 13.5 |
| FY2028 | Outyear | 15.4 |
| FY2029 | Outyear | 17.2 |
| FY2030 | Outyear | 19.1 |
| FY2031 | Outyear | 20.1 |

> Estimate types are not summed. This project is one leaf of PE 0601110D8Z; the PE total is the sum of its projects, never added to them.

## What project 303 buys

The Defense Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (DEPSCoR) is a capacity-building program designed to strengthen the basic research infrastructure at institutions of higher education in underutilized states and territories.

## Activities (R-2A) — 1

| Activity | FY2025 | FY2026 | FY2027 | Move | Page |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Defense Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (DEPSCoR) | — | — | 13.5 | new | — |

> Activities carry the prior, current and budget year only — no five-year plan. In the request year they partition this project exactly; in earlier years they can under-cover it.

### Defense Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (DEPSCoR) — NEW START

**FY2027 planned work.** • Continue FY 2026 DEPSCoR efforts • Explore additional ways to develop capacity of DEPSCoR IHEs to engage with the DoW research ecosystem

**FY2026 to FY2027 change.** The increase of $13.482 between FY 2026 to FY 2027 will allow program predictability and stability, therein regularizing engagement with broader DoW research ecosystem to strengthen collaboration to support mission priorities.

## What is NOT on this page

Congressional marks, the R-2 mission description and acquisition strategy, the industry vs government split of the whole request, and related program elements are recorded at **program-element** grain — an NDAA mark lands on a PE, never on a project. They are at https://hitchintel.com/programs/0601110D8Z.

## Source & machine access

- **Source:** FY2027 Office of the Secretary of Defense RDT&E Budget Justification, Exhibits R-2/R-2A/R-3, PE 0601110D8Z project 303 (PB PB2027).
- **MCP:** `mcp.hitchintel.com` — `budget_get_program_element(pe="0601110D8Z")`.

*HitchAI is an independent intelligence service, not affiliated with the U.S. Department of Defense. Budget figures are requests/estimates, not obligations.*