Authority to Accept Unsolicited Proposals for Research Partnerships | FR 6500 N USP

Opportunity Information: Apply for FR 6500 N USP

The "Authority to Accept Unsolicited Proposals for Research Partnerships" opportunity (Funding Opportunity Number FR 6500 N USP) is a discretionary HUD notice that invites organizations to submit unsolicited research proposals to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, specifically through HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research (PD&R). The core purpose is to build research partnerships that align with HUD's current research priorities in housing and related policy areas, including broader science, technology, and other research and development topics that support HUD's mission. Unlike many grant programs that specify a narrow set of pre-defined projects, this notice is designed to let qualified partners bring forward their own research ideas, as long as those ideas address HUD's priority research needs and are structured in a way HUD can support through a cooperative agreement.

Awards under this notice are made as cooperative agreements, which generally means HUD expects to have substantial involvement in the funded work compared with a standard grant. This can include collaboration on research design, coordination on data and reporting needs, and active participation in oversight and dissemination, depending on the specific project. The program anticipated up to 12 awards, with an award ceiling of $500,000 per project, indicating that projects are expected to be meaningful in scope but still bounded enough to be executed on a manageable budget and timeline. The activity focus is tied to housing policy and research and development, so proposals are typically expected to generate findings, tools, evaluations, demonstrations, or evidence that can inform HUD programs, housing markets, or community development outcomes.

A central requirement of this opportunity is cost sharing. Proposals must include at least 50 percent of the total project cost coming from non-HUD sources, and the notice is explicit about acceptable sources for that cost share: philanthropic entities and/or other government agencies at the federal, state, or local level. In practical terms, that means HUD funds are intended to match or complement significant external investment, and applicants need to demonstrate credible commitments for those matching funds as part of the proposal. This cost-share requirement is not a minor detail; it is a statutory condition of HUD's authority to accept these unsolicited proposals, so proposals that cannot document the required match would not meet the basic eligibility standard for consideration.

Eligibility is broad across public sector and higher education institutions, reflecting the partnership nature of the work. Eligible applicants include state governments, county governments, city or township governments, public and state-controlled institutions of higher education, private institutions of higher education, and federally recognized Native American tribal governments. The notice also indicates "others" may be eligible as described in additional eligibility information, suggesting HUD left room for other types of entities depending on the specifics laid out in the full notice. Taken together, the eligible categories signal that HUD is seeking capable research performers and policy partners who can credibly manage federally supported research activities and collaborate with HUD on producing usable, policy-relevant results.

In terms of timing and submission logistics, the notice was created on November 2, 2021, with an original closing date (and notice expiration date) of June 30, 2022. Applications were required to be submitted electronically no later than 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on the expiration date. While the summary here focuses on the high-level details, the notice also indicates it provides a general description of what should be included in a research proposal. Typically, for HUD research partnerships, that would imply applicants should clearly describe the policy problem and relevance to HUD priorities, the research questions and methodology, expected products and outcomes, the roles and responsibilities of partners (including HUD's anticipated involvement under a cooperative agreement), a realistic workplan and timeline, a detailed budget, and the documentation of the required 50 percent cost share.

Overall, this opportunity functions as a mechanism for HUD PD&R to partner with external organizations that have strong, mission-aligned research concepts and the ability to bring significant co-investment to the table. The funding level, expected number of awards, cooperative agreement structure, and cost-sharing requirement collectively point to a program intended to leverage outside expertise and resources to generate actionable evidence and insights for housing and community development policy.

• The US Department of Housing and Urban Development in the housing, science and technology and other research and development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Authority to Accept Unsolicited Proposals for Research Partnerships" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 14.506.
• This funding opportunity was created on Nov 02, 2021.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Jun 30, 2022 Electronically submitted applications must be submitted no later than 1159 p.m., ET, on the Noticeaposs expiration date. Daylight time on June 30, 2022.#160. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $500,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 12 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: State governments, County governments, City or township governments, Public and State controlled institutions of higher education, Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized), Private institutions of higher education, Others (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification).

Apply for FR 6500 N USP

[Watch] Creating a grant proposal using the step-by-step wizard inside the applicant portal: