The Missile Defense Agency Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (MDA STEM) Outreach program’s goal is to: Increase STEM awareness and proficiency among K-12 and college students to enhance the number of U.S. scientists and engineers capable of solving future missile defense challenges in the government, industry, and academia.
MDA STEM’s participation in this initiative aligns with the MDA efforts to develop and foster an engaged and diverse STEM talent pool. By making these proactive investments, MDA STEM strengthens and broadens the STEM competent talent pool across the education continuum to support future workforce needs.
The MDA STEM Boosting Engineering, Science, and Technology (BEST) Robotics Grants provide a means for official Local Competition Hubs to obtain financial support for purchasing new Robotics Kits, Field Quadrant Materials, and tools. The additional Robotics Kits, Field Quadrant Materials and tools increases the number of students able to complete and engage in this meaningful STEM learning opportunity and expands the accessibility of this program to underserved populations who would otherwise not have access to the resources necessary to participate in this STEM program.
Deadline: July 21, 2023
To be eligible for this grant, all applicants must meet the following five (5) criteria:
1. The applicant must be registered with BEST Robotics Inc. as an Official BEST Robotics Inc. Local Competition Hub
2. The applying Official BEST Robotics Inc. Local Competition Hub must be EITHER: Managed by a Higher Education Agency (HEA), such as a junior college or university OR A 501(c)3 non-profit organization working closely with an HEA o All receipts and payment portions of the grant must be processed through the HEA’s grant office
3. The HEA associated with the applying Official BEST Robotics Inc. Local Competition Hub submitting a proposal must have: Current information in the System for Award Management (SAM). AND A Grants.gov account with current information AND A Procurement Integrated Enterprise Environment (PIEE) (https://wawf.eb.mil/piee-landing/), formerly Wide Area WorkFlow (WAWF), e-Business Suite account for, at a minimum, Invoice, Receipt, Acceptance, and Property Transfer (iRAPT) usage.
4. If the applying Official BEST Robotics Inc. Local Competition Hub was awarded an MDA STEM BEST Robotics Grant Teacher Professional Development during any previous competition year: All reporting requirements, including deadlines and content requirements for the previous grant were met AND Projected team registration goals proposed in the Fiscal Year (FY) 2022 application were attained (if applicable) AND Current request for grant funds reasonably exceeds the previous proposal and new team recruitment target goals
5. Grant award recipients must be able to accomplish all required hub tasks (including conducting teacher professional development) without any involvement or additional funding from MDA.
The MDA will award no more than $45,000 through this grant opportunity in FY 2023 to Official BEST Robotics Local Competition Hubs only. The number of awards is not predetermined. Each individual grant award will vary, but will not exceed $15,000. The cost of materials may vary by region and vendor.
