The Department of Defense announced today the allocation of $46.8 million in grants to 19 university-based faculty teams under its Minerva Research Initiative. These three- to five-year awards aim to support basic research in social and behavioral sciences on topics relevant to U.S. national security.
"In a rapidly changing world, social science is essential for making sense of human behavior, guiding informed decisions, and understanding societal progress," stated Dr. David Montgomery, director of social science in the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering. "We need to explore and better understand the complex social dynamics that shape our world and provide insights useful to policymakers and others concerned with the social context of security."
The Minerva Research Initiative leverages its network of faculty investigators to build strong connections with the social science community, aiding the Department of Defense (DoD) in preparing for future challenges aligned with priorities set forth in the National Defense Strategy.
R&E and the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Policy selected 19 university awardees from over 150 applicants across eight categories using merit-based metrics. These metrics evaluated proposals based on their potential foundational contributions to basic social science, alignment with the National Defense Strategy, and anticipated impact.
Among the awarded projects are:
- Social Cohesion in Action: How Collectivists and Interdependent Communities React to Adverse Events
- Topic Area: Societal Cohesion in Crisis
- Principal Investigator: Delia Baldassarri, New York University
- How Is Organized Crime Organized? Understanding the Political Economy, Industrial Organization, and Recruitment Into Organized Crime in Colombia
- Topic Area: Societal Cohesion in Crisis
- Principal Investigator: Christopher Blattman, University of Chicago
- China's Rise and Societal Cohesion in the Indo-Pacific: Concepts, Measures, Implications
- Topic Area: Societal Cohesion in Crisis
- Principal Investigator: Allen Hicken, University of Michigan
- Mapping Societal Cohesion, Disinformation, and Adversary Influence Operations, and Group Formation in African Crisis Regions
- Topic Area: Societal Cohesion in Crisis
- Principal Investigator: Lewis Jacob, Washington State University
- Conflict Resilience Across Scales: Theory and Data to Evaluate Societal Resilience to Water and Climate Shock
- Topic Area: Considering Societal Resilience at Multiple Scales
- Principal Investigator: Kate Brauman, University of Alabama
- Modelling Scales of Societal Resilience to Concurrent Shocks in the Asia-Pacific Region
- Topic Area: Considering Societal Resilience at Multiple Scales
- Principal Investigator: Michael Frachetti, Washington University in St. Louis
- "Un"Resilience: Drawing Insights from Societal Collapse
- Topic Area: Considering Societal Resilience at Multiple Scales
- Principal Investigator: Jose Padilla, Old Dominion University
Other funded research spans topics such as sociotechnical adaptation to climate stressors; AI futures governance; algorithmic decision-making impacts; parasocial relationships; temporal orientation; deterrence networks; great power competition; military adaptation; war termination processes.
The Minerva Research Initiative receives funding from OUSD(R&E)'s Basic Research Office along with additional financial support from various defense research offices including those from Air Force Scientific Research Army Research Office Naval Research Office Additionally works closely Strategy OUSD(P)
For more information about USD(R&E), visit www.cto.mil or follow them on Twitter @DoDCTO or LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/company/ousdre.
