Build research capacity in eligible states through DEPSCoR
Competitively fund university research, instrumentation and graduate assistance, and facilitate laboratory collaboration in eligible states and territories.
Other statutory tools
USC-09 / Workforce and expertise
Build acquisition and technical expertise through research, education, and civilian training partnerships
Maintain civilian-university acquisition research and demonstration activities, data and analytical capacity, and executive education; pair this with Defense Acquisition University partnerships and practical workforce training. A separate Defense Civilian Training Corps route supports accredited civilian-school units and governed financial assistance, service commitments, and graduate appointments.
At a glance
Mission goalDevelop a technology
Possible toolUSC-09 · Cooperation & exchanges
Legal basis10 U.S.C. §4142
Responsible rolesPlanning · funds · approval · execution
Authority holder: Secretary of Defense acting through the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment, coordinated with Research and Engineering; designated DAU officials
Cooperation & exchanges
Mechanism tags describe the source text; they do not expand the authority.
Availability and verification
Express statutory pathway identified in the USC scrub. Current implementation, public intake, appropriations, available balances, and transaction-specific delegations were not independently verified.
Requirements and limits
Eligibility & prerequisites
- Section 4142 includes an acquisition research organization in a civilian university not owned or operated by the Federal Government.
- Keep research, pilot demonstrations, data access, and executive education within §4142(c), and DAU partnership activities within §1746a.
- Any workforce-development account use is subject to available appropriations.
- DCTC participation, financial assistance, and return service are governed by criteria the Secretary establishes under §§2200g–2200i; this is distinct from the §4142 research organization and DAU partnerships.
- Amended §2200h(b) permits the head of a partnering DoD element to appoint a program member for one year and, for successful graduates, renew term appointments or make the specified permanent appointments. Graduate positions under paragraph (2) are GS-9 or equivalent for which qualified; the authority may cover no more than 60 graduates per calendar year.
- The §2200h(b) hiring authority terminates December 31, 2029. Workforce-development-account basic-pay support is limited to term appointments and four years per person, without eliminating other compensation authority.
Limits & exclusions
- A pilot of acquisition practices is not authority to waive otherwise applicable procurement statutes.
- Organizational and education duties are distinguished from any separately executed award instrument.
Funding conditions
- Sections 4142(d) and 1746a(d) permit use of the specified defense acquisition workforce account, subject to appropriations.
- DCTC term-appointment basic pay follows amended §2200h(b)(3) and the acquisition workforce account provisions; no individual award or appointment verified.
Who contributes what
Need & planning
- Relevant DoD mission or program sponsor
Resources
- Sponsoring component budget owner and comptroller; available funding not verified
Approval
- Secretary of Defense acting through the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment, coordinated with Research and Engineering; designated DAU officials; transaction-specific delegation must be confirmed
Office profile
Office profile
Execution
- Authorized component contracting, agreements, or personnel office; assignment is illustrative
Partners & review
- Program counsel, fiscal officials, and eligible external counterpart as applicable
Office links are editorial matches to the original role text, not verified delegations. Composite labels and unmatched actors are preserved.
Coordination pathway
Mission sponsor → relevant program or personnel lead → counsel and fiscal review → official holding the required authority → eligible counterpart. Named functions are routing guidance, not verified individual delegations.
October 5 statutory review
Added in the October 5 statutory coverage review. The cited legal mechanism and its conditions were examined; a current implementing program, intake, funding balance and individual delegation were not verified.
Legal basis
- 10 U.S.C. §4142Official GovInfo 2024 baseline; read alongside the enacted amendments identified in this record.
- 10 U.S.C. §1746aOfficial GovInfo 2024 baseline; read alongside the enacted amendments identified in this record.
- 10 U.S.C. §2200gOfficial GovInfo 2024 baseline; enacted FY2026 changes identified separately.
- 10 U.S.C. §2200hOfficial GovInfo 2024 baseline; enacted FY2026 changes identified separately.
- 10 U.S.C. §2200iOfficial GovInfo 2024 baseline; enacted FY2026 changes identified separately.
- P.L. 119-60, §823Enacted December 18, 2025, adds §2200h(b) hiring authority terminating December 31, 2029.
What this research establishes
Legal basisSources linkedLegal sources and instrument limits are recorded.
RequirementsGates recordedRead the requirements for this instrument; applicability depends on the proposed action.
Public fundingRules recordedSections 4142(d) and 1746a(d) permit use of the specified defense acquisition workforce account, subject to appropriations. Office budget figures are separate institutional context, not an allocation to this instrument.
Assigned rolesRoles recordedPublic sources describe institutional authority. The instrument identifies approval and execution roles; a specific signature remains transaction-dependent.
EngagementProgram unverifiedAdded in the October 5 statutory review; no current implementing program, intake or individual delegation verified.
Confidence: High on the cited statutory text and express conditions; operational availability is unverified.
Currentness: Reviewed 2026-10-05 against official GovInfo 2024 Code text and a targeted P.L. 119-60 enacted-amendment search. OLRC direct pages were intermittently under maintenance. This is not an exhaustive certification of legislation after that baseline, funding, implementation, or individual delegation.
Review scope: Record reviewed 2026-10-05. Publication is not legal-currentness certification.