FUNDING OPPORTUNITY ANNOUNCEMENT FOR UNITED STATES ARMY OFFICE OF THE CHIEF OF CHAPLAINS CLINICAL PASTORAL EDUCATION RESIDENT COURSE PROGRAM | W911NF 21 S 0017

Opportunity Information: Apply for W911NF 21 S 0017

This funding opportunity (W911NF 21 S 0017) is a discretionary education grant offered by the Department of the Army (Army Materiel Command) to support the United States Army Office of the Chief of Chaplains (OCCH) in upgrading and formalizing its Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) Resident Course into an integrated Doctor of Ministry (DMin) resident program. The legal basis cited in the announcement includes Title 5 U.S.C. 4103 and 4301 and Title 10 U.S.C. 2013, which collectively allow the Army to send service members to military or civilian educational institutions for professional military education and to use appropriated funds to cover some or all of the necessary training expenses. In practical terms, the Army is looking for an academic partner that can help build a more rigorous, degree-granting track on top of the Army's existing CPE resident training so chaplains can deepen professional competence and move toward advanced certification in spiritual care and instruction.

The award is structured as a cooperative agreement, not a simple pass-through grant. That matters because it signals substantial government involvement in the work: the selected institution should expect ongoing collaboration, frequent communication, and joint decision-making with OCCH throughout the period of performance. OCCH, through its Graduate School and the School for Spiritual Care, retains responsibility for oversight of chaplain professional education and sets the professional education, certification, and credentialing standards for CPE resident courses. The recipient institution is expected to work closely with the Program Director for the School for Spiritual Care (Army CPE) under the Dean of the OCCH Graduate School, aligning academic requirements with Army training expectations and the relevant accreditation frameworks.

At its core, the project is about designing and piloting the "Army CPE Doctor of Ministry Resident Course," a fully integrated academic and professional educational pathway that is simultaneously compliant with multiple accreditation and training systems. The announcement emphasizes that the program must include a Doctor of Ministry degree component delivered by an Association of Theological Schools (ATS) accredited institution, while also incorporating Army CPE coursework and meeting accreditation standards and processes tied to ACPE (the body associated with clinical pastoral education standards) and TRADOC (U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command, which governs many Army training and education requirements). The intended end state is a coherent, fully accredited course of study (ATS, ACPE, and TRADOC) with defined structure, curriculum, assessments, syllabi, and supporting instructional materials, rather than a loosely connected set of classes and training events.

A successful proposal must address two required elements. The first is the full development of the DMin resident course itself: the academic design, course sequencing and structure, assessment approach, and the full curriculum package, including syllabi and associated course materials. This element must meet the institution's ATS accreditation requirements while embedding the Army CPE content and aligning, where appropriate, with ACPE and TRADOC standards and documentation procedures. The announcement frames this as a cooperative curriculum build, meaning OCCH and the recipient jointly integrate the recipient's academic accreditation processes with TRADOC and ACPE expectations so the final product can stand up to review across all required systems.

The second required element is a pilot implementation using one student cohort, described as up to 25 Chaplain Residents. The pilot is split into two phases: Phase 1 is the CPE academic year running June through June, and Phase 2 is the Professional Project (the applied/practice-focused capstone typical of DMin programs). In effect, the recipient must not only design the program on paper but also demonstrate that it can be delivered in a real cohort setting, with the Army and the school working together to execute the academic year and then guide students through completion of their professional projects.

Eligibility is limited to ATS-accredited educational institutions (listed in the opportunity as "Others" but specifically defined as ATS-accredited schools). Beyond accreditation status, applicants are expected to show they can actually administer a program of this complexity and sensitivity. The announcement highlights basic responsibility standards: adequate management capability and sufficient financial and technical resources; a satisfactory past performance record administering similar programs if the institution has held prior awards; an acceptable record of integrity and business ethics; and overall eligibility to receive a cooperative agreement under applicable laws and regulations. A specific compliance requirement is that the applicant must be registered in the System for Award Management (SAM) and remain in good standing, since that is a standard federal prerequisite for award.

Operationally, the OCCH Graduate School plans to work closely with the selected recipient to update and run the DMin resident course across three Army component sites in the United States, indicating the program is not confined to a single campus setting and will require coordination across multiple locations and stakeholders. The expectation is that the academic institution will contribute meaningful input and leadership in program design and improvement, rather than simply providing a credential at the end. Because this is a cooperative agreement, the recipient should anticipate iterative refinement during development and delivery, including identifying emerging needs and targeted emphasis areas in collaboration with the government as the program unfolds.

Key administrative details from the listing include the CFDA number 12.560, a funding instrument type of cooperative agreement, an award ceiling of $450,000, and an original closing date of November 1, 2021 (with a creation date of September 21, 2021). While the notice does not clearly state the number of expected awards in the provided text, the structure reads like a single-partner collaboration intended to produce one integrated DMin-residency model that can be implemented in the Army CPE context.

• The Dept of the Army -- Materiel Command in the education sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "FUNDING OPPORTUNITY ANNOUNCEMENT FOR UNITED STATES ARMY OFFICE OF THE CHIEF OF CHAPLAINS CLINICAL PASTORAL EDUCATION RESIDENT COURSE PROGRAM" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 12.560.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2021-09-21.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2021-11-01. (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 $450,000.00 in funding.
• Eligible applicants include: Others.

Apply for W911NF 21 S 0017

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