APEX Accelerator- Option Period for Existing Award Recipients | DOD 202301B APEX ACCELERATOR

Opportunity Information: Apply for DOD 202301B APEX ACCELERATOR

The "APEX Accelerator - Option Period for Existing Award Recipients" grant opportunity (Funding Opportunity Number: DOD 202301B APEX ACCELERATOR) is a Department of Defense discretionary funding program designed specifically to support continuation or option-year funding for organizations that already hold awards as Procurement Technical Assistance Centers (PTACs), now known as APEX Accelerators. In practical terms, this is not a broad open solicitation aimed at bringing in brand-new providers; it is intended to extend or continue performance for current, established APEX Accelerator award recipients during their option periods, assuming they meet the program and award requirements tied to their existing cooperative agreements.

The funding instrument is a cooperative agreement, which generally means the Department of Defense expects to have substantial involvement in the project beyond simply issuing a check. Cooperative agreements typically involve ongoing coordination, performance oversight, and programmatic collaboration between the awarding agency and the recipient. The listed activity category is Business and Commerce, reflecting the core mission of the APEX Accelerator program: helping businesses, especially small and local firms, navigate government contracting and related federal procurement processes. While the short description provided is brief, APEX Accelerators have historically focused on strengthening the defense industrial base and broader government supplier ecosystem by providing procurement-related advising, training, and technical assistance to companies seeking to compete for federal, state, and local contracting opportunities.

Eligible applicants include a range of public and nonprofit entities: state governments; county governments; city or township governments; special district governments; federally recognized Native American tribal governments; and nonprofit organizations with IRS 501(c)(3) status (excluding institutions of higher education). This eligibility list aligns with the typical host organizations for APEX Accelerator centers, which are often housed within state or local economic development entities or mission-aligned nonprofits. Because the opportunity is explicitly for option periods for existing award recipients, the real-world eligible pool is effectively limited to current APEX Accelerator/PTAC awardees that are entering an option year under an existing agreement, even if the general eligibility categories appear broader.

The opportunity was created on December 15, 2022, and the original closing date was August 15, 2023. The award ceiling is listed as $1,000,000, indicating that individual option-period awards may be funded up to that amount, depending on the recipient's approved scope, performance, and budget under the cooperative agreement. The announcement anticipates up to 96 awards, which is consistent with a nationwide network of centers and suggests the funding is meant to sustain a broad set of existing APEX Accelerator operations rather than fund a small number of new initiatives. The awarding organization is the Department of Defense, ACC-APG-Aberdeen Division A, which is part of the Army Contracting Command structure associated with Aberdeen Proving Ground, reflecting the DoD contracting and acquisition connection to the program.

Overall, this opportunity is best understood as continuation funding to maintain and advance the ongoing work of the APEX Accelerator network during an option period, ensuring that existing centers can keep delivering procurement technical assistance and related business support services that help companies pursue government contracting opportunities and strengthen the supplier base that serves defense and other public-sector missions.

• The Department of Defense, ACC-APG-Aberdeen Division A in the business and commerce sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "APEX Accelerator- Option Period for Existing Award Recipients" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 12.002.
• This funding opportunity was created on Dec 15, 2022.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Aug 15, 2023. (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 $1,000,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 96 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: State governments, County governments, City or township governments, Special district governments, Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized), Nonprofits having a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education.

Apply for DOD 202301B APEX ACCELERATOR

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