FY20 State, Local, Tribal and Territorial (SLTT) High Value Asset (HVA) Pilot | DHS 20 CISA 128 HVA001

Opportunity Information: Apply for DHS 20 CISA 128 HVA001

The FY20 State, Local, Tribal and Territorial (SLTT) High Value Asset (HVA) Pilot is a discretionary Department of Homeland Security (DHS) cooperative agreement opportunity administered through CISA, intended to help non-federal governments strengthen how they identify and protect their most critical digital systems and data. The central idea is that many SLTT organizations operate systems that are essential for public services and mission delivery, yet they often lack consistent methods and practical tools for determining which assets are truly "high value" and therefore deserve priority attention for monitoring, risk reduction, and incident response. This pilot is designed to close that gap by creating a standardized, repeatable approach that SLTT jurisdictions can adapt to their own governance structures, authorities, and resource constraints.

The opportunity is rooted in CISA's mission authorities under the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (as amended) and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency Act of 2018, especially CISA's role in enabling shared situational awareness and supporting coordinated action across federal and non-federal entities to address cyber risk and incidents. In practical terms, the grant supports work that improves how SLTT partners understand what is most critical in their environments, how those critical assets are categorized and prioritized, and how cybersecurity recommendations and resilience measures are translated into usable guidance. The justification emphasizes the pace and stealth of modern cyber threats, and the reality that SLTT entities need to make clear, defensible prioritization decisions so that limited cybersecurity resources are aimed where the impact of compromise would be most severe.

A key feature of the pilot is alignment with existing federal HVA frameworks while remaining flexible enough for SLTT adoption. The notice specifically points to Office of Management and Budget Memorandum M-17-09 and a CISA Binding Operational Directive (BOD 19-02) as reference points for how the federal government approaches identification and protection of HVAs. By aligning to these models, the pilot is meant to produce a comparable approach across jurisdictions and levels of government, making it easier to coordinate and share information during cyber events. At the same time, the pilot acknowledges that SLTT jurisdictions operate under different legal authorities, technology environments, and staffing levels, so the outputs are intended to be adaptable rather than one-size-fits-all.

The expected outcomes focus on practical deliverables that jurisdictions can actually implement. These include standardized methods to identify, categorize, and prioritize HVAs, along with guidelines, templates, and tools that support incorporating HVA processes into an organization's broader risk management framework. The end goal is not only to label systems as "high value," but to drive concrete risk reduction by helping organizations address vulnerabilities associated with those prioritized assets, reducing the likelihood that disruption, corruption, or loss of access would cripple mission-critical operations or public-facing services.

From a funding and administrative perspective, this is a single-award cooperative agreement (meaning substantial involvement and collaboration with the federal agency is typical compared with a traditional grant). The funding opportunity number is DHS 20 CISA 128 HVA001 under CFDA 97.128, and it falls under the Science and Technology and other Research and Development activity category. The expected number of awards is 1, with an award ceiling of $1,250,000. The opportunity was created on June 29, 2020, with an original closing date of July 27, 2020. Eligible applicants include public and state-controlled institutions of higher education, private institutions of higher education, nonprofits (including both 501(c)(3) and non-501(c)(3) organizations), and other entity types as further clarified in the opportunity's eligibility section.

Overall, the SLTT HVA Pilot is best understood as a capacity-building and standardization effort: it aims to give SLTT stakeholders a clear playbook for determining what assets matter most, a shared language for prioritization that aligns with federal practices, and practical implementation tools that help jurisdictions reduce risk and strengthen resilience where the consequences of a cyber incident would be most damaging.

• The Department of Homeland Security, Office of Procurement Operations - Grants Division in the science and technology and other research and development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "FY20 State, Local, Tribal and Territorial (SLTT) High Value Asset (HVA) Pilot" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 97.128.
• This funding opportunity was created on Jun 29, 2020.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Jul 27, 2020 No Explanation. (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 $1,250,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 1 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Public and State controlled institutions of higher education, Nonprofits having a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Nonprofits that do not have a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Private institutions of higher education, Others (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification).

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