Printed from https://fiscalreceipts.com/program/0603781D8Z/ — data as of August 12, 2026. Every figure is citation-backed; see the page online for per-number provenance.
Software Engineering Institute
Budget Figures
FY2026 award data is a partial year — USASpending awards are reported on a rolling basis and the fiscal year does not close until September 30. why partial FY2026 data? →
| Fiscal year | Amount |
|---|---|
| FY24 | $15.7M |
| FY25 | $17.0M |
| FY26 | $13.0M |
All series figures: R-1 TOA · PB2026
The vertical scale does not start at zero: the baseline sits just below this program’s smallest year, so a low point on this line is not a small amount. Read the shape for direction and the grid below for the figures.
● actuals (line) · ○ enacted · ◇ request — gaps are editions the program is absent from, never interpolated.
| Series | FY15 | FY16 | FY17 | FY18 | FY19 | FY20 | FY21 | FY22 | FY23 | FY24 | FY25 | FY26 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Actuals | $15.2M | $13.7M | $13.7M | $14.5M | $15.0M | $14.6M | $12.1M | $14.1M | $11.9M | $15.7M | ||
| Enacted | $15.2M | $14.3M | $15.0M | $15.0M | $15.1M | $12.6M | $14.6M | $12.3M | $16.7M | $17.0M | ||
| Request | $14.3M | $15.0M | $15.1M | $15.1M | $12.6M | $14.7M | $13.4M | $16.7M | $17.0M | $13.0M |
blank = series not published for this year; – = absent from that edition.
Asked vs spent: the PB2023 book requested $13.4M for FY2023; the PB2025 book reported $11.9M as actual total obligation authority — $1.54M below the request. 11.9 − 13.4 = -1.5 USD millions — the compact figures above are rounded for reading.
Program Lineage
No predecessor/successor lineage was recorded for this program element — no FY-to-FY transfer into or out of this line was stated in the ingested J-books, and none was inferred from the program structure.
Description
Mission — Software Engineering Institute (SEI)
This program supports the Departments initiatives to Build a Sustainable and Long-Term Advantage, and Build a Resilient Joint Force and Defense Ecosystem. Software is more pervasive than ever, and computer programs are growing in size and complexity. Designing, managing, and securing integrated, complex, and large-scale mission-critical systems are abilities that the Department of Defense (DoD) and the Defense Industrial Base (DIB) have not yet mastered. Reliance on software-intensive mobile and net-based products and systems has increased (e.g., Joint Tactical Radio System, USS ZUMWALT (DDG-1000), Joint Strike Fighter, F-22, and Army Modernization). As stated in the February 2018 Defense Science Board Report, “Design and Acquisition of Software for Defense Systems,” software is a crucial and growing part of weapons systems and the national security mission, and the DoD must address its ability to build and sustain software continuously and indefinitely. With growing global parity in software engineering, the DoD must maintain leadership to ensure a competitive advantage. The Carnegie-Mellon University Software Engineering Institute (SEI) Federally Funded Research and Development Center (FFRDC) was established in 1984 as an integral part of the DoD’s initiative to identify, evaluate, and transition software engineering technologies and practices. The mission of the SEI is to provide the DoD with technical leadership and innovation through research and development to advance the practice of software engineering and technology. The SEI works across government, industry, and academia to improve the state of software engineering from the technical, acquisition, and management perspectives. The SEI engages in research and development of critical software technologies and tools and collaborates with the larger software engineering research community. It facilitates rapid transition of software engineering technologies into practice and evaluates emerging software engineering technologies to determine their potential for improving software-intensive DoD systems. Since its inception, the SEI has helped to transform the fields of software engineering and acquisition, network security, real-time systems, software architectures, and software-engineering process management. The SEI Program Element (PE) addresses the critical need to research, develop, and rapidly transition state-of-the-art software technology, tools, development environments, and best practices to improve the engineering, management, fielding, evolution, acquisition, and sustainment of software-intensive DoD systems. The research conducted by this PE directly benefits the technical domains, such as Command, Control, Communications, Computers, and Intelligence (C4I), Autonomy and Artificial Intelligence (AI), Cyber, and Engineered Resilient Systems.
Mission — Software Engineering Institute (SEI)
This project focuses on two main research thrusts with known military applications: (1) Software Engineering, Systems Verification and Validation, and Mission Assurance (formerly Mission Assurance); and (2) Information Assurance. SEI research focuses on the most significant and pervasive software challenges within the DoD, such as the scalability and reliability of software assurance, supply chain risk management, validation of and trust in autonomous systems, human-computer and human-technology teaming and interaction, computing and communication at the tactical edge, and efficiency and performance of acquisition strategies and software development appropriate for a contested cyber environment.
Justification
Accomplishments & Planned Programs (2)
SEI Advanced Technology Development in the Area of Software Engineering, Systems Verification and Validation, and Mission Assurance
This research seeks to mature and rapidly prototype techniques to verify methods for identifying requirements, systems of systems architectures, and virtual integration of components. Furthermore, research in this area will pursue rapid prototyping and transitioning of capabilities that verify requirements for software assurance, analysis/control of unverified code and automated repair of damaged code. Software production and code analysis methods developed through this program will also improve the ability to predict how complex software systems, including AI-enabled systems, will behave in untested environments. Increasingly, large numbers of lines of code and the addition of machine-learning techniques will require a commensurate increase in sophisticated verification and validation mechanisms.
SEI Advanced Technology Development in the Area of Information Assurance
Powerful machine learning algorithms can be subverted by malicious manipulation or falsification of software and data collected through normal channels. Algorithms must be trusted and effective in the presence of adversaries. This thrust seeks to defend against and minimize the impacts of information falsification attacks.
Budget Line Items(workbook-cited)
P-1/R-1 workbook Total Obligation Authority basis (USD thousands) · PB2026.
Exhibit R-1
| Account | Org | Type | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|
| Research, Development, Test and Evaluation, Defense-Wide | OSD | FY24 Actuals | $15.7M |
| Research, Development, Test and Evaluation, Defense-Wide | OSD | FY25 Enacted | $17.0M |
| Research, Development, Test and Evaluation, Defense-Wide | OSD | FY25 Total | $17.0M |
| Research, Development, Test and Evaluation, Defense-Wide | OSD | FY26 Disc. Request | $13.0M |
| Research, Development, Test and Evaluation, Defense-Wide | OSD | FY26 Total | $13.0M |
Budget Details(R-2/P-40 facts)
J-book detail basis (R-2/P-40, USD millions) · PB2026 — a different accounting basis from the P-1/R-1 workbook TOA above; where the two disagree, the reconciliation strip under Budget Figures shows both.
Wider than this screen — swipe the table sideways for the remaining fiscal-year columns.
| Project | All Prior Years | FY24 Actuals | FY25 Total | FY26 Base | FY26 Request |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Program Element | $11.9M | $15.7M | $17.0M | $13.0M | $13.0M |
| 781: Software Engineering Institute (SEI) | $11.9M | $15.7M | $17.0M | $13.0M | $13.0M |
No follow-the-dollar view — this program's awards haven't been crosswalked at high confidence (flows cover 17 of 1,741 programs). why coverage is partial? →
Awards
No awards are linked to this program element at high confidence — the budget→award crosswalk only asserts links it can defend, and this line has none yet.
Lobbying Mentions
4 mentions from the Senate LDA disclosure database.
Legislative & Regulatory Issues Related to Technology Policy, including R&D, Cybersecurity, Privacy, Health IT…
Legislative & Regulatory Issues Related to Technology Policy, including R&D, Cybersecurity, Privacy, Health IT…
Legislative & Regulatory Issues Related to Technology Policy, including R&D, Cybersecurity, Privacy, Health IT…
Legislative & Regulatory Issues Related to Technology Policy, including R&D, Cybersecurity, Privacy, Health IT…
Oversight
Department-level designation (not specific to this program)
GAO lists 5 high-risk areas for DOD as a whole. That designation covers the department, not Software Engineering Institute — no program-specific GAO finding for this line is in the ingested data. See the DOD oversight record.
No research dossier for this program — dossiers cover 50 of 1,741 programs, the largest fully J-book-detailed lines by FY2026 requested dollars. why no dossier here? →