; and (4) encourage research and educational collaborations between such institutions and other institutions of higher education, Government defense organizations, and the defense industry relating to critical minerals. (c) Assistance provided Under the program established under subsection (a)(1), the Secretary of Defense may provide covered educational institutions with funding or technical assistance, including any of the following: (1) Support for research, development, testing, evaluation, or educational enhancements in areas important to national defense through the competitive awarding of grants, cooperative agreements, contracts, scholarships, fellowships, or the acquisition of research equipment or instrumentation. (2) Support to assist in the attraction and retention of faculty in scientific disciplines important to the national security functions of the Department of Defense. (3) Establishing partnerships between such institutions and defense laboratories, Government defense organizations, the defense industry, and other institutions of higher education in research, development, testing, and evaluation in areas important to the national security functions of the Department of Defense. (4) Other such non-monetary assistance as the Secretary finds appropriate to enhance defense-related research, development, testing, and evaluation activities at such institutions. (d) Incentives (1) In general The Secretary of Defense may develop incentives to encourage critical minerals-related research and educational collaborations between covered educational institutions and other institutions of higher education. (2) Goals The Secretary of Defense shall establish goals and incentives to encourage Federally funded research and development centers, science and technology reinvention laboratories, and University Affiliated Research Centers funded by the Department of Defense— (A) to assess the capacity of covered educational institutions to address the critical minerals research and development needs of the Department