DARPA-SN-26-108.pdf

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Special Notice (SN) DARPA-SN-26-108: Convergence Industry Day

POSTED DATE: July 28th, 2026 INDUSTRY DAY DATE: August 20th, 2026 LOCATION: DARPA Conference Center REGISTRATION DEADLINE: August 12th, 2026 or when capacity is reached, whichever comes first.

REGISTRATION WEBSITE: https://events.sa-meetings.com/ConvergenceIndustryDay TECHNICAL POC: Dr. Mark Salvador, DARPA/BTO Email: Convergence@darpa.mil

The DARPA Biological Technologies Office (BTO) will host an in-person-only Industry Day on August 20, 2026, from 8:30 AM to 5:00 PM EDT in support of the planned Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) for the Convergence Program. One-on-one discussions with the Program Manager can be scheduled between 12:00 PM and 5:00 PM EDT. The event will be conducted at the CUI (Controlled Unclassified Information) level, and advance registration and security vetting are required. All times listed in this announcement and on the registration website are in Eastern Daylight Time. Detailed registration instructions are provided below.

Industry Day goals include:

1. Introduce the Convergence program objectives and goals to the R&D community.

2. Explain the mechanics of a DARPA program in general.

3. Explain the objectives and milestones of the Convergence program.

4. Encourage and promote teaming arrangements among organizations that have the relevant expertise, research facilities, and capabilities for executing research and development responsive to Convergence program goals through lightning talks and networking sessions.

DARPA anticipates releasing the Convergence BAA in August 2026. When released, the BAA will be available on https://sam.gov/.

Industry Day will include a brief overview presentation by government personnel, as well as an information session during which the DARPA Program Manager, BAA coordinator, and contracting officer will respond to questions from participants. The Industry Day will also include “lightning talks,” during which potential performers have the opportunity to highlight their technical capabilities so that teaming relationships can be developed. It is expected that Convergence will require strong teaming efforts by the proposers, in order to successfully innovate and integrate multidisciplinary critical technologies.

Attendance at this event is not a requirement for submission of an abstract, proposal, or selection for funding. Information relayed during Industry Day will be made available on the Convergence program page accessible via: https://www.darpa.mil/research/programs. To maximize the pool of innovative proposal concepts, DARPA strongly encourages participation by non-traditional performers (e.g., small businesses, academic and research institutions, and first-time government contractors).

Convergence Program Overview:

The Convergence program seeks to create an open-architecture pipeline for the design, development, and operation of deployable environmental biological sensors focused on priority https://events.sa-meetings.com/ConvergenceIndustryDay mailto:Convergence@darpa.mil https://sam.gov/ https://www.darpa.mil/research/programs

Department of War (DoW) chemical threat agents. It will also ensure future rapid development and deployment of biological sensors against new threats.

The Convergence program seeks to:

1) Enable standoff detection & identification of chemical threat agents using biosensors,

2) Design and test biosensors to meet the demands of the Defense lifecycle and its operational environments, and

3) Develop open-architecture, composable biosensor design approaches and an industrial pipeline to rapidly develop, build, & field deploy new biosensors.

Registration Information:

PLEASE NOTE: Registration closes on August 12th, 2026 at 12:00 PM EDT.

Registration is limited by the room capacity, and early registration is strongly recommended. The registration cutoff date is August 12th, 2026 at 12:00 PM EDT, or once attendance capacity is met, whichever comes first. There will be no same-day registration. Potential proposing teams are not required to attend Industry Day, although participation is strongly encouraged.

Participants must register in advance through the registration website. There will be NO online attendance option. Interested parties are encouraged to coordinate attendance internally within their organizations prior to registration. Attendance is limited to no more than three representatives per organization. Individuals that are unable to register because the deadline has occurred or capacity has been reached will be added to a waitlist. If slots remain open after registration closes or become available due to cancellations, the slots will be filled on a first-come, first-serve basis from the waitlist. An online registration form and various other meeting details can be found at the registration website: https://events.sa-meetings.com/ConvergenceIndustryDay.

The Convergence Industry Day will be conducted at the Controlled Unclassified Information level.

All attendees accessing CUI agree to protect CUI in accordance with DoD Instruction 5200.48 CONTROLLED UNCLASSIFIED INFORMATION (CUI) AND NIST Special Publication 800-171 Protecting Controlled Unclassified Information in Nonfederal Systems and Organizations. All attendees will be required to present government- issued photo identification upon entry to the event.

All non-U.S government participants are required to complete DoD Mandatory Controlled Unclassified Information Training found at: https://securityawareness.dcsa.mil/cui/index.html and submit the training certificate upon registration prior to August 12, 2026 at 12:00 PM EDT.

All U.S. Permanent Residents and Foreign Nationals must submit a DARPA eForm 60, except for foreign government personnel, who must submit only an Official Visit Request completed by their respective Embassy based in Washington, DC. eForm 60 submission instructions are provided on the registration website and in the registration confirmation email. All forms must be submitted no later than 12:00 PM on August 5th, 2026. Contact your Embassy staff for assistance in submitting the Official Visit Request.

All attendees are required to submit DARPA eForm 104, which will verify their U.S. Persons status, in order to attend this Industry Day. A link to submit the eForm 104 will be included in the registration confirmation email and must be submitted by 12:00 PM EDT on August 12. Please contact Convergence@darpa.mil with any questions.

https://events.sa-meetings.com/ConvergenceIndustryDay https://securityawareness.dcsa.mil/cui/index.html mailto:Convergence@darpa.mil

Lightning Talks and One-on-One Sessions:

Attendees may be afforded the opportunity to give a brief (4 minute) oral presentation outlining their interests and capabilities. Talks will be limited to one per organization. Interested attendees are invited to submit one Adobe PDF slide (lightning talk template is provided on the registration website and with this announcement via https://sam.gov/) that summarizes their interests and capabilities. The purpose of these presentations is to facilitate teaming discussions among the attendees. Oral presentations will be restricted to one slide per presenter. Upon registering, attendees must indicate whether they would like to give an oral presentation. Due to limited availability, DARPA does not guarantee that these requests will be fulfilled. Lightning talk submissions will be accepted on a first-come, first-served basis until time constraints are reached.

It is the responsibility of the submitter to ensure that all information contained in the lightning talk is non-proprietary, unclassified, and otherwise acceptable for public release. Neither DARPA nor DoW exercise any responsibility for improper dissemination of the lightning talks. Lighting talks can be held up to the CUI level, one-on-ones can be held up to the TS//SCI level, depending on the clearance level of the attendees. It is the attendees’ responsibility to pass their clearance to DARPA prior to the event, email Convergence@darpa.mil for instructions. Attendees will not be presenting slides at the one-on-ones. Clearances must be sent by August 12th, 2026. DARPA will not be providing information above the CUI level.

Material Submission:

Lightning talks must be submitted no later than 4:00 PM EDT on August 16th, 2026.

o Unclassified submissions should be sent directly to Convergence@darpa.mil o For CUI, email Convergence@darpa.mil for instructions

Contact Information:

Further administrative questions should be sent to Convergence@darpa.mil. Please refer to the Convergence Industry Day (DARPA-SN-26-108) in all correspondence. This announcement is not a request for abstracts or proposals; any sent will be disregarded.

DARPA hosts Industry Days to provide potential performers with information on whether and how they might respond to the Government’s research and development solicitations; and to increase efficiency in proposal preparation and evaluation. Therefore, Industry Days are open only to potential proposers who have registered.

For those new to DARPA or national security, DARPA makes available a free, comprehensive resource via DARPAConnect on how to do business with the agency. DARPAConnect offers free online trainings which include “DARPA 101: Introduction to DARPA”, “Making the Most of DARPA Proposers Day,” and “Understanding DARPA Broad Agency Announcements (BAAs).”

Registration and access are free at www.darpaconnect.us.

Disclaimers:

This SN is issued solely for information and potential new program planning purposes; the SN does not constitute a formal solicitation for proposals or proposal abstracts. In accordance with FAR 15.201(e), responses to this notice are not offers and cannot be accepted by the Government https://sam.gov/ mailto:Convergence@darpa.mil mailto:Convergence@darpa.mil to form a binding contract. Submission is voluntary and is not required to propose to a subsequent solicitation (if any) on this topic. DARPA will not provide reimbursement for costs incurred in responding to this SN. Respondents are advised that DARPA is under no obligation to acknowledge receipt of the information received, or to provide feedback to respondents with respect to any information submitted under this SN.

NO CLASSIFIED INFORMATION SHOULD BE SENT TO THE CONVERGENCE INBOX.

Process for Accessing Controlled Unclassified Information:

The Convergence BAA will be posted publicly on SAM.gov. The posting will include a CUI Guide and CUI Addendum. Prospective proposers will be required to meet those necessary requirements to handle CUI to access certain information associated with the Convergence BAA and must ensure that any nonfederal information systems used to process, store, or transmit CUI comply with NIST SP 800-171, “Protecting Controlled Unclassified Information in Nonfederal Systems and Organizations.” These instructions are being provided now to give prospective proposing teams time to prepare.

In the event of any inconsistency between this announcement and the anticipated Convergence BAA or its associated documents, the Convergence BAA and its associated documents will govern.

Proposers self- certify that IT systems are compliant:

o Can setup own system or use a cloud provider o Must register score at Supplier Performance Risk System www.sprs.csd.disa.mil per under DFARS 252.204-7020

• Questions on NISP SP 800-171 o Submit to the Convergence Inbox at Convergence@darpa.mil o Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) information can be found: https://www.acq.osd.mil/cmmc/index.html

• Important things to remember for participants o Only work on systems you know are approved for CUI o If sending data, make sure it is encrypted (e.g., encrypted file transfer service, document password protection) o Only send/share to approved individuals o Only send/share through approved means o Only save in approved folders http://www.sprs.csd.disa.mil/ https://www.acq.osd.mil/cmmc/index.html