Information Processing Techniques Office Office-Wide

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency Information Processing Techniques Office seeks revolutionary research proposals across information science and technology development, with abstracts due June 22, 2027 at 2:00 PM ET. This is an open Broad Agency Announcement with no set-asides.

The BAA addresses three primary thrust areas: AI Innovation and Execution (energy-efficient and assured AI systems with trustworthy capabilities); Inherent Security and Privacy (inherently secure systems and advanced security tools); and Resilient Megasystems (machine-derived abstractions for complex interconnected systems). DARPA will also consider submissions outside these areas proposing revolutionary advances in information or computational advantage, but explicitly excludes evolutionary improvements to existing state-of-the-art and proposals for work already completed or previously funded by DARPA or other government agencies.

Abstracts must be submitted through the DARPA Broad Agency Announcement Tool (BAAT) in PDF or Microsoft Word format and may not exceed five pages excluding cover sheet, table of contents, AI utilization disclosure, bibliography, and optional technical papers. Full proposals are by invitation only with due dates provided upon selection. Multiple award instruments are available: Procurement Contracts, Research Other Transactions, Cooperative Agreements, and Grants. Cost sharing may be required for OT agreements per 10 U.S.C. 4022.

CMMC Level 1 certification is required at proposal submission; for OT agreements, CMMC Level 2 (Self-Assessment) is required with two compliance pathways available. Classified submissions require separate procedures, prior DD-254 authorization, and cognizant security agency-approved facilities with appropriately cleared personnel. Personnel performing Information Assurance or cybersecurity duties must meet DoD Manual 8570.01-M requirements.

Evaluation uses a two-step process: Mandatory Technical Conformance review followed by comprehensive evaluation on Overall Scientific and Technical Merit, Potential Contribution and Relevance to DARPA Mission, Plans to Implement Resilient Software, and Cost Realism, in that order of importance. FFRDC, Government Entity, and UARC proposers must submit eligibility documentation demonstrating proposed work is unavailable from the private sector. All proposers must maintain an active SAM.gov Unique Entity Identifier. NAICS is 541715. Questions should be directed to IPTO_OfficeWide@darpa.mil.