DARPA IPTO Office-Wide BAA: HR001126S0011
Below is a brief summary. Please check the full solicitation before applying (link in resources section).
Quick Answer
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency's Information Processing Techniques Office (IPTO) has issued an office-wide Broad Agency Announcement, HR001126S0011, to fund revolutionary information science and technology research across three thrust areas: AI Innovation and Execution, Inherent Security and Privacy, and Resilient Megasystems. This is a standing, rolling opportunity. Abstracts are due by June 22, 2027, at 2:00 PM ET, and full proposals are by invitation only following abstract review. DARPA anticipates multiple awards through Procurement Contracts, Grants, Cooperative Agreements, and Other Transaction (OT) Agreements for both prototypes and research. This BAA is best suited for organizations proposing unconventional, high-risk, high-reward approaches that go well beyond incremental improvements to the current state of the art.
What Is the DARPA IPTO Office-Wide BAA?
This solicitation is IPTO's standing mechanism for soliciting concepts that create technological surprise through groundbreaking information science and new information capabilities for national security. Rather than targeting a single narrow topic, it spans IPTO's full portfolio and welcomes proposals that fall outside its named thrust areas as long as they promise a decisive information or computational advantage for the United States and its allies. DARPA is explicit that it wants unconventional approaches that challenge accepted assumptions, and that research resulting only in evolutionary improvements to existing capability is out of scope.
A recurring theme throughout the BAA is software resilience. DARPA's preferred path to delivering secure, high-quality software is through formal methods, mathematically rigorous techniques that produce machine-checkable evidence that software does what it is supposed to do and does not do what it is not supposed to do. Proposers should expect this expectation to surface directly in proposal evaluation.
The Three IPTO Thrust Areas
AI Innovation and Execution focuses on energy-efficient, assured artificial intelligence systems that deliver trustworthy, understandable AI to warfighters at the edge of the network, along with work to mitigate risks of misalignment between machine actions and human interests.
Inherent Security and Privacy targets a new generation of systems that are inherently secure and inherently private by design, paired with security and privacy tools that are more adaptable than current solutions in both moving-target and reactive contexts, with the goal of creating an asymmetric cyberspace advantage.
Resilient Megasystems seeks machine-derived abstractions and models that expose the governing principles of highly complex, interconnected systems such as supply chains and power grids, in order to identify hidden systemic risk and enable precise, proactive intervention.
Key Dates:
Key Dates Posting date: June 22, 2026
Abstract due date: June 22, 2027, at 2:00 PM ET
Question submittal closes: June 22, 2027, at 2:00 PM ET
Proposal due date: By invitation only, following abstract review
Award Instruments and Cost Sharing
DARPA anticipates multiple awards under this BAA using Procurement Contracts, Grants, Cooperative Agreements, OT for Prototype Agreements, and OT for Research Agreements. Cost sharing may be required for OT for Prototype or OT for Research Agreements under 10 U.S.C. § 4022. The relevant NAICS code is 541715.
Two-Step Abstract and Proposal Review
Abstracts are required before any full proposal and go through a two-step review. Step 1 is a mandatory technical conformance check for scientific and technological originality, depth of mission understanding, and operational realism; generic or boilerplate abstracts are found non-conforming at this stage. Step 2 evaluates conforming abstracts on Technical Comprehension, Technical Ability, and Cost Considerations, in that order of importance.
Full proposals, submitted by invitation only, follow the same two-step structure. Step 2 evaluation criteria, in descending order of importance, are Overall Scientific and Technical Merit, Potential Contribution and Relevance to the DARPA Mission, Plans to Implement Resilient Software, and Cost Realism.
Security and Compliance Considerations
Proposers anticipating classified work must include a security plan and cannot generate classified material until DARPA issues a solicitation-specific DD Form 254. Unclassified submissions go through the DARPA BAAT tool or Grants.gov, and any Controlled Unclassified Information must be handled on systems meeting CMMC Level 2 requirements. CMMC Level 1 certification is required at proposal submission for awards structured as procurement contracts, with the government designating the applicable level at award. Proposers requesting a Grant, Cooperative Agreement, or OT Agreement for fundamental research must also complete DARPA's Fundamental Research Risk-Based Security (FRRBS) forms, including a Common Form Biographical Sketch and Common Form Current and Pending Support, for all proposed key personnel.
Who Should Apply
This BAA fits organizations, including small businesses, universities, and non-U.S. entities complying with applicable export control and security requirements, that can propose revolutionary rather than incremental advances in AI, cybersecurity, or complex systems modeling. It is not the right mechanism for teams whose approach amounts to an incremental improvement on existing capability, or who cannot support the security, CMMC, and FRRBS documentation requirements that come with DARPA-funded research. FFRDCs, UARCs, and government entities such as national laboratories may participate but must submit detailed eligibility documentation at the abstract stage.
FAQs
What is the DARPA IPTO Office-Wide BAA HR001126S0011?
It is a standing Broad Agency Announcement from DARPA's Information Processing Techniques Office funding revolutionary research in AI, cybersecurity and privacy, and resilient complex systems, with multiple awards anticipated across several instrument types.
When is the abstract due?
Abstracts are due June 22, 2027, at 2:00 PM ET. Questions must also be submitted by that date and time.
When can a full proposal be submitted?
Full proposals are by invitation only. DARPA will provide a due date in the Invitation to Proceed after reviewing a proposer's abstract.
What types of awards can result from this BAA?
Procurement Contracts, Grants, Cooperative Agreements, OT for Prototype Agreements, and OT for Research Agreements. Cost sharing may apply to OT Agreements under 10 U.S.C. § 4022.
What are IPTO's three thrust areas?
AI Innovation and Execution, Inherent Security and Privacy, and Resilient Megasystems. Proposals outside these areas are still eligible if they offer a decisive information or computational advantage.
Does DARPA fund incremental improvements under this BAA?
No. DARPA specifically excludes research that primarily results in evolutionary improvements to the existing state of the art, and abstracts or proposals judged generic or boilerplate will be found non-conforming.
Is classified work allowed under this BAA?
Yes, but proposers must first receive a solicitation-specific DD Form 254 before generating any classified material, and must include a security plan addressing facilities, clearances, and related requirements.
Is CMMC certification required?
Yes, for awards that will result in procurement contracts. CMMC Level 1 is required at proposal submission, with the government designating the required level, 1, 2, or 3, in the resulting contract.
Are FFRDCs, UARCs, or government laboratories eligible to participate?
Yes, but each must submit specific eligibility documentation, such as sponsor letters or statutory authority citations, at the time of abstract submission, or their submission may be deemed non-conforming.
Where can proposers get more information?
Questions should be directed to HR001126S0011@darpa.mil. Proposers are also encouraged to contact DARPA Program Managers before submitting an abstract to confirm alignment with IPTO priorities.
