Biological Technologies | Apply Online

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) - DARPA BAA 16-33 Biological Technologies

What is the "Biological Technologies" opportunity (DARPA BAA 16-33)?

DARPA BAA 16-33 is a Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) solicitation issued through the Department of Defense under DARPA's Biological Technologies Office (BTO). It is a discretionary research and development funding opportunity focused on ambitious, high-risk, high-reward work in biological science and bio-enabled technology.

Which organization is offering this funding?

The opportunity is offered by DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency), specifically through DARPA's Biological Technologies Office (BTO), within the U.S. Department of Defense.

What is the main goal or theme of this solicitation?

The main goal is to support disruptive, leading-edge research and development that could produce revolutionary advances in scientific understanding, technological capability, or integrated systems. The emphasis is on work that could fundamentally change what is possible in biology and bio-enabled technologies, not incremental progress.

What kind of research is DARPA looking to fund under this announcement?

DARPA is looking for proposals that pursue unconventional, out-of-the-mainstream concepts with potential for extraordinary outcomes. The solicitation highlights bold approaches at the intersection of biology and other disciplines such as engineering, physics, and computer science, especially where strong integration could open new capabilities or entirely new technical directions.

What does "high-risk, high-reward" mean in this context?

In this announcement, "high-risk, high-reward" refers to proposals that may be challenging, uncertain, or unproven, but that, if successful, could deliver outsized impact, such as overturning prevailing assumptions, enabling entirely new systems, or establishing new paradigms in biological science or bio-enabled technology.

Is this opportunity intended for incremental improvements to existing technology?

No. The opportunity explicitly excludes research that primarily results in evolutionary or incremental improvements to the current state of the art. Proposals focused mainly on optimizing existing methods, improving performance margins, or extending known approaches in straightforward ways are unlikely to align with the stated intent.

What types of outcomes does DARPA want to see from funded projects?

The solicitation emphasizes outcomes that could be revolutionary, such as opening entirely new capabilities, creating new technical directions, overturning prevailing assumptions, or enabling new paradigms in how biological systems are understood, engineered, measured, modeled, controlled, designed, or deployed.

What scientific or technical areas are emphasized?

The opportunity focuses on biology at the crossroads with engineering, physics, and computer science, including concepts that strongly integrate biology with computation, sensing, materials, robotics, or other non-biological disciplines to enable fundamentally new capabilities.

What is the funding opportunity number for this solicitation?

The funding opportunity number is DARPA BAA 16-33.

What is the CFDA number associated with this opportunity?

The CFDA number listed for this opportunity is 12.910, which is commonly associated with DARPA assistance activities.

What is the activity category for this funding opportunity?

The activity category is "Science and Technology and other Research and Development."

What funding instruments might DARPA use for awards under this announcement?

Awards may be made using a variety of instrument types, including cooperative agreements, grants, "other" mechanisms, or procurement contracts. The instrument used can depend on the nature of the proposed work and the government's intended relationship with the performer.

Who is eligible to apply?

Eligibility is described as unrestricted, meaning it is broadly open to any type of entity, subject to any additional eligibility language that may be included in the full announcement text.

Does unrestricted eligibility mean nontraditional teams may apply?

The opportunity's open eligibility framing supports DARPA's goal of drawing in nontraditional performers and novel interdisciplinary teams, including teams that bring together expertise across biology and non-biological disciplines.

When was this opportunity posted?

The opportunity was posted on April 28, 2016 (and created the same day).

What is the closing date for submissions?

The closing date listed is April 28, 2017.

Is the maximum award amount (award ceiling) provided?

No. The award ceiling is not specified in the information provided.

Is the expected number of awards stated?

No. The expected number of awards is not specified in the information provided, which can be typical for broad agency announcements where multiple awards of varying sizes may be made.

Is this a narrow program with a single defined project area?

Based on the description provided, this is best understood as an open-ended DARPA BTO call for transformative biological technologies rather than a narrow, single-topic program. The emphasis is on bold ideas that can redefine capabilities.

How does DARPA describe the level of novelty and ambition expected?

DARPA signals that it wants proposals that go beyond conventional funding approaches, aiming for work that could change established practice, unlock new application areas, or enable entirely new systems and scientific approaches, rather than refining existing approaches.

What kinds of proposal approaches are less likely to fit this announcement?

Approaches that mainly optimize, improve, or incrementally extend existing methods or technologies, without a disruptive leap in capability or a fundamentally new direction, are specifically discouraged by the solicitation description.