DARPA BAA 13 32 Information Innovation Office (I2O) Office Wide BAA | Apply Online

Opportunity Summary:

DARPA BAA 13-32 is an office-wide Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) issued by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) under its Information Innovation Office (I2O). The opportunity invites research proposals aimed at creating genuinely new capabilities in information-centric science and technology. The core theme is high-risk, high-payoff work that could produce revolutionary advances in science, devices, or systems, rather than incremental refinements. DARPA is explicitly signaling that it is not looking for projects that mainly deliver evolutionary improvements to the current state of the art; instead, it wants unconventional ideas that challenge prevailing assumptions and could substantially change established practice.

The announcement is structured to be broad and flexible, meaning it is not restricted to a single narrowly defined topic area. As an I2O office-wide call, it is intended to capture a wide range of innovative concepts relevant to the office mission, which typically spans advanced computing, data and information systems, algorithms, cybersecurity-relevant innovations, and other breakthrough information technologies. The emphasis is on novelty and impact: proposals are expected to pursue approaches outside the mainstream and to articulate why the proposed direction could lead to a step-change improvement rather than a modest performance gain. In practical terms, a competitive submission would normally be expected to explain the technical concept clearly, identify the key scientific or engineering barriers, and lay out a credible plan for demonstrating a disruptive capability, often through measurable milestones, prototypes, experiments, or proof-of-concept demonstrations.

From an administrative standpoint, this is a discretionary funding opportunity, and it allows multiple award instruments depending on what fits the effort and performer relationship best. DARPA indicates it may make awards via cooperative agreements, grants, other transaction-type instruments listed as "Other," and procurement contracts. This mix typically reflects DARPA's need to tailor the agreement structure to the work, the level of government involvement anticipated, and the maturity and purpose of the technology development. The funding activity category is listed as Science and Technology and other Research and Development, and the associated CFDA number is 12.910 (Research and Technology Development). No cost sharing or matching is required, which lowers the barrier for participation and aligns with DARPA's model of funding ambitious R&D where the main contribution expected from performers is technical execution and innovation rather than financial cost share.

Eligibility is described as unrestricted, meaning the call is open to any type of entity, subject to any clarifications in the full text of the announcement. In general terms, office-wide DARPA BAAs often attract submissions from universities, nonprofit research institutes, small businesses, large defense contractors, commercial technology firms, and ad hoc teams or consortia, provided they can meet the programmatic, security, export control, and administrative requirements that may apply. The broad eligibility language is consistent with DARPA's intent to pull in nontraditional performers and novel technical perspectives, especially when the solicitation stresses approaches "outside the mainstream."

Key dates indicate that the opportunity was posted on June 25, 2013, with an original and current closing date of June 25, 2014, and it was archived on July 25, 2014. The creation date is listed as January 8, 2014, which reflects record-keeping and publication metadata rather than a change to the underlying posting date. Because it is archived, it is no longer open for new submissions, but it remains a useful reference for understanding how DARPA I2O framed its research priorities and what it emphasized as hallmarks of desirable proposals during that period.

For applicants, the practical takeaway is that the full announcement PDF (referenced as "DARPA BAA 13-32 (I2O Office Wide)") would contain the detailed instructions that matter most for submission, including proposal format, evaluation criteria, any specific technical interest areas I2O wanted to highlight, submission methods, and terms and conditions. The listing also notes an additional information link hosted via FedBizOpps (the federal contracting portal used at the time) and provides a point of contact: the DARPA BAA Coordinator, with an email address for help accessing the full announcement electronically. This suggests DARPA expected electronic access and submission processes, while also providing a fallback contact for access issues.

Overall, DARPA BAA 13-32 I2O Office Wide BAA is best understood as a broad call for disruptive information technology research, designed to surface unconventional, high-impact ideas that could produce transformative advances, with multiple possible award mechanisms, open eligibility, no cost-share requirement, and a one-year open window between posting and closing before being archived.

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Previous opportunity: Roybal Centers for Translational Research on Aging (P30)

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