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Next Generation Social Science (NGS2) - FAQs

What is the Next Generation Social Science (NGS2) opportunity?

NGS2 is a DARPA Defense Sciences Office solicitation focused on creating a step-change in how experimental social science is conducted. The goal is to enable rigorous, reproducible experimentation at large scales so researchers can observe and explain emergent behavior in human social systems.

What problem is DARPA trying to solve with NGS2?

The opportunity targets the limitations of traditional experimental social science methods that often rely on small, single-lab studies. DARPA is aiming for approaches that can capture system-level effects that only emerge when many people interact, such as collective behavior, coordination, polarization, cooperation, and other group phenomena.

What does DARPA mean by a "step-change" in experimental social science?

In this solicitation, a step-change means building an entirely new capability rather than funding modest upgrades. DARPA is looking for a combined set of methods, models, and tools, along with a connected research community, that can repeatedly produce rigorous and reproducible experimental results for complex social dynamics.

What kinds of research outcomes is NGS2 trying to produce?

NGS2 is intended to catalyze a new experimental and computational foundation for social science research. The desired outcomes include scalable experimentation, robust measurement and analysis of complex interactions, and findings that can be validated, replicated, compared across settings, and generalized with greater confidence.

What types of social phenomena are specifically emphasized?

The solicitation emphasizes emergent, system-level social phenomena that are difficult to infer from isolated individuals or small samples, including collective behavior, coordination, polarization, cooperation, and related group dynamics.

Why is scale such a central requirement in this program?

DARPA highlights that certain effects in human social systems only appear reliably at large scales, when many people interact. NGS2 prioritizes experimentation designed to capture those system-level effects directly, rather than attempting to extrapolate them from small-scale studies.

Is NGS2 focused only on experiments, or does it cover the full research lifecycle?

The program strongly suggests rethinking the full social science research cycle end to end. This includes how hypotheses are generated, how experiments are designed and run, how data are collected and managed, how results are analyzed, and how findings are validated and replicated.

What does DARPA mean by an "engineering-like" experimental pipeline?

The solicitation describes a move toward a reproducible pipeline for social systems research, where experiments and results can be tested repeatedly, compared across settings, and generalized with greater confidence. The emphasis is on transparency, repeatability, and robustness in experimental design and execution.

What kinds of technical approaches does DARPA appear to be interested in?

Based on the solicitation description, DARPA indicates interest in new experimental platforms, scalable study designs, robust measurement strategies, computational and statistical approaches suited to complex interactions, and tools that support transparency and repeatability.

Does the program encourage multidisciplinary teams?

Yes. DARPA explicitly encourages multidisciplinary participation beyond traditional social science departments. The solicitation highlights fields such as physics, computer science, biology, game design, and mathematics.

Why are fields like physics, computer science, biology, mathematics, and game design mentioned?

The solicitation signals a desire to blend theory, computation, experimental design, and platform building to address challenges in modeling and measuring social processes at scale. The mention of game design also suggests interest in creative experimental scenarios, incentives, and interactive environments that can engage participants while still generating controlled, analyzable data.

What types of proposals are not aligned with NGS2 goals?

DARPA states it does not want research that mainly produces incremental improvements to existing methods. Examples described as misaligned include proposals that only slightly refine common survey techniques, modestly adjust established statistical models, or replicate conventional lab experiments with minor tweaks.

Is NGS2 intended to build infrastructure and community, or just fund individual studies?

The opportunity is framed around building a new capability and infrastructure for next-generation experimental social science. It also describes the importance of a connected research community, not only isolated studies.

Who is the sponsoring organization for this opportunity?

The sponsor is the U.S. Department of Defense, specifically DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency), Defense Sciences Office.

What is the Funding Opportunity Number (FON) for NGS2?

The Funding Opportunity Number provided is DARPA BAA 16-32.

What is the CFDA number listed for this opportunity?

The CFDA number provided is 12.910.

What type of funding opportunity is this?

It is described as a discretionary research and development opportunity.

What award instruments may be used under NGS2?

The listing indicates DARPA may use cooperative agreements, grants, other transaction-type mechanisms, and procurement contracts.

Who is eligible to apply?

Eligibility is described as unrestricted, meaning the opportunity is broadly open to many types of organizations, subject to any additional eligibility clarifications in the full announcement.

When was this opportunity posted and when did it close?

The opportunity was posted March 18, 2016 (created March 18, 2016) and had a closing date of May 18, 2016.

Does the listing specify the award ceiling or number of expected awards?

No. The provided listing does not specify an award ceiling or the expected number of awards. Those details would typically need to be confirmed in the full BAA text or any associated amendments.

Where should applicants look for details not included in the summary?

The summary indicates that missing details (such as award ceiling or expected number of awards) would generally be found in the full BAA text and any amendments associated with DARPA BAA 16-32.

What is the central theme of the NGS2 program?

The central theme is enabling large-scale, rigorous, reproducible experimental social science capable of studying complex social dynamics and emergent behavior with methods and tools that can be validated and replicated.