Opportunity Information: Apply for DARPA BAA 10 58
Apply for DARPA BAA 10 58
- The DARPA Information Processing Technology Office in the science and technology and other research and development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Oh By The Way (OBTW)" and is now available to receive applicants.
- Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 12.910 Research and Technology Development.
- This funding opportunity was created on Jun 7, 2010 and posted on Jun 7, 2010.
- Applicants must submit their applications by Sep 9, 2010. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
- Eligible applicants include: Unrestricted (i.e., open to any type of entity above), subject to any clarification in text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility.
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Opportunity Summary:
The Oh By The Way (OBTW) opportunity (Funding Opportunity Number DARPA BAA 10-58) was a DARPA solicitation issued by the Information Processing Technology Office focused on pushing beyond incremental software improvements and instead pursuing genuinely new ideas for knowledge management and software support for mission planning. In practical terms, DARPA was looking for research concepts that could help people and systems manage, organize, and use knowledge more effectively in planning contexts, especially where the planning task is complex, fast-moving, and dependent on integrating many pieces of information. The central theme was to explore unconventional, high-payoff approaches that could change what mission planning software and knowledge systems are capable of, rather than simply optimizing or polishing existing tools and methods.
The program emphasized "revolutionary advances" and explicitly ruled out work that would mainly produce evolutionary progress over the current state of practice. That means proposals centered on routine upgrades, standard feature additions, or straightforward performance tuning of known approaches were not the intended fit. Instead, DARPA wanted ideas that could plausibly shift the field, such as new paradigms for representing and reasoning over mission-relevant information, more powerful ways of capturing and sharing context and intent, or novel software capabilities that help planners discover critical connections, manage uncertainty, and adapt plans as situations change. While the public synopsis does not list specific technical subtopics, the framing clearly points toward ambitious R&D in intelligent knowledge management and next-generation planning support software.
From an administrative standpoint, the opportunity fell under the discretionary category and supported multiple possible award instruments, including cooperative agreements, other transactions, and procurement contracts. It was tied to CFDA 12.910 (Research and Technology Development), and it did not require cost sharing or matching. Eligibility was listed as unrestricted, meaning it was broadly open to a wide range of applicant types, subject to any additional eligibility clarifications that would have been included in the full announcement text. The notice was posted and created on June 7, 2010, with an original and current closing date of September 9, 2010, and an archive date of October 9, 2010. The full announcement was distributed through FedBizOpps (as referenced by the additional information link), and technical or access issues were directed to the listed contact, Dr. Robert Kohout, via the BAA mailbox.
Overall, OBTW was positioned as a high-risk, high-reward DARPA research call aimed at transforming how mission planning software handles knowledge: capturing it, organizing it, reasoning with it, and delivering it to decision-makers in ways that materially improve planning outcomes under real-world constraints.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) - Oh By The Way (OBTW) - DARPA BAA 10-58
What is the Oh By The Way (OBTW) opportunity?
Oh By The Way (OBTW) was a DARPA solicitation (Funding Opportunity Number DARPA BAA 10-58) issued by the Information Processing Technology Office. It focused on research ideas intended to transform knowledge management and software support for mission planning, rather than producing incremental improvements to existing software.
Who issued this solicitation?
The solicitation was issued by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), through its Information Processing Technology Office.
What problem area was DARPA trying to address?
DARPA was seeking research concepts that help people and systems manage, organize, and use knowledge more effectively in mission planning contexts, particularly where planning is complex, fast-moving, and requires integrating many pieces of information.
What is the central theme of the OBTW program?
The central theme was to explore unconventional, high-payoff approaches that could change what mission planning software and knowledge systems are capable of, rather than optimizing or polishing existing tools and methods.
What types of approaches was DARPA looking for?
The opportunity emphasized "revolutionary advances" and high-risk, high-reward R&D. It pointed toward ambitious work in intelligent knowledge management and next-generation planning support software, including ideas that could materially improve planning outcomes under real-world constraints.
What kinds of proposals were explicitly not the intended fit?
The program explicitly ruled out work that would mainly produce evolutionary progress over the current state of practice. Proposals centered on routine upgrades, standard feature additions, or straightforward performance tuning of known approaches were not aligned with the stated intent.
What examples of "revolutionary" research directions were implied?
While the public synopsis did not list specific technical subtopics, it suggested ideas such as new paradigms for representing and reasoning over mission-relevant information, more powerful ways of capturing and sharing context and intent, and novel software capabilities that help planners discover critical connections, manage uncertainty, and adapt plans as situations change.
Did the synopsis include a detailed list of technical subtopics?
No. The public synopsis did not provide specific technical subtopics, but the framing clearly indicated ambitious research in knowledge management and mission planning support.
What application area was emphasized?
The work was oriented toward mission planning, especially planning tasks that are complex, time-sensitive, and dependent on integrating diverse information sources and evolving situational constraints.
What award instruments were available under this opportunity?
The opportunity supported multiple possible award instruments, including cooperative agreements, other transactions, and procurement contracts.
What was the funding opportunity category?
The opportunity was listed under the discretionary category.
What CFDA number was associated with this opportunity?
The opportunity was tied to CFDA 12.910 (Research and Technology Development).
Was cost sharing or matching required?
No. The opportunity did not require cost sharing or matching.
Who was eligible to apply?
Eligibility was listed as unrestricted, meaning it was broadly open to a wide range of applicant types, subject to any additional eligibility clarifications that would have been included in the full announcement text.
Where was the full announcement distributed?
The full announcement was distributed through FedBizOpps (as referenced by the additional information link).
When was the opportunity posted?
The notice was posted and created on June 7, 2010.
What was the closing date for submissions?
The original and current closing date listed for the opportunity was September 9, 2010.
When was the opportunity archived?
The archive date was October 9, 2010.
Who was the contact for technical or access issues?
Technical or access issues were directed to the listed contact, Dr. Robert Kohout, via the BAA mailbox.
What was DARPA ultimately trying to transform with OBTW?
OBTW was positioned as a research call aimed at transforming how mission planning software handles knowledge: capturing it, organizing it, reasoning with it, and delivering it to decision-makers in ways that materially improve planning outcomes.
Is this opportunity focused on improving existing tools or inventing new capabilities?
The stated emphasis was on genuinely new ideas and unconventional approaches that could shift the field, rather than incremental improvements to existing tools.
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