Software and Cyberspace Information Assurance | Apply Online

Opportunity Summary:

The Office of Naval Research (ONR) grant opportunity titled "Software and Cyberspace Information Assurance" (Funding Opportunity Number ONRBAA09-002) sought proposals for basic scientific research aimed at producing major advances in software and systems research, with a strong emphasis on trust and resilience in cyberspace. The core purpose was to generate new fundamental insights into how complex software can be produced, engineered, and sustained in environments where security, reliability, and varying levels of trust are constant concerns. ONR framed the research need around the Navy's evolving information infrastructure, anticipating that by 2020 it would operate as a highly mobile, extremely heterogeneous, globally connected, widely dispersed, federated enterprise where not every component or participant can be fully trusted. In that setting, traditional assumptions about centralized control, uniform platforms, and stable network boundaries break down, so ONR signaled interest in foundational work that rethinks how software and systems should be designed, verified, integrated, and defended.

The opportunity emphasized two broadly defined basic research areas focused on fundamental software issues motivated by cyberspace, trust, and producibility. While the announcement did not enumerate narrow subtopics in the excerpt provided, the intent is clear: ONR wanted research that pushes beyond incremental improvements and instead advances the underlying science of building and assuring software-intensive systems. "Producibility" in this context points to the ability to create and evolve complex software efficiently and predictably, including questions around development methods, composition and integration, automation, and engineering discipline at scale. "Trust in cyberspace" points to research on establishing confidence in systems that must operate amid uncertainty, adversarial behavior, and partial trust, including methods for assurance, reasoning about system behavior, and approaches that improve the security and dependability of software in realistic operational conditions. The overall theme is that future naval systems will be assembled from diverse components and interconnected across organizational and geographic boundaries, so research that enables rigorous assurance, robust engineering, and secure operation in that kind of ecosystem is central.

Administratively, this was a discretionary funding opportunity supporting science and technology and other research and development, listed under CFDA 12.300 (Basic and Applied Scientific Research). ONR indicated awards could be made using grants and procurement contracts, and there was no cost sharing or matching requirement. The opportunity was posted and created on October 27, 2008, with an original and current closing date of December 4, 2008, and an archive date of January 3, 2009, indicating it was time-bound and is now historical rather than active.

Eligibility was broadly open to "all responsible sources" in academia and industry, meaning universities, companies, and other non-federal research performers could apply. Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and Minority Institutions (MIs) were explicitly encouraged to submit proposals or participate on teams, but ONR stated that no portion of the funding would be set aside exclusively for HBCU/MI participation. Certain federal entities were not eligible to receive awards directly under this announcement, including Federally Funded Research and Development Centers (FFRDCs) such as Department of Energy national laboratories, and Navy laboratories, warfare centers, and other Department of Defense or civilian agency laboratories. However, ONR allowed teaming arrangements where those organizations could participate as partners or collaborators with an eligible prime proposer, as long as the arrangement was permitted under the relevant sponsoring agreements. This structure signals that ONR wanted competition and awards routed through non-federal performers, while still allowing federally affiliated labs to contribute expertise via collaboration.

The announcement also highlighted expectations around collaboration and integration. Teams were encouraged, and proposers needed to be willing to cooperate and exchange software, data, and other information as part of an integrated program involving other contractors and system integrators selected by ONR. This requirement matters because it implies ONR anticipated multi-award, multi-performer research portfolios where interoperability, shared artifacts, and coordinated progress are essential, rather than isolated one-off projects. Additionally, ONR noted that some topics could involve export-controlled technologies, and research in those areas would be restricted to U.S. persons as defined under ITAR (22 CFR 120.1 et seq.), which is a practical consideration for staffing, student participation, and dissemination plans.

For practical questions, the announcement provided a point of contact for access issues: Kristen Fuller, Contract Specialist, at 703-696-4591, and referenced an "Additional Information" link directing applicants to ONR BAA materials. Overall, the opportunity was designed to fund foundational research that strengthens the science of software and system assurance for a future naval cyberspace environment characterized by mobility, heterogeneity, global connectivity, dispersion, federation, and partial trust, with an emphasis on both the ability to produce complex software systems and the ability to trust and defend them in realistic, adversarial conditions.

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Previous opportunity: 2009 NIH Directors Pioneer Award Program (DP1)

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