Special Program Announcement for 2011 Office of Naval Research Applied Research Data to Decision | Apply Online

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

What is the ONR Data to Decision (D2D) Applied Research program?

The Office of Naval Research (ONR) Data to Decision (D2D) Applied Research program focuses on speeding up how the Department of Defense (DoD) can build, test, and field prototype decision support systems for national security missions.

What problem is D2D trying to solve?

D2D is designed to reduce reliance on one-off, stovepiped decision support tools. Instead of creating isolated systems that are hard to reuse, the program emphasizes a reusable library of flexible software modules that can be repurposed, swapped, or upgraded across many different mission problem sets.

What is the core technical approach of D2D?

The central concept is modularity within an open architecture. Modules are intended to be portable, well-defined components that can plug into a government-owned environment so new prototype decision support systems can be assembled quickly and existing ones can be improved without major redesign.

What does “open architecture” mean in this opportunity?

Based on the notice, the D2D effort emphasizes openness and interoperability so that alternative components (including those developed by outside organizations) can be inserted without breaking the overall system. The goal is to avoid locking capability into a single proprietary vendor environment.

How does the program encourage interoperability?

D2D describes an architecture intended to support rapid reconfiguration and iterative improvement. It is set up to welcome contributions from innovative performers, with an emphasis on components that can be reused and integrated alongside third-party modules.

What kinds of technical areas or module types does D2D support?

The D2D testbed is described as supporting research and module development across advanced user interfaces, analytics, and data management, all within a Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) environment with distributed nodes.

What is the testbed environment described in the announcement?

D2D is built around a government-owned and government-operated open architecture testbed. It is described as a Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) with distributed nodes, intended to support applied research and module development.

What computing resources are mentioned for the D2D testbed?

The hardware baseline described includes roughly 100 high-performance compute nodes connected by a 10 GB Ethernet backbone, approximately 0.5 to 1.0 petabyte of storage, and a mix of memory types.

Why does the announcement emphasize that the platform is partitionable and reconfigurable?

The platform is intended to be partitionable and reconfigurable to enable experimentation and applied research, including investigations into grid versus cloud approaches, algorithm scalability, data indexing strategies, common data representations, storage architectures, and efficient data access and retrieval.

Will all implementation details (such as APIs and hardware specifics) be available to applicants up front?

The notice indicates that offerors selected for award would receive additional implementation details such as APIs and hardware specifics. This suggests the government intended to control the integration environment while allowing performers to focus on developing portable modules.

How is the work organized in terms of mission relevance?

The work is organized around cross-service challenge problems tied to particular sensing modalities. This structure is intended to keep module development grounded in operationally relevant data flows and real mission demands.

What kinds of data will be used for the challenge problems?

The program anticipates data being provided at both the unclassified level (to broaden participation and experimentation) and at operationally realistic levels (to ensure approaches hold up under real-world conditions and constraints).

Does the program suggest a collaborative or consortium-style model?

Yes. The announcement signals a collaborative development model, often through open consortium-style efforts delivering specific capabilities, rather than isolated contractor efforts with unique, self-defined measures of success.

How many awards did ONR anticipate making under this effort?

ONR anticipated making about 8 to 10 awards.

What is the expected funding level per award?

Typical projected funding was roughly $300,000 to $750,000 per year per award. The notice also states that proposals outside that range could be considered if well justified.

What is the total estimated funding amount mentioned?

The total estimated funding cited in the notice is about $3,000,000.

Is cost sharing or matching required?

No cost sharing or matching requirement is stated for this opportunity.

What type of research category is this program?

The effort is categorized as applied research under DoD budget activity 6.2.

How long can proposed projects run?

Projects could run from 1 to 4 years, depending on scope and the government’s needs.

What is the Funding Opportunity Number (FON) referenced?

The announcement is presented as a Special Notice with Funding Opportunity Number 11-SN-0004.

Should applicants submit proposals under the Special Notice (11-SN-0004)?

No. Applicants were explicitly told not to apply under the Special Notice itself. Proposals had to be submitted under the broader ONR Broad Agency Announcement package identified as ONRBAA11-001, using that BAA’s application instructions.

What proposal components were required?

Full proposals were to include a technical volume and a cost volume, submitted according to the instructions in ONRBAA11-001.

What was the final submission deadline for full proposals?

The final submission deadline was April 21, 2011. The notice notes that an earlier closing date of March 29, 2011 was extended.

Are late proposals accepted?

ONR indicated that late proposals might be considered only if time and funding allowed.

When were funding decisions expected?

Funding decisions were expected around April 29, 2011.

When was the estimated award start date?

The estimated award start date was around August 1, 2011.

Where are the eligibility requirements specified?

Eligibility was not spelled out in the Special Notice text itself. The notice deferred to ONRBAA11-001 for eligibility rules and submission requirements.

What would a competitive D2D proposal likely emphasize?

Based on the notice, a competitive proposal would be expected to show how the performer would produce modular, reusable capabilities that integrate cleanly into the government’s SOA-based testbed, contribute to an open library of components, and demonstrate value against the challenge problems and sensing-modality-driven scenarios.

What integration and deliverable themes are implied by the announcement?

Strong alignment would likely include clear interface assumptions, plans for integration and evaluation within the government testbed, and deliverables emphasizing portability, rapid reconfiguration, upgrade paths, and the ability to accept third-party modules without major rework.

What is the role of sensing modalities in the program structure?

The challenge problems are tied to particular sensing modalities, which the notice frames as a way to ensure module development remains connected to realistic mission data flows and operational demands.