U.S. Department of Defense, Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA)
Research and Technology Development
Key facts
- Open now
- 4 grants
- Type of help
- Cooperative agreement (a grant with close agency involvement)
- Typical award
- Range may include $50,000 to $3,600,000.
Open now
- TTO Office Wide (OW) BAA 2025 · Due Dec 22, 2026 · 76 days left
- Information Processing Techniques Office Office-Wide · Due Jun 22, 2027 · 258 days left
- Defense Sciences Office (DSO) Office-wide BAA · Due Aug 27, 2027 · 324 days left
- Automated Processes for Knowledge Discovery and Information Retrieval · Due Sep 9, 2029 · 1068 days left
What it pays for
To support and stimulate basic research, applied research and advanced research at educational institutions, nonprofit organizations, and commercial firms, which may have military or dual-use application. This support may take the form of grants, cooperative agreements, or other transactions for research.
Who can apply
For grants, eligibility is limited to public and private educational institutions and nonprofit organizations operated for purposes in the public interest. For cooperative agreements, eligibility is limited to educational institutions, nonprofit organizations, and commercial firms. Individuals are not eligible for these awards. Eligibility for TIAs is broader and may include all organizations and individuals, including commercial companies.
How applications are judged
Evaluation criteria will be as specified in the solicitation announcement. Typical evaluation criteria, listed in descending order of relative importance, are as follows: (1) Overall scientific and technical merit; (2) potential contribution and relevance to DARPA mission; (3) offeror's capabilities and related experience; (4) plans and capability to accomplish technology transition; and (5) cost realism.
Match
None required (federal program listing).
Examples of funded projects
Fiscal year 2025: Some examples of 2025 funded projects:
? Harnessing Dataless Neural Networks for Large-Scale Combinatorial Optimization and Signal Processing.
? Structures Uniquely Resolved to Guarantee Endurance.
? Multi-octave and narrow-linewidth 5-mW THz chip-sources for precision Rydberg sensing.
? Complex-Structured Optimization Algorithms for Non-Learning Neural Networks.
? Periodically-poled Ultrawide-bandgap Material Platform for Efficient UV Production.
? Quantum Sensing of Phonons for Enhanced Neutrino Detection.
? Harnessing Artificial Intelligence and Language Modeling for Enhancing Innovation and Evaluating Research Claims.
? Protein Design with AI models of quantitative traits.
? Automated Prediction Aided by Quantized Simulators.
? Rapid Advancement for Munitions Production.
? Self-Assembling Biohybrid Robots Using Metamorphic Insect Cells and Electrically Conducting Biopolymers.
? Multiscale Stochastic Dynamics on Evolving Networks in Random Environments.
? Large-scale gene annotation through machine learning-driven data science.
? Manipulations that Instigate Strategic Complexity and Havoc to Influence Exploitable Fragility.
Who in Tennessee has won this program
10 awards to Tennessee groups since 2017. Largest shown:
| Past winner | Where | Amount | Fiscal year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vanderbilt University Medical Center | Nashville, Davidson County | $33.9M | 2018 |
| University of Tennessee | Knoxville, Knox County | $9.6M | 2018 |
| State of Tennessee | Nashville | $4.7M spent that year | 2025 |
| Vanderbilt University Medical Center | Nashville, Davidson County | $3.5M spent that year | 2025 |
| Vanderbilt University | Nashville, Davidson County | $1.8M | 2021 |
| University of Tennessee | Knoxville, Knox County | $1.7M | 2024 |
| University of Tennessee | Knoxville, Knox County | $930K | 2020 |
| Vanderbilt University | Nashville, Davidson County | $828K | 2020 |
| University of Tennessee | Knoxville, Knox County | $500K | 2023 |
| Vanderbilt University | Nashville | — spent that year | 2025 |
Source: USAspending.gov, Federal Audit Clearinghouse.
Tennessee groups that got this money through a state agency or another organization
This federal money also reaches local groups as pass-through grants. 11 pass-through grants on file. Largest shown:
| Past winner | Where | Through | Amount | Fiscal year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vanderbilt University Medical Center | Nashville, Davidson County | The Johns Hopkins University | $2M | 2026 |
| Vanderbilt University | Nashville | Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency | $1.7M spent that year | 2025 |
| Vanderbilt University Medical Center | Nashville, Davidson County | Johns Hopkins | $678K spent that year | 2025 |
| Vanderbilt University | Nashville, Davidson County | University of California, Davis | $228K | 2024 |
| The Pom Group, LLC | Oak Ridge, Anderson County | University of Central Florida Board of Trustees, the | $195K | 2024 |
| Vanderbilt University | Nashville | University of California Davis | $138K spent that year | 2025 |
| The Pom Group, LLC | Oak Ridge, Anderson County | University of Central Florida Board of Trustees, the | $74K | 2023 |
| Edulis Therapeutics Inc. | Nashville, Davidson County | Carnegie Mellon University | $69K | 2026 |
| Vanderbilt University Medical Center | Nashville, Davidson County | Vanderbilt University | $38K spent that year | 2023 |
| Vanderbilt University Medical Center | Nashville, Davidson County | Vanderbilt University, the | $29K | 2023 |
| Vanderbilt University | Nashville | Loughborough University | — spent that year | 2024 |
Source: USAspending.gov pass-through reports (the first recipient reports each one of $30,000 or more).