Bringing Classified Innovation to Defense and Government Systems (BRIDGES) Presolicitation
DARPA is seeking feedback on a presolicitation for small businesses and nontraditional defense contractors that lack facility clearances and want to perform classified work for DoD.
RESTRICTED TO: SMALL BUSINESS SBIR STTR
⚑ Presolicitation/feedback notice, not a funding competition in this document · Intended for small business concerns and/or nontraditional defense contractors without facility clearances · Classified-work and facility-clearance-related program peculiarities apply · Virtual Q&A required registration by Oct. 19, 2022; session Oct. 24, 2022
Unit fits — one characterization, each unit's own rules
| Tom Love Innovation Hub | 95 strong | SBIR/STTR — core Hub pipeline (faculty founders + small-business partners); funds commercialization; prototyping/demonstration stage |
| IPPRA | 35 weak | portfolio topic: national_security_defense (primary); social/behavioral work is none; funds commercialization — not a research fit; university can only partner, not lead |
| Physical Sciences & Engineering (demo) | 20 weak | technical depth: minor; funds commercialization (capped) |
Description
***DARPA is interested in feedback to this presolicitation. Feedback from industry may inform changes to the solicitation in the form of future amendments. The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is looking for small business concerns and/or nontraditional defense contractors, that do not have facility clearances but are interested in performing classified work for the Department of Defense (DoD). The BRIDGES initiative seeks to assist small companies with disruptive ideas gain facility clearances so that they can bring innovation to the DoD, and help solve classified technical challenges. A virtual Q&A session will be held on October 24, 2022, from 1:00 pm to 3:00 pm eastern time. Registration for the Q&A session is required by October 19, 2022. Please see the attached document for more details.
Eligibility
Applicant restrictions (federal contract). Set-aside: . Notice type: Presolicitation. Organization: DEPT OF DEFENSE / DEFENSE ADVANCED RESEARCH PROJECTS AGENCY (DARPA) / DEF ADVANCED RESEARCH PROJECTS AGCY.
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Proposal brief SEE AN EXAMPLE →
A one-page internal memo: fit assessment, submission requirements, document scaffold, and next steps dated back from the deadline — tailored to your project idea if you add one.
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Funder-faithful document skeletons — Department of Defense (BAA-style)'s document set with section headings, page limits, reviewer guidance, and writing prompts; add a project idea to get [DRAFT] starter bullets. Download as .md for Word or Overleaf.