NGA - Boosting Innovative GEOINT - Science & Technology Broad Agency Announcement (BIG-ST BAA)
NGA will fund innovative GEOINT research and technology development only in response to specific Topic Calls under the BIG-ST BAA, currently including Topic 5 BIGISLAND for work on identifying artificial and manually manipulated media.
⚑ No submissions are accepted to the general solicitation; only responses to published Topic Calls are reviewed. · Classified IC-ARC access is required for the notice and associated RFP documents. · Topic 1-4 are closed/canceled; only Topic 5 is active in the provided notice. · Applicant restrictions are described as federal-contract related, but no specific applicant class limit is stated in the notice text provided.
Unit fits — one characterization, each unit's own rules
| Physical Sciences & Engineering (demo) | 90 strong | technical depth: central; funds applied research |
| IPPRA | 58 good | peripheral portfolio topic: national_security_defense; social/behavioral work is minor; funds applied research |
| Tom Love Innovation Hub | 45 partial | funds applied research; prototyping/demonstration stage; deep-tech content |
Description
The Boosting Innovative GEOINT-Science and Technology (BIG-ST) Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) invites proposers to submit innovative concepts to address hard GEOINT problems that align to one or more of the following technical domains: (1) Foundational GEOINT, (2) Advanced Phenomenologies, and (3) Analytic Technologies. BAA Process and Topic Call Publication: The BIG-ST BAA is a general announcement of NGA’s research interest, including criteria for selecting proposals and soliciting the participation of all offerors capable of satisfying the Government’s needs. The requests for abstracts and/or proposals are transmitted via Topic Calls that are published separately under the BIG-ST BAA General Solicitation at various times during the open period of the General Solicitation. Topic Calls will be published via updates to the BIG-ST BAA General Solicitation site on Sam.gov, Grants.gov (Opportunity ID:351404), and/or the Acquisition Research Center (https://acq.westfields.net). Interested parties should periodically check these websites for updates. No submissions shall be accepted to the General Solicitation; abstracts and proposals will only be reviewed in response to Topic Calls. Please refer to the Topic Calls for Abstract and Proposal due dates. The BIG-ST BAA General Solicitation, HM047623BAA0001 Revision 3 (dated 04/25/2025), is posted and applies to Topic 5 and forward. See Attachments/Links. Closed Topics: Topic 1 - Geospatial-Intelligence Foundational Model (GFM) is closed Topic 2 - Magnifying University Science Expertise (MUSE) is closed. Topic 3 - VLBI+G Signal Chain Development (VLBI+G) is closed. Canceled Topics: Topic 4 - Production of Radio Frequency (RF) Surveys from Commercial On-orbit Passive RF (RF-COP) is canceled. Active Topics: Topic 5 - Better Ingested GEOINT - Identifying Artificial Intelligence and Manually Manipulated Media (BIGISLAND) is open. Updated Description (as of 4/11/2025): Interested parties must have an account to log into the Classified IC-ARC to see the notice, and all associated RFP documents. Instructions for obtaining an Acquisition Research Center (ARC) account can be found in the BIG-ST BAA HM047623BAA0001 General Solicitation under section 4.5.8.3. Updated Description (as of 4/25/2025): The following documents have been updated/added in Attachment/Links on SAM.gov: Updated: BIGST_BAA_HM047623BAA0001_GeneralSolicitation_REV3_20250425.pdf New: APPENDIX 1 Abstract Template.docx New: APPENDIX 2 Proposal Template.docx New: APPENDIX 5 Grants Coops.docx New: NGAI 8400.4.pdf On the Classified IC-ARC, the following documents have been updated/added in Contrator Bidders Library in the "20250425-BIG-ST Updated" folder: Updated: BIGST_BAA_HM047623BAA0001_GeneralSolicitation_REV3_20250425.pdf New: APPENDIX 1 Abstract Template.docx New: APPENDIX 2 Proposal Template.docx New: APPENDIX 5 Grants Coops.docx New: NGAI 8400.4.pdf Additionally, on the Classified IC-ARC, a separate section has been created for Topic 5 BIGISLAND. Within this section, Topic Call documents have been moved from the Contractor Bidders Library "20250402-Topic5-BIGISLAND" folder to the "T5 Documents" tab. Please review the following documents: Updated: BIGST-BAA_Topic 05_BIGISLAND_REV1_25Apr2025.pdf New: T5_CDRL_A001_Topic_Call_Meeting.pdf New: T5_CDRL_A002_Written_Reports.pdf New: T5_CDRL_A003_Written_Project_Plans.pdf New: T5_CDRL_A004_Source_code_of_developed_algorithms.pdf New: T5_CDRL_A005_Demonstration_of_capability.pdf To access the notice and all associated RFP documents, follow the below instructions: After logging in to Classified IC-ARC: Go to "NGA" --> Go to "Efforts" --> Under Acronyms search "BIG-ST" --> Go to section titled "Topic 5 BIGISLAND" For additional support with account access, please contact the ACE Helpdesk at secure 855-4ACE or unclassified 703-230-6300.
Eligibility
Applicant restrictions (federal contract). Set-aside: . Notice type: Solicitation. Organization: DEPT OF DEFENSE / NATIONAL GEOSPATIAL-INTELLIGENCE AGENCY (NGA) / ATTN: MS S84 - OCS.
Apply
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.
Proposal shell · Department of Defense (BAA-style) conventions SEE A DOD EXAMPLE →
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.