NGA - Boosting Innovative GEOINT - Science & Technology Broad Agency Announcement (BIG-ST BAA)
NGA will fund innovative GEOINT science and technology work responding to open Topic Calls under the BIG-ST BAA, with Topic 6 (MUSE 2) open to grant applicants only.
⚑ No submissions accepted to the general solicitation itself; proposals only in response to separately issued Topic Calls. · Topic 6 is explicitly grant-applicant only; other topic eligibility may differ by call. · Several topics are closed or canceled; only active open topics may be pursued. · Classified Topic Calls may require access to the Classified IC-ARC and associated account setup.
This is a GEOINT/national-security applied research solicitation, but the team’s core work is public risk perception, warning communication, and survey/evaluation research rather than geospatial intelligence or algorithmic sensing. Andrew Fox and Hank Jenkins-Smith are the closest fits because of their defense-adjacent threat and public response work, but this is still far outside the team’s usual program.
JUDGED AGAINST THE ROSTER'S PUBLICATION DOSSIER · GPT-5.4-MINI · 2026-07-07
Unit fits — one characterization, each unit's own rules
| Physical Sciences & Engineering (demo) | 75 strong | technical depth: central; funds applied research |
| IPPRA | 58 good | portfolio topic: national_security_defense (primary); social/behavioral work is minor; funds applied research; eligibility unclear — verify in the NOFO |
| 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 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, and/or the Classified IC-Acquisition Research Center (https://acq-ui.ace.proj.nro.ic.gov). For Classified Topic Calls, interested parties must have an account to log into the Classified IC-ARC to see the notice, and all associated RFP documents. For additional support with account access, please contact the Classified ACE Help Desk at 855-4ACE. 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 open 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. Topic 5 - Better Ingested GEOINT - Identifying Artificial Intelligence and Manually Manipulated Media (BIGISLAND) 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 6 – Magnifying University Science Expertise 2 (MUSE 2) is open. Topic is open to Grant Applicants only. Go to Grants.gov for details. Topic 6 Update (3/16/2026): The Questions and Answers (Q&A) session is closed. The Q&A document is embedded in the revised Topic 6 document titled "BIGST_BAA_T06_MUSE_2v2.pdf." The revised Topic 6 can be found in Grants.gov under RELATED DOCUMENTS. ?Topic 6 Update (3/24/2026): Topic 6 "BIGST_BAA_T06_MUSE_2v3.pdf" and Appendix 5 "APPENDIX 5 Grants Coops_version3' have been revised and can be found in Grants.gov under RELATED DOCUMENTS. The Abstract submission date has been extended to 31 March 2026 (10AM ET). Additionally, APPENDIX 5 Grants Coops_version3 has been uploaded as an Attachment to this General Solicitation.
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.