Strategic Environmental Research and Development Program (SERDP) – Open Topics Broad Agency Announcement (BAA)
SERDP seeks white papers and then full proposals for DoD-relevant environmental R&D on environmental restoration, munitions response, resource conservation and resilience, and weapons systems/platforms technologies, awarded as contracts.
⚑ Federal contract/BAA, not a grant; awards are contracts. · White paper screening precedes invitation for full proposal. · Total ceiling stated as up to $10,000,000 shared across multiple awards. · No reimbursement for white paper preparation or travel for oral presentations in support of full proposals.
SERDP is an environmental-defense R&D program, but this team’s core work is social/behavioral research on risk, communication, and public perception rather than environmental restoration or munitions/platform technologies. They might relate only tangentially if a topic were framed around stakeholder risk communication or resilience policy, but that is not the main thrust of this BAA.
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) | 80 strong | technical depth: substantial; funds basic research |
| IPPRA | 58 good | portfolio topics: environment, emergency_disaster_resilience, national_security_defense (primary); social/behavioral work is minor; funds basic research |
| Tom Love Innovation Hub | 25 weak | prototyping/demonstration stage; deep-tech content |
Description
BOTH SMALL BUSINESS AND LARGE BUSINESS ARE ENCOURAGED TO RESPOND. The Department of Defense (DoD) Strategic Environmental Research and Development Program (SERDP) Office is interested in receiving white papers for research focusing in the areas of Environmental Restoration, Munitions Response, Resource Conservation and Resilience, and Weapons Systems and Platforms technologies. This notice constitutes a BAA as contemplated in Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 6.102(d)(2). Readers should note that this is an announcement to declare DoD SERDP’s intent to competitively fund research and development for environmental research that addresses the topic areas set forth in the Announcement. SERDP supports environmental research relevant to the management and mission of the DoD and supports efforts that lead to the development and application of innovative environmental technologies or methods that improve the environmental performance of DoD by improving outcomes, managing environmental risks, and/or reducing costs or time required to resolve environmental or resilience problems. The Program Announcement and complete submittal instructions are found on the DoD SERDP website at https://serdp-estcp.mil/workwithus. To be eligible for consideration, readers wishing to respond to this announcement must submit a white paper in accordance with all instructions on the SERDP website. This solicitation will remain open for approximately one (1) year from the date of publication, or until replaced by a successor BAA. No faxed or hard copy submissions will be accepted. No request for proposals (RFP), solicitation, or other announcement of this opportunity will be made. It is the sole responsibility of the proposer to make certain the white paper is properly received by SERDP. Awards will take the form of contracts. Submission of white papers is not restricted in any way to any particular entity. The Government will not pay for any costs associated with the preparation of white papers or travel to present oral presentations in support of full proposals. There is no commitment by SERDP to make any contract awards, nor to be responsible for any cost incurred by the offeror before contract award is made. It is expected that multiple awards will be made dependent on the quality of white papers received and availability of funds. Awardees under this BAA will be selected through a multi-stage review process. The white paper review step allows interested organizations to submit research white papers for Government consideration without incurring the expense of a full proposal. Based upon the white paper evaluation by SERDP, each of the white paper submitters will be notified as to whether SERDP requests or does not request the submission of a full proposal. As noted in the instructions located on the SERDP website, evaluation criteria for white papers are Technical Merit and SERDP Relevance. Each criterion is weighted equally. Due to the anticipated volume of white papers that will be received, SERDP will not provide debriefs on those that are not requested to submit a full proposal. Instructions for preparing a full proposal will be provided at the time of notification. A request for submission of a full proposal does not indicate a decision has been made to make an award for that work. Evaluation criteria for full proposals will include Personnel, Cost, and Transition Plan in addition to the criteria above. SERDP may make multiple awards up to a collectively shared maximum value of the $10,000,000.00 under this BAA. The North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code is 541715 with the small business size standard of 1000 employees. Prior to award, selected contract proposals that exceed $750,000 submitted by all Other than Small (large or non-profits, including universities) Business concerns must be accompanied by a Small Business Subcontracting Plan in accordance with FAR 52.219-9 and elements as described in the checklist in DFARS PGI 219.705-4 at http://business.defense.gov/Acquisition/Subcontracting/. The Humphreys Engineer Center Support Activity (HECSA) Small Business Office website at https://www.usace.army.mil/HECSA/HECSA-Small-Business/ provides information on how to prepare a subcontracting plan, along with links to find small businesses to participate. Points of Contact: Procedural Questions - SERDP Office, 571-372-6565 Contract Questions – HECSA Shannon N. Benson, 703-428-7407; shannon.n.benson@usace.army.mil Small Business Participation Plan or Subcontracting Plan - HECSA Small Business Representative, Monique Holmes 202-934-1816, HECSASmallBusinessProgram@usace.army.mil
Eligibility
Applicant restrictions (federal contract). Set-aside: . Notice type: Presolicitation. Organization: DEPT OF DEFENSE / DEPT OF THE ARMY / W4LD USA HECSA.
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.