NGA - Boosting Innovative GEOINT - Science & Technology Broad Agency Announcement (BIG-ST BAA)
NGA will fund innovative GEOINT R&D concepts only in response to open Topic Calls under the BIG-ST BAA, with current activity focused on Topic 7 (Lidar Analysis for Surface & Environmental Reconnaissance).
⚑ No submissions accepted to the general solicitation; responses must be to separately published Topic Calls only. · Closed Topics 1, 2, 3, 5, and 6; Topic 4 canceled; current open topic is Topic 7 only. · Topic calls may be classified; respondents may need access to the Classified IC-ARC for some opportunities. · BAA is a federal contract solicitation, not a grant announcement.
This is NGA geospatial-intelligence and lidar technical R&D, which is largely a computing/sensing problem rather than the team’s social-behavioral survey, risk perception, warning communication, education policy, or energy acceptance lines. Topic 7 mentions environmental reconnaissance, but not in a way that matches any member’s published program.
JUDGED AGAINST THE ROSTER'S PUBLICATION DOSSIER · GPT-5.4-MINI · 2026-08-13
Unit fits — one characterization, each unit's own rules
| Physical Sciences & Engineering (demo) | 80 strong | technical depth: substantial; funds applied research |
| IPPRA | 45 partial | portfolio topics: environment, national_security_defense (primary); social/behavioral work is none; funds applied research; capped at 45 (limited social-science role) |
| Tom Love Innovation Hub | 40 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 4 (dated 07/30/2026), is posted and applies to Topic 7 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. Topic 6 - Magnifying University Science Expertise 2 (MUSE 2 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 7 – Lidar Analysis for Surface & Environmental Reconnaissance (LASER) is open. Please review the following new/updated documents under Attachment/Links: New: BIGST-BAA_T7_LASER_20260730 New: LASER_CDRL_A001_Kick-off New: LASER_CDRL_A002_Technical_Reports New: LASER_CDRL_A003_Software Deliverables New: LASER_CDRL_A004_Technical Plans Updated: BIGST_BAA_HM047623BAA0001_GeneralSolicitation_REV4_20260730 Updated: BIGST_BAA_HM047623BAA0001_Provisions_Clauses_20260622 Updated: Research and Technology Plan_20260730 ** Please note: there are 8 Attachments to the RTP Plan** A summary of changes can be found within the BIG-ST BAA General Solicitation Revision 4 dated 07/30/2026. Changes are highlighted in YELLOW.
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.