NGA - Boosting Innovative GEOINT - Science & Technology Broad Agency Announcement (BIG-ST BAA)
NGA is funding competitive, topic-driven GEOINT science and technology proposals for innovative concepts that address specified geospatial intelligence problems.
⚑ BAA uses separate Topic Calls; no submissions accepted to the general solicitation itself. · Abstract may be required before proposal; Topic 01 states proposers who do not submit an abstract are ineligible to submit a proposal. · Federal contract solicitation rather than a grant/assistance announcement. · Check each Topic Call for eligibility, scope, and deadlines; active topic noted as Topic 1 GFM.
This is primarily an NGA AI/GEOINT technical-development BAA in geospatial computing and analytic technologies, which is far outside IPPRA’s usual survey/risk-communication/policy portfolio. Andrew Fox is the only plausible fit at all because of his AI/data-science and national-security-adjacent work, but this still looks more like applied geospatial engineering than the team’s core research 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) | 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 of the BIG-ST BAA General Solicitation site on Sam.gov and Grants.gov (Opportunity ID:351404). 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, is posted and applies to Topic 1 and forward. See Attachments/Links. Active Topics: Topic 1 - Geospatial-Intelligence Foundational Model (GFM) is active. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Topic 01: 'Geospatial-Intelligence Foundational Model' (GFM) published on 12/15/2023. See Attachments/Links. Important update: Topic 01 Revision 1 will be published on 01/24/2024; the revision will include the Q&A. Abstract and Proposal due dates are extended: Abstracts Due on 02/02/2024 @ 5:00pm ET Proposals Due on 03/22/2024 @ 5:00pm ET (Note: Proposers who do not submit an abstract are ineligible to submit a proposal.) Contact Email for Topic 01: Unclassified: BIGSTBAA@nga.mil (Email Subject: ‘TOPIC 01 – GFM’) --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- General Solicitation, Appendix 1 & 2 were updated on 01/16/2024. See Attachments/Links: Appendix 1 was updated to -change the header, -add instructions that list of acronyms is allowed outside of the page count, and -change the margins to 1 inch to match the instructions in the document. Appendix 2 was updated to -add instructions that list of acronyms is allowed outside of the page count ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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.