DARPA’s Disruptioneering programs aims to develop innovative technology at a rapid speed

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency is accepting proposals under its Disruptioneering program as part of the agency’s effort to speed up the development of high-reward technology, DARPA announced.

Proposals are due May 13 2021, according to the announcement. The total award value for the combined Phase 1 base and Phase 2 option is limited to $1 million under the program. 

As part of its mission, DARPA makes high-risk, high-reward investments in science and technology that have the potential to disrupt current understanding and/or approaches. 

The pace of discovery in both science and technology is accelerating worldwide, resulting in new fields of study and the identification of scientific areas ripe for disruption. While DARPA’s existing investment strategy continues to yield success, in order to capitalize on these new opportunities, its approach to investing must include faster responses with more small, targeted investments, according to the announcement. This approach is called Disruptioneering. 

Disruptioneering enables DARPA to initiate a new investment in less than 90 days from idea inception.

To enable this approach, the Defense Sciences Office will issue Disruption Opportunities via targeted Presolicitation Notices. These Presolicitation Notices will focus on technical domains important to DSO’s mission to pursue innovative research concepts that explore frontiers in math, computation and design; limits of sensing and sensors; complex social systems; and anticipating surprise. 

Trends and challenges of particular interest to DSO include technology globalization and proliferation, undergoverned spaces, the increasing speed/complexity of military engagements, and Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) proliferation among others. 

To read more about the program visit the announcement HERE.