Disruptioneering Program Announcement

The Disruptioneering Program, managed by the DARPA Defense Sciences Office, is a framework designed to rapidly identify and leverage nascent scientific advances for national security through high-risk, high-payoff research. Rather than accepting direct proposals to the general Program Announcement DARPA-PA-25-07, the program issues targeted Disruption Opportunities (DOs) that allow DARPA to initiate unclassified investments in less than 120 days. These efforts are structured as single or two-phase projects aimed at producing prototype demonstrations and are awarded as Other Transactions (OT) for prototype projects under the authority of 10 U.S.C. § 4022. Because they are OTs, these agreements are generally not subject to the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) or DFARS, allowing for negotiated terms between the government and the performer. Proposals must be submitted in response to individual DOs using mandatory templates for a Technical and Management Volume, a Price Proposal Volume, and an Administrative and National Policy Requirements Volume. Evaluation is based on overall scientific and technical merit, potential contribution to the DARPA mission, and price reasonableness. Awards utilize a milestone-driven payment structure with fixed payments upon the successful completion of deliverables, which are inspected and accepted by a Technical Representative or Program Manager and processed through the Wide Area Workflow (WAWF) system. Key compliance requirements include Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) for safeguarding controlled unclassified information, strict organizational conflict of interest disclosures, and adherence to national policy regarding prohibited telecommunications equipment.