The Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) is a technique for
United States government
The Federal Government of the United States of America (U.S. federal government or U.S. government) is the Federation#Federal governments, national government of the United States.
The U.S. federal government is composed of three distinct ...
agencies to solicit proposals from outside groups for certain research and development. The agency will then select proposals to fund as contracts or grants. BAAs are broad in their subject matter and focus on advancing science rather than acquiring specific products, which are instead covered under a
Request for proposals.
[FAR 35.016](_blank)
. Retrieved January 14, 2015.
BAAs pertains to basic and
applied research
Applied science is the application of the scientific method and scientific knowledge to attain practical goals. It includes a broad range of disciplines, such as engineering and medicine. Applied science is often contrasted with basic science, ...
, and certain early-stage development work. They are not intended for acquisition "related to the development of a specific system or hardware procurement." It may only be used "when meaningful proposals with varying technical/scientific approaches can reasonably be foreseen."
The technique may be used to acquire "scientific study and experimentation directed toward advancing the state-of-the-art or increasing knowledge or understanding." The technique shares the name of the means of initiating it.
The announcement, published in ''Federal Business Opportunities'', describes "broadly defined areas of interest".
Proposals received in response to the announcement are evaluated through a peer or scientific review process,
unlike the more traditional technique for evaluation of proposals under FAR Subpart 15.3 An award under the technique is treated as meeting the statutory requirement in the
Competition in Contracting Act
Competition is a rivalry where two or more parties strive for a common goal which cannot be shared: where one's gain is the other's loss (an example of which is a zero-sum game). Competition can arise between entities such as organisms, indivi ...
for full and open competition (vis a
no-bid contract).
48 CFR 6.102(d)(2)
. Retrieved January 14, 2015.
See also
* Funding opportunity announcement
References
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External links
Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA)U.S. Army Research LaboratoryOffice of Naval ResearchAir Force Office of Scientific Research
United States administrative law
Contract law