Getting Started

HOW TO PARTICIPATE

Curious about how you can work with the Army? Whether you’re in industry, academics, or even the government, you can find a path to use Army research innovation beyond just the Army SBIR Program. Select the options that apply to your organization and technology and learn about the Army opportunities available to you.

RETake the quiz

Program Executive Officers/Program Managers can use:

Thanks for completing the survey! There are several programs available to the PEOs and PMs performing research and development for Army needs. Select an option below to learn more!

Broad Agency Announcement (BAA)

BAAs target broadly defined areas of interest for research and development and are used to increase knowledge in science and acquire scientific study and experimentation directed toward advancing state-of-the-art technologies.

BAAs focus more on advancing science than acquiring specific products. They can pertain to basic and applied research, and certain early-stage development work.

For current BAA listings, visit sam.gov.

Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR)

The SBIR Program enables small, high-tech U.S. businesses with less than 500 employees the opportunity to provide innovative Research and Development (R&D) solutions to critical Army Technology requirements.

What comes out of SBIR:

Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR)

The STTR program, like the SBIR program, requires participation by universities, federally funded research and development centers (FFRDCS) or other nonprofit research institutions.

  • All STTR Phase I or Phase II proposals for any Department of Defense (DoD) topic must be submitted through the online DoD Submission website.

What comes out of STTR:

  • Largest source of early-stage R&D funds for Small Businesses – not a loan
  • Company retains data rights for five years
  • Builds company’s research credibility
  • Army SBIR|STTR Website

Army xTech Program

The xTech Program operates prize competitions with Army and DoD partners, sponsored by the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Acquisition, Logistics and Technology (ASA(ALT)). xTech’s goal is to help small and nontraditional businesses partner with the army by breaking down barriers and cutting out the bureaucratic processes.

xTech organizes several competitions every year, including an open-topic competition, xTechSearch.

What comes out of an xTech competition?

Other Transactional Authority (OTA)

Other Transactional Authority (OTA) authorizes certain research and prototype projects. OTAs are not governed by the Federal Acquisition Regulations and are a highly flexible business tool, enabling efficient system acquisitions for the Army.

OTA Consortia – The Army leverages OTAs with industry consortia, which are comprised of large/small companies, nonprofits, and nontraditional defense contractors. The table below provides the website and contact information for each federal consortium.

Army Research Lab Open Campus

The Army Research Lab (ARL) Open Campus links government assets with the global research community, including the information of a collaborative and transparent relationship with academia, industry and small businesses to enhance discovery and innovation, and the effective execution of basic and applied research programs in a variety of technical focus areas of high interest

  • The primary mechanisms used to establish Open Campus collaborative partnerships are CRADAs and Educational Partnership Agreements (EPA). CRADAs mediate R&D activities between the Army labs and industry. EPAs are established between ARL and academic institutions to encourage and enhance joint education and research opportunities with academia in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) disciplines relevant to ARL S&T programs.
  • Home – xTechSearch (army.mil)
  • For more information, please contact opencampus@arl.army.mil.
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