NRL Long Range Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) for Basic and Applied Research

The Naval Research Laboratory (NRL), the United States Navy’s corporate laboratory, has released its Long Range Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) for Basic and Applied Research under opportunity number N00173-24-S-BA01. This opportunity seeks to support fundamental and applied scientific research that addresses the evolving technical needs of the Navy and Marine Corps. The BAA aims to facilitate technological advancements across a broad spectrum of research areas essential to the Navy’s mission readiness and strategic capabilities. NRL is especially interested in projects with the potential to yield novel capabilities or enhance existing systems. NRL conducts research through four major components: the Systems Directorate (Code 5000), the Materials Science and Component Technology Directorate (Code 6000), the Ocean and Atmospheric Science and Technology Directorate (Code 7000), and the Naval Center for Space Technology (Code 8000). Each directorate has released a series of specific technical topic areas, as outlined in Appendix 1 of the announcement. These topics include areas such as high frequency radar, information and decision sciences, corrosion mitigation, optical sensing, ocean dynamics, and spacecraft technology. Research under this BAA supports both classified and unclassified work. Funding under this opportunity may be issued through contracts, grants, cooperative agreements, or other transaction mechanisms. The BAA does not require cost sharing or matching funds, and the number of awards and total funding available have not been specified, indicating a flexible and open-ended funding structure. Applicants must first submit a White Paper outlining their research idea and providing a rough cost estimate. If the NRL expresses interest, applicants will be invited to submit a full proposal. This two-step submission process is designed to reduce the burden on both applicants and agency reviewers and ensure that only the most promising concepts advance to the full proposal stage. Evaluation criteria for proposals include technical merit, alignment with Navy priorities, cost realism, and the overall benefit to the government relative to proposed costs. The BAA clearly states that the government may fund all, some, or none of the submissions. Eligible applicants include a wide range of entities such as educational institutions, small businesses, small disadvantaged business concerns, historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs), and minority institutions (MIs). There are no explicit geographic restrictions or limitations based on applicant type beyond what is described in individual topic descriptions. Applications are currently being accepted, with the full BAA posted on March 1, 2024. The current deadline for submission is March 31, 2026. This deadline has been extended several times via amendments. Given the broad scope and recurring updates to the topic list, this BAA is likely to serve as a continuous funding mechanism for cutting-edge Navy research. Detailed information and submission instructions, including proposal formatting and required documentation, are available on the NRL's contracting webpage. For questions related to this opportunity, applicants may contact Mary A. Johnson, Contract Specialist, via email at [email protected] or by phone at 202-923-1558. There is no requirement for a letter of intent or concept paper beyond the White Paper submission stage, which acts as the primary gate for full proposal invitation. Interested parties should refer to Appendix 1 for the full list of topic areas and ensure White Papers are directed to the appropriate contact listed per topic.