ARO Core BAA — Single Investigator & Special Programs

ARO Core BAA — Single Investigator

Offers core basic research grants across physical, engineering, and information science domains in the Army.

The Army Research Office Core Broad Agency Announcement (W911NF-23-S-0001, Amendment 4, January 2025) is ARO's primary vehicle for funding extramural basic research at universities, nonprofits, and industry. ARO, headquartered at Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, was founded in 1951 and serves as the Army's front door to the university research community — its funded portfolio has contributed to 27 Nobel Prizes and currently engages over 7,000 researchers at more than 300 institutions across 46 U.S. states and territories and 30 countries. The BAA is open year-round and will remain active at least through late 2027. Research must be fundamental — proposals focused on specific devices or components are explicitly out of scope.

The BAA covers three main scientific divisions: Physical Sciences (Chemistry, Physics, Life Sciences); Engineering Sciences (Mechanical, Electronics, Materials, Earth Sciences); and Information Sciences (Computing, Mathematics, Network Sciences). It also organizes research around 10 Essential Research Programs (ERPs) including AIMM (AI of Maneuver and Mobility), HAT (Human Autonomy Teaming), QIS-PNT (Quantum Information Sciences for Position, Navigation, and Timing), FREEDOM (Electronic Warfare in Multi-domain Operations), TRANSFORME (Synthetic Biology for Military Environments), and VICTOR (Tactical Power and Propulsion). Eligible applicants include universities, nonprofits, state and local governments, foreign organizations, and for-profit businesses of all sizes.

Submission follows a two-stage process: applicants first submit a White Paper to the ARO Technical Point of Contact (TPOC) responsible for the relevant research area, and proceed to a full proposal only if explicitly invited. The award instrument — grant, cooperative agreement, or contract — is determined at negotiation based on government involvement. Foreign organizations must address FOCI (Foreign Ownership, Control, and Influence) requirements. Submissions are routed through the ARO submission portal at aro-submission.arl.army.mil and/or SAM.gov.