DAC partners across the national security enterprise to deliver fundamentally advantageous change that is rooted in the creation and exploitation of scientific knowledge. DAC accomplishes this mission by funding the areas of applied research (budget activity 6.2), as defined by 32 CFR 22.105, advanced technology development (budget activity 6.3), and advanced component development and prototypes (budget activity 6.4).

Whitepapers for initial concept reviews and full proposals are sought from institutions of higher education, nonprofit organizations, state and local governments, foreign organizations, foreign public entities, and for-profit organizations (i.e. large and small businesses) for scientific research that supports the DAC mission. The DAC BAA generally conforms to the portfolio structured around research area based mission execution. Whitepapers and full proposals are expected to be for cutting-edge innovative research that could produce discoveries with a significant impact to enable new and improved Army technologies and related operational capabilities and related technologies.

In an effort to provide DAC's research topics and related information in an easy to digest format, DAC has published the following public website listing all current DAC research topics: https://www.army.mil/article/261533, hereafter referenced as the DAC BAA topics website. DAC focuses on executing in-house research programs but supplements our efforts with support from the broader technology base and Academia. DAC funds a modest amount of extramural research in certain specific areas, and those areas are described on the DAC BAA topics website. Changes to these topics will be made using this website on an as needed basis. A change to the DAC BAA topics website is not an amendment to this BAA and will not be posted on https://www.grants.gov/ and https://sam.gov/. A change to this document, the BAA itself, is an amendment and will be posted on https://www.grants.gov/ and https://sam.gov/. DAC will maintain a daily static snapshot of the DAC BAA topics website to ensure submissions are aligned with listed research topics on the day of submission.

Interested parties are encouraged to continually browse the DAC BAA topics website for white paper and proposal topics that DAC desires to explore. These specific research topics should be viewed as suggestive, rather than limiting. DAC is always interested in considering other innovative research concepts of relevance to the Army if those concepts align with DAC's mission. Please see Section II, Detailed Information about the Funding Opportunity, for more information on the DAC research topics advertised through this BAA. Interested parties should also review https://www.grants.gov/ and https://sam.gov/ to obtain the latest version of the BAA for whitepaper and proposal submission requirements.