Proposals Sought For Intelligence Gathering TechnologiesProposals Sought For Intelligence Gathering Technologies

The research group for federal intelligence agencies is seeking to award contracts for new and innovative ways to collect intelligence information.

In a broad agency announcement (BAA), the Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity is seeking a range of technologies for "identifying and/or creating novel sources of new information," according to the announcement. The solicitation came from IARPA's Office of Smart Collection.

The organization plans to award several contracts for research that is not currently being addressed at IARPA or is the focus of other solicitations the group has published, it said.

Moreover, it is looking only for technology and other innovations that can potentially revolutionize how intelligence is collected, not incremental improvements, according to the BAA.

"Research that primarily results in evolutionary improvement to the existing state of practice is specifically excluded," the announcement said.

Among technologies IARPA is seeking are "sensor technologies that dramatically improve the reach, sensitivity, size, weight, and power for collection of broad signal or signature types," and "electrically small antennas and other advanced RF concepts" the organization said.

IARPA also plans to award contracts for new ways of identifying and assessing collection systems to improve their performance; tagging, tracking, and location techniques; agile architectures that can intelligently distill useful information for the intelligence gatherer; and innovative ways to ensure the veracity of data collected.

Innovations sought are primarily for early-stage research projects, so those making proposals also should not expect contracts to exceed more than 12 months, according to the BAA.

IARPA is accepting proposals through September 30, 2011. How much the awards are depends on the quality of the proposals and the funds available, the organization said.