Sponsor research through FFRDCs within approved missions
- Objective
- Develop a technology
- Family / instrument
- Research, innovation and experimentation · Research institutions
- Statute
- Authority holder
- Secretary of Defense or military-department Secretary for research; head of agency for new-center restriction
- Executor · routing lead
- DARPA Contracts Management Office or Service contracting/grants/agreements office; Performing laboratory or external research performer
Recorded eligibility gates (excerpt)
Research purpose and defense relevance; suitable sponsoring agreement.
New FFRDC operation requires congressional report and 60-day wait under §4126(c).All requirements & limits
Recorded funding condition (excerpt)
Appropriated research/sponsoring funds; individual sponsored work must fit their purpose.All funding conditions
What this does not authorize / limits
Not a means to obtain any arbitrary work from a favored center; applied scientific laboratory research has an express scope exception.
- University affiliation does not alone confer federal laboratory/FFRDC powers.
Legal basisSources linked
RequirementsGates recorded
Public fundingRules recorded
Assigned rolesRoles recorded
EngagementRole recorded
Public evidence describes the institution and instrument; it is not approval of an individual transaction. Express statutory pathway; award-specific appropriations, available balances, delegations, implementation and approvals not independently verified.
Actor sources
- DARPA Contracts Management Office — award and administration roles
- 10 U.S.C. 4126 — sponsoring and congressional controls
Independent public-source guide; not an official U.S. government website. Original research target October 2, 2026; published October 3, 2026. Read the full record for currentness, coordination and all source notes.