Slots: A proposer should submit no more than one proposal as a prime contractor. Such a proposal may cover TA1, TA2, TAs 1 and 2, or TA3. However, proposers selected for TA3 red team cannot be selected for any portion of the other two TAs, whether as a prime, subcontractor, or in any other capacity from an organizational to individual level.
Deadlines
Internal Deadline: Contact RII.
LOI: N/A
External Deadline: Friday, June 2, 2023, 12pm ET
Award Information
Award Type: Procurement contract, grant, cooperative agreement, or other transaction
Estimated Number of Awards and Anticipated Award Amount: Multiple awards are anticipated for TA1 and TA2, a single award is anticipated for TA3. The resources made available under this BAA will depend on the quality of the proposals received and the availability of funds.
Who May Serve as PI: Proposers to TA1 and TA2 are not required to hold or obtain security clearances; however, TA3 proposers are required to hold security clearances. TA1 or TA2 proposers who wish to have access to classified data and evaluation results for their applications must have personnel and access to facilities with a minimum classification level of the submitted proposal at the time of award and must provide their CAGE code and security point(s) of contact in their proposals.
Link to Award: https://sam.gov/opp/ccee3b24b035414caa7e3a6357ce9716/view
Process for Limited Submissions
PIs must submit their application as a Limited Submission through the Research Initiatives and Infrastructure (RII) Application Portal: https://rii.usc.edu/oor-portal/. Use the template provided here: RII Limited Submission Applicant Template
Materials to submit include:
- (1) Two-Page Proposal Summary (0.5” margins; single-spaced; font type: Arial, Helvetica, or Georgia typeface; font size: 11 pt). Page limit includes references and illustrations. Pages that exceed the 2-page limit will be excluded from review. You must use the template linked above.
- (2) CV – (5 pages maximum)
Note: The portal requires information about the PIs in addition to department and contact information, including the 10-digit USC ID#, Gender, and Ethnicity. Please have this material prepared before beginning this application.
Purpose
DARPA is soliciting innovative research proposals in the area of proof engineering, to include proof development, maintenance, deployment, and management. Proposals should drive advances in proof engineering, providing for the development of knowledge, methods, and tools enabling integration of capabilities into a continuous software development pipeline accessible to traditional software developers and engineers. The goal of this effort is to ensure that critical defense systems remain free of entire categories of defects and vulnerabilities. The term pipeline is meant to imply a continuous flow of enhanced capabilities with no decline of confidence with regard to cyber risks.
PROVERS has three (3) technical areas (TAs), as shown in Figure 1, and a Quantitative Evaluation & Evidence Creation (QE/EC) activity that an FFRDC will perform. TA1 focuses on advancing proof engineering technologies and integrating these technologies into modern software development processes. TA2 focuses on providing platform use-cases for assessing TA1 capabilities.TA3 focuses on assessing the cybersecurity vulnerabilities of the TA2 platform use cases.
Visit our Institutionally Limited Submission webpage for more updates and other announcements.