Polyplexus Pilot Proposers Day Webcast
March 23, 2018
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DARPA Polyplexus Pilot Proposers Day Webcast
 

Special Notice (SN) DARPA-SN-18-37
Polyplexus Pilot Proposers Day
March 23, 2018

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) Defense Sciences Office (DSO) is sponsoring a Proposers Day webcast to provide information to potential proposers on the objectives of an anticipated Research Announcement (RA) for the Polyplexus Pilot program.  The Proposers Day will be held via a live webcast on March 23, 2018 at 11:00 AM with a repost on March 27, 2018 at 4:00 PM.  Advance registration is required for viewing the webcast.  Note, all times listed in this announcement and on the registration website are Eastern Time.

The goals of the Polyplexus Pilot Proposers Day are to: (a) introduce the research community (Proposers, Academia, and Government) to the Polyplexus Pilot program vision and goals; and (b) explain the mechanics of the program. 

DARPA anticipates releasing the Polyplexus Pilot RA in early March 2018.  If released, the RA will be available on http://www.grants.gov/.  Following the event, DARPA may post the presented materials as well as a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) list to the DARPA/DSO Opportunities website. 

The Government’s ultimate intent is for Polyplexus to be open to all, but, given the nature and complexity of this pilot program, the Government requires a pool of expert science and technology researchers to interact with the platform and act as platform testers.  To meet this requirement, pilot participation is open to scientists and researchers at educational institutions only.  Educational institution scientists are typically faculty or postdoctoral researchers.  Graduate students and undergraduates who perform research under the supervision of faculty or postdoctoral researchers may also qualify if they are participating in original scientific or technical research.  The RA will explain how scientist and engineers can participate in the testing of the Polyplexus platform.  Qualified participants will be selected on a first registered for the Proposers Day, first invited basis.

Program Objective and Description

Polyplexus is an online platform being developed under the DARPA Gamifying the Search for Strategic Surprise (GS3) program.  The aim of the new Polyplexus platform is to fundamentally reshape the R&D process by reducing the time between concept emergence and worthy proposal submission by dramatically increasing efficiency.  The efficiency gains arise from collaborative activities focused on rigorous evidence collection and hypothesis generation, both of which are facilitated by online conversation.  Ultimately, the purpose of Polyplexus will be to build on a continuous expert conversation about the present and future states of science and to generate superior R&D proposals, which are then matched to research sponsors. 

DARPA/DSO is seeking participants for this pilot program designed to utilize modern connectivity to rapidly develop promising basic research pathways and then efficiently develop basic research proposals. DSO’s intent is to fund some of the research proposals resulting from this pilot program.  As with other recent DARPA/DSO opportunity announcements, the intent of this program is to deliver research proposals that seek to investigate innovative approaches to enable revolutionary advances in science, devices, or systems.  Specifically excluded is research that primarily results in evolutionary improvements to the existing state of practice. 

Registration Information

The Polyplexus Pilot Proposers Day will be a live webcast on March 23, 2018 at 11:00 AM with a repost on March 27, 2018 at 4:00 PM.  Note, all times listed in this announcement and on the registration website are Eastern Time.  There is no registration fee for the Proposers Day webcast. 

Registration opens: March 6, 2018, 2:00 PM Eastern time
Registration website: http://events.sa-meetings.com/PolyplexusPilotPD2018 (this site)
Proposers Day Registration Deadline: Tuesday, March 20, 2018 at 5:00 PM or when capacity is reached, whichever comes first.
Polyplexus Pilot Registration Closes: Thursday, May 31, 2018 at 5:00 PM or when capacity is reached, whichever comes first.

Advance registration via the above website is required in order to receive access to the webcast and is mandatory for every individual intending to view the webcast either alone or as part of a group.  

Registrants in excess of the number needed for the pilot will be added to a waitlist.

Eligibility

Proposers Days are only open to registered potential participants, i.e., the events are closed to the general public and media.  For this particular program, Proposers Day registration is open to potential proposers who are U.S. Citizens, U.S. Permanent Residents, and Foreign Nationals. 

Q & A

Administrative, technical, and contractual questions about the Polyplexus Pilot program should be emailed to PolyplexusPilot@darpa.mil.  All questions must be in English and must include the name and email address of a point of contact.  Following the Proposers Day, DARPA will post an FAQ list to the DARPA/DSO Opportunities website.

Contact Information

Please refer to the Polyplexus Pilot Proposers Day in all correspondence.

   • Technical Point of Contact: Dr. John Main, Program Manager, PolyplexusPilot@darpa.mil

   • Registration Website: http://events.sa-meetings.com/PolyplexusPilotPD2018

   • DARPA/DSO Opportunities Website: http://www.darpa.mil/work-with-us/opportunities

Disclaimers and Important Notes

Viewing the Polyplexus Pilot Proposers Day webcast is voluntary, but registration for the webcast is mandatory for participation in the activity described in the Polyplexus Pilot RA.  Interested parties to this notice are cautioned that nothing herein obligates the Government to issue a solicitation.  The Proposers Day does not constitute a formal solicitation for proposals or abstracts.  This announcement is issued solely for information and program planning purposes and is not a Request for Information (RFI).  Since this is not an RFI, no submissions against this notice will be accepted by the Government.  No classified, ITAR controlled, or proprietary information shall be included in submitted materials or shall be presented or discussed at the Proposers Day.  DARPA will not provide reimbursement for costs incurred to participate in this Proposers Day. Recording the Proposers Day webcast is not permitted.