The Biological Technologies Office (BTO) of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is hosting a Proposers Day for the potential proposer community in support of a planned Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) for the PREventing EMerging Pathogenic Threats (PREEMPT) Proposers Day. The Proposers Day will be held on January 30, 2018 at the Executive Conference Center (ECC) in Arlington, VA. The event will be webcast for those who would like to participate remotely. Advance registration is required for both the physical meeting and the webcast. Note, all times listed in this announcement and on the registration website are Eastern Time.

The Proposers Day objectives are:

• To introduce the science and technology community (industry, academia, and government) to the PREventing EMerging Pathogenic Threats program vision and goals;
• To explain the general mechanics of a DARPA program and the specific objectives and milestones of this program; and
• To encourage and promote teaming arrangements among organizations with the expertise, research facilities, and capabilities needed to execute research and development responsive to PREEMPT program goals.

The Proposers Day will include overview presentations by government personnel, an information session to respond to questions from participants, and “lightning” talks (three minutes, one PowerPoint slide) for potential proposers to highlight technical capability or interest to promote teaming. Lightning talks must be scheduled via the registration website.

Attendance at this event is not a requirement for submission of a proposal or selection for funding. Information relayed during the Proposers Day will be made available on the BTO section of the DARPA Opportunities page: http://www.darpa.mil/work-with-us/opportunities. 

Attendee Presentations

Interested attendees are invited to present a brief one-slide PowerPoint summary of their interests and capabilities (see Attachment 1). These will be presented during 3-minute "lightning" presentations at the Proposers Day. Presentations consisting of multiple slides will not be granted a time slot. Lightning talks will be accepted on a first-come, first-served basis until time constraints are reached. Lightning talk submissions are restricted to those attending the physical meeting. All presentations must be emailed to DARPA-SN-18-18@darpa.mil no later than 12:00 PM ET on January 23, 2018.

Teaming

DARPA highly encourages teaming before proposal submission and, as such, will facilitate the formation of teams with the necessary expertise. Potential proposers may choose to be included on the (optional) Proposer Profile List by submitting a one-page profile consisting of their contact information (name, organization, email, telephone number, mailing address and, if applicable, organization website); a brief description of their technical competencies; and, if applicable, their desired expertise from other teams/organizations (Attachment 2).

All profiles must be emailed to DARPA-SN-18-18@darpa.mil no later than 4:00 PM ET on January 23, 2018. Following the deadline, the consolidated teaming profiles will be sent via email to the interested parties who submitted a valid profile (following the format provided and not exceeding the single page limit). Specific content, communications, networking, and team formation are the sole responsibility of the participants. Neither DARPA nor the DoD endorses the information and organizations contained in the consolidated teaming profile document, nor does DARPA or the DoD exercise any responsibility for improper dissemination of the teaming profiles.

Registration Information

Registration opens: As of publication of this announcement.
In-Person Registration closes: January 23, 2018 at 12:00 PM EST or when capacity is reached, whichever comes first.
Webcast Registration closes: January 26, 2018 at 12:00 PM EST or when capacity is reached, whichever comes first.

Registration is limited by the venue capacity, and early registration is strongly recommended.There will be no on-site registration.

Participants must register in advance through the registration website. There will be an optional $15 meal fee for the Proposers Day. Early registration is strongly recommended. Due to space limitations, attendance for the Proposers Day will be limited to the first 140 registrants. Remote participation via webcast is limited to 500 participants. Interested parties are encouraged to coordinate attendance internally within their organizations prior to registration. Physical attendance is limited to no more than two representatives per division/department. Individuals who are unable to register because the deadline has occurred or capacity has been reached, will be added to a waitlist. If slots remain open after registration closes or become available due to cancellations, the slots will be filled on a first-come, first-served basis from the waitlist.

An online registration form and various other meeting details can be found at the registration website,
https://events.sa-meetings.com/PREEMPTProposersDay.

All attendees are required to present government-issued photo identification upon entry to the event.

Contact Information

Further administrative questions should be addressed to DARPA-SN-18-18@darpa.mil. Please refer to the PREventing EMerging Pathogenic Threats Proposers Day (DARPA-SN-18-18) in all correspondence. This announcement is not a request for proposals; any sent will be disregarded.

This SN is issued solely for information and potential new program planning purposes; the SN does not constitute a formal solicitation for proposals or proposal abstracts. In accordance with FAR 15.201(e), responses to this notice are not offers and cannot be accepted by the Government to form a binding contract. Submission is voluntary and is not required to propose to subsequent Broad Agency Announcements (if any) or research solicitations (if any) on this topic. DARPA will not provide reimbursement for costs incurred in responding to this SN. Respondents are advised that DARPA is under no obligation to acknowledge receipt of the information received, or provide feedback to respondents with respect to any information submitted under this SN. NO CLASSIFIED INFORMATION SHOULD BE INCLUDED IN THE SN RESPONSE.