Young Faculty Award (YFA) 2025

Background
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) Young Faculty Award (YFA) program aims to identify and engage rising stars in junior research positions in academia and equivalent positions at non-profit research institutions, particularly those without prior DARPA funding.

The program seeks to expose these researchers to Department of Defense (DoD) needs and DARPA’s mission of creating and preventing technological surprises for national security. The YFA program provides high-impact funding to early-career researchers to develop innovative research that enables transformative DoD capabilities, ultimately fostering the next generation of researchers focused on national security issues.

Work Details
The YFA program consists of a 24-month base period with a maximum funding level of $250,000 per 12-month interval. Proposals should also include a 12-month option period with a maximum funding level of $500,000, referred to as the 'Director’s Fellowship.'

To qualify for the Director’s Fellowship option period, reports must demonstrate measurable progress toward project objectives during the performance period and show significant expenditure of received funding. Proposals will be evaluated based on Overall Scientific and Technical Merit, Potential Contribution and Relevance to the DARPA Mission, and Cost Realism. The proposed technical approach must be innovative, feasible, achievable, and complete. Major technical risks must be identified with planned mitigation efforts clearly defined. A minimum of three two-day meetings in Washington, D.C., is required during the base period, along with one additional meeting during the option period. Travel for non-DoD sponsored activities is discouraged.

Period of Performance
The target start date for planning purposes is August 2025, with a base performance period of 24 months followed by an optional 12-month extension.

Place of Performance
The contract will primarily be performed in the Washington, D.C. area.