EconDefense
ACQ-12 / Research, innovation and experimentation

Sponsor research through FFRDCs within approved missions

Use research contracts and long-term sponsored research institutions; work placed with FFRDCs must remain within sponsoring agreement purpose, mission and scope unless statutory exception applies.

Action briefPDF dossier · original 168Download record
Authority / instrument · ACQ-12

Research institutions

Research, innovation and experimentation

Statute & instrument
Authority holder

Secretary of Defense or military-department Secretary for research; head of agency for new-center restriction

What this does not authorize / hard limit

Not a means to obtain any arbitrary work from a favored center; applied scientific laboratory research has an express scope exception.

Recorded executor

DARPA Contracts Management Office or Service contracting/grants/agreements office; Performing laboratory or external research performer

Continue to actor →

Recorded executing role; this record-specific route is not an additional institutional office.

Legal basisSources linkedLegal sources and instrument limits are recorded.
RequirementsGates recordedRead the requirements for this instrument; applicability depends on the proposed action.
Public fundingRules recordedAppropriated research/sponsoring funds; individual sponsored work must fit their purpose. Office budget figures are separate institutional context, not an allocation to this instrument.
Assigned rolesRoles recordedPublic sources describe institutional authority. The instrument identifies approval and execution roles; a specific signature remains transaction-dependent.
EngagementUse documentedCMU-SEI offers a verifiable example of sponsored FFRDC work with a current contract and work-plan process; it is not an open grant scheme. Program check: 2026-10-04; see each route for intake status.

Public evidence describes the institution and instrument; it is not approval of an individual transaction.

At a glance

Possible toolACQ-12 · Other statutory tools
Legal basis10 U.S.C. §4001

Authority holder: Secretary of Defense or military-department Secretary for research; head of agency for new-center restriction

Other statutory tools

Mechanism tags describe the source text; they do not expand the authority.

Availability and verification

Express statutory pathway; award-specific appropriations, available balances, delegations, implementation and approvals not independently verified.

Program process and intake

Checked 2026-10-04 · program documented. Program evidence is separate from legal authority, available funds and transaction approval.

CMU-SEI offers a verifiable example of sponsored FFRDC work with a current contract and work-plan process; it is not an open grant scheme.

Software Engineering Institute sponsored research

Who this route serves
Government project sponsors; other collaborators through authorized arrangements
Administering office / routing lead
DoD sponsor; Air Force Life Cycle Management Center Enterprise Acquisition Services Division; CMU-SEI
Documented use

SEI identifies its DoD Sponsoring Agreement and FAR 35.017 mission limits. This documents FFRDC operations, not an exclusive executor of sections 4001 and 4126.

What this evidence label means
Current contract documented

Contract FA870225DB003 has a base ordering period of July 1, 2025–June 30, 2030. The optional 2030–2035 period does not represent exercised funding.

Status reference date: 2026-10-04 · research checked 2026-10-04

CMU Software Engineering Institute: Work with us · Government work; Active Contracts; FA870225DB003FFRDC operator primary guidance · Evidence record

Program eligibility

  • Work must fit the sponsored mission and special long-term need; independence and conflicts restrictions apply.

    FAR35.017 FFRDCs · Sponsorship, mission, independence and nonsponsor workofficial acquisition regulation · Evidence record

Steps and preparation

Funding, limits and authority relationship

Funding and financial terms

  • sponsored R&D task funding · contract/project-specific

    Cost-reimbursement sponsored work is funded by its government work sponsor; a contract ceiling or period is not a project appropriation.

    FAR35.017 FFRDCs · Sponsorship, mission, independence and nonsponsor workofficial acquisition regulation · Evidence record

Exclusions and limits

Authority relationship source

CMU Software Engineering Institute: Work with us · Government work; Active Contracts; FA870225DB003FFRDC operator primary guidance · Evidence record

SEI government-project process →

published guidance: Government-sponsored research and permitted collaboration, not a company application for an FFRDC award.

Research scope and sources checked

Checked official FAR framework and current SEI operator page against its stale insights mirror; used current2025-contract ordering dates rather than the older guide. NSF February 2026 master list corroborates the FFRDC model.

What remains unverified

  • No individual new project task, obligation or sponsor approval independently verified.

A dated source check is not continuing monitoring. Recheck the linked official notice before preparing a submission. Browse program research →

Requirements and limits

Eligibility & prerequisites

  • Research purpose and defense relevance; suitable sponsoring agreement.
  • New FFRDC operation requires congressional report and 60-day wait under §4126(c).

Limits & exclusions

  • 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.

Funding conditions

  • Appropriated research/sponsoring funds; individual sponsored work must fit their purpose.

Read the funding and execution guide

Who contributes what

Need & planning

  • USD(R&E) and Service science-and-technology executives
    Office profile
  • DARPA or Service laboratory/program manager

Resources

  • Sponsoring component RDT&E budget owner; component comptroller
    Office profile

Approval

  • Secretary of Defense or military-department Secretary; valid delegate must be confirmed
    Office profile

Execution

  • DARPA Contracts Management Office or Service contracting/grants/agreements office
    Office profile
  • Performing laboratory or external research performer

Partners & review

  • Operational customer / acquiring program
  • Security, export-control, counsel and fiscal officials as applicable

Office links are editorial matches to the original role text, not verified delegations. Composite labels and unmatched actors are preserved.

Coordination pathway

Research sponsor → mission/scope review with FFRDC sponsor → contracting office → center; new-center proposal requires congressional steps.

Actor and execution-role sources

Legal basis

What this research establishes

Legal basisSources linkedLegal sources and instrument limits are recorded.
RequirementsGates recordedRead the requirements for this instrument; applicability depends on the proposed action.
Public fundingRules recordedAppropriated research/sponsoring funds; individual sponsored work must fit their purpose. Office budget figures are separate institutional context, not an allocation to this instrument.
Assigned rolesRoles recordedPublic sources describe institutional authority. The instrument identifies approval and execution roles; a specific signature remains transaction-dependent.
EngagementUse documentedCMU-SEI offers a verifiable example of sponsored FFRDC work with a current contract and work-plan process; it is not an open grant scheme. Program check: 2026-10-04; see each route for intake status.

Confidence: High on express authority and cited conditions; execution assignment is illustrative unless statute expressly names it.

Currentness: GovInfo 2024 Code (includes FY2025 NDAA, P.L. 118-159) read in full for cited provision; targeted FY2026 NDAA P.L. 119-60 amendment/repeal sweep. No claim of complete legislative currency through 2026-10-02; remaining 2026 delta needs counsel validation.

Review scope: Original research target October 2, 2026; no record-specific last-review date supplied. Publication is not legal-currentness certification.

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