Sample DARPA BAA White Paper Response: What Gets You Invited (and What Gets You Declined)

Defense Grant Writers · March 7, 2026

DARPA BAAs follow a two-step process: you submit a white paper (typically 6-8 pages), and the program manager decides whether to invite you to submit a full proposal. The invite rate varies by program, but typically 15-25% of white papers receive invitations.

The feedback you receive is limited. If invited, you get a letter from the PM with guidance on what to address in the full proposal. If declined, you receive a brief notification with little or no explanation. You never see the PM's internal assessment of your white paper.

We created a realistic sample that shows both sides: the invite letter the proposer receives, and the internal assessment they never see.

Download the sample DARPA white paper response (PDF)

What the Invite Letter Tells You

The sample invite letter is from a fictional DSO program manager for a Resilient Autonomous Systems BAA. Notice what the PM includes:

• A brief statement of what interested them about the white paper
• Specific technical questions to address in the full proposal
• Scope and scale expectations (e.g., "demonstrate potential for 50+ agent swarms")
• Budget ceiling and page limits
• A clear statement that invitation does not guarantee award

The PM's questions are not casual suggestions. They represent the gaps that will determine whether your full proposal is funded. If the PM asks you to address manufacturing scale-up, that is because manufacturing is a risk they are worried about. Every question in an invite letter maps to a concern that could sink your proposal if left unaddressed.

What the Internal Assessment Looks Like

The PDF includes a simulated internal assessment that illustrates how PMs evaluate white papers. The four factors are:

• Alignment with Program Vision: Does the white paper directly address a specific Technical Area in the BAA? Generic proposals that do not map to a TA are almost always declined.
• Technical Credibility: Does the team have relevant prior work? Are there preliminary results? Publications in the domain?
• Differentiation: How does this submission compare to others? DARPA programs receive dozens to hundreds of white papers. If your approach is similar to ten other submissions, you need to be clearly better.
• Risk Assessment: DARPA accepts high technical risk, but the risk needs to be acknowledged and the milestones need to retire key risks early.

Why White Papers Get Declined

The sample includes a table showing the most common decline reasons from a fictional BAA that received 47 white papers and invited 11:

• Did not address a specific Technical Area (34%): The single most common reason. Generic "we do autonomy" white papers that do not connect to a specific TA are declined immediately.
• Incremental over existing work (28%): DARPA funds high-risk, high-reward research. Minor improvements to existing approaches do not clear the bar.
• No preliminary data (19%): Concepts described at a purely theoretical level without any simulation, experimental, or analytical evidence.
• Team lacks relevant expertise (11%): The PI has no publications or prior work in the proposed domain.
• Misunderstood program scope (8%): The white paper addresses a problem that the BAA does not cover.

Download the full sample DARPA white paper response (PDF)

For a comparison of DARPA and DoD SBIR funding mechanisms, see: DARPA BAA vs DoD SBIR: Which Funding Path Is Right for Your Technology?

For NSF, NIH, and civilian agency SBIR/STTR proposals, visit sbirgrantwriters.com.