The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, or DARPA, is well known for its role in a variety of major inventions, from GPS to the Internet. Since DARPA’s success, a variety of other “ARPAs” have been set up within the federal government, all hoping to produce cutting-edge research and inventions in a given sector. U.S. government ARPAs with substantive funding in FY2023 include DARPA (~$4B), ARPA-H ($1.5B), ARPA-E ($470M), and IARPA.
At IFP, we’ve been interested in the ARPA model for a while, and have written extensively about both the model’s strengths and its limitations. Can it be copied across the federal government, or in other countries? Is its success specific to the time and place it was founded? These are important questions. In our effort to better understand the ARPA model, we’ve compiled this list of resources. This guide was last updated in January of 2024, and we’ll maintain it as a living resource guide that is updated periodically.
The guide begins with DARPA itself, the original ARPA. Then we provide resources on the ARPA model generally, focusing on the “Heilmeier Catechism” of guiding questions, how ARPAs manage risk, and a literature on replicating ARPAs in different contexts. Then we share resources on the existing ARPA clones in the US and worldwide.
DARPA
DARPA was created by President Eisenhower in 1958, following the Soviet launch of the Sputnik satellite. It is the most famous and most successful ARPA.
Books
- The DARPA Model for Transformative Technologies: Perspectives on the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency by William B. Bonvillian, Richard Van Atta, and Patrick Windham (free PDF available)
- The Department of Mad Scientists: How DARPA Is Remaking Our World, from the Internet to Artificial Limbs by Michael P. Belfiore
- The Imagineers Of War: The Untold Story of DARPA, the Pentagon Agency That Changed the World by Sharon Weinberger
- The Pentagon’s Brain: An Uncensored History of DARPA, America’s Top-Secret Military Research Agency by Annie Jacobsen
- Strategic Computing: DARPA and the Quest for Machine Intelligence, 1983-1993 (History of Computing) by Alex Roland and Philip Shiman
Lectures/Talks
- An Uncensored History of DARPA by Annie Jacobsen
- DARPAtv
- DARPA Director Addresses PCAST on DARPA’s Mission by Arati Prabhakar
- How DARPA is creating the impossible by Arati Prabhakar
- Inside DARPA: The Pentagon’s Brain by Annie Jacobsen
- Learning from DARPA by Ben Reinhardt
- The DARPA Model for Transformative Technologies by William B. Bonvillian, Richard Van Atta, and Patrick Windham
Podcasts
- Bringing DARPA’s innovation to health with Regina Dugan
- How DARPA works with Dan Wattendorf
- DARPA and Advanced Manufacturing with William B. Bonvillian
- DARPA, IARPA, and other ARPAs by Progress, Potential, and Possibilities
- Funding Breakthrough Research with Anna Goldstein
- Inside DARPA, The Pentagon Agency Whose Technology Has ‘Changed the World’ with Sharon Weinberger
- “Voices from DARPA” Podcast
Articles/Reports/Presentations
- All That DARPA Can Be by William B. Bonvillian
- An organizational perspective to funding science: Collaborator novelty at DARPA by Phech Colatat
- DARPA Accomplishments: Seminal Contributions to National Security by DARPA
- DARPA: Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. 1958–2018 by DARPA
- DARPA’s Very Expensive, Sci-Fi Projects from the Future by Adam Clark Estes
- Defence research: Still in the lead? by Sharon Weinberger
- Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency and Innovation by DARPA
- Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency: Overview and Issues for Congress by the Congressional Research Service
- Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency: Key Factors Drive Transition of Technologies, but Better Training and Data Dissemination Can Increase Success by the Government Accountability Office
- The Functionality of DARPA is Politically Precarious by Samo Burja
- Innovation at DARPA by DARPA
- Interfaces, modularity and ecosystem emergence: How DARPA modularized the semiconductor ecosystem by Jennifer Kuan and Joel West
- In the Realm of the Barely Feasible by Arati Prabhakar
- Rethinking the Role of the State in Technology Development: DARPA and the Case for Embedded Network Governance by Erica Fuchs
- “Special Forces” Innovation: How DARPA Attacks Problems by Regina E. Dugan and Kaigham J. Gabriel
- The Connected Science Model for Innovation: The DARPA role by William B. Bonvillian
- The merging of humans and machines is happening now by Arati Prabhakar
- Transformation and Transition: DARPA’s Role in Fostering an Emerging Revolution in Military Affairs Volume 1 – Overall Assessment by the Institute for Defense Analyses
- What is DARPA? How to Design Successful Technology Disruption by Alex Waibel
- What makes DARPA tick? by Jeffrey Mervis
- What else makes DARPA tick by Jeffrey Mervis
- What is DARPA? The rich history of the Pentagon’s secretive tech agency by Kelsey D. Atherton
- Why does DARPA work? by Ben Reinhardt
- Changing Culture Through Visionary Thinking: Applying the DARPA Hard Test for Innovation by Tamara Carleton
The ARPA model
What constitutes an ARPA, and what broad lessons about the model’s strengths and weaknesses are commonly accepted?
- ARPA Playbook by Eric Gilliam
- Changing the Business of Breakthroughs by Regina E. Dugan and Kaigham J. Gabriel
- Funding Breakthrough Research: Promises and Challenges of the “ARPA Model” by Pierre Azoulay, Erica Fuchs, Anna P. Goldstein, and Michael Kearney
- How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Intelligible Failure by Adam Russell
The Heilmeier Catechism
The catechism is a set of questions crafted by George H. Heilmeier, the director of DARPA from 1975-1977, meant to guide research proposals. It has been adapted at other ARPA institutions.
- The Heilmeier Catechism by DARPA
- ARPA-(H)eilmeier Questions by ARPA-H
- ARPA-H: Behind the Heilmeier Questions by ARPA-H
- Innovation’s New Catechism by Lisa Margonelli
Risk Management at ARPAs
By definition, ARPAs are working on projects that have a relatively high likelihood of technical failure. However, research outputs may also be misused or cause unintended consequences. We’ve collected some resources that address this challenge and propose methods for preparing for downside risk.
- How ARPA-H can master the subtle art of risk-taking by Janika Schmitt, Jacob Swett, and Jassi Pannu via IFP
- How DARPA Can Anticipate Downside Risk by Juan Cambeiro and Arielle D’Souza via IFP
- How DARPA Can Proactively Shape Emerging Technologies by Tim Hwang and Caleb Watney via IFP
- Preventing the Misuse of Breakthrough Health Research by Janika Schmitt via IFP
- Research and Technology Protection Office by IARPA
Cloning DARPA
Resources on the possibilities and perils of replicating DARPA.
- Cloning DARPA Successfully by Erica Fuchs
- A New Model for Philanthropy? by William B. Bonvillian and Eric Schmidt
- A growing number of governments hope to clone America’s DARPA by The Economist
- DARPA ‘lookalikes’ must ground their dreams in reality by Nature
- Embracing the DARPA Model for EdTech Innovation: Charting the Course with GPT-4 and Beyond by Getting Smart
- New ways to pay for research could boost scientific progress by The Economist
- No, We Don’t Need Another ARPA by John Paschkewitz and Dan Patt
- Speculative Technologies Model by Speculative Technologies
- The rise of “ARPA-everything” and what it means for science by Jeff Tollefson
- Inspired by DARPA: A Global Comparison of Radical Innovation Government Agencies by Tamara Carleton
- A DARPA-like agency could boost EU innovation — but cannot come at the expense of existing schemes by Nature
ARPA for Everything
AgARDA
In the 2018 Farm Bill, Congress authorized the creation of AgARDA, a pilot effort designed to generate and deploy advanced agricultural technologies, research tools, and qualified projects and products. AgARDA has not yet been established because of lack of funding.
- AGARDA Agriculture Advanced Research and Development Authority by USDA
- The Case for AgARDA by Adin Richards via IFP
ARPA-E
The “Advanced Research Projects Agency–Energy” was created in 2007 by the America COMPETES Act, and was funded in 2009.
Papers/Articles/Presentations
- ARPA-E and DARPA: Applying the DARPA model to Energy Innovation; presentation and paper by William B. Bonvillian and Richard Van Atta
- An Assessment of ARPA-E by The National Academies
- ARPA-E is Here to Stay by Varun Mehra
- Building a Culture of Risk-Taking by Jennifer E. Gerbi
- DARPA and its ARPA-E and IARPA clones: a unique innovation organization model by William B. Bonvillian
- Designing the public sector to promote sustainability transitions: Institutional principles and a case study of ARPA-E by Brendan Haley
- Retrospective of the ARPA-E ALPHA Fusion Program
Videos
- Applying the DARPA Concepts to Energy Innovation: The Emerging ARPA-E Model by ITIF
- ARPA-E and Funding R&D of Advanced Energy Technologies by Mark Hartney
- Workshop Welcome and ARPA-E Primer by ARPA-E
ARPA for Education
Various ideas for an education ARPA have been proposed, including by the Biden administration.
- Advanced Education Research and Development Fund (AERDF)
- Innovation in the Education Sciences (the new IES) by Mark Schneider
- Is a ‘DARPA for education’ finally happening? by Javeria Salman
- Our New Sputnik Moment: How an ARPA model for education R&D could turn around a half-century of stagnation by Zach Graves and Robert Bellafiore Jr.
- Why We Need a DARPA for Education by Russell Shilling
ARPA-H
The Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health is housed within the Department of Health and Human Services, and was established in March of 2022.
Papers/Articles/Reports
- Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H): Overview and Selected Issues for Congress by the Congressional Research Service
- ARPA-H: Accelerating biomedical breakthroughs by Francis S. Collins, Tara A. Schwetz, Lawrence A. Tabak, and Eric S. Lander
- ARPA-H Could Offer Taxpayers a Fairer Shake by Travis Whitfill and Mariana Mazzucato
- ARPA-H FAQ by the White House
- ARPA-H Should Zero In on Pandemic Prevention by Jassi Pannu, Janika Schmitt, and Jacob Swett
- How ARPA-H’s Use-Inspired Research Can Accelerate Progress in Health by Janika Schmitt, Jassi Pannu, and Jacob Swett
- Does NIH Need a DARPA? By Robert Cook-Deegan
- An ARPA for Health Research? By Bhaven N. Sampat and Robert Cook-Deegan
- Creating the Health Advanced Research Projects Agency (HARPA) by Michael Stebbins and Geoffrey Ling
- HARPA website by The Suzanne Wright Foundation
Videos
- A Conversation on the Vision for ARPA-H with Adam Russell
- ARPA-H and HHS: A Discussion on the Future of American Biomedical Innovation with Renee Wegrzyn
- ARPA-H Director Renee Wegrzyn on accelerating research to transform health care
- ARPA-H Inaugural Director Dr. Renee Wegrzyn at 18th Non-Dilutive Funding Summit (2023)
- Open Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) Virtual Proposers’ Day by ARPA-H
- The Patients Are Waiting: How ARPA-H Will Change Lives Now by The Suzanne Wright Foundation
ARPA-I
The Advanced Research Projects Agency – Infrastructure was established within the Department of Transportation in June 2023. It aims to ensure “that the future of transportation in America is safe, secure, efficient, and resilient for all.”
- Advanced Research Projects Agency – Infrastructure (ARPA-I) by the Office of the Secretary of Transportation
- Applying ARPA-I: A Proven Model For Transportation Infrastructure by Andy Gordon, Aleksandra Srdanovic, and Cristina Velasquez
IARPA
The Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity serves as an ARPA for the intelligence community, designing tools and inventions that are valuable to intelligence agencies. It was founded in 2006, and most of its research is unclassified and publicly available.
Papers/Articles/Reports
- How to Predict the Future by Jason Matheny and Santi Ruiz via IFP
- Interview: ARPA Director Jason Matheny advances tech tools for US espionage by Elisabeth Eaves
Videos
ARPAs around the World
Other ARPA-style agencies around the world include Japan’s Moonshot R&D and Germany’s Cybersecurity Innovation Agency.
SPRIN-D
The German, non-military counterpart to DARPA, SPRIN-D was established in 2019 and funds research across various fields, such as biotechnology, energy, and computing.
Articles
- CLOSING THE GAP. Recommendations for the creation and expansion of innovation financing in Germany by SPRIN-D
- Get to know SPRIND by SPRIN-D
Podcast
- SPRIND Podcast [mostly in German]
JEDI
The Joint European Disruptive Initiative (JEDI) was launched in 2018 with the goal of positioning Europe as a leader in the development of breakthrough technologies. It organizes competitions (“Grand Challenges”) to foster technological or scientific advancements.
Articles
- Return of the JEDI: European disruptive technology initiative ready to launch by Daniela Vincenti
- JEDI – the European DARPA by Lesley Brown
ARIA
The Advanced Research and Invention Agency is a new British agency, announced in 2021 and formally established in 2023. Like SPRIN-D, it funds research across diverse areas, from programmable plants to robotic hardware to climate monitoring.
Papers/Articles/Reports
- The bosses of Britain’s new research agency explain its innovations by The Economist
- Visions of ARPA: Embracing Risk, Transforming Technology by Policy Exchange
- Dominic Cummings got his British Darpa. Can he make it work? by Matt Clifford
- How should the proposed Advanced Research and Invention Agency be regulated? by Edinburgh Law School
Videos
- ARIA: Betting on science with Ilan Gur and Matt Clifford