McAllister & Quinn’s New Start Memo

Funding opportunity announcements do not simply “appear” 60 days before an application deadline: their development is the product of months, if not years, of conversation, workshops, planning, and budgeting. The challenge for our clients is to get as far upstream of this process as possible, allowing researchers the ability to participate in and influence the formation of ideas. Furthermore, by having potential investigators positioned early in this process, our clients are better prepared to respond to upcoming solicitations.

McAllister & Quinn authors detailed analyses and reports for each client that identify new and potential programs. Our annual Department of Defense (DoD) New Starts Report is an example of this work. This product draws from the President’s Budget Request (PBR), which acts as a roadmap for how federal agencies propose to allocate resources toward priority topics and research interests – many of which are new directions for the agency. New programmatic starts signal the Administration’s research and development priorities for the coming fiscal year, providing critical advanced intelligence on future directions and priorities of the federal agencies, and on upcoming solicitations. Our FY 2020 New Starts Report, for example, described new programming in Artificial Intelligence (AI), Machine Learning (ML), Software Development, Unmanned Systems, Sensor Development, and Bio-sciences.