BAAs are issued under Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) 35.016 and are not directly FAR Part 15 procurements. BAAs can also be categorized under Other Competitive Procedures found in FAR 6.102(d)(2).

What is Research and Development?

Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 2.101 Definitions: "Basic research” means that research directed toward increasing knowledge in science. The primary aim of basic research is a fuller knowledge or understanding of the subject under study, rather than any practical application of that knowledge. FAR 35.001 Definitions:

“Applied research” means the effort that (a) normally follows basic research, but may not be severable from the related basic research; (b) attempts to determine and exploit the potential of scientific discoveries or improvements in technology, materials, processes, methods, devices, or techniques; and (c) attempts to advance the state of the art. When being used by contractors in cost principle applications, this term does not include efforts whose principal aim is the design, development, or testing of specific items or services to be considered for sale; these efforts are within the definition of “development,” given below.

“Development,” as used in this part, means the systematic use of scientific and technical knowledge in the design, development, testing, or evaluation of a potential new product or service (or of an improvement in an existing product or service) to meet specific performance requirements or objectives. It includes the functions of design engineering, prototyping, and engineering testing; it excludes subcontracted technical effort that is for the sole purpose of developing an additional source for an existing product.

Information Protection
USAID’s goal is to facilitate the research and development that will lead to innovative and potentially commercially viable solutions. Understanding the sensitive nature of submitters’ information, USAID will work with organizations to protect intellectual property.
Expressions of Interest should be free of any intellectual property that a submitter wishes to protect, as the Expressions of Interest will be shared with USAID partners as part of the selection process.  However, once submitters have been invited to engage in further discussions, submitters will work with USAID to identify proprietary information that requires protection.

Therefore, organizations making submissions under a BAA grant to USAID a royalty-free, nonexclusive, and irrevocable right to use, disclose, reproduce, and prepare derivative works, and to have or permit others to do so to any information contained in the Expressions of Interest submitted under a BAA. If USAID engages with the organization regarding its submission, the parties can negotiate further intellectual property protection for the organization’s intellectual property.
Organizations must ensure that any submissions under a BAA are free of any third party proprietary data rights that would impact the license granted to USAID herein.