Exploring Regime Changes at DARPA

Organizational Oversight

DARPA's organizational oversight has changed over time, impacting how PMs operate. Increased bureaucracy in the post-Vietnam and Watergate era significantly affected the procurement process, slowing down project funding and requiring PMs to work within stricter regulations.

Project Visions

In DARPA's early years, many projects were driven by the visions of office directors, leaving PMs to focus on execution. However, over time, PMs increasingly played a role in shaping project concepts, based on discussions with the armed forces and the academic community.

Payoff Timelines and Dual-Use Technology

DARPA's attitudes towards payoff timelines and dual-use technology have also varied. In the 1960s, IPTO emphasized exploring basic research with minimal emphasis on military applications. However, political shifts led to increased pressure to fund projects with clear applications, especially during the 1970s.

Constant Factors

Despite these changes, two constants have remained in DARPA's model: its use of vision-driven PMs with agency and its focus on a clear customer relationship as a guiding principle.

Conclusion

Understanding these key regime changes at DARPA is essential for interpreting and applying lessons from its history. By balancing visionary leadership with practical constraints, DARPA has managed to adapt to changing circumstances while maintaining its focus on supporting innovations that fall through the cracks of traditional R&D ecosystems.

Expert Quote

"The Competition in Contracting Act...transformed the old IPTO-ARPA style of funding research.... Program managers achieved results by knowing what was going on in the research community and who could deliver. They also accepted unsolicited proposals coming over the transom if they were good and suited ARPA's purposes..."

- Roland and Shiman, authors of "Strategic Computing: DARPA and the Quest for Machine Intelligence"