Every so often I look online to see what is being offered in the way of grants through the federal government. I do this because I am curious. I realize it is kind of weird to be curious about government grants, but oddly enough it gives me an idea of where the government is at in terms of disease, military, possible upcoming scientific breakthroughs, etc. You get the idea.
I was moseying around on grants.gov and you will never guess what I found. I knew you couldn't guess it, it is a federal grant from DARPA. DARPA stands for Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency and is located in Arlington, Virginia. The Title of the grant is, are you ready? Drum roll, please...
The introduction to this announcement talks about blogs and other media sharing technology are quickly changing how the Armed Forces operates. It acknowledges that effective use of social media has potential to help the Armed Forces "understand the environment in which it operates to allow more agile use of information in support of operations", (page 4 of the announcement).
The announcement covers four goals that the funding opportunity wants to achieve:
Under the background section, the announcement talks about events are happening that are of strategic and tactical importance to the military. I have to agree, I guess I just did not realize that this is how the government goes about looking for the support they need to further their information and technology. I think it is a great idea- those people who have good ideas and skills are usually very happy to use them for money. After all, who would have the ability to quit a job and develop technology plus test it without an income at all? Not I, not I.
There are three sections in which DARPA is willing to split out the $42 million price tag for the total award: the first section is in the technical area, as in software development. The second area is the data management, which is where the "performer" creates the controlled environments and performs experiments. The third area is the test and evaluation of the software/algorithm. Of course, a person/business is allowed to submit a proposal for just one section, or team up with others.
You can find the entire announcement here: DARPA
I was moseying around on grants.gov and you will never guess what I found. I knew you couldn't guess it, it is a federal grant from DARPA. DARPA stands for Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency and is located in Arlington, Virginia. The Title of the grant is, are you ready? Drum roll, please...
"Social Media in Strategic Communication (SMIGSC)"
The introduction to this announcement talks about blogs and other media sharing technology are quickly changing how the Armed Forces operates. It acknowledges that effective use of social media has potential to help the Armed Forces "understand the environment in which it operates to allow more agile use of information in support of operations", (page 4 of the announcement).
The announcement covers four goals that the funding opportunity wants to achieve:
- Detect, classify and track ideas and concepts from the formation through the spread these ideas and concepts. The second portion of this goal is to detect, classify and track gossip and incorrect information.
- To pinpoint situations in which there is persuasion and influence operations across social sites.
- Identify those involved, the purpose of their involvement, and how others are being effected.
- Not only stop, but correct adversary influence operations.
Under the background section, the announcement talks about events are happening that are of strategic and tactical importance to the military. I have to agree, I guess I just did not realize that this is how the government goes about looking for the support they need to further their information and technology. I think it is a great idea- those people who have good ideas and skills are usually very happy to use them for money. After all, who would have the ability to quit a job and develop technology plus test it without an income at all? Not I, not I.
There are three sections in which DARPA is willing to split out the $42 million price tag for the total award: the first section is in the technical area, as in software development. The second area is the data management, which is where the "performer" creates the controlled environments and performs experiments. The third area is the test and evaluation of the software/algorithm. Of course, a person/business is allowed to submit a proposal for just one section, or team up with others.
You can find the entire announcement here: DARPA
The government using social media for their endeavors is one aspect I had not considered but it makes sense. Social media tools are already in existence. The technology is changing rapidly so why not utilize a system that is linked in every possible way. The grant seems to be very organized and well planned. As our country is looking to protect itself, this approach seems to be viable. I wish the best of luck to the programmers, developers, and experimentors of this grant.
ReplyDeleteValerie