University Incubator Request for Information

REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI)

Assessment on Potential Establishment of Incubator Programs for Secure Facilities and Networks at Universities

Purpose
Pursuant to Section 1071 of Public Law 119-60, the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2026 (Section 1071), the Department of War (DoW) is conducting an assessment on the feasibility, advisability, and potential benefits of establishing incubator programs for the development, operation, and sustainment of secure facilities and networks at select institutions of higher education.

This RFI seeks detailed information from institutions capable of: Establishing or expanding secure facilities and networks Accelerating the transition of innovative technologies to DoW mission use Increasing availability of secure spaces to support classified research and development (R&D), prototyping, secure collaboration, and research transition activities Expanding the cleared technical workforce
Serving as a regional innovation hub supporting multi-tenant use (DoW, industry, and academia) Long-term economic sustainment with significant non-federal cost-sharing

For the purpose of this RFI, secure facilities refers to facilities that meet Intelligence Community Directive 705 "Sensitive Compartmented Information Facilities," and 32 Code of Federal Regulations Part 117, “National Industrial Security Program Operating Manual (NISPOM)” requirements and are sponsored by the U.S. Government to support classified work. These include Sensitive Compartmented Information Facilities (SCIFs), Special Access Program Facilities (SAPFs), and facilities approved for work with Confidential, Secret, and Top Secret (also known as collateral classified) information. Secure networks may refer to government-provided classified networks, as well as government-authorized contractor-developed classified networks.

The Department intends to use RFI responses to inform its assessment to Congress on the feasibility, advisability, and potential benefits to the Department of establishing the incubator programs described in Section 1071.

The purpose of this information request is to ensure that any potential assessment provided to Congress and any subsequently authorized incubator program are grounded in realistic construction, security, governance, and sustainment planning. Early identification of cost, compliance, and institutional commitment factors is intended to reduce risk for both the U.S. Government and participating institutions.