ONR and DARPA Remain in Ballston

August 29, 2005

News Release

Arlington, VA— The Potomac Institute commends the Base Realignment and Closure Commission (BRAC Commission) on its decision to remove the Office of Naval Research (ONR) and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) from the relocation list proposed by Department of Defense and keep both organizations in the Ballston area of Northern Virginia.

This decision recognizes an argument put forward by the Potomac Institute that the proximity of ONR, DARPA, and the National Science Foundation facilitates sharing, dialogue, and interpersonal relationships that are vital to the pursuit of science and technology. Ballston has become the center of science and technology investment by the government with more than $40 billion of government science investment centered in the area. The value of extensive collaboration between the nations largest investors in science and technology is hard to underestimate.

“The BRAC commissioners clearly understood the power and importance of keeping DARPA, ONR, and NSF in the same area. These organizations are synergetic in hundreds of ways that would be lost if DARPA and ONR had to move,” said CEO and Chairman Mike Swetnam.

The Institute congratulates the Commission on its foresight and understanding of the value of S&T in the Ballston area.

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