# DARPA does not do any research in house Some subtle advantages of externalizing research: * It enables [[DARPA is relatively tiny and flat]] * Actual cutting edge research may require rare equipment or knowledge. [[There are many pieces of equipment or tacit knowledge that only exist in one or two places in the world]] * It enables strong accountability because for any program there is exactly one responsible person * It enables program managers to have multiple teams working on the same objective without internal politics. * You don’t have to lay anyone off or find new work for people when you change direction * You can get people to work on projects who might not want to work for the org full time * [[Externalized research is a buffer against B players]] Of course there are also disadvantages: * There are higher [[Transaction costs]] in making sure deliverables are created, finding the right people in the first place, paying administrative overhead at the other org, and convincing them to work on projects * DARPA doesn’t have any control over the “intellectual exhaust” created during projects. * [[Feedback loops and play are important for breakthroughs]] and externalized research can hamper both of these points. Even if you have good communication channels, you’re not in the same building. Play requires a feeling of safety and if a performer knows there’s a chance their funding will be cut, it may make them less playful. ([[When is externalized research better than internalized research and vice versa?]]) It’s easy to conflate [[DARPA]] with [[Bell Labs]], [[Lockheed Skunkworks]], or [[Xerox PARC]] but they’re fundamentally different because [[R+D orgs lie on a spectrum between externalized and internalized execution and benefits]] and DARPA is all the way on the externalized end, while those other orgs are much closer to the internalized end. [[It’s easy to set out to build a DARPA but end up building a Skunkworks]] [Web URL for this note](http://notes.benjaminreinhardt.com/DARPA+does+not+do+any+research+in+house) [Comment on this note](http://via.hypothes.is/http://notes.benjaminreinhardt.com/DARPA+does+not+do+any+research+in+house)