The Big if True Science (BiTS) Accelerator, supports scientists, engineers, and entrepreneurs in transforming bold concepts into actionable program designs. It equips them with the skills, networks, and strategic insight needed to secure institutional backing and bring their visionary programs to life.
Learn how BiTS is empowering researchers to drive the next wave of transformative initiatives and pioneering institutions.
The internet and GPS didn’t emerge from incremental progress in industry or academia. They were the result of DARPA-style, coordinated research programs—aligning labs and companies around a shared, ambitious goal beyond business-as-usual R&D. DARPA pioneered coordinated research programs in the United States, but organizations around the world, like ARIA (UK), SPRIND (Germany), and the Moonshot Research and Development Program (Japan), among others, are developing their own unique models of coordinated research programs. We need more such efforts and that’s why we created BiTS.
BiTS prepares them to step into key roles, whether as ARIA Programme Directors, ARPA-style Program Managers, philanthropic leaders, or founders of frontier R&D organizations like FROs or BBN-model institutions. Through BiTS, they gain the training, network, and playbook to turn bold ideas into transformative programs.
BiTS identifies and nurtures scientists with groundbreaking ideas. Our 15-week accelerator offers a comprehensive, hands-on program designed to equip fellows with the tools, skills, and connections they need to to transform ambitious concepts into actionable, well-designed programs.
Participants gain the strategic, operational, and fundraising skills to navigate institutional landscapes and bring their visions to life.
Fellows learn how to develop large-scale, translational research programs that can secure substantial philanthropic and public funding.
Through exploration and mapping, fellows identify current research gaps, engage with experts in their fields, and refine their program ideas to maximize impact.
Fellows gain hands-on experience in program execution, learning about project management, budgeting, risk mitigation, and how to engineer successful programs.
Our program places a strong emphasis on transitioning technologies into real-world applications. Fellows work with potential funders and transition partners to ensure their research can be scaled and implemented.
Fellows are connected to experienced leaders of coordinated research programs, like ARIA Programme Directors and ARPA Program Managers, and a diverse network of creators, performers, peers, mentors, and transition partners to ensure their programs' success.
The program culminates in a Demo Day, where fellows showcase their program theses and strategic plans to influential organizations, including government moonshot agencies and philanthropic foundations, positioning them for future success.
We recruit ambitious scientists from academia and industry and support them to create high-impact coordinated research programs that can change the world by providing them with expert training and mentorship, and connecting them with key partners and funders.
Joshua Elliott and JP Chretien, both former Program Managers at DARPA, have collectively led nearly $1B in high-risk, high-reward research programs. Joshua oversaw $600M in initiatives over six years, shaping strategies for breakthrough innovation. JP led over $300M in programs at DARPA’s Biological Technologies Office, spearheading the agency’s first biomedical Grand Challenge and advancing cutting-edge research with top institutions. Together, they bring over a decade of experience driving transformative scientific and technological advancements.
In late 2022, after speaking with leaders from ARPA-like organizations (ARIA, NCADE, ARPA-H) and pioneers of new non-profit models (FROs), Joshua identified a significant challenge: how to source and train effective program leaders without the long-established history and momentum of DARPA.
Joshua mentored potential ARPA-H program managers through Actuate, helping them shift from traditional academic thinking to the high-risk, high-reward mindset that defines DARPA PMs. This experience demonstrated the potential to train future leaders and led him to design the Breakthrough Research Accelerator for Innovative Non-profit Science (Brains Initiative).
Joshua partnered with Ben Reinhardt and Speculative Technologies to build out the Brains concept, demonstrating the program with the first cohort of ARIA PDs and with an open cohort of scientists in Spring 2024.
Building on lessons from Brains, BiTS (Big if True Science) was designed as a core program of Renaissance Philanthropy to catalyze more ambitious coordinated research programs in both government and philanthropy. In particular, the program focuses on leveraging lessons from DARPA’s successes and failures, including the creation of a "Playbook for ARPA-PMs”.
Our leadership team has years of experience managing nearly $1B of research programs at institutions like DARPA and ARPA-H, and they are committed to helping the next generation of science leaders succeed.
CEO, Renaissance Philanthropy
ED, innovative genomics at Berkeley
Program Director, Schmidt Sciences (former ARPA-E)
Former Head of Rapid Evaluation, Google X (general tech, science, neuroscience)
Chief Technologist, Intellectual Ventures (former DARPA DSO DD, chemistry++)
Director of UK NSSIF
Our partners include Deep Science Ventures, Horizon Institute for Public Service, Open Philanthropy, Convergent Research, Activate and ARIA, all of whom share our vision of fostering breakthrough innovations in science and technology.
Whether you’re a potential fellow, a funder, or simply curious about our work, we’re here to answer your questions.
For inquiries, reach out to: bits@renphil.org
Created by
Aileen
•
Chloe
