Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H)
The mission of Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H), a new federal agency established in 2022, is to accelerate better health outcomes for everyone by supporting the development of high-impact solutions to society's most challenging health problems. Awardees will develop groundbreaking new ways to tackle health-related challenges through high potential, high-impact biomedical and health research. With a scope spanning the molecular to the societal, ARPA-H seeks proposals that aim to rapidly achieve better health outcomes across patient populations, communities, diseases, and health conditions, including in support of the Cancer Moonshot. Proposals are expected to use innovative approaches to enable revolutionary advances in science, technology, or systems.
ARPA-H has identified four initial focus areas that are a priority for investment:
- Health Science Futures
- Scalable Solutions
- Proactive Health
- Resilient Systems
Additional topics of interest include:
- Quantitative measurements of health outcomes
- Human-centered design for health innovations
- Participatory research
- Advances in Ethical, Legal, and Societal Implications (ELSI)
If the requirements reference FAR 9.5, the principal investigator and any key personnel, subcontractor, subawardee, or consultant must identify and disclose all potential Organizational Conflicts of Interest (OCIs).
The Offices of Sponsored Programs and Research Compliance require the following forms:
- Supplemental Disclosure for Organizational Conflicts of Interest Requirement - for all SBU investigators
- SUBRECIPIENT ORGANIZATIONAL CONFLICT OF INTEREST AFFIRMATIONS AND DISCLOSURE - for all subrecipients on SBU applications
Note: Investigators holding dual appointments with other organizations (ie. BNL, CSHL, VA) and acting on behalf of SBU may need to answer additional questions or get additional approvals.
See ARPA-H Frequently Asked Questions
Other Common FAQs
Institution Type and Eligibility
• Entity, in terms of award limitations, is defined by the Unique Entity ID (UEI) and is not based on other relationships.
• The three ongoing concurrent awards with ARPA-H limit applies to the prime FAR procurements,cooperative agreements, grants, and/or OTs an entity has with ARPA-H.
• The category for “Other Applicants” includes but not limited to:
⎯ Universities.
⎯ Businesses.
⎯ Non-profits.
⎯ Individuals.
⎯ Non-US entities (subject to the requirements included in the BAA, including in section III.A.2).
• ARPA-H does not have a preference with respect to entity type or team size.
• ARPA-H is limiting BAA awards to cooperative agreements, other transactions, and procurement contracts.
• There are no doctoral requirements as part of the BAA, however, proposals will be evaluated by the criteria laid out in the BAA including technical merit and performer capabilities.
Award Limits (PoP, Budget)
• The Open BAA does not include a funding limit for individual awards.
⎯ Abstracts will be evaluated based on the criteria laid out in the solicitation, such as cost realism.
• The Open BAA does not include a limit or range for the period of performance for individual awards.
⎯ Proposers are encouraged to propose a budget that aligns with the scope of the proposed effort.
• The Open BAA does not include a maximum budget for the program or any individual focus area.
⎯ Resources made available under this BAA will depend on the quality of the proposals received and the availability of funds.
Submission Documents/Templates
• Citations to prior work do not count toward the 3-page abstract limit.
• The Cost Proposal spreadsheet will only be provided to entities when a full proposal is requested.
• Fields outlined in the BAA should be used for the Biosketch and Current/Pending Support; not NIH or other support templates.
• ARPA-H is unable to accommodate individual requests for calls or meetings to discuss questions related to the Open BAA.
⎯ Please direct all general questions related to the Open BAA to baaquestions@arpa-h.gov.
Scope of Proposed Concept
• ARPA-H is unable to accommodate individual requests for calls/meetings to discuss technical concepts being considered as a submission to the Open BAA.
⎯ ARPA-H will evaluate and provide feedback on a technical concept once it has been officially submitted in an abstract.
• In general, a clinical trial is eligible to be funded as part of a project awarded through the Open BAA.
• ARPA-H will not fund projects that exclusively involve clinical trials of otherwise developed products.
⎯ It is expected that the clinical trial would be proposed as part of a broader R&D effort that first includes development of a high-impact technology.
• ARPA-H will consider proposals that have a future commercial market; however, the goal of ARPA-H funding is to accelerate research that would not otherwise occur through existing commercial markets.
Rough Order of Magnitude (ROM)
• Cost sharing is not required (refer to section IV.A.4 of the BAA for more information).
⎯ Specifically, “for efforts with a likelihood of commercial application, appropriate direct cost sharing may be a positive factor in the evaluation.”
Abstract Submission (BAA page 11)
• Cover should be marked “ABSTRACT.”
• Length should not exceed 3 pages (excludes cover page, ROM & citations).
• Abstract should include all sections as specified in the BAA.
• Abstract evaluation criteria – scientific and technical merit, proposer's capabilities, and affordability.
• Abstracts are submitted by faculty through the electronic Contract Proposal Submission (eCPS) portal - search ‘ARPA-H’ or ‘75N99223S0001’, in keyword box to the left. Faculty are asked to notify OSP so they are aware of the abstract submission. If a full proposal is requested by ARPA-H, faculty must notify OSP as soon as possible, especially due to the complexity of these proposals requirements (ie. conflict of interest).
Full Proposal (BAA page 13)
• Must be invited to submit a full proposal based on abstract review.
• Volume I – Technical & Management.
• Volume II – Cost Proposal.
• Cover page - no more than one page in length.
• Summary of Proposal & Detailed Proposal Info – no more than 30 pages in length (excludes SOW).
• SOW – no page limit.
Evaluation and Selection (BAA page 25)
• A scientific/technical review will be conducted of each abstract/proposal.
• Selection for award will be made based on evaluation criteria outlined in the BAA and availability of funding.
Evaluation Criteria
Overall Scientific and Technical Merit (Abstract and Full Proposal)
• Innovation.
• Feasibility.
• Achievability.
• Complete.
• Risk Mitigation Strategy.
Proposer’s Capabilities and/or Related Experience(Abstract and Full Proposal)
• Relevant Expertise.
• Experience in Managing Similar Efforts.
Potential Contribution and Relevance to the ARPA-H Mission (Full Proposal)
• Relevance to Mission.
• Unmet Need.
• Future Application.
Cost Realism/Price Reasonableness/Funding Availability/Affordability(Abstract and Full Proposal)
• Cost Realism.
⎯ Realistic for the work to be performed, reflect a clear understanding of the requirements, and are consistent with the unique methods and assumptions used by the contractor (e.g., not too low, match effort, etc.).
• Price Reasonableness.
⎯ Ensure the overall price is fair and reasonable (e.g., not too high).
• Availability/Affordability.
⎯May only acquire goods or services that meet needs and are within budgetary constraints.
⎯ IP considerations.
Award Types
•Will choose award type based on best fit for project
• Awards will be Cooperative Agreements, Other Transactions, and Procurement Contracts. • • Will not award grants.
• Due to the ARPA-H statute, there is a limit on certain award types, but this limit only applies to Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR)-based contracts.
Award Timeline
• Ideal* is 90 days from receipt of full proposal to award but dependent on ARPA-H
resources, award type, negotiations, etc.
Award Funding
• There is no funding limit for individual awards, no ceiling or award range for individual
awards, or an overall ceiling for the BAA.