ARPA-H Strategy
Like other Advanced Research Projects Agencies, ARPA-H provides research funding to create new opportunities and solve important problems through ambitious, well-defined, and measurable programs. Each program is led by a Program Manager who champions a core idea, frames a challenge, and awards projects to multidisciplinary teams of performers, whose work is then measured and evaluated to ensure that only the best solutions advance.
ARPA-H supports research carried out by a wide variety of groups across the country, including everyone from academia and private industry to the government. Watch the video below to learn more about the ARPA-H model.
Focus Areas
ARPA-H has established four “mission offices,” each focused on an area to unlock new ways to collaborate and attack problems.
Funding Opportunities through ARPA-H
ARPA-H calls for revolutionary proposals that will deliver breakthrough research and technological advancements. The agency funds two general categories: specific programs and single projects.
Specific Programs
ARPA-H programs begin with well-defined, challenging, and significant problems in health, using the Heilemeier framework to guide development and selection of a high risk/high impact research focus. The agency then solicits proposals and funds multiple teams to work towards the program’s goals. Program solicitations typically describe multiple technical areas for development with highly prescriptive specifications at the cutting edge of technology capabilities.
Check out the latest list of programs on the ARPA-H website. A few examples include:
- APECx—Antigens Predicted for Broad Viral Efficacy through Computational Experimentation
- PSI—Precision Surgical Interventions
- NITRO—Novel Innovations for Tissue Regeneration in Osteoarthritis
- BREATHE—Building Resilient Environments for Air and Total Health
- HEROES—Health Care Rewards to Achieve Improved Outcomes
- GLIDE—Groundbreaking Lymphatic Interventions and Drug Exploration
- PARADIGM—Platform Accelerating Rural Access to Distributed and Integrated Medical Care
- REACT—Resilient Extended Automatic Cell Therapies
- PRECISE-AI—Performance and Reliability Evaluation for Continuous Modifications and Useability of AI
Single projects
In addition to specific programs, ARPA-H supports single projects that have potential to deliver innovations in areas aligned with the agency’s mission and goals. Each mission office has an Innovative Solutions Opening (ISO) for investigator-initiated project submissions, with applications accepted on a rolling basis. Proposals should investigate unconventional approaches, and challenge accepted assumptions to enable leaps forward in science, technology, systems, or related capabilities.
How the UW ARPA Committee Can Help You
The UW ARPA-H Committee seeks to serve as a resource for the research community by supporting development and implementation of strategies to engage ARPA-H as well as concept and project team development for ARPA-H submissions.
If you’re interested in submitting a concept proposal to ARPA-H, the committee can help by providing feedback on your abstract, including appropriately scaling your budget and project scope, and/or by connecting you with potential collaborators and other experts essential for your project.
UW ARPA-H Committee Members
