ARPA-H Emerging Health Innovators (EHI) Initiative

What they want

• Health and biomedical research led by one early-career project lead, in one of 16 topic areas (for example skin inflammation sensing, deep brain stimulation for sleep, brain drainage after injury, patient data protection in life science AI, organ preservation, implantable cancer therapy at the resection margin)
• A 24-month base period, plus a plan and price for an extra 12-month option called the Director's Award for a limited number of top performers
• A Task Description Document (TDD) listing each task, who does it, where, the deliverables and measurable milestones with risks
• A Milestone Payment Schedule: 8 quarterly milestones in the base period and 4 in the option year, each with a deliverable and objective acceptance criteria
• Work guided by an assigned ARPA-H program manager who acts as project manager and mentor
• After award: key team members in place within 60 days, and attendance at program meetings (an FAQ describes one annual in-person meeting and one networking event or workshop per year)

What they'll judge offers on

• Step 1 (solution summary): alignment with the chosen topic area, technical merit and innovativeness, and relevance and contribution to the ARPA-H mission
• Step 2, Criteria 1 - Overall Scientific and Technical Merit: innovative, feasible, achievable and complete approach; complete tasks and clear deliverables; major technical risks and mitigation; proposed IP rights and software may be considered for effect on commercialization and open-source standards
• Step 2, Criteria 2 - Potential Contribution and Relevance to the ARPA-H Mission: supports better health outcomes for all; potential to invigorate innovative health and biomedical research; IP restrictions must not significantly limit transition of the technology
• Step 2, Criteria 3 - Assessment of Proposed Cost/Price: price is reasonable for the technical approach, TDD, milestones and expected outcomes

What to include when you submit

• Step 1: send a solution summary on the Attachment A template, naming one topic area, with the project lead's date of completing a terminal degree and the organization's Unique Entity ID on the cover sheet.
• Keep the solution summary body (items 1 through 3) anonymous: name the project lead, organization and team only on the cover sheet, and include no references.
• Step 2: send the full proposal using Attachments B (pitch slides), C (Technical and Management Proposal), D (Task Description Document), E (Milestone Payment Schedule) and F (Administrative and National Policy Requirements document); use of the templates is mandatory.
• Include the Solution Summary reference number on the Attachment C cover sheet and an official signed letter of support from the proposer's organization (required for the full proposal, not for the solution summary).
• Price the base period at no more than $700,000 and the option year at no more than $350,000, indirect costs included, and give 8 base and 4 option quarterly milestones, each with a deliverable and objective acceptance criteria.
• List all federal support, past, current and pending, with sponsor, amount and performance dates, and attach the biographical sketch and current and pending support common forms for each senior and key person.
• Name one project lead only (no co-PIs); keep subcontractor, vendor and consultant support to 30% or less of the total value.
• Answer the Attachment F items: team members, FFRDC participation, conflicts of interest and any support provided to ARPA-H, research security, novelty of the work, intellectual property assertions, human and animal research, tax and felony representations, cybersecurity and biosecurity.
• For human subjects research give IRB review plans and a Federal-wide Assurance; for animal research give IACUC review plans, the Vertebrate Animal Section worksheet and an Animal Welfare Assurance.
• Write in English with type no smaller than 12-point (Attachment F: sans-serif, 11-point), use .pdf, .odx, .doc or .docx files, keep the proposal valid at least 120 days, and mark proprietary pages 'Proprietary'.

After award, you must have

• Key members of the performer team must be on board after award. From EHI Administrative FAQ Oct 22 2026.docx: …all key members of the performer team will be onboard within 60 days of the award…
• Human subjects research needs approvals before any funding is used for it, and animal research needs IACUC approval before costs are incurred. From EHI ISO 2026_ARPA-H-SOL-26-150_Amendment 1.pdf: …cannot be used toward human subjects research until ALL approvals are granted.

Current contractor

No incumbent is named. Multiple Other Transaction awards are anticipated; the number of awards is not stated.

Not in the notice text

• About 39,000 characters in the middle of the ISO (from the end of Topic 6 into Section 2.7, covering Topics 6 to 16 in part, proposers, program meetings, eligibility and non-U.S. entity rules) were attached but not read; the full ISO is on SAM.gov.
• Attachment B (Pitch Slides template, .pptx) is attached but not read, so pitch slide requirements are unknown.
• Attachment G (Model Other Transaction) was only partly read; its award terms are for reference.
• Section 2.4, which Amendment 1 changed to clarify the number of submissions per offeror, was not read; the FAQs say each project lead may send one summary and one full proposal.
• Program meeting dates and locations (ISO Section 2.5) were not read.
• The notice's SAM.gov place of performance is DC, USA; where the research must be done is not stated in the text read.
• The number of awards is not stated beyond multiple awards.