ARPA-H Scalable Solutions Office (SSO) BAA
Executive Summary:
ARPA-H’s Scalable Solutions Office (SSO) has an open “Mission Office Innovative Solutions Opening (ISO)” to fund revolutionary solutions that expand access, affordability, manufacturing, and distribution of health technologies across the U.S. healthcare system. The ISO accepts Solution Summaries and, if encouraged, full proposals; it anticipates multiple awards made as Other Transactions (OTs). The solicitation is open now and remains open until March 5, 2029.
How much funding would I receive?
The solicitation does not specify dollar amounts or funding ceilings. Awards are made as Other Transaction (OT) agreements at the government’s discretion, with specific payment structures negotiated individually. As a rule of thumb, companies should request only what they need to reach a meaningful technical or commercialization milestone—a concrete point that clearly demonstrates feasibility, enables transition, or unlocks follow-on investment.
What could I use the funding for?
This ISO seeks solution summaries and proposals for projects that fall within the general scope of the ARPA-H Scalable Solutions Office (SSO). The SSO seeks to improve health care access and affordability through revolutionary technical innovations that address the challenges of geography, distribution, manufacturing, and data- and information management. Many communities and remote areas in the United States lack access to timely and quality health care, which leads to disparities in health outcomes for those populations. Bottlenecks during the manufacturing processes of products and health technologies also lead to delays and limited availability, preventing effective distribution of health care solutions to areas of need, especially in emergencies.
Funded SSO health innovation projects will improve the readiness of technologies and medical capabilities to be rapidly, broadly, and affordably adopted by patients, providers, and payers throughout the healthcare ecosystem and improve the patient experience. Manufacturing and supply chain focused SSO projects will lower the bar to entry for new developers, accelerate the rate of development, reduce development and product costs, and improve reliability and agility in manufacturing and product distribution.
Solutions should focus on rapid innovation and the use of partnerships, as well as flexible distribution networks and streamlined manufacturing processes. The following SSO interest areas categorize the ground-breaking solutions we seek to support:
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Approaches to improve affordability and access to health care that are adaptable to various geographic, demographic, economic contexts and can be rapidly and broadly deployed (e.g., drug-repurposing, point-of-care diagnostics, and modular health care infrastructure).
Tailored solutions that provide the pediatric population parity with the adult population with respect to access to treatments and other health care interventions, and that adapt to the pediatric patient’s changing physiology and developmental status over the course of years.
Transformational approaches to reduce or eliminate health disparities, including leap-ahead technologies that scale novel approaches in human factors, and human-centered design to respond to full diversity of patients in varied geographic settings. Tools to enable expansion of capacities, capabilities, and reach of individual and institutional healthcare providers (e.g., school nurses and schools, walk-in clinics, homesteading care) to address unmet health care access needs and expand availability of critical services.
Foundational capabilities to accelerate diagnoses of rare diseases and reduce the cost and increase the availability rare disease treatments wherever patients are, without the need for specialized facilities or healthcare expertise.
Novel materials and technologies to not only return autonomy to limited mobility and/or home bound patients.
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Methods for standardization, automation, and broad distribution of complex procedures including, but not limited to, histopathology, rare disease diagnosis and treatment, and surgical interventions to ensure access and delivery to all populations.
Technical approaches to enhance delivery of effective healthcare solutions, to include dentistry, in rural or low resource settings, including but not limited to "last mile delivery”, at-home monitoring and diagnosis, imaging, drug delivery, telehealth augmentation, and support for remote medical procedures with limited need for specialized training.
Technologies to enable the deployment of critical healthcare resources rapidly and securely at scale to the point of need in permissive and non-permissive (i.e., damaged infrastructure, cyberdenied) environments during a public health crisis or natural disaster.
Innovative information technology, data and analytic products and technologies to enable ordering, inventory management, situational awareness, allocation planning and demand forecasting of critical healthcare resources during a public health crisis or natural disaster.
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Innovative manufacturing technologies
Approaches that reduce costs; improve access; expedite production timelines; and strengthen domestic competitiveness for biologics, pharmaceuticals, medical devices and personalprotective equipment (PPE). These innovations aim to mitigate supply chain risks through:
Novel solutions to minimize the reliance on cold chain management and specialized handling of pharmaceuticals and biologics.
Scalable solutions to strengthen biomanufacturing supplychains, resolve bottlenecks, and enable domestic production, such as:
Improved production of active pharmaceutical ingredients, process consumables, and other critical materials (e.g., enzymes, cell lines, etc.).
Data-driven models to optimize bioprocessing, enhance process control, and bolster supply chain visibility.
Development of alternative materials and innovative methods for PPE manufacturing.
Improvement of capabilities to sustainably re-shore manufacturing and utilize readily accessible, cost-efficient feedstocks to strengthen the local and national industry bases.
Predictable, programable biological production
Advanced analytical technologies designed to improve product knowledge, accelerate release, and/or significantly improve analytical figures of merit.
Novel sensor systems, process analytical technologies, and associated process models to precisely manage bioproduction management, including:
Process control and monitoring systems.
Real-time release assays for rapid product validation.
Predictive capabilities to inform process development and enable efficient and effective scale-up of manufacturing to industrial scale.
Are there any additional benefits I would receive?
Beyond the formal funding award, there are significant indirect benefits to receiving an ARPA-H Scalable Solutions Office (SSO) agreement:
Government Validation and Credibility:
Being selected by ARPA-H—the nation’s newest high-impact biomedical research agency—signals exceptional scientific credibility and alignment with the federal government’s most forward-leaning health innovation priorities. This “ARPA-H validation” often accelerates partnerships with major healthcare systems, research institutions, and investors who recognize the rigor and selectivity of government-vetted innovation.Enhanced Market Visibility and Notoriety:
Award recipients are frequently featured in ARPA-H announcements, federal health innovation communications, and national press coverage. This visibility positions your company as a recognized leader in translational health technology and attracts new collaborators, talent, and private-sector investment.Ecosystem Access and Collaboration Opportunities:
ARPA-H performers gain access to a broad innovation ecosystem spanning federal health agencies, academic research centers, and industry partners. These relationships foster collaboration, facilitate regulatory readiness, and open pathways to follow-on contracts, pilot deployments, and commercialization opportunities within the U.S. health system.Nondilutive Growth and Strategic Leverage:
Because funding is nondilutive, companies can scale and validate core technologies without giving up equity. This validation and maturity achieved under government sponsorship often lead to higher valuations and greater leverage in future fundraising or acquisition discussions.
What is the timeline to apply and when would I receive funding?
Open period: now through March 5, 2029.
Step 1 (required): Submit a Solution Summary via the ARPA-H Solution Submission Portal. ARPA-H strives to provide written feedback within 30 business days of submission.
Step 2: If encouraged, you’ll generally have 45 calendar days from feedback to submit a full proposal (unless ARPA-H specifies otherwise).
Review cadence: ARPA-H reviews proposals on a rolling basis and strives to issue a decision within 60 calendar days of receiving a full proposal.
Award timing: After selection, final negotiations for an Other Transaction (OT) award are completed rapidly, and invoicing is handled through Payment Management Services.
Because of this streamlined process, most ARPA-H applicants move from initial Solution Summary to award decision in approximately 4–5 months—making ARPA-H one of the fastest federal funders for high-impact health innovation projects.
Where does this funding come from?
The Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H), a federal R&D agency within HHS, issuing awards under the authority of 42 U.S.C. § 290c(g)(1)(D) via OT agreements.
Who is eligible to apply?
Academia, non-profit organizations, for-profit entities, hospitals, community health centers, and non-federal research centers. Non-U.S. entities may participate if compliant with all applicable laws.
What companies and projects are likely to win?
Reviewers assess (in descending importance):
Scientific/technical merit—innovative, complete plans with clear deliverables, risks, and mitigations;
Contribution & relevance to ARPA-H’s mission—transformative potential, unmet need, commercialization/transition thinking, and IP/software approaches that enable adoption (preference for open standards/OSS where appropriate);
Team capabilities/experience—track record delivering similar efforts on budget/schedule;
Cost/budget alignment with the technical approach. ARPA-H encourages proposing the best technical solution over low-risk/minimal-uncertainty concepts.
Are there any restrictions I should know about?
Standards & IP: strong preference for open, consensus-based standards (e.g., FHIR/TEFCA, DICOM) and commercial-friendly open-source licenses when feasible; proposals must justify any deviations/standard extensions and may need a pre-submission meeting for exceptions. Provide good-faith IP rights representations; pre-publication review may be required when sensitive info could be disclosed.
Compliance: Human Subjects (IRB), Animal Subjects (IACUC), NIH Genomic Data Sharing (if applicable), CUI handling, research security disclosures (including CHIPS/NPSM-33 requirements), and OCI disclosures/mitigation.
How long will it take me to prepare an application?
For a first-time applicant, preparing a competitive full proposal under this BAA will likely take 120–160 hours in total.
How can BW&CO help?
Our team specializes in complex federal R&D proposals and can:
Triple your likelihood of success through proven strategy and insider-aligned proposal development
Reduce your time spent on the proposal by 50–80%, letting your team focus on technology and operations
Ensure you are targeting the best opportunity for your project and positioning your company for long-term growth under Federal & State R&D Initiatives.
How much would BW&CO Charge?
Our full service support is available for a flat fee of $4,000 to submit a solution summary.
Fractional support is $300 per hour.
For startups, we offer a discounted rate of $250 per hour to make top-tier grant consulting more accessible while maintaining the same level of strategic guidance and proposal quality.