ARPA-H BDF Toolbox Frequently Asked Questions

Proposers must submit “combined” proposals for TA1 through TA3 as applicable. Proposers selected for award will only receive a single award.

A proposer submitting to multiple TAs (whether a combination of two (2) TAs or three (3) TAs) shall be limited to 35 pages.

Proposers must submit a “combined” proposal for TA1 through TA3 as applicable. If selected for award, a proposer will receive a single award.

The Module Announcement base period of performance 24-months, with a 12-month option period in year 3.

For this Combined Module Announcement, the Module categories selected are for the base 24-month period only. Therefore, inclusion of the 12-month option period may raise the total proposed value over the Module Category dollar value.

There is a singular Biomedical Data Fabric Toolbox program that is a collaboration between ARPA-H and the NCI. Some components of the program will be funded through the MAI and some will be funded through the FNL solicitation. The FNL solicitation (a separate and distinct Solicitation from BDF) is expected to be 100% focused on cancer-based use cases, with the MAI focused more broadly. Proposers are reminded to adhere to proposal guidelines captured within the ARPA-H BDF Toolbox Module Announcement.

No.

Information is available from the N3C website which also provides contacts for the N3C program team. N3C (cd2h.org).

A key goal of the BDF is to bridge existing silos of data. These silos exist hosted by several different cloud service providers and by on-premise resources. Interoperability across CSPs, on-premise and hybrid environment is a critical requirement for the program.

The government is interested in exploring methods that facilitate the intended federated nature of the BDF Toolbox, particularly methods that would facilitate the use of data within its current environment while also ensuring that the data provider retains control and sovereignty over their data.

Proposers to TA4 should include patient focused testing in their proposals.

Yes, proposers should include in their proposal all necessary activities to address ethical, legal and social issues (ELSI). ARPA-H will adhere to all statutory, regulatory or policy constraints including those promulgated by the Department of Health and Human Services.

ARPA-H is open to proprietary, patents or copyrighted solutions. However, it would be expected that the Government would be offered licensing terms for these products that are consistent with the goals of establishing a federated data fabric across multiple institutions and organizations. Proposers who wish to propose commercial, patented or copyrighted products as part of their solution should include in their proposal proposed licensing terms and conditions to allow the government to assess the suitability of the licensing products. Please refer to Volume 1: Administrative and National Policy Requirements, paragraph #4.