1-CURE Frequently Asked Questions

The 1-CURE Solution Summary submission deadline is fixed. You may submit a Solution Summary even if your SAM.gov registration is not yet complete.

We appreciate this request. No extension to the deadline is currently planned. However, if things change, an extension may be considered in a way that is fair to all.

Interested parties can:

• Rely on SAM.gov alerts
• Regularly check the ARPA-H news page and open funding opportunities page
• Subscribe to the ARPA-H Vitals Newsletter, which delivers weekly information about new program launches, deadline reminders, and other agency news

• The Proposers’ Day will be held from 8:30 AM to 3:30 PM Central Daylight Time on Mar 24, 2026.
• Doors open and webinar login begins for registered attendees at 8:00AM.
• A final agenda, including order of Lightning Talks and Sidebars, will be emailed to registered attendees before the meeting.

A recording of the Proposers' Day event is posted to the 1-CURE webpage.

For an ARPA-H Proposers’ Day, the sidebar is a short, one-on-one meeting between a potential proposer (or team) and ARPA-H program staff, usually the Program Manager (PM) and their team. 

In practice, a sidebar is used to: 

• Clarify fit to the program vision; 
• Ask focused technical questions; 
• Get high-level feedback on ideas; 
• Network and refine teaming strategies. 

Sidebars are not: 

• Formal proposal reviews; 
• A venue for getting an “advance decision” on funding; 
• A place to share proprietary or selection-sensitive details of a proposal. 

A sidebar is meant to help you better understand the program and sharpen your approach before you decide whether and how to submit.

Yes, additional sidebars will be available, but we encourage you to send any questions to 1-CURE@arpa-h.gov.  

Proposers can also request virtual meetings with the PM after the Proposers’ Day.

Lightning Talk slides will be distributed to all Proposers' Day attendees via email, and a video will be posted to the 1-CURE webpage.

No. Lightning talks can be presented either in person or virtually, but Proposers' Day does not offer an option to play prerecorded videos.

The 1-CURE audience will include: 

• ARPA-H staff and contractors, 
• Other US Government employees, and 
• The potential performer community – including individuals from academia and industry.

1-CURE Proposers' Day is a hybrid event with both virtual and in-person attendance options. A recording of Proposers' Day will be posted to the 1-CURE website a few days following Proposers' Day.

No. One-on-one discussions between potential proposers and the 1-CURE team should be requested as sidebars during Proposers' Day.

No, all the required information for Proposers' Day is requested within the Solutions site.

Yes. Virtual attendees may present their Lightning Talk through the webinar, or they may delegate to an in-person attendee from their team.

Yes. Sidebars for virtual attendees will be scheduled for the following Tuesday, March 24th.

Yes, a template for the Lightning Talk can be found at SAM.gov 

1-CURE Proposer’s Day serves as a means for potential proposers to meet and determine if they would like to form a team. Participation at Proposers’ Day is not required, however; teams may include members who did not attend.

If attendance on March 24th is not feasible either in person or virtually, an interested party can view a recording of Proposers’ Day that will be posted to the 1-CURE webpage a few days afterwards.

Lightning Talks are useful to facilitate teaming, as potential proposers can share their capabilities and their gaps with other attendees.

Attendees will be notified via email.

The Lightning Talk template provides useful guidelines for the types of information to be conveyed, but the specific template is not required. 

As a reminder, Lightning Talks are limited to 1 slide and 3 minutes.

Yes, the Agenda will be sent to all attendees by Tuesday, March 24, 2026.

Yes, if registered for virtual attendance, you can tune-in at your convenience. A recording of Proposer’s Day will be posted to the 1-CURE webpage and ARPA-H YouTube a few days after the meeting.

Yes, there is time set aside for Q&A at the meeting.  Alternatively, you can submit questions to https://solutions.arpa-h.gov/Ask-A-Question/. 

Yes, if a proposer utilizes the traditional prime-sub relationship, then ARPA-H will only correspond with the Prime.

No, it is not a requirement to have a US entity involved, but ARPA-H will prioritize awards to entities (organizations and/or individuals) that will conduct funded work in the United States.

No, UARCs are not eligible to propose directly to 1-CURE. If a UARC is interested in working directly with the Government team supporting the research described by this solicitation, contact 1-CURE@arpa-h.gov. 

If a proposer wants to utilize a UARC on their team, then they need to tell ARPA-H early so that ARPA-H can attempt to establish an Inter-Agency Agreement (IAA) with the UARC. Also, ARPA-H may not be directly charged for use of the UARC.

1-CURE solution summaries are due April 15.  If you are interested in being part of a submitting team, please consult the 1-CURE Teaming Page to submit a Teaming Profile and identify potential collaborators.

No, there is no maximum team size for 1-CURE submissions. Teams should have the expertise and capacity to achieve the goals of the proposed work.

Yes, individuals may participate on more than one team and be listed on multiple submissions. There is no restriction on being part of multiple teams.

Section 2.7 of the 1-CURE ISO describes the requirements for a multi-party teaming arrangement structure. The multi-party team generally chooses one member to act as the agent and/or lead member for administration and reporting purposes. There is no preference for the lead member to be a for-profit company or a research institution.

Section 2.7 of the 1-CURE ISO describes the requirements for a multi-party teaming arrangement structure, which is distinct from the traditional NIH model. In this structure, leadership can change among team members based on expertise and project phase. The multi-party team generally chooses one member to act as the agent and/or lead member for administration and reporting purposes, but this agent does not need to be the lead performing organization. The ISO does not prescribe specific titles (such as Executive Director, Scientific Director, and Principal Investigator) for team leadership. Instead, proposals should clearly describe the anticipated leadership structure and changes throughout the program. The key is to demonstrate a flexible, dynamic team structure that meets the program’s requirements.

Teaming Profiles can be found at 1-CURE Teaming page, which will be updated on a regular basis.

1-CURE is not prescriptive regarding team size and/or composition. Proposing teams should ensure that expertise across both Technical Areas is represented.

Section 2.5 of the ISO describes commercialization requirements. Teams are strongly encouraged to demonstrate an active partnership with a designated commercial entity at the time of proposal, although this is not required.

ARPA-H does not form teams or match partners directly. However, Proposers’ Days are designed to help interested organizations learn about the program and identify potential collaborators. We encourage you to use the event to meet others who may have complementary capabilities. You can also explore potential teams on the 1-CURE teaming page.

No. 1-CURE welcomes ideas from all proposers.

ARPA-H can directly fund a foreign entity; however, ARPA-H will prioritize awards to entities that conduct funded work in the U.S., as per 42 USC § 290c(n)(1). Awards will not be made to entities organized under the laws of a covered foreign country, defined in the National Security Act of 1947 (50 U.S.C. § 3059) as Russia, Iran, North Korea, and China. Each solicitation defines eligibility and requirements so please review the solicitation for detailed instructions. For more information, see the International Affairs FAQs.

Foreign entities will not be marked down. However, the Agency does prioritize awards to entities that will conduct funded work in the United States as dictated per 42 U.S.C. 290c(n)(1), which could be achieved through collaboration with U.S. entities. Interested international partners may sign up on “teaming” pages on our website – linked from each program description page – which are provided to facilitate prospective performers forming teams with varied technical expertise to submit a proposal.

No, however, military academies are considered government entities and are not eligible to propose to the ISO or participate as a member of a performer team.

Commercial partnerships are encouraged at the proposal stage but not required.

In accordance with ISO Section 3.2, SAM registration must be active at the time of proposal submission. Please allow ample time for processing, as ARPA-H cannot influence SAM.gov timelines.

Only the submitting team member needs to register within the ARPA-H Solutions Portal.

Yes. ARPA-H is not prescriptive as to the seniority of PIs. However, proposals must address team capabilities such as any prior experience managing interdisciplinary efforts and 1-CURE management plans.

Yes, Co-investigators are allowed. The proposal must describe the team management structure, as well as government reporting responsibilities.

ARPA-H is open to a variety of teaming structures. The 1-CURE proposal must describe how the administrative functions will be carried out, whether centered in one administrative lead or spread across the team members.

ARPA-H is a separate agency from the NIH for funding and policy purposes. We recommend you contact NIH ESI staff to confirm whether serving as a project lead on an ARPA-H project would affect your ESI status.

The 1-CURE team will not provide specific feedback regarding proposal ideas.

While the 1-CURE webpage hosts a teaming profiles for interested proposers to form connections, ARPA-H does not direct teaming strategies.

No. 1-CURE is open to teams comprised of all types of members. Project management and oversight are more important.

Team structure is flexible. PI effort should be realistic and not exceed 100% across other awards.

At a minimum, ARPA-H will provide feedback on whether the proposer is encouraged or discouraged to submit a proposal. ARPA-H may provide additional feedback at its discretion.

Interdisciplinary expertise is expected to meet all ISO requirements.

The current 1-CURE solicitation is the only anticipated call for proposals currently.

Proposers may join several proposing teams; inclusion in multiple Solution Summaries will not disadvantage either the proposing entity or the teams which it has joined. If an entity is included on multiple proposals selected for funding, however, the Government will negotiate to ensure that no duplicative work is performed.

Solution Summaries are limited to four (4) pages, exclusive of a cover page, basis of estimate, team qualifications, target product profile (TPP), and references/citations. No tables of content shall be provided.

ARPA-H typically awards fixed-price other transactions with fixed milestone payments. Awards are made within a total project budget and generally not renegotiated afterwards. After consultation with the PM, the performer may be able to request modifications after award.

ARPA-H does not typically seek ownership of IP generated under an award. ARPA-H generally seeks, at a minimum, Government Purpose Rights to the IP generated during the project. Please visit the ARPA-H website for an example of an ARPA-H OT agreement and the IP language: https://arpa-h.gov/engage-and-connect/other-transaction-community/templates-and-samples.

The salary cap is a limitation on the salary HHS may pay an individual under an award. The restriction is typically included in HHS annual appropriation legislation which caps the salary at the maximum under the Federal Executive Schedule Level II (see here: https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/pay-leave/salaries-wages/salary-tables/pdf/2025/EX.pdf). An individual's salary is the total annual compensation that the awardee pays for an individual's direct labor costs under an ARPA-H award. An individual’s salary excludes any income that an individual earns outside of the salary directly attributable to work under that award. An individual’s salary also excludes fringe benefits, overhead, and general and administrative expenses, including facilities and administrative costs. The salary rate limitation applies to individuals under subawards.

The negotiation phase begins upon issuance of a selection letter. Selection letters typically request revisions to the proposal. After receipt and review of the revised proposal, negotiation usually includes meetings and other communications to negotiate the technical work, contract terms and conditions, and pricing.

 For-profit organizations, as determined in SAM.gov, that do not qualify as small businesses under the NAICS 541714 SBA size standard of 1000 employees are required to contribute a meaningful cost share to participate in the 1-CURE program.

Performers can cost-share via cash and/or in-kind contributions. In-kind contributions examples:

• Personnel time paid by the organization (e.g., senior engineers, clinicians, PI time not charged to ARPA-H).
• Use of equipment or facilities (e.g., manufacturing suites, specialized imaging).
• Supplies and materials purchased with non-federal funds for the ARPA-H project.
• Third-party in-kind: partner companies or hospitals contributing staff time, facilities, or data access.

In-kind contributions may not be:

• Costs already paid by another federal award.
• Costs outside the project period.
• Costs that are unallowable under the applicable cost principles (e.g., certain lobbying, alcohol, some entertainment).

1-CURE anticipates multiple awards.

In accordance with ISO Section 5.4.4, Criteria 4: Price/Cost, proposers are encouraged to submit a fully justified budget that is appropriate for the scope, complexity, and risk of their proposed technical approach. ARPA-H will evaluate the reasonableness and value of the proposed cost in the context of the work to be accomplished, rather than against a predetermined budget amount or range.

Proposals are expected to involve teams with the expertise needed to collectively achieve the goals of the proposed TA(s). Communications, networking, and team formation are the sole responsibility of the proposer. Proposers must submit a single, integrated proposal led by a Principal Investigator, under a single prime proposer that addresses all program phases as applicable. Teaming (that considers access across geographies) is highly encouraged to accomplish the transformational goals set forth in the 1-CURE program. 

Proposers may only submit one proposal as the prime proposer. The Government’s expectation is that all key members of the performer team will be onboard within 60 days of the award.

Yes. The contribution of both labor and resources to this task are considered cost-sharing and should be noted in the Cost Volume.

No specific indirect cost cap is set program-wide for 1-CURE OTs. Indirect costs are negotiated on a case-by-case basis as part of the overall cost structure of each OT.

For budgeting purposes, please assume that the annual meetings will be held in the Washington, DC area.

Only the total cost of all subcontractors needs to be included in the Solution Summary Basis of Estimate.

• Labor Hours = amount of time worked, measured in hours (no dollars attached).
• Direct Labor (fully burdened) = the cost of those hours, including wages plus all indirects (fringe benefits, overhead, G&A, etc.). 

Indirect costs are acceptable as long as they are consistent with the solicitation and its attachments, reasonable and supportable (based on your institution’s accounting practices) and clearly documented in the Basis of Estimate (BOE) and cost proposal.  Indirect costs are subject to negotiation with ARPA-H prior to award.

If in-kind resources or cost-sharing are proposed, this can be addressed briefly in the ROM budget for the Solution Summary; more detail is required in the Full Proposal, including type of resource (labor, materials, equipment, etc.) and scope of the resource being contributed.

“Profit” refers to fee (often called “fee or profit”) that a for-profit entity may include in its cost proposal.  It is generally not applicable to universities and other non-profit organizations.

Because this award would be made under an Other Transaction (OT) authority rather than a standard grant or contract, there are no automatically applicable, uniform indirect cost rates in the same way you might see under traditional U.S. federal assistance mechanisms. You may apply your national costing methodology (such as FEC) as long as it is your standard practice and is well documented/justified; ARPA-H reserves the right to review and negotiate specific rates during award negotiations.

ISO Section 2.2 PROGRAM STRUCTURE provides the total program timeline, which is 60 months. 

Performers should anticipate a start date of September 1, 2026.

1-CURE will not publish total funding levels for the program. Proposer budgets must be realistic for the work proposed. Multiple awards are anticipated.

Yes, only the lead institution provides a detailed BOE breakout of labor, labor hours, materials, etc. in the Solution Summary.  Any anticipated subcontractor costs should be included in the “Subcontractor/Consultants” line at a high level.

A separate F&A line may be included in the Basis of Estimate table in the Solution Summary. The table within Appendix A is just an example; please edit it as needed to reflect your proposed BOE.

Yes. Proposers should apply the current HHS Executive Level II salary cap to all labor cost estimates for individuals whose base salary exceeds that level.

Subcontractors and consultants should be listed in the “Other Team Members” block of the cover sheets. Vendors are not required to be listed in this block. 

ARPA-H defines a vendor as an entity that provides standardized goods or routine services that are broadly available on the market (e.g., lab supplies, standard testing services).  Vendors do not carry out a distinct portion of the project’s statement of work.  Subcontractors (or subawardees/subperformers, including Contract Research Organizations (CROs)), carry out defined tasks from the statement of work, contribute to the project’s aims, may have their own milestones and deliverables, and are subject to flow-down award terms and compliance.  At the full proposal stage, ARPA-H does not require proposal workbooks from vendors; however, ARPA-H does require proposal workbooks from subcontractors. 
 

ARPA-H only requires the proposers to use the ultra-high-dose-rate (FLASH)-RT. The study could be designed so it is complementary to other approaches as long as this is justified.

Please follow the instructions on the Innovative Solutions Opening (ISO) which covers the range of work to be done for the 1-CURE program covering preclinical work, IND, and clinical translation.

One TPP for each TA, so 2 TPPs. The templates are provided for guidance. 

Proposers need to meet each of the milestones or metric as described in the ISO. Any innovative approaches that can accelerate completion are welcomed for consideration.

No, this is not a requirement. The goal is for proposals to ideally consider low-cost options where possible.

CT/MRI are just examples. Any imaging modalities are allowed.

Yes.  As long as this is justified, other approaches may be considered 

The goal is to ensure the smart radiotherapy biomaterial is multi-functional in capacity to aid targeting as fiducials currently do but also deliver immunoadjuvants or make the tumor more immunogenic to boost the abscopal effect.

Any agent/immunoadjuvant that can be delivered with the smart radiotherapy biomaterials to boost the abscopal effect is within scope.

Yes, it should involve nanoparticles, to allow for wider use in different tumors. If other solutions can achieve this, this could be considered as complementary.

While the potential of SFRT is well recognized and could form part of the proposal, FLASH must be part of the research for a number of reasons including major potential to spare immune cells and enhance systemic immune responses. The use of SFRT or other approaches that could complement or synergize with FLASH will be considered.

No. One-on-one discussions between potential proposers and the 1-CURE team should be requested as sidebars during Proposers' Day. Follow-up discussions can also be organized or requested after Proposer's Day prior to submitting a solution summary.

1-CURE is not prescriptive as to the types of entities performing the work. All entities must be supported by cost proposal documentation.

Yes, foreign CROs are permitted as 1-CURE team members.

Each of the mandatory requirements must be addressed directly and in detail in the full proposal. A Solution Summary should mention the mandatory requirements, but need not be as specific.

Yes, any agent/immunoadjuvant that can be administered in a smart radiotherapy biomaterial, to enable sustained release (not repeated administrations), to boost the abscopal effect is within the scope.