A GUIDE FOR PROPOSERS
Mission Office ISOs: Know Before Applying
Mission Office Innovative Solution Openings (ISOs) are a way to solicit and fund individual research projects that align with the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H)'s areas of interest but fall outside any specific ARPA-H Program or Initiative.
Before applying to one of these general funding opportunities, proposers must first decide which Mission Office ISO best aligns with their idea and confirm their idea is different from those in ARPA-H's Program and Initiative portfolio. The information presented here will help proposers accomplish both, while answering common questions associated with the Mission Office ISO application process.
Please note: While all submissions are important to ARPA-H’s mission and each will be fairly considered, ARPA-H generally reviews submissions to Program or Initiative ISOs timelier than submissions to Mission Office ISOs. ARPA-H's Programs and Initiatives have more resources (funding and personnel) than individual projects that stem from Mission Office ISOs, which impacts how quickly the agency is able to review and respond to Mission Office ISO submissions.
Mission Office Areas of Interest
ARPA-H’s areas of interest (focus areas) fall within one of the four agency’s Mission Offices: Health Science Futures, Scalable Solutions, Proactive Health, and Resilient Systems.
Collectively, Mission Offices seek proposals that advance care models, novel business solutions, and substantial technical innovation. Topics excluded from consideration include incremental advances, technology already at the clinical trial stage, education and training efforts, and physical infrastructure.
Individually, each Mission Office has different areas of interest:
- Health Science Futures Office (HSF) is interested in regulating biology to cure instead of treat disease, restoring function through the repair and regrowth of tissues and organs, and modeling biology with AI platforms. To achieve these goals, performers in HSF leverage discoveries from physics, chemistry, and robotics to develop the next generation of clinical tools, technologies, and platforms.
- Proactive Health Office (PHO) is interested in prevention detection, prophylactic treatments, population-level approaches to increase adoption of wellness behaviors, and innovative delivery methods of proactive health outcomes.
- Resilient Systems Office (RSO) is interested in technology to improve robustness of systems (adaptability of biological systems, digital platforms for secure information management), enhancing system efficiency and efficacy (interoperability and integration, user-centric tools), and mitigating disruptions to health care (supply chain, manufacturing, and logistics).
- Scalable Solutions Office (SSO) is interested in addressing the technical barriers preventing novel health interventions from reaching as many people as possible.
Determining the Best Fit for Your Idea
To help proposers determine which of the four Mission Office areas of interest aligns best with their idea, ARPA-H recommends doing three things:
1. Become familiar with ARPA-H's research portfolio
Review all research in ARPA-H's Program and Initiatives & Sprints portfolio to ensure the proposed idea falls outside the scope of existing research.
Note: A submission to a Mission Office ISO may be rejected if it’s within the scope of an existing Program or Initiative. It is very important to review ARPA-H's portfolio before moving forward with a submission.
2. Review the Mission Office ISO solicitations
Read each of the Mission Office ISOs linked from the Open Funding Opportunities page for detailed information about each office's focus area, the opportunity, and its technical requirements. Determine which Mission Office ISO best aligns with the proposed idea.
3. Submit a Solutions Summary
After determining an idea is outside the scope of the ARPA-H research portfolio and aligns with a Mission Office area of interest, follow the guidance provided in the “Steps to Apply” section to submit a Solution Summary.
Tip: If an idea could align with more than one Mission Office, proposers should submit their Solution Summary to the ISO that best aligns with the proposed idea. ARPA-H will review and provide written feedback to all Solution Summary submissions. Feedback, at a minimum, will encourage or discourage the submission of a full proposal to the selected Mission Office ISO and may include feedback to match a submission to a different Mission Office for review.
Steps to Apply
After determining which Mission Office ISO is the best fit for an idea and confirming the idea falls outside the ARPA-H portfolio of Programs and Initiatives, a proposer should start the application process. Below is a summary of the application process, focusing on the steps most relevant to Mission Office ISO submissions.
The ARPA-H Solutions Portal (link opens in new window) is where a proposer will submit their Solution Summary, proposal, and ask Mission Office ISO-specific questions.
A Solution Summary is a short concept summary document proposers can submit to ARPA-H prior to a full proposal submission. These are accepted on a rolling basis and allow ARPA-H to provide feedback to proposers before they invest resources in a full proposal submission.
A Solution Summary is required for all Mission Office ISOs. Carefully read Mission Office ISO guidance for Solution Summary requirements.
Note: Please only submit the Solution Summary to one Mission Office ISO to avoid duplicate review efforts.
ARPA-H will provide a response on the viability of, and interest in, a concept based on the information provided in the Solution Summary. Feedback, at a minimum, will encourage or discourage the submission of a full proposal to the selected Mission Office ISO and may include feedback to match a submission to a different Mission Office for review.
Note: Proposers must receive written feedback from ARPA-H before submitting a full proposal.
Mission Office ISOs require proposers to register with the SAM.gov (link opens in new window) and have a valid Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) prior to submitting a proposal. Registration can take 7-10 business days to process. Each Mission Office ISO will provide more details on how to register with SAM.gov.
If a proposer has previously registered with SAM.gov, they will only need verify their entity information is accurate.
Note: Proposers can register with SAM.gov earlier in the process if desired; however, registration must be complete prior to submitting a proposal.
Mission Office ISO submissions are evaluated based on merit and per the evaluation criteria specified within the ISO. Each Mission Office ISO and its associated documents and templates will include requirements on content, page length, font, font size, margin widths, how to address proprietary information, and more.
ARPA-H will not review submissions that do not meet the criteria outlined in the ISO. Carefully read the entire solicitation and attachments prior to submitting a proposal.
Reminder: In order to submit a proposal, proposers must first submit a Solution Summary and have received feedback from ARPA-H.
Mission Office ISO FAQs
A collection of questions from the proposer community based on common scenarios related to the Mission Office ISO process.
General eligibility to a Mission Office ISO is the same as to any ARPA-H ISO, which includes:
- All responsible sources capable of satisfying the government’s needs: This includes academia, non-profit organizations, for-profit entities, hospitals, community health centers, non-federal research centers, researchers, and individuals capable of performing research and/or development.
- Small businesses: Small businesses with the expertise to conduct innovative research and development are welcome to apply to any opportunity, including Mission Office ISOs.
- Non-U.S. Organizations: ARPA-H will prioritize awards to entities and/or individuals that conduct funded work in the U.S. However, non-U.S. entities may participate to the extent outlined in each solicitation.
No, ARPA-H is not a grant-making agency. Instead, we primarily use Other Transactions for research and development (R&D) efforts. These are often performance-based agreements where funding is contingent on meeting the aggressive milestones and performance criteria agreed upon during award negotiations between ARPA-H and potential performers. Additionally, these agreements outline how ARPA-H’s Program Managers will remain involved in projects and activities throughout the life of the effort to measure and evaluate performance to ensure the best solutions advance.
No. Please only submit your Solution Summary to one Mission Office ISO to prevent duplicative or delayed reviews.
Follow the guidance in this resource to help determine which Mission Office ISO aligns best with your idea.
No. ARPA-H does not currently have the bandwidth to provide individual feedback before a Solution Summary submission.
The best way to receive feedback is to submit a Solution Summary to the Mission Office ISO that best aligns with your idea. ARPA-H will review and provide written feedback to all Solution Summary submissions. Feedback, at a minimum, will encourage or discourage the submission of a full proposal to the selected Mission Office ISO and may include feedback to match a submission to a different Mission Office for review.
Yes. You can submit more than one idea to the same Mission Office so long all the ideas align with that Mission Office ISO’s criteria.
You can also submit different ideas to different offices so long as each idea submitted aligns with the criteria outlined by the Mission Office ISO, is not duplicative of an idea submitted elsewhere, and is not closely related to a current or existing ARPA-H Program or Initiative.
There are limited ways to participate in a Program that has already closed the proposal review period, made awards, and initiated performance. Entities or individuals with interest in ARPA-H's mission, Programs, and projects can consider joining the ARPANET-H network of spokes and subscribe to the Vitals newsletter (link opens new window) to stay up to date on future opportunities.
No. The Mission Office ISOs do not have Proposers’ Day events since they are open for multiple years and involve rolling submissions and submission reviews.
ARPA-H will encourage proposals based on the quality of the Solution Summary submissions received per the evaluation criteria outlined in each Mission Office ISO.
Timely reviews and responses are critical to ARPA-H's mission. The agency takes great care to ensure an ethical, fair, and a consistent review process free of bias and conflicts of interest. As a result, the timeline for a response may vary depending on the number of submissions received, other Program and Initiative deadlines, the number of review staff personnel, and other variables.
If you have questions about the status of a submission, please use the “Ask A Question” feature within the ARPA-H Solutions Portal (link opens in new window; sign-in required).
Start by carefully reading the Mission Office ISO solicitation documents associated with the opportunity that best aligns with your area of interest. Direct links to each opportunity, and their associated documents, are available from the Open Funding Opportunities section of the ARPA-H website.
Each Mission Office ISO contains detailed information specific to its opportunity, including a description of solicitation, eligibility information, guidance on preparing your submission materials, evaluation criteria, required templates, details about the review process, and award administration information.
If you still have questions about a specific opportunity, please use the “Ask A Question” feature in the ARPA-H Solutions Portal (link opens in new window; sign-in required). ARPA-H will attempt to answer questions in a timely manner.
Still have questions?
Find answers to the most commonly asked questions about solicitations, submissions, and the application process.