GLIDE Frequently Asked Questions

For individuals interested in participating in a study, please refer to the specific study's recruitment process or contact the research team directly. The GLIDE program itself does not handle participant recruitment. 

The GLIDE program has also implemented a "Discovery Duo" program (ISO section 2.4.1) which requires performers to include a patient or patient ambassador as a key member of the team. We encourage patients to review GLIDE's teaming webpage and reach out to organizations who are seeking patients and patient organizations to incorporate into their proposal. 

The programs are primarily advertised via ARPA-H's Vitals newsletter and ARPA-H's official LinkedIn profile. Please encourage your network to sign up for the Vitals newsletter to stay up-to-date on all of ARPA-H's programs and activities. 

We encourage non-profits and advocacy groups to sign up on GLIDE’s teaming webpage and state that you are interested in working with proposers to the program. GLIDE’s solicitation requires proposers to identify and incorporate patients and patient advocates into their proposals to inform their approach and enhance the impact of their novel technologies.

If your non-profit or advocacy group is interested in a speaking engagement, please use the ARPA-H Engagement Request Form. The form can be found on the Opportunities to Engage page on the ARPA-H website at Engage & Transition | ARPA-H.

The GLIDE ISO can be found here on SAM.gov. Currently the draft version is posted, and we anticipate the final version will be released in September 2024.  

The latest version of the ISO supersedes any information presented in other publications, and sets forth the requirements for full proposals, the criteria for the evaluation, and instructions for the submission.   

The GLIDE program does not focus primarily on peripheral lymphedema, and is intended to specifically target and modulate the lymphatic system.  Demonstration of efficacy across two distinct indications is required, one rare and one chronic disorder.  ARPA-H cannot provide guidance on which specific indications to include, and justifications should be made in the submission for the evaluation process.  

The Solution Summary for GLIDE is due by October 31, 2024, at 2:00 PM ET. 

All eligible entities as defined in the GLIDE ISO Section 3.1 may submit Solution Summaries. Only those who submitted a Solution Summary will be invited to submit a full proposal. 

Outside of guidance within the ISO, including Appendices, ARPA-H cannot advise proposers in terms of Solution Summary and/or full proposal strategy and content. Solution Summaries will be reviewed, and full proposals will be evaluated as described in the ISO Section 5.5. Proposers should prepare submissions accordingly.   

Yes, a solution summary is required. 

Solution Summaries will be reviewed within the context of the full proposal evaluation criteria, but not to the same extent as full proposals, which are evaluated against the criteria as outlined in ISO Section 5.5. Feedback may be limited to 'encourage/discourage' as noted in the ISO. 

Pitch presentations will be evaluated within the context of the full proposal evaluation criteria, but not to the same extent as full proposals, which are evaluated against the criteria as outlined in ISO Section 5.5. Feedback may be limited to 'invite/not invited' for a full proposal submission as noted in the ISO. 

Full proposals are evaluated against the four criteria in the ISO (see Section 5.5).

Proposals will be evaluated by Government Reviewers who may be ARPA-H PMs or qualified personnel from other Government Organizations and Agencies who are deemed proficient in the pertinent research areas of the solicitation. 

The GLIDE Proposers' Day will be held to support hybrid attendance, virtually and in-person. Registered participants will receive a unique Zoom link to attend the webinar.  We are finalizing venue details, please be on a lookout for updates on the GLIDE Proposers’ Day event registration page. 

This registration link for GLIDE Proposers’ Day will be open until September 10, 2024, 5PM ET. 

Please use this link to submit an update to the teaming profile.  

Each proposal must designate a single lead PI from the prime organization. The team may include other Investigators collaborating with the lead PI. All personnel and justification of their contribution to the proposal needs to be clearly stated for budget transparency. 

An entity can only submit one full proposal as the prime proposer. Entities may propose within multiple teams as sub-proposers. 

There is no maximum number. Proposers are responsible for proposing a team capable of meeting the proposed Statement of Work, recognizing the Government is evaluating team capability as well as price reasonableness. 

Yes, non-U.S. entities are allowed to submit proposals for consideration. Non-U.S. entities are encouraged to collaborate with domestic U.S. entities. See GLIDE ISO Section 3.1.2. 

Collaborations with clinical institutions can be included in the proposal as part of the performing team. The specific role and involvement should be clearly outlined in the proposal, whether as a prime or subcontractor. 

No. Each Performer Team must form their own Discovery Duo as outlined in Section 2.4.1 of the ISO. If the Performer Team is unable to identify Discovery Duo members by contract negotiations, the GLIDE team is willing to assist with potential candidates to consider.  

Yes, project budgets must include the minimum stipend for the Discovery Duo support outlined in Section 2.4.1 of the ISO. 

The GLIDE Program is based on collaboration within and between Performers/Performer teams. See ISO Section 2.4.2 for more details. 

Key members of the Proposer's team should be identified as early as possible (e.g., Solution Summary). Solution Summaries and pitch presentations will be reviewed within the context of the ISO evaluation criteria and full proposals will be formally evaluated against the Criteria in the ISO Section 5.5. Failure to identify key personnel (e.g., Project Manager) and/or team members (e.g., subawardees) may impact the Government's evaluation. Proposers are encouraged to provide as many specific details as are available at the time of submission, while considering page limitations at each submission stage. 

Documentation demonstrating that the unique capability is essential and that all other options have been exhausted must be provided. This will be reviewed by ARPA-H to determine if inclusion is necessary. See ISO Section 3.1.1 for more details. 

Please refer to section 3 ELIGIBILITY INFORMATION and section 3.1 ELIGIBLE PROPOSERS in GLIDE’s INNOVATIVE SOLUTIONS OPENING (ISO).

Please refer to section 2.2 PROGRAM STRUCTURE, TIMELINE and TECHNICAL APPROACH which describes the breadth of clinical indications requested by each potential performing team.

ARPA-H cannot advise as to strategy and/or content of Solution Summaries and full proposals. Proposers must use the guidance in the ISO as well as their professional expertise when preparing submissions. 

Unless indicated otherwise in the ISO (i.e., written as suggested), Program metrics in the ISO are requirements for Proposers. Proposals that do not propose to meet the metrics may be considered non-selectable.  Accountability to metrics include those presented by the submission in the target product profile for the respective technology of interest, and negotiated with the PM.  Please refer to the ISO section 2.3 TECHNICAL AREA METRICS AND OBJECTIVES:  

Achievement of all metrics as agreed to by ARPA-H is part of the basis for initiation of moving to the next phase. Key overall program metrics and milestones are listed in this section below. Performers may propose quantitative metrics and milestones for the PM to consider that may be better suited for their specific technology. However, the performers must provide a justification for these additions to the metrics and milestones as specified in the ISO section 2.3. A full target product profile (TPP) outlining the minimum and ideal functionality of the technology developed in each TA must be included with all submission materials. An example of a TPP can be found in Appendix D of the ISO. 

Proposals should not assume provision of any Government Furnished Information (GFI). The Government may provide GFI, but the specific GFI would be negotiated after a proposal is selected for award negotiations (i.e., a proposal must stand on its own without assumptions and conditions related to GFI). 

The GLIDE program supports both FDA-approved clinical trials and new IND applications. The suitability depends on the specific phase and technical readiness level of the proposed solution. 

The program is focused on technology development and advancing therapeutic solutions to the market. If you have a technology that addresses lymphatic dysfunction which requires clinical study investigation to support the technology development, this would need to be justified for evaluation. Please see the GLIDE ISO in Section 2 which discusses the program overview and goals.

Please see GLIDE’s Innovative Solutions Opening (ISO) section 2.2.1 Technical Areas (TAs) which addresses the role of AI in the GLIDE program.