High-risk health funding
ARPA-H funding: how it works and how to win it
ARPA-H backs health breakthroughs that are too ambitious for an NIH study section and too early for a venture round. The money is real and the process is unlike anything else in federal funding: no scored peer review, a program manager who owns the bet, and contracts that pay against milestones.
The short answer
ARPA-H is the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health, a US federal agency created in 2022 and modelled on DARPA. It funds high-risk, high-reward health projects through milestone-based contracts selected by program managers rather than peer-reviewed grants. Most companies enter through a named program's solicitation or the standing Open BAA, submitting a short solution summary before any full proposal is invited.
- Selection
- Program manager judgement against program metrics, not a scored study section.
- Instrument
- Contracts and other transactions with go/no-go milestones.
- Entry point
- A short solution summary or abstract, then an invited full proposal.
Programs, deadlines and BAA terms change often. Confirm current opportunities at arpa-h.gov funding opportunities.
What ARPA-H rewards
A program manager owns the bet
ARPA-H hires program managers for limited terms and gives them real authority to define a program, set its metrics and pick performers. Your first job is to understand the specific problem that manager is trying to solve.
Milestones, not annual reports
Funding is structured around go/no-go milestones with quantitative targets. Write the milestone plan as if someone will hold you to it in twelve months, because they will.
Heilmeier discipline
ARPA-H, like DARPA, thinks in Heilmeier terms: what are you trying to do, how is it done today, what is new in your approach, who cares, what are the risks, and how will you measure success. Answer those questions in the first page.
Solutions, not studies
A proposal that promises to characterise a mechanism will lose to one that promises a working capability with a number attached to it. Frame the science as the means, and the capability as the deliverable.
ARPA-H compared with NIH and DoD medical funding
| ARPA-H | NIH SBIR | CDMRP | |
|---|---|---|---|
| How you are judged | Program manager against program metrics | Peer-reviewed study section score | Two-tier peer and programmatic review, with patient advocates |
| Funding instrument | Contracts and other transactions | Grants and cooperative agreements | Grants and awards by mechanism |
| Risk appetite | Very high; failure is expected on some bets | Moderate; feasibility must look achievable | Varies by program, often high for exploratory awards |
| Who applies | Companies, universities and consortia of any size | US small businesses only | Academics and companies, often partnered |
| What wins | A measurable capability that does not exist today | Rigorous feasibility with a commercial path | Clear impact on a named disease and its community |
What a strong ARPA-H submission contains
- A quantitative goal a program manager can hold you to
- The Heilmeier questions answered in the first page
- An honest account of what is hard and what could fail
- Go/no-go milestones with numbers and dates
- A team with the specific capability the plan needs
- A route from the result into patients, clinics or policy
The most common reason a solution summary fails is that it reads like an NIH specific aims page. The science may be excellent; the document still needs to promise a capability, name the metric and show the path.
How we work on an ARPA-H submission
01
Program and problem fit
We map your technology against the current named programs and the Open BAA, and tell you honestly whether ARPA-H is the right door or whether NIH, BARDA or DoD medical funding fits better.
02
Solution summary first
The abstract stage decides most outcomes. We build the Heilmeier answers, the quantitative goal and the credible team story into a document written for a program manager reading dozens of them.
03
Full proposal and milestone plan
If invited, we write the technical volume, the risk register and a milestone schedule with measurable go/no-go criteria, alongside a budget that survives contract negotiation.
04
Award and reporting
Milestone-based contracts carry real reporting weight. We help set up the reporting rhythm so your team can spend its time on the science.
The people who write your submission
Jessica Vernon
Lead Innovation Consultant
Dr Thomas Kelly
Lead Innovation Consultant
Dr Felix Warren
Lead Innovation Consultant
ARPA-H questions founders ask us
What is ARPA-H?
The Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health is a federal health agency created in 2022 and modelled on DARPA. It funds high-risk, high-reward biomedical and health projects that neither NIH grants nor private investors typically back, using program managers with term-limited authority and milestone-driven contracts rather than traditional peer-reviewed grants.
How is ARPA-H different from NIH?
NIH funds hypothesis-driven research through peer-reviewed grants scored by study sections. ARPA-H funds engineered solutions to a defined health problem through contracts and other transactions, selected by an individual program manager against a program's stated metrics. NIH asks what you will learn; ARPA-H asks what you will build and by when.
Who can apply to ARPA-H?
Small and large businesses, universities, non-profits, government labs and consortia can all apply, and teams are common. Unlike SBIR, there is no small-business size limit and no requirement that a majority of the work sit with a US small business, though performance is expected in the United States.
What is the ARPA-H Open BAA?
The Open Broad Agency Announcement is a standing solicitation that accepts ideas outside the agency's named programs. It runs on a two-step process: a short abstract or solution summary first, and a full proposal only if ARPA-H invites one. That first document does almost all of the selection work.
How much funding does ARPA-H provide?
Awards vary widely by program, from small seedling efforts through to multi-year, multi-million-dollar performer contracts inside a named program. Funding is released against milestones, and continuation depends on hitting them.
Can I apply to ARPA-H and NIH SBIR for the same technology?
Yes, provided you do not seek duplicate funding for the same scope of work. Many life-science companies run an NIH SBIR for the core feasibility work and pursue ARPA-H for a larger, more ambitious system-level program, disclosing both as required.
Free download
NSF SBIR Phase I readiness checklist and federal deadline calendar
Two pages, no email required. Every registration, eligibility test and proposal section you need before you write, plus the next deadline for NSF, NIH, DoD, DOE, NASA and USDA with the date you realistically need to start.
- 37-point readiness checklist
- Six agency deadlines with lead times
Considering an ARPA-H submission?
Book a free consultation and we will tell you whether your technology fits a current program before you spend a week on a solution summary.