The Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H), which is housed within the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), is looking for $500 million in technical support to complement and support the newly established agency’s mission.
ARPA-H sits within the National Institutes of Health (NIH) as an independent entity, dedicated to advancing disease research and accelerating health breakthroughs. The agency just celebrated its first 100 days under its inaugural director, Dr. Renee Wegrzyn.
Under the Strategic Technical ARPA-H Talent Support (STATS) vehicle, ARPA-H is looking for “broad contracted technical support” in 31 different areas, including tech support. For example, the contract will include a systems engineer, a systems analyst, and a commercial transition specialist.
According to the draft solicitation posted to SAM.gov, the agency plans to award multiple-award indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity contracts. The minimum quantity of work, which will be issued through task orders, will be $5,000 per award and the maximum is $500 million.
ARPA-H is looking for feedback on the draft solicitation, with comments due by Feb. 7 at 3 p.m. The final request for proposal is expected in late February and the contract award date is expected in June.
The idea for ARPA-H is based on the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), which is a research and development agency within the Department of Defense, and the Advanced Research Projects Agency–Energy (ARPA-E) organization within the Department of Energy.
President Biden made ARPA-H official through the fiscal year 2022 omnibus appropriations bill, which included $1 billion to create the new agency.
