The federal government is standing up a new agency, Advanced Research Projects Agency in Health (ARPA-H) – and investing billions of dollars – to translate research into better health outcomes for all. FABBS has been engaged since the inception, advocating that our disciplines be a part of the fabric of the agency and educating the behavioral and brain science community and facilitating opportunities to contribute their expertise for both the success of the ARPA-H mission and for the future of our fields.
FABBS has a three-pronged approach to engaging our scientific communities with ARPA-H:
- Recruiting Program Managers (PM) – FABBS encourages our members to consider serving as a PM. These short-term positions will have tremendous influence over the ARPA-H research agenda and funding. They will be similar to NSF rotators, eligible for a multi-year Interagency Personnel Agreement (IPA), just with more money and more autonomy. ARPA-H currently has seven PMs and is expecting to hire two more per month until they reach 100. (Scroll to the bottom of this page to see current PMs)
- Promoting funding opportunities – These opportunities differ from NIH and NSF grant funding.
- Broad Agency Announcements
- Attending ‘proposer days’ when the public is invited to learn more about the program and offer insights and ideas. These are scheduled as programs are announced.
- Informing Programs – FABBS is tracking PMs and programs as they are announced. With every PM and program, FABBS reaches out to our members with relevant expertise to identify behavioral and cognitive questions key to the success of the program. With their insights, FABBS proactively identifies research and researchers and proactively shares resources with ARPA-H colleagues.
FABBS has been developing and curating resources to help our members learn more about the ARPA-H model.
- FABBS/APA/APS webinars – IARPA and DARPA
- Additional reading:
- ARPA-H: Accelerating biomedical breakthroughs: A DARPA-like culture at NIH can drive biomedical and health advances, Science June 22, 2021
- ARPA-H Must Think Differently and Leverage Technology, The Hill, June 22,2022
- In the Realm of the Barely Feasible by ARATI PRABHAKAR, Issues in Science and Technology 37, no. 1 (Fall 2020)
- Reach out to your college campus government relations team
- Sign up for the newsletter (https://arpa-h.us8.list-manage.com/subscribe/post)
