The Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H) is a funding agency that supports high-impact research capable of driving biomedical and health breakthroughs that can deliver transformative, sustainable, and equitable health solutions for everyone. ARPA-H’s mission focuses on leveraging research advances for real world impact. The ARPA model enables visionary Program Managers to tackle a specific problem, working with a range of performers and a variety of approaches to solve that problem, while incorporating measurement and evaluation throughout the process. https://arpa-h.gov/about/about-arpa-h/

The Customer Experience Hub is one of three regional hubs that comprise ARPANET-H. It is a consortium of spokes with a central Hub in Pegasus Park, Dallas, Texas. The Customer Experience Hub will drive user testing, adoption, and end-user access for ARPA-H projects by incorporating end-user considerations at all stages of research and development, reaching diverse and representative patient populations, and capturing insights as public goods for future use. Members of the network will draw on user-centered design and research best practices and methodologies, providing access, capabilities, and support to effectively integrate user input. https://arpa-h.gov/engage/arpanet-h/

The purpose of the ARPA-H Customer Experience Hub is to ensure the active transition of health innovation in an expedient, safe, cost-effective, accessible, and sustainable manner that reaches all Americans. Together with the Stakeholder and Operations Hub and the Investor Catalyst Hub, these hubs and spokes will create a nationwide health innovation network.

The ARPA-H Customer Experience Hub provides a variety of services and capabilities to the Government and to participating spokes. These include design services, rapid prototyping, stakeholder and ecosystem engagement, teaming and partnership opportunities, and regulatory support.

The ARPA-H Customer Experience Hub connects and pools capabilities from Austin, Houston, North Texas, and San Antonio in one centralized nexus in Pegasus Park, Dallas, Texas.  It is operated by a Consortium Management Firm (CMF) and is the administrative center of the consortium. Spokes are members of the consortium, and are entities that offer capabilities, innovation, R&D, population access, etc. to drive health outcomes.  Spokes can be performers (developing technologies) or stakeholders (impacted by new technologies), and are eligible to compete for work that is conducted through the consortium.

A Consortium Management Firm (CMF) is a critical link between Government and Industry. The CMF provides administrative support to the consortium. This includes: recruitment and screening Spokes, planning consortium events, outreach and advertising of ARPA-H projects, and managing projects that are awarded through the Hub.

Advanced Technology International (ATI), a not-for-profit corporation, is the consortium management firm for the ARPA-H Customer Experience Hub.

Learn more about ATI here.

This agreement governs the rights and obligations of members in the ARPA-H Customer Experience Hub as they relate to the organization and operation of ARPA-H Customer Experience Hub. The Consortium Member Agreement is available for view here.

ARPA-H Customer Experience Hub membership is open to all entities, except for entities from countries on the U.S. Government’s prohibited source list of embargoed and sanctioned countries, as defined by U.S. Department of Treasury and U.S. Department of Commerce.  Non-US applicant entities will be asked for additional information on their application for ARPA-H’s review. ARPA-H will prioritize awards to entities (organization and/or individuals) that will conduct funded work in the United States. However, non-U.S. entities may participate to the extent that such participants comply with any necessary nondisclosure agreements, security regulations, export control laws, and other governing statutes applicable under the circumstances. In accordance with these laws and regulations, in no case will awards be made to entities organized under the laws of a covered foreign country [as defined in section 119C of the National Security Act of 1947 (50 U.S.C. Ch 44 § 3059)]; a foreign entity of concern meeting any of the criteria in section 10638(3) of the CHIPS and Science Act of 2022; [an individual that is party to a malign foreign talent recruitment program, as defined in Section 10638(4) of the CHIPS and Science Act of 2022; or entities suspended or debarred from business with the Government.

If you have been involved since the early days of recruitment or expressed interest either by email, verbally or formally through an ‘expression of interest’ form, formal membership is still required.  Expressions of interest outreach was used to help identify prospective spokes/members.  The formal membership process includes using the online application and reading/agreeing to the Consortium Membership Agreement, business and technical vetting to determine applicability for ARPA-H Customer Experience Hub membership and final approval by the Government.

An application with all necessary documentation will be processed within 4-5 weeks. The ARPA-H Customer Experience Hub will verify the information provided, perform technical vetting to ensure mission alignment, and provide to ARPA-H for approval. Once approval is received, the organization applying will be added to the ARPA-H Customer Experience Hub database.

There are no annual membership fees and there is no initiation fee to join.

ARPA-H Customer Experience Hub spoke applications are vetted to ensure that the applying organization will align with ARPA-H’s mission. Organizations are not required to have a CAGE code or SAM.gov registration at the time of application. However, the organization will need to be registered on SAM.gov to be eligible for any awards under the ARPA-H Customer Experience Hub.

Our Member Portal contains solicitation information, the latest information on Government requirements, meeting proceedings, etc. If your organization is an ARPA-H Customer Experience Hub spoke and you do not already have a log-in, you can request one here. The Primary POC for each organization must approve all requests.

Representatives that wish to join the ARPA-H Customer Experience Hub mailing list to receive updates regarding future consortium activities should submit a mailing list request form here. Interested parties may join the mailing list even if they do not meet the requirements to be a spoke.

ARPA-H will release a solicitation through the Customer Experience Hub. The Hub will notify spokes about the opportunity and advertise it to relevant organizations. The solicitations will be posted publicly so that any organization may read them regardless of membership status. However, to receive awards organizations must be approved spokes. Organizations may reply to an opportunity while their spoke-application is pending, but review is contingent upon acceptance as a spoke.