Sprint for Women’s Health aims to address critical unmet challenges in women’s health across all demographics, geographies, and socioeconomic statuses, championing transformative innovations and tackling health conditions that uniquely or disproportionately affect women from every walk of life.
The ARPA-H Sprint for Women’s Health’s new request for solutions (RFS) funding opportunity will use two funding tracks to foster transformative research and development efforts: one for early-stage research, or “Spark” solutions, and the other for later-stage development, or “Launchpad” solutions.
Key Dates*
– Virtual Proposers’ Day: Wednesday, March 6, 2024, 11:00 a.m. ET. (Registration deadline is 4:00 p.m. ET on March 5, 2024.) ARPA-H will provide an overview of the RFS with an opportunity to ask questions and access teaming opportunities.
– Submissions open: Wednesday, March 13, 2024, 9:00 a.m. ET
– Question deadline: Questions must be submitted by March 27, 2024, 5:00 p.m. ET. Submit questions here.
– Submission deadline: Friday, April 12, 2024, 5:00 p.m. ET
– Pitch phase: May-July 2024
– Invitation for Collaboration & Negotiation (IC&N): July-August 2024
– Award: September 2024
*Dates are notional and dependent on the number of submissions received.
Program Description
With the two funding opportunity tracks, ARPA-H aims to lower barriers of entry for a diverse range of participants, with a simplified submission process of a Solution Summary followed by a pitch session. A Solution Summary is a three-page document that addresses how the proposed idea is relevant to ARPA-H mission and the proposed women’s health topic areas. The Spark and Launchpad tracks are available for all six women’s health topics.
For the funding opportunity tracks, the expected period of performance will be 24 months. The selected performers will work directly with an ARPA-H Program Manager (PM). They will receive an ARPA-H award contracted through the ARPANET-H Investor Catalyst Hub.
Women’s Health Topics
The RFS invites Solution Summary submissions on the following six topics of interest in women’s health for either the Spark or Launchpad track. Please note that submissions outside of topics listed below will not be considered at this time.
– Women’s Health Topic 01: Women’s Health at Home
– Women’s Health Topic 02: Prioritizing Ovarian Health Through Mid-Life To Prevent Disease
– Women’s Health Topic 03: ARTEMIS—Advancing Research Through Enhanced Models for Investigating the Influence of Sex Differences on Health Outcomes
– Women’s Health Topic 04: Advancing Women’s Brain Health Via Lymphatic Targeting
– Women’s Health Topic 05: Objective and Quantitative Measurement of Chronic Pain in Women
– Women’s Health Topic 06: Wild Card: Revolutionary Breakthroughs in Women’s Health
Women’s Health Topic Descriptions
While submissions outside of topics listed in the RFS will not be considered at this time, please visit the ARPA-H Programs page and Open BAA page for additional research opportunities. If an existing ARPA-H program aligns with your area of pursuit, please consider applying to that program’s opportunities.
Multiple awards under this RFS are anticipated. Resources available will depend on the quality of the submissions received and the availability of funds. Exact award amounts depend on meeting aggressive milestones, typical to the ARPA-H model. ARPA-H is under no obligation to respond to every submission, proceed with any Solution Summaries/Pitch, or select any specific number of Solution Summaries/Pitch in each topic. A response to this RFS or invitation to pitch will not be viewed as a binding commitment to develop or pursue the project or ideas discussed.
If you have questions about the ARPA-H Sprint for Women’s Health, use this form by March 27, 2024, 5:00 p.m. ET.
Teaming Profiles
ARPA-H anticipates that teaming will be necessary to achieve the goals of the program. Prospective performers are encouraged (but not required) to form teams with varied technical expertise to submit a Solution Summary to the Sprint. To facilitate this process, we have created a teaming page where prospective performers can share their profiles and learn more about other interested parties.
Response Deadline: 04.12.2024
This is the information on PAFF 1.0, AFFAO is will be releasing PAFF 2.0. Please use the page below to learn about the program and send any questions to mail proposals@affoa.org
The Product Accelerator for Functional Fabrics (PAFF) program is designed to help US companies close the gap(s) in their advanced functional fabric product and technology development. To improve the time to market of these products, industry will be able to access AFFOA’s established specialized capabilities and expertise with no direct cost to your organization. The PAFF program is specifically meant for companies that have a product near commercialization or a process with a targeted improvement need that can be completed over a period of performance of up to 12 months.
The PAFF program will support access to AFFOA’s staff expertise and capabilities for your commercialization efforts, including:
– Textile and electronic product design
– Thermally drawn fiber*
– Textile yarn and fabric formation
– Electronics development
– Prototype manufacturing
– Component & product testing and failure analysis
– Process development engineering
Access the PAFF Webinar
AFFOA Members can access the webinar in the AFFOA Member Portal.
Non-AFFOA Members, please complete this form to access a recording of the October 12th PAFF Webinar.
More information on the scope of the Product Accelerator for Functional Fabrics program is provided in the PAFF Guidebook.
For internal and external communication purposes, each Proposer is required to provide a single slide following the PAFF Program Proposal Summary Slide Template.
If you have questions regarding this program, please use the form.
Important Due Dates:
Pre-proposals should be submitted via email to proposals@affoa.org by 5:00 PM PST on November 8th, 2023.
Full proposals should be submitted via email to proposals@affoa.org by 5:00 PM PST on December 12th, 2023.
About AFFOA:
AFFOA is a non-profit, public private partnership and one of the DoD funded Manufacturing USA Innovation Institutes headquartered in Cambridge, MA. AFFOA’s mission is to “Rekindle the domestic textiles industry by leading a nationwide enterprise for advanced fiber & fabric technology development and manufacturing, enabling revolutionary system capabilities for national security and commercial markets”.
AFFOA’s strength is its ability to engage with the United States textile community to meet their needs and build a robust ecosystem of collaboration. More information on membership to the Fabric Innovation Network can be found on AFFOA’s website (www.affoa.org).
Please note that AFFOA Membership is not required to submit a proposal for this program. However, AFFOA Membership will be required if chosen to be part of the PAFF program. If you are interested in becoming a member of AFFOA’s network or learning more, please contact membership@affoa.org.
*No new development will be funded; capability is provided for products that have demonstrated manufacturing readiness level >4.
Response Deadline: 11.08.2023
IARPA has released a Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) for Smart Electrically Powered and Networked Textile Systems. Please use the link below to find out more information about the program as well as links to the BAA and registration for a Government Furnished Capability Open House being hosted by MIT Lincoln Laboratory and AFFOA.
The Pennsylvania Fabric Discovery Center (PA FDC) is currently working to overcome barriers in the design and manufacture of electronic textiles for consumer, medical, and defense applications. To support this effort, they are developing a Soft Systems Design Kit (SSDK), a suite of process documents, tooling, and standards to facilitate communication and design in the electronic textiles space. The SSSDK aims to reflect systems available for streamlining and standardizing development of standard electronics.
The PAFDC is looking for individuals to participate in a series of focus groups with e-textile professionals from diverse backgrounds to share their experiences and challenges in developing and integrating e-textile applications to help them continue developing the SSDK.
Ideal Participants:
Designers, engineers, and manufacturing experts working in the e-textiles space
What:
– Focus groups to shed perspective on new documentation and tooling suite for functional fabric development, currently focused on two e-textile systems
– Each focus group session takes approximately 60-90 minutes and will be held on separate days
When:
Initial session – week of September 20-24
(time/day based on availability)
Where:
Zoom (link will be provided)
More information can be found on the flyer here
If you are interested in participating in a focus group, please contact Christina Kara at functionalfabrics@drexel.edu by September 13, 2021.
Response Deadline: 09.13.2021
AFFOA is issuing a solicitation in collaboration with the Massachusetts Manufacturing Innovation Initiative (M2I2) to provide manufacturing equipment grants to Massachusetts-based AFFOA member businesses, and manufacturers. Through this grant, AFFOA is looking to help MA-based manufacturers, start-ups, and businesses scale-up their equipment needs to achieve domestic, manufacturing scale.
The targets for this equipment call are companies looking to ramp up production capability for advanced fiber, fabric, and/or textile products in Manufacturing Readiness Levels 4-7. High-tech, traditional, or start-up manufacturing firms with capabilities in manufacturing technology for fiber, fabric, or textile-related products or prototypes are therefore encouraged to apply.
We will be holding an informational webinar on Monday, August 16th from 1PM-2PM EST to brief interested parties. This webinar will feature a presentation on the M2I2 program by Farhad Vazehgoo, Acting Director of Advanced Manufacturing Programs, as well as more information on the funding opportunity.
Additional Information
Response Deadline: 08.26.2021
We are developing the next iteration of a unique collaboration between MIT, FIT and AFFOA, The MITANDFIT workshop.
This workshop brings students from design and science together around an industry challenge that incorporates real world issues. In short, the workshop can be compared to a two week “hackathon” where students receive support, instruction, and mentoring from MIT scientists and FIT industry focused faculty.
We are searching for an industry partner to provide an industry challenge that the workshop will be based around. We welcome the opportunity to discuss the workshop and the opportunity with you in detail – please contact Joanne Arbuckle- joanne_arbuckle@fitnyc.edu
Deadline May 10th
EXPECTATIONS:
A team inside the company to develop a challenge for students to create prototypes of possible solutions using MIT technologies. This team is expected to work with MIT and FIT faculty to have a brief on the industrial challenge. During the workshop the company team is expected to give a talk about their branding ethos and attend the student presentations to give feedback on prototypes and final presentation.
Expectations also include:
BENEFITS:
The industry partner plays a critical role in the success of the workshop in the creation of the design brief and their mentorship role during the workshop.
As a result of the workshop, one of the benefits the industry partner receives is from the presentation of product innovations that the students develop in answering the challenge and access to the emerging workforce.
PREVIOUS WORKSHOP CHALLENGE SAMPLE:
Below is a short description of the design brief that was developed for our recent workshop with New Balance.
CHALLENGE : Live for Tomorrow
Corporations often struggle to transition towards more sustainable behavior because of the associated costs of implementation or compromises to consumer’s perceptions of their existing business. For New Balance, performance is always the first lens by which a new product must be judged.
Inspired by the research of Svetlana V. Boriskina, Ph.D.
How might humble polyethylene fuel next-generation athletic performance gear?
The students explored “Smart PE (polypropylene)as a sustainable option for clothing and footwear looking at innovative ways to disassemble apparel/footwear for recycling purposes.
Inspired by the Morpho species, Mathias Kolle, Ph.D. (http://news.mit.edu/2018/color-changing-compression-ban-dage-signal-pressure-level-0529) has taken a biomimetic approach to demonstrate the potential for tunable, color-changing functional Fibers the team propose the following challenge:
How might structural color-changing fibers signal the starting line for what’s about to come?
Deep exploration as to how to evaluate performance within the clothing and footwear and provide an opportunity for the athlete and others to utilize the data.
We welcome the opportunity to discuss the workshop and the opportunity with you in detail – please contact Joanne Arbuckle- joanne_arbuckle@fitnyc.edu
Response Deadline: 05.10.2021
Brief Description: AFFOA is seeking proposals for cut and sew manufacturers to support a limited production of a government designed prototype of a cold weather face and head protection system that meets military requirements for operating in cold to intense cold weather conditions (+20°F to -25°F) The system will consist of a balaclava and removable facemask for additional face protection and goggle integration. Option to produce 500 rather than 300 balaclavas. Proposers are requested to price accordingly.
Period of Performance: ~2 months from award date
Response Deadline: COB 14 November 2019
Proposal Submission Link: https://forms.gle/JdGAfj9PZLvcfsJe9
Attached Documents: Request for Proposal (RFP), Proposal and Budget Templates.
RFP: https://drive.google.com/open?id=1pJeEKWAgwQYF3FNxNaKQiuoCKHW87tbv
Proposal Template: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ibrDt-jpVGpLxpsiHgG4vFiS2wpcdRze/view?usp=sharing
Budget Template: https://drive.google.com/open?id=11bfqlCM2VmtY2hQz4KZ5LcpYSFIASJeX
Response Deadline: 11.14.2019
Project Call 2.0
Advanced Functional Fabrics of America (AFFOA) announces Project Call 2.0, a ~$3.0M investment in new development to expand technology capabilities and jumpstart key areas of strategic technology growth towards the scaling of advanced functional fiber and fabric technologies. More information on the scope of Project Call 2.0 is provided in the Project Call 2.0 Guidebook in the Resources section below.
Project Call 2.0 Topics
Below is high level information on the PC 2.0 topics. The General Webinar and Topic Announcement will provide further details on the specific scope of each topic as identified from input from a range of industry and government partners.
PC 2.0 Topics:
| Topic 2.1: Team System Demonstration – Full system integration that utilizes multiple technologies in the area of smart electronic textiles. |
| Topic 2.2: Materials and Process Assessment – Assessment of key design rule metrics and robustness of commercially available electronic materials for their use in electronic textiles. |
| Topic 2.3: Textile Device Advancement – MRL advancement of electronic textile devices. |
| Topic 2.4: Textile Device Connectors and Integration Strategies – Advanced strategies for robust connectors and device placement that supports an increase in MRL for electronic textiles. |
| Topic 2.5: Textile Technology Translation – MRL and/or TRL advancement of a textile-based technology innovation for small business and start-up companies. |
Important Due Dates
Pre-proposals should be submitted via email: proposals@affoa.org by 5:00 PM PST on June 13th, 2021.
Full proposals should be submitted via email: proposals@affoa.org by 5:00 PM PST on July 9th, 2021.
Questions or Seeking a Consultation:
Please use this form to ask any questions or to schedule a consultation about Project Call 2.0.
Questions and Consultation Request Form
AFFOA STARTS
Are you representing a startup company? AFFOA is teaming up with the National Security Innovation Network (NSIN) for a STARTS event as part of the awardee selection process for Project Call 2.0 Topic 2.5, focused on accelerating startup company textile technologies. An informational ‘Ask Me Anything’ event will be held on June 7th from 1 PM – 2 PM EST. Talks will be provided by subject matter experts from AFFOA, US DEVCOM and the textiles industry. For more information and registration, please follow this link.
About AFFOA:
AFFOA is a non-profit, public private partnership one of the DoD funded Manufacturing USA Innovation Institutes headquartered in Cambridge, MA. AFFOA’s mission is to “Rekindle the domestic textiles industry by leading a nationwide enterprise for advanced fiber & fabric technology development and manufacturing, enabling revolutionary system capabilities for national security and commercial markets”.
AFFOA’s strength is its ability to engage with the United States textile community to meet their needs and build a robust ecosystem of collaboration. More information on AFFOA membership, as well as the current membership network can be found on AFFOA’s website.
Please note that funding in this call is contingent on being an AFFOA member at the time of award. If you are interested in becoming a member of AFFOA’s network or learning more, please contact info@affoa.org
Resources:
Response Deadline: 07.09.2021
Brief Description: AFFOA, in collaboration with the US Combat Capability Development Command Center (CCDC SC), is seeking quotes from Berry compliant cut and sew manufacturers to support the production of 200-300 experimental cold weather clothing systems to be delivered by December 7, 2020, in preparation for a limited field user evaluation.
Response Deadline: June 12, 2020
Please reach out to Natasha Spackey (natasha@affoa.org) if you are interested in submitting a quote for individual layers or the full system and additional technical information can be provided.
Response Deadline: 06.12.2020
AFFOA would like to let the membership network know about DoD Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) for the the National Defense Education Program (NDEP) for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM), and Biotechnology Education, Outreach, and Workforce Initiative Programs and Enhanced Civics Education 2021. Possible STEM initiatives related to this funding include career pathways, mentoring programs, cross-disciplinary programs, innovations in remote learning, consortia approaches to implement STEM education; education and outreach activities that strengthen communities and partnerships with industry (among others). Please see page 6 and 7 of the funding announcement linked below to review the full list of activities. The ceiling for this award is $3 million over 3 years.
We have included key dates for submission below.
Please reach out to Becky Lewis (becky@affoa.org) if you have any questions or are interested in exploring partnering with AFFOA on a technical application for this opportunity.