ARPA-H performs high-risk, high-reward disease research.

ARPA-H performs high-risk, high-reward disease research. Westend61 / Getty Images

Advanced health research agency needs a strategic workforce plan, watchdog says

The GAO report also found ARPA-H, as of July 1, 2024, has not hired any scientists who are Hispanic or Latino, Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander or two or more races.

The Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health is tasked with pursuing high-risk, high-reward research into disease treatment, but a government watchdog is concerned the new agency won’t be able to develop the workforce needed to perform such potentially lifesaving work. 

The Government Accountability Office found in a report published on Dec. 26 that ARPA-H does not have a strategic workforce planning process. 

“Such a process is particularly important for agencies with science and technology missions such as ARPA-H, which must compete for talent with the private sector and universities and keep pace with scientific advancements,” investigators wrote. “Strategic workforce planning aligns an organization’s human capital program with its current and emerging mission and programmatic goals. It also develops long-term strategies for acquiring, developing and retaining staff to achieve those goals.”

ARPA-H, which was established in 2022, is authorized to hire up to 210 personnel. The agency has hired 118 individuals, as of July 1, 2024, and plans to reach 205 employees by the end of fiscal 2026. 

Looking just at scientific hires, which is 66 individuals, men and women are split evenly and 80% are white. None of the recruits are individuals who are Hispanic or Latino, Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander or two or more races. 

ARPA-H officials told investigators that they have visited historically Black colleges and universities and Hispanic-serving institutions as well as hosted and participated in events with minority-serving institutions and multicultural organizations to recruit individuals from underrepresented backgrounds. 

The new health agency is modeled after other federal advanced search agencies, such as the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. Program managers are tenure-limited, appointments are not made in accordance with civil service laws and ARPA-H’s director sets base pay for staff that is an amount up to the president’s salary. 

ARPA-H has used multiple hiring authorities and pay incentives to attract personnel. For example, most of the scientific hires occurred under an expedited process, and 10 of them received a pay incentive. 

GAO recommended that ARPA-H develop and implement a strategic workforce plan, which it concurred with. The agency also agreed to track progress toward maintaining a diverse workforce and assess data on the use of pay flexibilities, saying it would start assessments on such matters before the end of fiscal 2025.