Opportunity Information: Apply for NAP AX 26 001
The Leading Edge Acceleration Projects (LEAP) in Health Information Technology funding opportunity is a discretionary cooperative agreement program run by the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC). It is designed to push forward practical, high-impact innovations in health IT that can accelerate nationwide interoperability and make electronic health record (EHR) data more useful for real-world care delivery and population-level analysis. ONC frames this opportunity around challenges it encountered while implementing provisions of the 21st Century Cures Act, particularly where the health system still struggles to reliably exchange data across organizations and to translate new clinical knowledge into everyday clinical workflows in ways that are safe, usable, and genuinely helpful to clinicians and patients.
At its core, LEAP targets the persistent gaps that keep EHR data from being consistently leveraged for broader public health and population health needs, and that slow down the integration of new evidence into routine clinical practice. The opportunity recognizes that these gaps come from multiple sources, including incomplete or inconsistent data standards, limited interoperability, and the complexity of digitizing, integrating, and presenting new evidence inside clinical tools without adding burden or creating safety risks. In other words, the program is not just looking for incremental improvements, but for solutions that can remove bottlenecks and make modern health data exchange and decision support work at scale.
The funded work is expected to take a research-to-implementation approach with clear relevance to national interoperability and electronic exchange of health data. ONC highlights several broad methods and expectations: first, projects should help identify the fundamental questions that need to be answered to uncover the real barriers to nationwide interoperability and electronic health information exchange. Second, projects should actively engage the health IT industry alongside academic researchers, emphasizing that progress depends on collaboration between those building and operating systems and those studying what works. Third, awardees are expected to disseminate results and lessons learned, not keeping findings isolated within a single project, but actively fostering collaboration, advancement, and eventual implementation across the broader health IT ecosystem.
From a funding and scale perspective, the opportunity anticipates making about three awards, with an award ceiling of $1,000,000 per award. The funding instrument is a cooperative agreement, which generally means ONC expects to be more actively involved than under a standard grant model, often through substantial federal programmatic engagement, coordination, or technical involvement during the period of performance. The opportunity was created on 2026-06-16, and the original application closing date is 2026-07-16.
Eligibility is oriented toward public and mission-driven entities positioned to conduct applied research and advance interoperable solutions. Eligible applicants include state governments; public and state-controlled institutions of higher education; private institutions of higher education; federally recognized Native American tribal governments; and nonprofit organizations with 501(c)(3) status (other than institutions of higher education). The listing also includes an "Others" category, indicating there may be additional eligible entity types specified in the full notice. At the same time, there are clear restrictions: applications submitted directly by for-profit organizations will not be reviewed, and for-profits may only participate as part of a consortium or as a subrecipient. Similarly, foreign institutions may only participate as consortium members or subrecipients, and their direct applications will not be reviewed, reflecting the stated purpose of improving health care in the United States. In addition, organizations described in section 501(c)(4) of the Internal Revenue Code that engage in lobbying activities are not eligible.
Overall, LEAP is aimed at advancing breakthrough, field-shaping work that helps the U.S. health system move from fragmented data and uneven interoperability toward reliable electronic exchange and practical, workflow-friendly use of clinical data and evidence. The emphasis on industry engagement and dissemination signals that ONC wants solutions that are not only technically sound, but also adoptable, scalable, and capable of influencing real-world health IT practices and products beyond a single pilot site.Apply for NAP AX 26 001
- The Office of the National Coordinator in the health, other sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Leading Edge Acceleration Projects (LEAP) in Health Information Technology" and is now available to receive applicants.
- Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 93.345.
- This funding opportunity was created on 2026-06-16.
- Applicants must submit their applications by 2026-07-16. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
- Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $1,000,000.00 in funding.
- The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 3 candidate(s).
- Eligible applicants include: State governments, Public and State controlled institutions of higher education, Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized), Nonprofits having a 501 (c) (3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Private institutions of higher education, Others.
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LEAP in Health Information Technology (ONC) - FAQs
What is the LEAP in Health Information Technology funding opportunity?
The Leading Edge Acceleration Projects (LEAP) in Health Information Technology opportunity is a discretionary cooperative agreement program run by the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC). It is intended to accelerate practical, high-impact innovations in health IT that improve nationwide interoperability and make electronic health record (EHR) data more useful for real-world care delivery and population-level analysis.
What problem is ONC trying to solve through this program?
ONC is targeting persistent gaps that prevent reliable electronic exchange of health information across organizations and that slow the translation of new clinical knowledge into everyday clinical workflows. The opportunity is framed around challenges ONC encountered while implementing provisions of the 21st Century Cures Act, especially where the health system still struggles with consistent data exchange and with integrating new evidence into clinical tools in ways that are safe, usable, and helpful.
What types of solutions is LEAP looking for?
LEAP is aimed at solutions that remove bottlenecks and enable modern health data exchange and decision support to work at scale. The focus is on practical, high-impact innovations rather than incremental changes, particularly where limitations stem from incomplete or inconsistent data standards, limited interoperability, and the complexity of digitizing, integrating, and presenting new evidence in clinical tools without adding burden or introducing safety risks.
Is this opportunity more research-focused or implementation-focused?
The funded work is expected to take a research-to-implementation approach. Projects should be clearly relevant to national interoperability and the electronic exchange of health data, and should aim to produce results and lessons that can be shared and used beyond a single project setting.
What are ONC's main expectations for funded projects?
ONC highlights several broad expectations: (1) projects should help identify fundamental questions that need to be answered to uncover real barriers to nationwide interoperability and electronic health information exchange; (2) projects should actively engage the health IT industry alongside academic researchers; and (3) awardees are expected to disseminate results and lessons learned to foster collaboration, advancement, and eventual implementation across the broader health IT ecosystem.
How many awards does ONC expect to make?
The opportunity anticipates making about three awards.
What is the maximum amount that can be awarded?
The award ceiling is $1,000,000 per award.
What funding mechanism will be used?
The funding instrument is a cooperative agreement.
What does it mean that this is a cooperative agreement?
A cooperative agreement generally indicates that ONC expects to be more actively involved than under a standard grant model. This often includes substantial federal programmatic engagement, coordination, or technical involvement during the period of performance.
When was this opportunity created?
The opportunity was created on 2026-06-16.
What is the application closing date?
The original application closing date is 2026-07-16.
Who is eligible to apply?
Eligible applicants include state governments; public and state-controlled institutions of higher education; private institutions of higher education; federally recognized Native American tribal governments; and nonprofit organizations with 501(c)(3) status (other than institutions of higher education). The listing also includes an "Others" category, which suggests additional eligible entity types may be specified in the full notice.
Are for-profit organizations eligible to apply directly?
No. Applications submitted directly by for-profit organizations will not be reviewed.
Can for-profit organizations participate in any way?
Yes. For-profit organizations may participate as part of a consortium or as a subrecipient, but they cannot be the direct applicant.
Are foreign institutions eligible to apply?
Foreign institutions may only participate as consortium members or subrecipients. Direct applications from foreign institutions will not be reviewed.
Why are foreign institutions restricted from applying directly?
The restriction is tied to the stated purpose of improving health care in the United States, and the notice indicates that direct foreign applications will not be reviewed.
Are 501(c)(4) organizations eligible?
Organizations described in section 501(c)(4) of the Internal Revenue Code that engage in lobbying activities are not eligible.
What is the role of industry engagement in LEAP?
ONC emphasizes that progress depends on collaboration between those building and operating health IT systems and those studying what works. Projects are expected to actively engage the health IT industry alongside academic researchers, reflecting a preference for solutions that can be adopted and scaled across the ecosystem.
What does ONC mean by "nationwide interoperability" in this context?
Based on the opportunity description, nationwide interoperability refers to the ability of the health system to reliably exchange electronic health data across organizations, rather than having data remain fragmented or inconsistently shared between systems.
How does LEAP relate to electronic health records (EHRs)?
LEAP aims to make EHR data more useful for real-world care delivery and for population-level analysis. It also targets the gaps that keep EHR data from being consistently leveraged for public health and population health needs.
What kinds of challenges is LEAP trying to address inside clinical workflows?
The opportunity highlights the difficulty of translating new clinical knowledge into everyday clinical workflows in ways that are safe, usable, and genuinely helpful to clinicians and patients. It also calls out the complexity of integrating and presenting new evidence within clinical tools without increasing burden or creating safety risks.
How important is dissemination of results?
Dissemination is a core expectation. Awardees are expected to share results and lessons learned, not keep findings isolated within a single project, and actively foster collaboration and advancement across the broader health IT ecosystem.
Is the program looking for solutions that can scale beyond a pilot?
Yes. The opportunity emphasizes adoptable and scalable solutions that can influence real-world health IT practices and products beyond a single pilot site, supported by expectations around industry engagement and dissemination.
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