Title page

Contents

Highlights 2

Letter 5

Background 9

ARPA-H Workforce Goals 9

ARPA-H Workforce Composition 11

ARPA-H Hiring Plans 11

ARPA-H Scientific Workforce Hiring is Not Guided by a Strategic Workforce Planning Process 12

ARPA-H Has Hired More than Half of Its Planned Scientific Workforce 12

ARPA-H Has Not Established a Strategic Workforce Planning Process to Guide Its Recruitment and Hiring Efforts 17

ARPA-H Faces Scientific Workforce Challenges but Has Not Fully Applied Selected Leading Practices to Assess the Effectiveness of Its Efforts 19

ARPA-H Cites a Small Talent Pool as a Challenge to Hiring a Diverse Scientific Workforce 19

ARPA-H Has Leveraged Hiring Authorities and Pay Flexibilities to Address Challenges of Competition with the Private Sector for Scientific Personnel 22

Conclusions 26

Recommendations for Executive Action 27

Agency Comments 27

Appendix I: Objectives, Scope, and Methodology 29

Appendix II: Comments from the Department of Health and Human Services 33

Appendix III: GAO Contact and Staff Acknowledgments 35

Table 1. ARPA-H Scientific Workforce as Categorized by Office of Personnel Management Occupational Groups and Series, as of July 1, 2024 13

Table 2. ARPA-H Scientific Personnel Salary Grades, as of July 1, 2024 15

Table 3. Hiring Authorities Used by ARPA-H for Recruiting Scientific Personnel, as of July 1, 2024 23

Table 4. Pay Flexibilities Used by ARPA-H to Hire Scientific Personnel, as of July 1, 2024 25

Figure 1. Total ARPA-H Workforce as of July 1, 2024 11

Figure 2. ARPA-H Workforce Hiring Targets, Fiscal Years 2025-2026 12

Figure 3. Demographic Composition of ARPA-H Scientific Workforce, as of July 1, 2024 16