The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) has published a notice of funding opportunity (NOFO) under the Leading Edge Acceleration Projects (LEAP) in Health Information Technology (Health IT).

The funding aims to accelerate standards-based AI to improve clinical care; enhance the Lantern tool (an open-source, automated monitoring tool and dashboard) by adding a secure feedback layer for monitoring FHIR (Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources) endpoints; and assess lab data quality. It also seeks to promote adoption of standard codes in small labs.

On June 23, the ONC hosted an information session on the funding opportunity, featuring speakers Yolonda Thompson, Office of the COO, Procurement & Grants Division, and Priscilla Owusu-Mensah, Office of Standards, Certification & Analysis, Technical Strategy & Analysis Division, Strategic Initiatives Branch.

The speakers explained that the funding opportunity is open to public or nonprofit private institutions, units of local or state government, and eligible agencies of the federal government, and Indian/Native American Tribal governments. For-profit organizations may participate in projects as members of a consortium or only as subrecipients.

The speakers noted that the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) grants policy requires the grant recipient to play a substantive role in the project, not just act as a conduit for funds. If consortium or contractual activities are significant, the applicant must justify why it, rather than other parties, should be the recipient and describe its role. Multiple applications are allowed if each is scientifically distinct.

The funding opportunity includes three focus areas, with one award available in each category. Up to $1 million will be awarded for Area of Interest 1, while Areas of Interest 2 and 3 will each receive up to $500,000. Awards will support a two-year performance period, although applicants are encouraged to submit proposals based on a three-year budget. Funding for a third year may be available depending on funding availability, demonstrated progress, and alignment with ONC priorities.

The three focus areas are:

1. Accelerating the use of agentic AI in care delivery and clinical trial settings.
2. Enhancing Lantern’s API monitoring capabilities through the integration of secure, community-driven feedback alongside existing automated monitoring tools.
3. Identifying laboratory interoperability gaps and advancing the adoption and use of standardized terminology among small independent laboratories.

The letter of intent (LOI) deadline is June 30, while all applications must be submitted by July 16. The expected award date is September 20, and the project is scheduled for a two-year period beginning on that date