Leading Edge Acceleration Projects (LEAP) in Health Information Technology

The Leading Edge Acceleration Projects (LEAP) in Health Information Technology (Health IT) program, funded by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) through the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC), aims to address emerging challenges and barriers that hinder the development and adoption of interoperable Health IT solutions. The program encourages the advancement of innovative health IT research and the implementation of new standards, methods, and techniques to enhance healthcare data exchange and interoperability. The fiscal year 2025 Special Emphasis Notice (SEN) for the LEAP program identifies two priority areas of interest. The first area focuses on demonstrating the readiness of HL7® Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources (FHIR®)-based Subscriptions as a foundational capability for improving interactivity with third-party applications. This initiative seeks to establish HL7® FHIR® Subscriptions as a reliable method for automating health data exchange, reducing reliance on manual queries, and fostering more seamless integration between electronic health records (EHRs) and external applications. The second area of interest centers on identifying and testing innovative technical approaches to enhance the Trusted Exchange Framework and Common Agreement (TEFCA) infrastructure, aiming to increase the adoption of Individual Access Services (IAS) and facilitate more efficient patient access to their electronic health information. Under this funding opportunity, ONC expects to issue up to two cooperative agreement awards, with a maximum funding of $1 million per award, totaling $2 million for fiscal year 2025. Each award will support projects for a two-year period, with the possibility of extension based on the availability of funds and programmatic priorities. Eligible applicants include public and non-profit institutions such as universities, local or state government entities, and federally recognized tribal governments. For-profit organizations and foreign institutions may participate as consortium members or sub-recipients but are not eligible to apply as primary recipients. Applications must clearly specify the selected area of interest and provide a detailed project proposal, including a technical plan, project objectives, anticipated outcomes, and an evaluation strategy. The proposal must also demonstrate expertise in relevant Health IT areas, such as HL7® FHIR® standards development, TEFCA policy components, and patient-facing application design. Submissions must include letters of commitment from key stakeholders, including EHR vendors, developers, and health information networks, to ensure collaborative project execution. Key dates for this funding opportunity include an informational session on March 6, 2025, a recommended letter of intent submission deadline on March 27, 2025, and the final application deadline on April 25, 2025. Applicants are required to submit proposals electronically through Grants.gov and adhere to the application formatting and content requirements specified in the LEAP funding announcement. For further information, interested applicants can contact the LEAP Program Manager, Alison Kemp, at ASTP-LEAP@hhs.gov, or the Grants Branch Chief, Carmel Halloun, at ASTPGrants@hhs.gov.