Office of Public Health Preparedness and Response

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, a sub-agency of the Department of Health and Human Services, administers federal grant funding for public health research, disease surveillance, and prevention programs through state health departments, local health agencies, research institutions, and nonprofit organizations. CDC's grant portfolio funds the applied and translational work that bridges epidemiology, laboratory science, and community-based public health intervention.

CDC has obligated $11.52 billion in federal grant dollars across 380 awards since 2012, distributed to 82 distinct recipients. Recent grant activity has contracted significantly: the agency awarded 12 grants in 2022, then declined to 1 award each in 2023, 2024, and 2025, with 6 awards so far in 2026. The most recent grant award closed on June 1, 2026.

Grant recipient concentration is highly fragmented, with the top five recipients by award count holding 29 percent of recent awards. Health Research, Inc. leads by count with 2 awards totaling $7.3 million in federal dollars obligated; other top awardees include State of Georgia Department of Public Health ($7.8 million), Public Health Solutions ($6.8 million), Puerto Rico Science, Technology, and Research Trust ($1.5 million), and Utah Department of Health and Human Services ($192 thousand). By federal dollars, no single recipient concentration achieves measurable portfolio weight — County of Los Angeles, Department of State Health Services, and Florida Department of Health each received single awards in the $8 million to $11 million range, with the remainder of 82 recipients holding awards below that threshold. All 380 awards in the portfolio are structured as Cooperative Agreements.

The sharp year-over-year decline in grant awards from 2022 to 2023 and the subsequent minimal activity through 2025 suggest either a significant shift in CDC's grant-making strategy, funding constraints, or a transition in how grant programs are administered or reported. The modest uptick to 6 awards in 2026 year-to-date does not yet indicate a reversal of that trend. Business development professionals should verify current CDC grant funding opportunity releases and contact the agency's grants management office to establish whether this portfolio reflects a permanent change in grant-making volume or a data-reporting lag.