MP-CPI-20-006 FAQs - FINAL.pdf

National Infrastructure for Mitigating the Impact of COVID-19 within Racial and Ethnic Minority Communities FOA Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

GENERAL

Are slides, the chat transcript, and recording available for the May 5 TA webinar?

The slides and chat transcript are at: https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/view-opportunity.html?oppId=326613

The recording is posted at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SoWyu8XVqS0

APPLICATION

What is the application deadline?

May 11 at 6pm ET.

Can we get an extension on the application deadline?

There are no current plans to extend the application deadline. Individual extensions on the application deadline will not be granted except as described in the funding opportunity announcement (FOA).

Who is eligible to apply?

All Applicants are eligible except for private institutions of higher education and for-profit organizations (including small businesses). Eligible applicants include the U.S. territories and private, non-profit institutions of higher education. This includes:

o State Governments o County Governments o City or township governments o Special district governments o Independent school districts o Public and State controlled institutions of higher education o Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized) o Public Housing authorities/Indian housing authorities o Native American tribal organizations (other than federally recognized tribal governments) o Nonprofits having 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education o Nonprofits without 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education o Private non-profit institutions of higher education o U.S. Territories

What is the process for applying for a grant?

Awards will be made as cooperative agreements through a competitive process. Applications will be reviewed using the same process that is used across the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health as described in the funding opportunity announcement Section F.

Can one organization/institution submit more than one application?

The FOA does not limit the number of different applications an institution can submit. Multiple applications should be for clearly different projects.

https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/view-opportunity.html?oppId=326613 https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/view-opportunity.html?oppId=326613 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SoWyu8XVqS0

Are subrecipients allowed for this award?

Yes, subrecipients who are public or non-profit entities are allowed.

I represent a for-profit organization. If I have a non-profit partner that applies and receives the award, can I be a subrecipient?

No. OMH statutory authority limits recipients to public and non-profit entities, and subrecipients must also abide by the statutory limitation.

Is our organization able to be the lead on our application and a subrecipient on other applications

The funding opportunity announcement does not prohibit this.

Can I be included in multiple applications as a subrecipient?

Yes, as long as you are a public or non-profit entity.

Can we still be considered for this grant if we submit our application by the deadline with a pending 501C?

See eligibility examples above.

Will applicants have enough time to apply for this award?

HHS recognizes the urgency of addressing the pandemic, especially in the communities hardest hit by COVID-19.

Are letters from States required for the application?

No, but the recipient should implement a collaborative partnership framework within 3 months of award. Partnerships should include significant roles for the state offices of minority health/health equity and/or state entity with a similar function.

Can you provide more information regarding the waiver of DUNS numbers and SAMS registration?

HHS has implemented OMB Memoranda M-20-11 and M-20-17 allowing flexibility with respect to SAM registrations. OASH has waived the requirement at the time of submission.

Registration may be required at the time of award if an application is recommended.

Per Section F.6 (pp 61-62), Intergovernmental Review is required. Is there any required upload for the application?

No, there is no required documentation to be submitted with the application.

I’m having problems with the Grants.gov application platform. Can you help?

For assistance, you can reach GRANTS.GOV Applicant Support at 1-800-518-4726.

PROJECT PERSONNEL

Can we submit the OMB Form 0925-0001 Biographical Sketch for our resumes?

Yes. But it should provide enough information to describe the qualifications of the individual for the proposed role in the project.

Is more than one Principal Investigator/Project Director allowed?

Only one PI may be designated on any application Shared project management duties should be described in the proposal.

For the job description requirements, are these needed only for empty positions or also for those positions in which the person is a TBD?

The application should describe clearly the positions and at a minimum those individuals who are filling the Essential Personnel roles, if those positions are currently occupied.

BUDGET

Is there any guidance on year 2 & 3 award ceiling/floor, or is it just the balance after year 1 up to $40M total costs?

Applicants have flexibility to propose the year 2 and year 3 budget allotments subject to a total project cost of $40M over the possible three years.

What should be included for the year 2 and year 3 budgets?

For subsequent budget years, provide a summary narrative and line item budget. For categories or items that differ significantly from the first budget year, provide a detailed justification explaining these changes. Note, do not include costs beyond the first budget year in the object class budget in box 6 of the SF- 424A or box 18 of the SF-424; the amounts entered in these sections should only reflect the first budget year.

Does the limit for using 5% of the total award for the innovative approach implementation activity apply for one year or the total project period?

The budget to support the implementation of innovative strategies or approaches in these highly impacted geographic areas (see FOA pages 21-22) should not exceed 5% of the total budgeted cost over the entire project period.

AWARD

When will the award be made?

We anticipate a Cooperative Agreement will be awarded on or before June 15, 2020.

How many awards will be made?

OMH will fund one award.

Why only one award?

The initiative is meant to build a national network to support a strategic, coordinated information dissemination effort that will reach and involve racial and ethnic minority communities throughout the country. To ensure that we reach all states, territories, and tribes with consistent messaging and culturally and linguistically diverse information, we envision one national entity to coordinate efforts with state/territorial/tribal/local partners throughout the country.

Who decides who will receive funding?

The Deputy Assistant Secretary for Minority Health, in consultation with other federal staff, will provide recommendations for funding to the Grants Management Officer (GMO).

Are subawards from subrecipients allowable?

In the event of an award, the awardee is responsible for providing adequate subawardee monitoring.

Can you connect me with the awardee for collaboration opportunities?

Please subscribe to the OMH newsletter to receive an announcement about the awardee. You may subscribe on the OMH website:

https://minorityhealth.hhs.gov/omh/browse.aspx?lvl=3&lvlid=94

PROGRAM

How will you determine if this program is working?

Successful applicants will be required to meet performance metrics developed with and agreed to by OMH.

Is X population included? Can we focus on only X population?

The initiative is intended to reach racial and ethnic minority, rural and socially vulnerable populations.

Is this enough to address the current disparities because of COVID-19?

The current disparities we are seeing related to COVID-19 are rooted in complex and persistent, historical issues. We believe this initiative will put critical infrastructure in place that will be key to addressing some of the factors that contribute to these disparities, such as barriers to receiving information and care. Our goal is to get critical information to the communities most impacted by COVID-19, including information about testing, and to link people to health care and other services. That is a priority for HHS and major part of addressing COVID-19 disparities.

What is the intended reach of this initiative?

The initiative is intended to reach racial and ethnic minority, rural and socially vulnerable populations. OMH expects the recipient to develop a nationwide strategic and structured bi-directional information network comprised of a range of national, state, territorial, tribal and local organizations. Network members should have demonstrated capacity to reach and effectively communicate: (1) with racial and ethnic minority populations across the nation in general; and/or (2) with racial and ethnic minority, rural and socially vulnerable populations in geographic areas highly impacted by COVID-19 or at risk for worse outcomes due to COVID-19.

Is five the maximum number of communities to target?

The five community limit applies only to the expectation/project activity that the recipient support the implementation of innovative approaches for reducing or mitigating COVID-19 exposure and adverse outcomes for those particularly vulnerable and who live in highly impacted geographic areas (see FOA pages 21-22).

https://minorityhealth.hhs.gov/omh/browse.aspx?lvl=3&lvlid=94