Notice of Funding Opportunity

Application due August 31, 2026

Center for Response Office of Strategic Partnerships

Pediatric Disaster Care Centers of Excellence Program Cooperative Agreement Opportunity number: EP-U3R-26-001

Contents

Step 1: Review the Opportunity 4

Basic information 5

Eligibility 7

Program description 9

Step 2:Get Ready to Apply 27

Get registered 28

Find the application package 28

Step 3: Write your application 29

Application contents and format 30

Step 4: Learn about Review and Award 38

Application review 39

Award notices 43

Step 5: Submit Your Application 44

Application submission and deadlines 45

Application checklist 47

Step 6: Learn What Happens After Award 49

Post-award requirements and administration 50

Contacts and Support 52

Before you begin 3

Endnotes 54

Contents 2

Before you begin If you believe you are a good candidate for this funding opportunity, secure your SAM.gov and Grants.gov registrations now. If you are already registered, make sure your registrations are active and up to date.

SAM.gov registration (this can take several weeks) You must have an active account with SAM.gov. This includes having a Unique Entity Identifier (UEI).

See Step 2:Get Ready to Apply

Grants.gov registration (this can take several days) You must have an active Grants.gov registration. Doing so requires a Login.gov registration as well.

See Step 2:Get Ready to Apply

Apply by the application due date Applications are due by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on August 31, 2026.

To help you find what you need, this NOFO uses internal links. In Adobe Reader, you can go back to where you were by pressing Alt + Left Arrow (Windows) or Command + Left Arrow (Mac) on your keyboard.

Before you begin 3 https://sam.gov/ https://grants.gov/

1. Review 2. Get Ready 3. Write 4. Learn 5. Submit 6. Award Contacts

Step 1:

Review the Opportunity

In this step

Basic information 5

Eligibility 7

Program description 9

Basic information Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response (ASPR)

Center for Response

Office of Strategic Partnerships

Strengthening regional pediatric disaster readiness through coordinated expertise, training, and systems that protect children in emergencies.

Have questions?

See Contacts and support.

Key facts

Opportunity name:

Pediatric Disaster Care Centers of Excellence Program Cooperative Agreement

Opportunity number:

EP-U3R-26-001

Federal assistance listing: 93.889

Statutory authority number: Section 1204 of the Public Health Service Act (title 42 USC § 300d-6)

Key dates

Application submission deadline: August 31, Expected award date:

September 30, 2026

Expected start date:

October 1, 2026

Summary Children represent approximately one-quarter of the United States population and possess unique developmental, physiological, behavioral, and psychosocial characteristics that require specialized approaches to disaster preparedness, response, and recovery. Pediatric patients frequently require specialized equipment, supplies, pharmaceuticals, transport resources, and clinical expertise that may not be readily available during disasters and public health emergencies.

Although significant progress has been made in pediatric disaster preparedness over the last decade, gaps remain in the Nation’s ability to provide coordinated pediatric care during incidents involving trauma, burn injury, emerging infectious diseases, pandemic influenza, chemical exposures, biological threats, radiological incidents, nuclear events, and other high-consequence emergencies.

Specialized pediatric hospitals and health systems provide exceptional care during routine operations; however, disasters frequently disrupt normal referral patterns, overwhelm local resources, and require rapid coordination of pediatric specialty expertise across jurisdictions and health care systems.

To address these challenges, ASPR seeks to establish and sustain a national network of four Pediatric Disaster Care Centers of Excellence (PEDs COEs).

These centers will serve as regional hubs for pediatric disaster preparedness, planning, coordination, education, training, situational awareness, and specialized pediatric surge capability.

The PEDs COE Network will strengthen the Nation’s ability to coordinate pediatric disaster care across local, state, regional, and interstate boundaries

1. Review 2. Get Ready 3. Write 4. Learn 5. Submit 6. Award Contacts

Step 1: Review the Opportunity 5 https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/COMPS-77777777/pdf/COMPS-77777777.pdf https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/USCODE-2018-title42/pdf/USCODE-2018-title42-chap6A-subchapX-partA-sec300d-6.pdf https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/USCODE-2018-title42/pdf/USCODE-2018-title42-chap6A-subchapX-partA-sec300d-6.pdf while advancing pediatric readiness throughout the health care delivery system.

Goals Recipients will establish and maintain regional capabilities that support pediatric disaster readiness, response, recovery, and resilience, with particular emphasis on:

• Pediatric trauma.

• Burn care.

• Emerging infectious diseases.

• Pandemic influenza.

• Chemical incidents.

• Biological incidents.

• Radiological incidents.

• Nuclear incidents.

• Behavioral and mental health impacts of disasters.

• Children with special health care needs.

Funding details Type: Cooperative agreement

Expected total funding: $4.8 million

Expected awards: 4

Funding range: $1.2 million

Fiscal years: 2027

Note: This NOFO is funded for one year (12 months). Therefore, the terms “budget period”, “project period”, and “period of performance” are the same for this award. Future funding may be available in the form of supplementals.

Funding strategy ASPR intends to award a total of $4,800,000 to four recipients. Each recipient is expected to receive $1,200,000 for a one-year project period. Future supplements may be made if additional funding becomes available and if the supplement is determined to be in the best interest of the Federal government.

Step 1: Review the Opportunity 6

Eligibility Eligible applicants Eligible applicants are limited to one or more public or private hospitals and/ or corporate health systems. For the purposes of this NOFO, a corporate health system is defined as an organized, coordinated, and collaborative network that (1) links various health care providers, via common ownership or contract, across three domains of integration – economic, noneconomic, and clinical – to provide a coordinated, vertical continuum of services to a particular patient population or community, and (2) is accountable both clinically and fiscally for the clinical outcomes and health status of the population or community served, and has systems in place to manage and improve them.

Recipients funded under this cooperative agreement will collaborate, coordinate, plan, and work directly with other currently funded PEDs COEs on appropriate activities described in this NOFO.

Special Requirements Required Letters of Support The applicant will:

• Submit letters of support from the following agencies/organizations with the application package:

◦ State Department of Health or State Hospital Association within the applicant’s state and at least one additional state in the applicant’s defined region

◦ State Office of Emergency Management within the recipient’s state

◦ State Office of Emergency Medical Services within applicant’s state

◦ Children’s Hospital [11] within at least one additional state in the applicant’s defined region

All letters should have a point of contact listed, as ASPR may conduct random reference verifications. In addition, letters should emphasize any past performance of coordinating with the respective organization.

Step 1: Review the Opportunity 7

Desired Letters of Support The Awardee should also collaborate with the following individuals and entities within the state, at minimum, throughout the course of the project period. While letters of support from these entities are not required as part of the application package, applicants will receive additional credit in the application scoring criteria for additional letters of support:

• Acute Care Hospitals/Medical Centers within the applicant’s state or at least one additional state in the applicant’s defined region.

• State Office of Emergency Management within at least one additional state in the applicant’s defined region.

• State Office of Emergency Medical Services within at least one additional state in the applicant’s defined region.

Cost Sharing and Match Requirements There is no cost sharing or match requirement for this project.

Step 1: Review the Opportunity 8

Program description Purpose The purpose of this NOFO is to fund four PEDs COEs to:

• Develop a coordinated pediatric disaster care capability for pediatric patient care in disasters.

• Strengthen pediatric disaster preparedness plans and health care system coordination related to pediatric medical surge in disasters.

• Enhance statewide and regional medical surge capacity for pediatric patients.

• Increase and maintain health care professional competency through the development and delivery of a standardized training program.

• Enhance situational awareness of pediatric disaster care capabilities and capacity and assess regional pediatric readiness.

Specific focus will be given to the management of pediatric care related to trauma, infectious diseases including pandemic influenza (PI) and other EID, burn, and CBRN incidents.

Outcomes The recipient must address all activities and strategies listed below in their application. Where possible, it is expected that the recipient will pursue sustainable, long-term solutions and identify plans. The recipient is required to collaborate, coordinate, plan, and work directly with the other PEDs COE recipients on Activity D to provide unified and comprehensive educational and training deliverables and Activity E, Strategies 1-3. The recipient may coordinate with other PEDs COEs on additional activities; however, the recipient is required to develop their own pediatric disaster response capability.

Activities This section describes activities you will carry out as part of this cooperative agreement. Recipients must use funds to conduct the following activities and strategies, in addition to producing a final report.

Step 1: Review the Opportunity 9

Activity A: Develop a coordinated pediatric disaster care capability for pediatric patient care in disasters

Strategy 1: Define the core elements of a pediatric disaster care capability and identify the respective contributions of regional partners and other available assets.

• Identify statewide and regional risks and vulnerabilities related to the clinical management of pediatric patients during disasters.

• Identify the essential capabilities and capacity required to ensure effective and safe management of pediatric patients within the state and multi-state region during a disaster, specifically capability and capacity for the management of pediatric patients requiring highly specialized care (e.g. trauma, infectious diseases including PI and other EID, burn, and CBRN care).

• Compare the identified requirements with existing resources in the state and multi-state region to identify where there are capability and capacity gaps that can be filled by the regional pediatric disaster care system, including any gaps in health care resources and service that are vital to continuity of pediatric health care delivery during a disaster (e.g. clinical services, infrastructure, supply chain, caches, health care workforce, etc.).

• Ensure the capability includes, at minimum:

◦ A coordinated mechanism for patient movement within the state and multi-state region.

◦ A shared understanding of likely referral patterns for critically ill or injured pediatric patients who require highly specialized care (e.g.

trauma, PI/EID, burn CBRN).

◦ An inventory of potential sources of paid or volunteer emergency health care workers.

◦ A plan for the use of telemedicine for augmentation of existing capability and capacity.

◦ And provisions for supply chain management and the distribution of equipment, supplies, and other resources throughout the state and region, specifically related to disasters; pre-, during, & post-.

Step 1: Review the Opportunity 10

Strategy 2: Develop a partnership with pediatric health care entities, disaster response entities, other relevant entities (e.g., supply chain vendors/distributors), and subject matter experts (e.g., pediatric professional medical organizations) across the region that are necessary to facilitate statewide and regional pediatric disaster health care response.

Specific focus of this partnership should be on building the response capabilities required for the coordinated regional care of pediatric patients in disasters, including as related to the management of pediatric trauma, infectious disease (including PI and other EID), burn, and CBRN incidents.

• Identify and build the necessary relationships to enable statewide and regional coordination of pediatric medical care in disasters.

◦ Collaborators should include, at minimum:

▪ Existing PCOEs.

▪ Hospitals (including critical access hospitals, a Level I pediatric trauma center, a Level IV neonatal intensive care unit, a Level I pediatric intensive care unit), and a pediatric emergency department.

▪ Emergency medical services (EMS) (including inter-facility and other non-EMS patient transport systems).

▪ Emergency management organizations.

▪ Public health agencies.

▪ State EMSC programs.

▪ Primary and urgent care facilities.

▪ Obstetric and pediatric care providers,

▪ Healthcare coalitions.[1]

▪ Federal health care facilities.

▪ Experts in pediatric emergency care, disaster medicine, trauma, infectious disease (including PI and other EID), burn, toxicology, and CBRN incidents.

Step 1: Review the Opportunity 11

Activity B: Strengthen pediatric disaster preparedness plans and health care system coordination related to pediatric medical surge in disasters

Strategy 1: Review and update existing disaster preparedness plans and annexes to ensure they incorporate pediatric considerations

• Convene relevant partners to collectively inventory existing disaster preparedness plans and identify gaps related to statewide and regional coordination of pediatric patients, including plans related to pediatric triage, surge, and/or evacuation.

• Recommend guidelines and draft language to facilitate the alignment of disaster plans throughout the state and multi-state region and ensure the incorporation of pediatric considerations.

• Provide technical assistance and expertise to state and regional partners interested in updating their plans, and support the development of Pediatric Annexes in statewide and regional preparedness plans, seeking concurrence from appropriate officials/entities where appropriate.

• Educate state and regional pediatric health care providers regarding considerations for conventional, contingency, and crisis standards of care for pediatric populations and provide recommendations for the inclusion of these considerations into disaster plans.

Strategy 2: Explore legal and policy coordination and alignment.

• Identify laws, regulations, and policies that impact the establishment of regional (i.e. multi-state) coordination of pediatric health care in disaster planning and response, and explore mechanisms to overcome any identified barriers to allow for regional coordination of pediatric assets during disaster planning and response.

• Identify and explore mechanisms to resolve potential conflicts related to coordination of pediatric health care assets (e.g. patient movement, patient tracking, expertise and resource sharing, and policy support) across the region.

Step 1: Review the Opportunity 12

Activity C: Enhance statewide and regional medical surge capacity for pediatric patients Note: The funds provided under this FOA are not eligible to cover costs associated with providing clinical care.

Strategy 1: Develop regional capability to provide highly specialized clinical care for pediatric patients including children with special health care needs.

• Develop a tiered regional pediatric disaster care capability for the state and region to ensure that pediatric care sites are not overwhelmed by large numbers of pediatric patients or a rapid influx of highly clinically complex pediatric patients.

• Develop the regional capability and capacity to manage pediatric patients with trauma, infectious diseases including PI and other EID, burn, and CBRN incidents.

• Develop the regional capability to manage the psychosocial/behavioral health needs of pediatric patients and their caregivers during and after disasters.

Strategy 2: Develop a regional deployable pediatric response capability.

• Identify methods to utilize existing pediatric response expertise in the state and region and deploy it through specialized pediatric medical teams to support pediatric medical surge in large-scale and highly specialized disaster scenarios. Include capability and capacity in the deployable response team to effectively manage pediatric patients with trauma, infectious diseases including PI and EID, burn, and CBRN.

• Develop a model and plan for the establishment, deployment, and sustainment of specialized pediatric medical teams to respond to disasters within the region that result in significant numbers of pediatric casualties.

• Identify and document regional mobile/deployable equipment, supplies, and clinical capabilities (e.g., personnel, pediatric equipment, pharmaceutical needs) required to effectively manage and treat pediatric patients during disasters.

• Identify available interstate medical resources and personnel (e.g.

Emergency Medical Assistance Compact, etc.) so that they may be rapidly shared across state lines.

Step 1: Review the Opportunity 13

• Ensure the availability and rapid acquisition of pediatric supplies and equipment in disasters by participating in healthcare coalitions’ supply chain vulnerability assessments and working with other relevant partners as necessary.

Strategy 3: Coordinate with entities within and outside of the region to develop a model for pediatric telemedicine and telementoring capability

• Demonstrate how pediatric critical care medical direction, oversight, and guidance may be provided during a medical surge response by using telemedicine and telementoring.[2]

• Identify methods to utilize existing response expertise (e.g. Regional Ebola and Other Special Pathogen Treatment Centers (RESPTCs), Radiation Injury Treatment Network, trauma, etc.), including pediatric care expertise (e.g. pediatric mental and behavioral health, trauma, etc.), through telemedicine or other technological platforms to support medical surge in large-scale and highly specialized disaster scenarios throughout the state and region.

• In addition to the clinical services described, consider and provide solutions to potential challenges related to operational/logistical requirements, dependencies (i.e., electrical grid), regulatory considerations (i.e., licensing, credentialing, Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA)), professional liability coverage, workforce/ on-call requirements, payment for services, and technology (i.e., interoperability and connectivity).

Strategy 4: Assess and enhance pediatric tracking, transport, and reunification capabilities within the state and multi-state region.

• Convene relevant partners to discuss whether bi-directional inter-facility and interstate transport (including aeromedical and ground critical care transport) plans have been developed for pediatric patients, and identify any shortcomings in existing pediatric patient evacuation and relocation plans across the region, particularly as related to the transport and care of pediatric patients who require highly specialized care (e.g. trauma, burn, PI/EID, and CBRN).

• Explore and document if and how electronic medical records or health information exchanges (HIEs) can improve existing patient tracking and

Step 1: Review the Opportunity 14 transport capabilities and develop a model for an improved regional pediatric patient tracking and transport system.

• Develop a state and regional capability for family notification and reunification of pediatric patients who arrive unaccompanied or are evacuated or discharged out of health care settings during disasters.

Include processes for collecting detailed descriptions of unaccompanied minors and designating safe locations for children awaiting reunification and address any ambiguity surrounding laws and decision-making processes regarding the treatment of non-critical pediatric patients in a disaster without parental consent.

Activity D: Increase and maintain health care professional competency through the development and delivery of a standardized training program The PCOE will be a resource for the broader health care sector in providing expert training and technical assistance related to providing pediatric care during disasters. Recipients should consider collaboration with other entities that provide resources related to pediatric care, such as the National Center for Disaster Medicine and Public Health, and ASPR’s Technical Resources Assistance Center & Information Exchange (TRACIE) to promote a comprehensive, unified pediatric training program for the health care community.

Strategy 1: Educate and train the health care and medical workforce on identified preparedness and response gaps related to the clinical management of pediatric patients.

• Identify basic elements to be included in a standardized training program for medical response personnel (e.g. state-sponsored medical teams, deployable teams developed under Activity C, etc.), health care providers (e.g. prehospital providers, pediatricians and obstetricians, family medicine providers, emergency medicine physicians, etc.), and medical volunteers as it relates to the management of pediatric patients during disasters.

◦ The training program must align with current and relevant published guidance, evolving scientific and clinical evidence-based research, and reflect standard treatment protocols and procedures for pediatric disaster care.

Step 1: Review the Opportunity 15

• Where training gaps exist, develop educational materials including training curricula, just-in-time training modules, and train-the-trainer modules to complete the training program.

◦ Consider, in particular, training related to management of pediatric patients exposed to CBRN, PI, EID, burn, and trauma. Additionally, training should include considerations for the behavioral and mental health impact that disasters may have on the pediatric population, parents, caregivers, and first responders/health care workforce.

◦ Include training for health care and public health personnel, EMS, and other necessary partners regarding disclosures allowed under HIPAA and other applicable laws in disasters.

◦ Include guidance and best practices on how to best use FDA-approved treatments in pediatric populations, with special consideration to emergency medical countermeasures.

◦ Include guidance, training, and protocols for movement and transport of pediatric patients.

◦ Document whether existing pediatric triage and treatment protocols related to the management of pediatric patients during a disaster require revision or updates.

• Develop in-person and online courses that will enable health care workers to obtain continuing education credit appropriate to their discipline.

• Demonstrate how just-in-time (JIT) training may be provided to increase health care worker resilience as required for response to different hazards (e.g., CBRN) and by professionals of different clinical specialty expertise.

• Develop training with regional team capability (Activity C) to ensure familiarization with the equipment and supplies, and treatment protocols and procedures.

Strategy 2: Provide expert training and technical assistance.

• Build capacity for the provision of training and technical assistance related to, at a minimum, the management of pediatric patients exposed to pediatric trauma, infectious disease (including PI and other EID), burn, and CBRN incidents.

• Develop internal and external evaluation tools to allow for tracking the number of participants trained, demographic information of participants, whether there is a demonstrated increase in knowledge, and participant confidence to apply the skills learned when appropriate.

Step 1: Review the Opportunity 16

• Develop a mechanism to allow facilities to submit requests for subject matter expert based technical assistance.

Strategy 3: Develop an open-access online resource repository.

• Establish an online, centralized and searchable repository to support dissemination of timely and relevant materials. At minimum, the online repository should contain all educational and training resources, and templates developed under this FOA.

• Disseminate, as appropriate, updated or newly available materials to health care providers and facilities.

Pursuant to 2 CFR 200.340, the awardee may copyright any work that is subject to copyright and was developed, or for which ownership was acquired, under this award (in this and all other sections of the FOA). ASPR reserves a royalty-free, nonexclusive and irrevocable right to reproduce, publish, or otherwise use the work for Federal purposes, and to authorize others to do so.

Activity E: Enhance situational awareness of pediatric disaster care capabilities and capacity and assess regional pediatric readiness

Strategy 1: Improve regional situational awareness.

• Define the essential elements of information (EEI) related to pediatric trauma, infectious disease (including PI and other EID), burn, and CBRN incidents (1) to be shared in an emergency to facilitate medical surge response; (2) necessary for patient movement and tracking; and (3) necessary for regional health care situational awareness and decision-making

• Explore the role of integration of these EEI into interoperable health information technology systems and HIEs

Strategy 2: Develop regional pediatric readiness metrics.

• Develop regional readiness metrics that measure a region’s pediatric readiness to effectively respond to and treat the pediatric population during disasters and public health emergencies, with particular emphasis on the ability to manage the impact of CBRN agents, burn, EID, PI, and trauma.

Step 1: Review the Opportunity 17

• Metrics should address regional assets, risks, and vulnerabilities related to the clinical management of pediatric patients during disasters, to include an inventory of health care resources and services that are vital to continuity of pediatric health care delivery during a disaster (e.g.

clinical services, infrastructure, supply chain, caches, health care workforce, etc.). Metrics should address the regional level of readiness to respond to for potential disaster scenarios with varying levels of impact and scale, to include large-scale, mass casualty events (e.g., pediatric trauma, infectious disease (including PI and other EID), burn, and CBRN incidents).

Strategy 3: Create a regional readiness self-assessment tool.

• Create a regional pediatric disaster readiness self-assessment tool based on identified metrics (Activity E, Strategy 2) to establish a benchmark and identify areas of opportunity for future development of pediatric readiness. The tool should be made available to other regions to conduct self-assessments.

Strategy 4: Conduct regional exercise(s) to test capabilities.

• Conduct at least one readiness exercise (minimum, tabletop exercise) during the project period utilizing CBRN and EID scenarios that measures the readiness of the region’s pediatric surge capacity, to include mobile team and telemedicine capabilities, validates plans, and demonstrates the ability to coordinate pediatric health care service delivery at the regional level.

• Develop templates for exercises, after-action reports, and corrective action and improvement plans that can be adapted and used to practice scenarios including, but not limited to CBRN and EID scenarios with a pediatric clinical care component. Such resources should be made readily available via the online repository.

• Complete after-action reports and corrective action plans based on the exercise(s).

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Additional Requirements Project Meetings

• Kick Off and Quarterly Meetings (with Government). Each recipient and the Government shall participate in project meetings to coordinate the performance of the cooperative agreement. These meetings may include face-to-face meetings at the recipient site or ASPR/HHS facilities. Such meetings may include, but are not limited to, meetings to discuss technical approach, operational capabilities, and regulatory and ethical aspects of the program. These meetings will also serve to formulate and agree upon the activities for the subsequent three months. In order to facilitate review of agreement activities, it is expected that the recipient will provide data, reports, and presentations to ASPR and/or other HHS or U.S. Government personnel as requested by the project officer. Dates for these meetings will be determined post-award.

• Bi-weekly Teleconferences. A conference call between ASPR and the recipient shall occur every two weeks or as directed by the ASPR project officer. During this call, the recipient will discuss the activities during the reporting period, any problems or challenges that have arisen, and the activities planned for the ensuing reporting period. Any relevant key project personnel may participate on the conference call to give detailed updates on specific project activities, or the ASPR project officer may make this request. The recipient will maintain a table of expected activities, an actions log, and an identified risk log as a means of managing and conducting these teleconferences. The quarterly meeting may be held in lieu of the monthly teleconference at the discretion of the ASPR project officer.

• Quarterly Meetings of the Recipients. Recipients funded under this cooperative agreement shall meet quarterly. To the extent possible, representatives from supporting organizations and additional partners may also participate. The purpose of these meetings is to identify and understand roles and responsibilities, formulate and agree on the activities for the subsequent three months, perform a progress check on the activities in the work plan, undergo a budget review, troubleshoot any barriers or challenges related to completing the deliverables of this cooperative agreement, and prepare for kick-off and quarterly meetings with ASPR and/or other HHS or U.S. Government personnel. These meetings may be conducted virtually (e.g. phone- or web-conference) or in-person.

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Reporting Requirements

• Each recipient will be required to submit quarterly progress reports, including an end of year report.

• Each recipient will be required to submit an annual After Action Report and Corrective Action Plan as a result of the exercise(s) conducted.

Federal program requirements In completing the activities above, you must satisfy the following requirements to maintain eligibility for funds:

• You must comply with cooperative agreement administrative requirements.

• You must submit the following:

◦ Progress reports.

◦ Program and financial data by the deadline. Refer to reporting for more information.

◦ Progress in achieving evidence-based benchmarks and objective standards.

◦ Performance measures data.

◦ Accomplishments highlighting the activities’ impact and value.

◦ Final report.

• You must have fiscal and programmatic systems in place to document accountability and improvement.

• You must maintain all program documentation for purposes of data verification and validation.

Termination provision The Federal Award may be terminated in whole or in part at any time prior to the end of the period of performance by the HHS Awarding Agency/ASPR if the non-Federal entity fails to comply with the terms and conditions of award.

For more information, please refer to 2 CFR 200.340. Pursuant to 2 CFR 200.340, the recipient agrees by accepting this award that continued funding for the award is contingent upon the availability of appropriated funds, recipient satisfactory performance, compliance with the Terms and Conditions of the award, and a decision by the agency that the award continues to effectuate program goals or agency priorities.

1. Review 2. Get Ready 3. Write 4. Learn 5. Submit 6. Award Contacts

Step 1: Review the Opportunity 20 https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-2/section-200.340

Funding policies and limitations You may use funds only for reasonable program purposes. Funds may be used to cover the costs of: personnel, consultants, equipment, supplies, grant-related travel, and other grant-related costs.

General policies

Changes in HHS regulations As of October 1, 2025, HHS has adopted 2 CFR Part 200, with some modifications included in 2 CFR Part 300. These regulations replace those in 45 CFR Part 75.

All activities proposed in your application and budget narrative must align with applicable law, including but not limited to statutes, executive orders, federal regulations and applicable judicial holdings. Accordingly, discretionary awards shall not be used to fund, promote, encourage, subsidize, or facilitate;

racial preferences or other forms of racial discrimination by the recipient, including activities where race or intentional proxies for race will be used as a selection criterion for employment or program participation; denial by the recipient of the sex binary in humans, or the belief that sex is a chosen or mutable characteristic; illegal immigration; or any other initiatives that compromise public safety. If an application does not align, the application will not receive funding to the extent permitted by law and applicable court orders.

System for Award Management (SAM) Reporting A term may be added to the Notice of Award that states: “In accordance with the regulatory requirements provided at 2 CFR 200 and 2 CFR 300, recipients that have currently active federal grants, cooperative agreements, and Procurement contracts with cumulative total value greater than $10,000,000, must report and maintain information in the SAM about civil, criminal, and administrative proceedings in connection with the award or Performance of a federal award that reached final disposition within the most recent five-year period. The recipient also must make semiannual disclosures regarding such proceedings. Proceedings information will be made publicly available in the designated integrity and performance system (currently the Federal Awardee Performance and Integrity Information System (FAPIIS)).”

Drug-Free Workplace A term may be added to the Notice of Award that states: “You as the recipient must comply with drug-free workplace requirements in Subpart B (or Subpart

Step 1: Review the Opportunity 21

C, if the recipient is an individual) of part 382, which adopts the Government-wide implementation (2 CFR part 182) of section 5152- 5158 of the Drug-Free Workplace Act of 1988 (Pub. L. 100-690, Title V, Subtitle D; 41 U.S.C. 701- 707).”

Smoke- and Tobacco-free Workplace The HHS/ASPR strongly encourages all grant recipients to provide a smoke-free workplace and to promote the non-use of all tobacco products. This is consistent with the HHS/ASPR mission to protect and advance the physical and mental health of the American people.

NOTE: The signature of the Authorized Organizational Representative (AOR) on the application serves as the required certification of compliance for your organization regarding the administrative and national policy requirements.

ASPR Public Access Policy The ASPR Public Access Policy requires all researchers receiving ASPR grants, cooperative agreements, or fixed amount awards to develop data management plans describing how they will provide for the long-term preservation of, and access to, scientific data in digital format. This ASPR Public Access Policy applies to any manuscript that is peer-reviewed and arises from any direct funding from an ASPR grant, cooperative agreement or fixed amount award awarded in FY 2016 or beyond. This policy ensures that the public has access to the published results of ASPR funded grants, cooperative and fixed amount awards at the NIH NLM PubMed Central (PMC), a free digital archive of full-text biomedical and life sciences journal literature. Under the policy ASPR-funded investigators are required by Federal law to submit (or have submitted for them) to PMC an electronic version of the final, peer-reviewed manuscript upon acceptance for publication, to be made publicly available no later than 12 months after the official date of publication. On February 22, 2013, the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) released the memorandum entitled, Increasing Access to the Results of Federally Funded Scientific Research, which requires federal agencies to make the results of federally funded scientific research available to and useful for the public, industry, and the scientific community. This document establishes a governing policy to enable public access to digitally-formatted scientific data created with ASPR funds.

1. Review 2. Get Ready 3. Write 4. Learn 5. Submit 6. Award Contacts

Step 1: Review the Opportunity 22 https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/

Publications Manuscripts resulting from funded work must be submitted directly to the NIH Manuscript Submission System (NIHMS). At the time of submission, the submitting author must specify the date the final manuscript will be publicly accessible through PMC. Authors may own the original copyrights to materials they write and should work with the prospective publisher as necessary before any rights are transferred to ensure that all conditions of the ASPR Public Access Policy can be met. Authors should avoid signing any agreements with publishers that do not allow the author to comply with the ASPR Public Access Policy. The author’s final peer-reviewed manuscript is defined as the final version accepted for journal publication arising from funds awarded in or after FY16 and includes all modifications from the publishing peer review process, and all graphics and supplemental material associated with the article. Institutions and investigators are responsible for ensuring that any publishing or copyright agreements concerning submitted articles reserve adequate right to fully comply with this policy. Applicants citing articles in ASPR applications, proposals, and progress reports that fall under the policy, were authored or co-authored by the applicant and arose from ASPR support must include the PMCID or NIHMS ID. The NIHMS ID may be used to indicate compliance with the ASPR’s Public Access Policy in applications and progress reports for up to three months after a paper is published. After that period, a PMCID must be provided to demonstrate compliance.

Digital Data ASPR-supported researchers must publish digital scientific data sets resulting from projects meeting the scope criteria above in a recognized scientific data repository capable of long-term preservation of the data and open access to the public within a proscribed time period of 30 months from the creation of the data set (if the data set has not been used in a peer-reviewed publication) or upon publication of a peer-reviewed publication based on the data set, whichever is sooner, unless this requirement has been waived in the approved data management plan. ASPR will recognize intellectual property rights as appropriate, consistent with regulations and program policies, including considerations for intellectual property based on the type of data subject to those policies (e.g., varied embargo dates, conditions for delaying data release). For the purpose of this plan, proprietary interests include receiving appropriate credit for scientific work. If the outcomes of the research result in inventions, the provisions of the Bayh-Dole Act of 1980, as implemented in 37 CFR Part 401, apply.

1. Review 2. Get Ready 3. Write 4. Learn 5. Submit 6. Award Contacts

Step 1: Review the Opportunity 23 http://www.nihms.nih.gov/

Acknowledgement ASPR Public Access Policy requires all recipient publications, including research publications, press releases, other publications, or documents about research that is funded by ASPR to include the following two statements:

• A specific acknowledgment of ASPR grant support, such as: “Research reported in this [publication/press release] was supported by [name of the program office(s), or other ASPR offices] the Department of Health and Human Services Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response under award number [specific ASPR grant number(s)].”

• A disclaimer that says: “The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the Department of Health and Human Services Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response.”

Trafficking in Persons Awards issued under this Notice of Funding Opportunity are subject to the requirements of Section 106 (g) of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000, as amended (22 U.S.C. 7104). For the full text of the award term, go to this link. If you are unable to access this link, please contact the Grants Management Officer identified in this Notice of Funding Opportunity to obtain a copy of the term.

Funding restrictions Restrictions, which must be taken into account while writing the budget, are as follows:

• Recipient may not use funds for research.

• Recipient may not use funds for clinical care.

• Recipient may only expend funds for reasonable program purposes, including personnel, travel, supplies, and services, such as contractual.

• Recipient may not generally use HHS/ASPR funding for the purchase of furniture. Any such proposed spending must be identified in the budget.

• The direct and primary recipient in a cooperative agreement program must perform a substantial role in carrying out project objectives and not merely serve as a conduit for an award to another party or provider who is ineligible.

• Recipient may not use funds to purchase sterile needles or syringes for the hypodermic injection of any illegal drug: provided that such limitation does not apply to the use of funds for elements of a program other than making such purchases if the relevant State or local health department,

1. Review 2. Get Ready 3. Write 4. Learn 5. Submit 6. Award Contacts

Step 1: Review the Opportunity 24 https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-2/subtitle-A/chapter%20I/part-175 in consultation with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, determines that the state or local jurisdiction, as applicable, is experiencing or is at risk for a significant increase in hepatitis infections or an HIV outbreak due to injection drug use, and such program is operating in accordance with State and local law.

• Recipient may not use funds to advocate or promote gun control.

• Salaries may not exceed the rate of $225,700 USD per year.

• Recipient may not use funds for lobbying activities.

• Recipient may not use funds for fund raising.

• Recipient may not use funds for the cost of money even if part of the negotiated indirect cost rate agreement.

• Recipient may not use funds for purchase of vehicles.

• Funding under these awards may only be used for minor alteration and renovation (A&R) activities. Construction and major A&R activities are not permitted. A&R of realproperty generally is defined as work required to change the interior arrangements or installed equipment in an existing facility so that it may be more effectively utilized for its currently designated purpose or be adapted for an alternative use to meet a programmatic requirement. The work may be categorized as improvement, conversion, rearrangement, rehabilitation, remodeling, or modernization, but it does not include expansion, new construction, development, or repair of parking lots, or activities that would change the “footprint” of an existing facility (e.g., relocation of existing exterior walls, roofs, or floors; attachment of fire escapes). Minor A&R may include activities and associated costs that will result in:

◦ Changes to physical characteristics (interior dimensions, surfaces, and finishes); internal environments (temperature, humidity, ventilation, and acoustics); or utility services (plumbing, electricity, gas, vacuum, and other laboratory fittings).

◦ Installation of fixed equipment (including casework, fume hoods, large autoclaves, biological safety cabinets).

◦ Replacement, removal, or reconfiguration of interior non-load bearing walls, doors, framed, or windows in order to place equipment in a permanent location.

◦ Making unfinished shell space suitable for purposes other than human occupancy, such as storage of pharmaceuticals.

◦ Alterations to meet requirements for accessibility for the physically handicapped.

Step 1: Review the Opportunity 25

Statutory authority Section 1204 of the Public Health Service Act (title 42 USC § 300d-6).

1. Review 2. Get Ready 3. Write 4. Learn 5. Submit 6. Award Contacts

Step 1: Review the Opportunity 26 https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/COMPS-77777777/pdf/COMPS-77777777.pdf https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/USCODE-2018-title42/pdf/USCODE-2018-title42-chap6A-subchapX-partA-sec300d-6.pdf

Step 2:

Get Ready to Apply

In this step

Get registered 28

Find the application package 28

Get registered SAM.gov You must have an active account with SAM.gov. This includes having a Unique Entity Identifier (UEI). SAM.gov registration can take several weeks. Begin that process today. To register, go to SAM.gov entity registration and click ‘Get Started.’ From the same page, you can also click on the ‘Entity Registration Checklist’ for the information you will need to register.

Grants.gov You must also have an active account with Grants.gov. You can follow step-by step instructions at the Grants.gov Quick Start Guide for Applicants.

Need help? Refer to Contacts and Support.

Find the application package The application package has all the forms you need to apply. Go to Grants Search at Grants.gov and search for opportunity number [Insert Funding Opportunity Number].

If you cannot use Grants.gov to download application materials or have other technical difficulties, including issues with application submission, contact Grants.gov for assistance. The Grants.gov Support Center is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, except federal holidays. The Grants.gov Support Center is available by phone at 1-800-518-4726 or by email at support@grants.gov.

To get updates on changes to this NOFO, select ‘Subscribe’ from the ‘View Grant Opportunity’ page for this NOFO on Grants.gov.

1. Review 2. Get Ready 3. Write 4. Learn 5. Submit 6. Award Contacts

Step 2: Get Ready to Apply 28 https://sam.gov/ https://sam.gov/ https://sam.gov/content/entity-registration https://www.grants.gov/ https://www.grants.gov/quick-start-guide/applicants mailto:support@grants.gov

Step 3:

Write your application

In this step

Application contents and format 30

Application contents and format Applications include five main components. This section includes guidance on each. Make sure you include each of these:

Component Submission Guidance

Project abstract Upload using guidance below.

Project narrative Upload using guidance below.

Budget narrative Upload using guidance below.

Standard forms Upload using each required form.

Required format

Required format for project abstract, project narrative, and budget narrative.

Format: PDF

Font: Times New Roman

Size: 12-point font

Footnotes and text in graphics: 10-point font

Spacing: Single-spaced

Margins: 1-inch

Includes page numbers.

Project abstract Page limit: 1 page

File name: Project abstract summary

Provide a self-contained summary of your proposed project, including the purpose, a summary with information about the required activities you are addressing, and outcomes. Do not include any proprietary or confidential information. We use this information when we receive public information requests about funded projects.

Step 3: Write your application 30

Project narrative Page limit: 20 pages

File name: Project narrative

Submit a project narrative that addresses all your proposed activities and the planned outputs for each activity over the full period of performance. Follow the section order and instructions below.

The Project Narrative is the most important part of the application, since it will be used as the primary basis to determine whether or not the project meets the minimum requirements of this cooperative agreement. The Project Narrative should provide a clear and concise description of the project. ASPR recommends that the project narrative include the following sub-components:

Overview This section provides a brief but comprehensive (no more than 2 pages) summary of the application. Because the overview is often distributed to provide information to the public and Congress, please prepare a narrative that is clear, accurate, concise, and without reference to other parts of the application. This section should be succinct, self-explanatory and well organized so that reviewers can understand the proposed project, including a summary of the overall goal of the project, proposed activities, the defined geographic area being served, timelines, and deliverables.

Work plan and timeline of proposed activities Each proposed activity within the proposal should have clear timelines for execution and completion. The Project Work Plan must be in narrative form and should reflect and be consistent with the proposal Overview and the proposal Budget and Justification. The narrative should cover the entire project period and all activities and strategies. It should include a statement of the project’s overall goal, anticipated outcome(s), key objectives, and the major tasks/action steps that will be pursued to achieve the goal and outcome(s).