FAQ Document for the Vaccine Confidence Webinar - Remediated.pdf

FAQ’s for Promoting Vaccine Confidence in Local Communities

Through Partnership with Regional Health Offices

Opportunity Number: NV-VSR-21-001

A. ELIGIBILITY

1. What applicants are eligible and how will they be defined for this funding opportunity?

Any public or private entity located in a state or territory is eligible to apply for an award under this announcement.

This includes, for example:

• State Governments

• U.S. territories

• County Governments

• City or township governments

• Special district governments

• Independent school districts

• Public and State controlled institutions of higher education

• Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized)

• Public Housing authorities/Indian housing authorities

• Native American tribal organizations (other than federally recognized tribal governments)

• Nonprofits having 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education

• Nonprofits without 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education

• Private institutions of higher education

• For profit organizations, including small businesses

B. PREPARING TO APPLY

1. When is the deadline for submitting an application in response to this funding opportunity?

a. Applications are due August 17, 2021, by 6 p.m. Eastern Time. To receive consideration, you must submit your application electronically via Grants.gov no later than this due date and time.

2. When was the Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) released?

a. The Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) was posted on grants.gov on July

9, 2021. If your agency is interested in applying to the NOFO you can do so by accessing the link below:

https://www.grantsolutions.gov/gs/preaward/previewPublicAnnouncement.do?

id=93994

3. How can I stay up to date on any updates or changes to the NOFO, additional information and resources, and other developments?

a. The best way to stay up to date is to subscribe to this NOFO on grants.gov. Please go to www.grants.gov and click the “Search Grants” tab in the upper left of the screen.

b. On the next screen, look for the “BASIC SEARCH CRITERIA” fields under the

SEARCH GRANTS header in the upper left corner. Enter NV-VSR-21-001 in the

Opportunity Number field and click the SEARCH button.

c. Click on the link under the Opportunity Number header. You will see a red

“Subscribe” icon in the right corner. You then will be prompted to either enter your username and password or establish one, after which you’ll be able to subscribe and get alerts.

4. Who should I contact if I still have questions about the NOFO? Questions about developing my application?

a. Who to contact will depend on the nature of your question. For programmatic questions, such as developing elements of your application, contact Dr. David

Kim at David.Kim@hhs.gov or Sean Dade at Sean.Dade@hhs.gov. Please CC:

Duane Barlow on your email

b. For financial and grant related questions , contact Duane Barlow at Duane

Barlow@hhs.gov for financial and grants-related questions. Please CC: Dr.

David Kim and Sean Dade on your email.

5. Will I need to re-apply for the additional funding once the project extends beyond year 1?

a. Each year of the approved period of performance, you will be required to submit a noncompeting application which includes a progress report for the current budget year, and work plan, budget and budget justification for the upcoming year. Specific guidance will be provided via Grant Solutions well in advance of the application due date. HHS/OASH will award continuation funding based on availability of funds, satisfactory progress of the project, grants management compliance, including timely reporting, and continued best interests of the government. Additionally, failure to provide final progress or financial reports on other awards from HHS may affect continuation funding.

6. Could an exception be made to use this funding as match for an AmeriCorps national service program that is also focused on community vaccine education?

a. No, an exception will not be made to use the NOFO funding as a match for an https://www.grantsolutions.gov/gs/preaward/previewPublicAnnouncement.do?id=93994 https://www.grantsolutions.gov/gs/preaward/previewPublicAnnouncement.do?id=93994 file:///C:/Users/duane.barlow/AppData/Local/Microsoft/Windows/INetCache/Content.Outlook/8PVU7FYI/David.Kim@hhs.gov file:///C:/Users/duane.barlow/AppData/Local/Microsoft/Windows/INetCache/Content.Outlook/8PVU7FYI/Sean.Dade@hhs.gov mailto:Duane%20Barlow@hhs.gov mailto:Duane%20Barlow@hhs.gov www.grants.gov

AmeriCorps national service program that is also focused on community vaccine education.

C. APPLICATION REVIEW

1. What are the next steps once the submission deadline has ended?

a. An independent review panel will assess all eligible applications according to criteria outlined in the notice of funding opportunity. In addition to the independent review panel.

b. Federal staff will review each application for programmatic, budgetary, and grants management compliance. The Director of the Office of Infectious Disease and HIV/AIDS Policy will provide recommendations for funding to the Grants Management Officer to conduct risk analysis.

c. Upon completion of the risk analysis and concurrence of the Grants Management Officer, HHS/OASH issues Notices of Award.

2. How can we track the status of our submitted application?

a. In the Grants. Gov application, you will receive a notice of successful application submission on screen, at the website. Per the NOFO, formal notice of application status will be provided in two ways:

i. A Notice of Award (NOA) will be issued and received by an applicant if they are awarded funding for this NOFO, or

ii. An applicant will receive a written notification from program that the application in question was unsuccessful.

D. PROGRAM

1. Can we subcontract/subaward with other eligible entities under this cooperative agreement?

a. Yes, the recipient can subcontract/subaward under a HHS/OASH award to achieve the desired outcomes outlined within this NOFO. However, the recipient who is directly awarded funding through this NOFO will be held responsible for ensuring activities described in the project narrative are implemented and the desired outcomes are met. The primary awardee is also responsible for completing all required programmatic and financial reporting outlined within the NOFO.

2. Does the vaccine confidence project need to focus on all routinely recommended vaccines, or can we target a specific vaccine(s) based on the need of our local community?

a. Applicants do not need to tailor their intervention strategy using all routinely recommended vaccines. A project may be centered around one, or a combination, of any of the vaccine routinely recommended by CDC; this may include, but is not limited to: Influenza, Measles, HPV, and zoster (shingles).

b. Regardless of which vaccine you select for your intervention approach, you must clearly describe within your project narrative how vaccine confidence is a contributing factor to low vaccine uptake. Supporting evidence should include baseline coverage level data, and/or qualitative data from previous community needs assessments, surveys, or interviews, demonstrating the need for the desired evidence-based strategy.

3. Can we use this funding to increase vaccine confidence in COVID-19 vaccines?

a. Due to the large amount of funding already being allocated to increase vaccine confidence in COVID-19 vaccines, applicants will not receive funding to support projects involving confidence in COVID-19 vaccines. Applicants should focus on other CDC routinely recommended vaccines when establishing their vaccine confidence approach.

4. Can any portion of the HHS funding go towards purchasing vaccines or additional supplies to administer vaccines?

a. For this funding opportunity your application may include the purchase of justifiable equipment and supplies. This may include purchasing vaccine or additional supplies to increase vaccine uptake. As stated in the notice, we are interested in learning about the processes and outcomes of implemented practices that promote confidence in and uptake of routinely-recommend vaccines in local communities (or populations) with low vaccination coverage rates.

5. Who do we contact when we need to make changes to the project once funding is awarded?

a. A project officer from your HHS regional office will serve as the technical lead for this project. If any project modifications are needed once funding has been awarded you should contact your regional officer immediately. The program officer and the regional office will work together to determine if the change request will be approved.

6. Will these slides be available at the conclusion of the webinar session?

a. The webinar slides will be added to grants.gov once they have been finalized. Make sure to subscribe to this NOFO in grants.gov to have access to the slide deck once it is available.

7. Can State Immunization Programs apply for this notice of funding opportunity, or is this award only intended for Community-Based Organizations or Faith-Based Organizations?

a. Yes, state immunization programs may apply to this funding opportunity. These projects must be applied at the local level, but states can always subcontract with a local organization that serves a target population with low vaccination rates who exhibit a lack of confidence in vaccines which prevents vaccine uptake. However, as the applicant you will be responsible for ensuring the subrecipient meets all the outcomes identified within your project narrative.

8. Do we have to focus on one specific population? Or can we work with multiple populations?

a. You do not have to work with just one specific population. This grant opportunity allows applicants to come up with innovative strategies to increase confidence in vaccine products among various populations.

b. The applicant must make sure that for each population selected the applicant should provide a detailed description within their application on why they chose the target population. This may include historical data, survey, journal articles, needs assessment, and/or any other information describing the need for implementing this project with the identified target group.

9. Is there a requirement to have a written agreement with regional health office? Is there a list of those offices?

a. No, there is not a requirement to have written agreement with regional offices.

However, if the applicant is awarded funding for this funding opportunity, they will work closely with their regional technical lead to ensure their vaccine confidence approach is successfully implemented.

b. Throughout the budget period awardees should be in direct contact with their assigned regional office to assist with process implementation and improvement.

The collaboration may include technical assistance, identifying partner organizations, monitoring progress, or participating in preparations of presentations and publications.