FAQs - MP-CPI-24-001.03202024.pdf

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS (FAQs) for

Community Level Innovations for Improving Health Outcomes Initiative Opportunity Number: MP-CPI-24-001

#l Question & Response NOFO Page Reference

1. ELIGIBILITY

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

Any private nonprofit or public entity located in a State is eligible to apply for an award under this NOFO. “State” includes, in addition to the several States, only the District of Columbia, Guam, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Northern Mariana Islands, the Virgin Islands, American Samoa, the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands, and any agency or instrumentality thereof exclusive of local governments. (42 U.S.C. § 201(f) (PHS Act, Section 2(f)), 45 C.F.R. § 75.2). Eligible entities include private nonprofit or public faith-based organizations, community-based organizations, and American Indian/Alaska Native/Native American (AI/AN/NA) organizations.

Additional examples of eligible Organizations include:

• State governments

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

1b Are eligible communities just those with high proportions of racial and ethnic minorities?

Who will decide?

All eligible entities that submit applications will advance through the screening process, and those with eligible applications, will advance to objective review. Your statement of need and the data you present to support it and other required elements are vital in determining how well your application does in the merit review process.

The Deputy Assistant Secretary for Minority Health will provide recommendations for funding to the Grants Management Officer to conduct

32-34 risk analysis. In providing these recommendations, the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Minority Health will take into consideration the following additional factors:

• Balance of SDOH domains and chosen Leading Health Indicators (LHIs).

• Geographic distribution of projects.

Grants and Acquisitions Management (GAM) Division will evaluate, in accordance with 45 C.F.R. § 75.205, each application recommended for funding by the program official indicated in Review and Selection Process for risks before issuing an award. This evaluation may incorporate results of the evaluation of eligibility or the quality of an application.

Upon completion of risk analysis and concurrence of the Grants Management Officer, OASH will issue Notices of Award. No award decision is final until a Notice of Award is issued. All award decisions, including the level of funding if an award is made, are final and you may not appeal.

1c Are For-Profit organizations eligible to participate in this funding opportunity?

No. Only public or private nonprofit entities 10

1d Are there any other criteria used to qualify applications?

Yes. Your application will be disqualified if it does not clearly state two Social Determinants of Health (SDOH) domains and at least one but no more than two LHIs that will be the focus of the proposed innovation.

2. PREPARING TO APPLY

2a What is the deadline for submitting an application in response to this funding opportunity?

Applications are due May 15, 2024 by 6:00 PM Eastern Time. To receive consideration, you must submit your application electronically via Grants.gov no later than this due date and time.

Your submission time will be determined by the date and time stamp provided by Grants.gov when you complete your submission. If you fail to submit your application by the due date and time, we will not review it, and it will receive no further consideration.

2b How can I stay up to date on any updates or changes to the notice of funding opportunity (NOFO), additional information and resources, and other developments?

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.

On the next screen, look for the “BASIC SEARCH CRITERIA” fields under SEARCH GRANTS header in the upper left corner. Enter “MP-CPI-24-001” in the Opportunity Number field and click the SEARCH button.

Click on the link under the Opportunity Number header. You will see a red “Subscribe” icon in the right corner. You will then be prompted to either enter your username and password or establish one, after which you’ll be able to subscribe and get alerts.

2c Who should I contact if I still have questions about the NOFO?

Who to contact will depend on the nature of your question.

For programmatic questions, contact Paul Rodriguez at Paul.Rodriguez@hhs.gov. Please copy Duane Barlow on your email.

For financial and grants-related questions, contact Duane Barlow at Duane.Barlow@hhs.gov. Please copy Paul Rodriguez on your email.

2d Who should I contact if I have issues with the grants.gov portal or the electronic application process?

Please contact Grants.gov Applicant Support:

Email: support@grants.gov

Telephone: 1-800-518-4726

2e What registrations are needed to apply to this funding announcement?

Your organization must register online in the System for Award Management (SAM). Grants.gov will reject submissions from applicants with nonexistent or expired SAM Registrations.

A step-by-step description of the requirements for registering your organization to be able to apply for this and other funding announcements, along with the expected time for each step, can be found here:

https://www.grants.gov/applicants/applicant-registration.

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2f Can you explain the page limits? What does or does not count for which limits?

Your project narrative is limited to 30 pages and does not include your Project Abstract Summary. Since your project narrative plus appendices cannot exceed 50 pages, that leaves 20 pages for your appendices. The appendices should include the items listed here:

• Work Plan

• Logic Model

• Project Population(s) of Focus

• Memorandums of Agreement and/or Letters of Commitment

11-12 mailto:support@grants.gov https://www.grants.gov/applicants/applicant-registration

• Organizational Chart

• Curriculum Vitae/Resume for Key Project Personnel

• References Cited

You must submit these appendices as a single electronic file uploaded to the Attachments section of your Grants.gov application.

The SF-424, SF-424A, SF-424B, SF-LLL, Project Abstract Summary, and Budget Narrative (including budget tables) do not count towards your 50-page limit.

2g Are applicants required to submit memorandums of agreement (MOAs) and Letters of Commitment (LOCs)?

If available at the time of submission, signed MOAs or signed LOCs may be submitted for each partner (or one signed MOA with all partners) and include specific roles, responsibilities, resources, and contributions of partner(s) to the project.

If the applicant is unable to submit signed MOAs, the applicant may submit an unsigned MOA(s). If you are not providing these documents with your application, please indicate the anticipated date that you will have fully executed documents available for submission.

Fully executed MOAs and data sharing agreements identified for essential roles in the project will be required within the first 30 days of the period of performance.

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2h Are applicants required to submit detailed budgets for Sub-Awardees/Subrecipient as part of the application?

Yes. Subrecipient/contract and consultant activities must be described in sufficient detail to describe accurately the project effort that each will conduct.

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3. APPLICATION REVIEW

3a How will my application be reviewed?

An independent merit review panel will evaluate applications that are not disqualified and meet the responsiveness criteria outlined in the notice of funding opportunity. In addition to the independent review, Federal staff will review each application for programmatic, budgetary, and grants management compliance. The Deputy Assistant Secretary for Minority Health provides recommendations for funding to the Grants Management Officer to conduct risk analysis. Upon completion of the risk analysis and concurrence of the Grants Management Officer, HHS/OASH issues Notices of Award.

3b Are there salary limitations for staff paid for by this grant?

Yes. You should not budget award funds to pay the salary of an individual at a rate more than Federal Executive Pay Limitation ($212,100.00 USD). This salary rate limitation also applies to subawards/subcontracts under an HHS/OASH award.

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3c Are budgets scored as part of the review process?

Yes. Budgets will be scored by independent merit review panels. Also, Federal staff will review budgets for compliance with regulatory requirements.

3d How does the funding range relate to the estimated total funding amount?

We anticipate the total amount of funds available to be $8,000,000 for an estimated 14 competitive awards. Funding available for the first budget period will have a ceiling of $600,000 per award and a floor of $475,000.

3e Can we submit multiple applications?

Yes. If you successfully submit multiple applications from the same organization for the same project, we will only review the last application received by the deadline.

3f Can we appeal if we are not selected?

All award decisions, including the level of funding if an award is made, are final and you may not appeal.

4. PROGRAM

4a What is the purpose of this initiative? What are the expectations of the OMH?

The Community Level Innovations for Improving Health Outcomes (CLIIHO) initiative is intended to demonstrate that community level innovations that reduce barriers related to SDOH can increase use of preventive health services and make progress toward LHI targets.

OMH expects innovations in social and supportive services that address social determinants of health (SDOH) to reduce health disparities for populations of focus. Innovations should include collaborative community networks that are prepared to strengthen community support services, provide health resources, and help connect individuals to preventive health services. They should also represent novel approaches like including trained trusted messengers who work within the community to help bridge gaps to

1-7 health resources, promote the use of preventive health services, and encourage healthy choices.

4b Are medical service costs allowed under this funding opportunity?

No, medical service costs are not allowable.

Medical services are defined in comparison to social and support services in the NOFO glossary.

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4c

4c Are we supposed to address each of the expectations from the NOFO in our application?

Yes, award recipients under this announcement should meet each of the expectations in the execution of their funded projects.

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4d What is the Disparity Impact Statement (DIS) expectation? What is the purpose of the DIS?

Successful recipients will develop a disparity impact statement (DIS) using local data and input to identify populations at highest risk for health, social, economic, or other disparities.

Disparity impact statements are a part of a comprehensive data-driven approach for identifying and addressing health disparities to promote health equity for racial and ethnic minority populations. A DIS refers to the demographic, cultural, and linguistic data that identify the population(s) in which health disparities exist and the quality improvement plan designed to address the noted disparities.

36-37, 47, 4e What is the health disparity profile and what is its purpose?

The health disparity profile uses baseline population data and other existing data to describe how the health disparities identified among the population(s) of focus relate to the selected LHIs and SDOH domains. It serves as a comparison point for data collected during the course of project to help measure outcomes.

The health disparity profile should be created within the first three months of the project.

4f Are we required to use community level public health improvement models in the development of our innovation?

Recipients are strongly encouraged to use community level public health improvement models, such as the Community Readiness model or

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Community Organization model, that are useful in planning activities to improve the health of underserved populations. These models involve community members and partner organizations in creating supportive networks for health promotion and improvement. They can also facilitate novel approaches for community level innovations.

4g

Are we expected to demonstrate progress towards LHI targets?

Yes. Recipients should use data to show reductions in barriers related two SDOH domains and increased use of preventive health services that result in progress towards the selected LHI targets among the population(s) of focus.

Using the National CLAS Standards will help to ensure that project implementation is culturally and linguistically appropriate for the population(s) of focus.

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4h Should we conduct a process and outcomes evaluation? How will we measure the outcomes of this project?

We expect recipients to evaluate processes and outcomes to assess project effectiveness and impact over the period of performance. The process evaluation should determine whether the recipient implemented the community level innovation as planned. The outcome evaluation should determine whether it reached the population(s) of focus and its impact on health outcomes for that population(s).

Over the course of the project, we expect recipients to describe changes over time in disparities among the population(s) of focus related to the selected LHI(s) and SDOH domains. Recipients should compare baseline data and data collected and include relevant measurable outcomes. A measurable outcome is an observable end-result that describes the impact of a particular project.

A measurable outcome is not a measurable output, such as the number of partners committed or the number of health measures.

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4i

Is an external independent evaluator a required role?

We strongly recommend that evaluation activities be led by an independent evaluator, with input from key project staff, community members or representatives, and members of the collaborative network to ensure accountability, validity, and reliability of evaluation processes and results.

4j Are we required to partner with other agencies/organizations?

We encourage collaborative community networks as part of these innovations. We fund projects that include community networks prepared to strengthen community support services, provide health resources, and help connect individuals to preventive health services. Collaborative networks are

5, 7, 19, 32 also a key component of project development, implementation, and evaluation.

Network membership should include:

• Community-based organizations (CBOs) that provide social and supportive services that reduce SDOH related barriers to preventive health services

• CBOs with experience in health promotion for populations experiencing health disparities

• Medical organizations (e.g., safety net providers or other medical providers that have trusted relationships with the population(s) of focus).

We encourage recipients to partner with institutions of higher education that have trusted relationships with the population(s) of focus to conduct evaluation activities.

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Do I have to publish and disseminate my findings?

We expect recipients to document and share project findings and results (e.g., best practices, lessons learned) with the population(s) of focus, the public, and other interested parties. Recipients should publish the findings and results in scholarly articles or brief reports. Publications should describe the community level innovation and the related impact on health outcomes and health disparities. Recipients are encouraged to involve the partner network and population(s) of focus in the development of publications to ensure transparency and credibility of the results. Published articles should be freely, immediately, and equitably accessible to the public.

We also expect recipients to share project information with other OMH recipients within the period of performance. OMH-hosted opportunities for sharing findings typically include virtual and in-person meetings.

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4l What are OMH-hosted opportunities to share findings?

Examples of OMH-hosted opportunities to share findings include Communities of Practice where awardees share information about their work and learn from each other, Awardee Meetings, etc.

4m How does sustainability planning fit into the period of performance?

The period of performance is 48 months, made up of four 12-month budget periods. Each year, recipients will be required to report on progress and milestones as part of an annual noncompeting continuation application. After 36 months, we anticipate offering a competitive continuation opportunity for an additional 12-month budget period (I.e., a fifth budget period) to support selected successful projects in their transition to sustainability.

Funding available for the additional budget period is not guaranteed nor expected to be at the same level of previous budget periods.