Foa_Content_of_FR-6600-N-USP1 (1).pdf

U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development

Policy Development and Research

Authority to Accept Unsolicited Proposals for Research Partnerships

FR-6600-N-USP

06/30/2023

Table of Contents U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development

Summary

Overview

A. Program Description

B. Research Priorities

C. HUD Research Assets

II. Definitions

III. Authority

IV. Award Information

A. Available Funds

B. Number of Awards

C. Minimum/Maximum Award Information

D. Period of Performance

E. Type of Funding Instrument

V. Eligibility

A. Eligible Applicants

B. Cost Sharing or Matching

C. Threshold Eligibility Requirements

D. Statutory and Regulatory Requirements Affecting Eligibility and Performance

VI. Application Submission and Criteria Information

A. Obtaining an Application Package

B. Content and Form of Application Submission

C. Application Submission Criteria

D. System for Award Management (SAM) and Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) Dun and Bradstreet Universal Numbering System (DUNS) Number

E. Proposal Submission Dates and Times

F. Funding Restrictions

G. Other Submission Requirements

VII. Application Review Information

A. Review Process and Criteria

B. Review and Selection Process

C. Anticipated Announcement and Award Dates

VIII. Award Administration Information

A. Award Notices

B. Administrative, National and Department Policy Requirements and Terms for HUD Recipients Financial Assistance Award

IX. Reporting Requirements

X. Agency Contacts

XI. Other Information

Program Office:

Policy Development and Research Funding Opportunity Title:

Authority to Accept Unsolicited Proposals for Research Partnerships Announcement Type:

Discretionary - Unsolicited Research Proposal Funding Opportunity Number:

FR-6600-N-USP

Primary Assistance Listing Number:

14.506 Notice of Expiration Date:

06/30/2023 Summary The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Strategic Plan sets the direction and focus of our programs and staff to create strong, sustainable, inclusive communities and quality, affordable homes for all.

HUD's Strategic Goals

HUD’s FY 2022-2026 Strategic Plan lays out this administration’s strategy for ensuring everyone has an affordable, healthy place to live. Over the course of the next four years HUD will pursue two overarching priorities focused on increasing equity and improving customer experience across all HUD programs. Five strategic goals undergird the Plan as follows:

Strategic Goal 1: Support Underserved Communities Strategic Goal 2: Ensure Access to and Increase the Production of Affordable Housing Strategic Goal 3: Promote Homeownership Strategic Goal 4: Advance Sustainable Communities Strategic Goal 5: Strengthen HUD’s Internal Capacity

The five goals of the FY 2022-2026 Strategic Plan present the core vision of what we hope to accomplish, the strategies to accomplish those objectives, and the indicators of success.

Overview This Notice announces that HUD’s Office of Policy Development and Research (PD&R) has the authority to accept unsolicited research proposals that address current research priorities. In accordance with statutory requirements, the research proposals must be submitted by eligible applicants and provide cost sharing of at least 50 percent of total project cost from philanthropic entities or Federal, state, or local government agencies. This Notice announces that HUD is accepting research proposals for such research partnerships and provides a general description of information that should be included in any research proposal.

The Department is interested in increasing participation of Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs) of higher education and Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) in all program areas. Therefore, HUD seeks proposals from MSIs and HBCUs as well as from eligible entities that are not themselves MSIs and HBCUs but have developed a partnership with one or more MSIs and/or HBCUs.

DATES: Proposals may be submitted at any time and will be evaluated as they are received.

Available funds will be awarded as proposals are received, evaluated, and approved, until funds are exhausted.

Unsolicited proposal - A valid unsolicited proposal must: (1) Be innovative; (2) Be independently originated and developed by the offeror; (3) Be prepared without Federal Government supervision, endorsement, direction, or direct Federal Government involvement; (4) Include sufficient detail to permit a determination that Federal Government support could be worthwhile and the proposed work could benefit the agency's research and development or other mission responsibilities; (5) Include sufficient detail to permit a determination that the Federal Government's support would yield a valuable return on investment; (6) Not be an advance proposal for a known agency requirement that can be acquired by competitive methods; (6) Not be a result of a previous competitive announcement; and (7) Not be a concept paper.

OMB Approval Number(s):

Not applicable for this Notice I. Funding Opportunity Description A. Program Description.

HUD developed the Research Partnerships vehicle to allow greater flexibility in addressing evidence gaps concerning strategic policy questions and to better utilize external expertise in evaluating effectiveness of programs affecting residents of urban, suburban, rural, and tribal areas, as well as local innovations in the delivery of these programs. Through the effective period of this Notice, HUD can accept unsolicited research proposals that address current research priorities and allow innovative research projects that could inform HUD’s policies and programs.

Applicants are encouraged to submit research proposals that inform important policy and program objectives of HUD that are not otherwise being addressed, that focus on one of HUD’s research priorities, and that make effective use of HUD’s funding.

B. Research Priorities HUD's Fiscal year 2022-26 Learning Agenda (forthcoming at https://www.huduser.gov/portal/about/pdr_learningagenda.html) is the most recent integration of diverse stakeholder viewpoints into a five-year research and learning agenda. The Learning Agenda, like prior Research Roadmaps, focuses HUD’s research resources on timely, policy-relevant research questions that address strategic evidence gaps and lie within the Department’s area of comparative advantage. This focus on comparative advantage means that HUD and PD&R need to collaborate with other research organizations in areas that are mutually important.

HUD also seeks independent research that will help the Department support communities that have been historically underserved, marginalized, and adversely affected by persistent poverty and inequality and that advances equity, civil rights, racial justice, and equal opportunity consistent with the Executive Order on Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Through the Federal Government (January 20, 2021).

The Learning Agenda identifies a number of research questions that PD&R is considering for the near future and that align with Departmental Priorities. Following are examples of priority research topics that could be addressed through collaborative research:

1. Support Underserved Communities – Areas of interest include: a) studies on how best to support economic mobility and wealth-building for HUD-assisted households, including closing wage, credit, and opportunity gaps related to race, national origin, disability, gender, and other protected classes; b) studies on effective strategies for reducing the prevalence and length of homeless episodes; addressing youth, veteran, and formerly incarcerated person homelessness; supporting populations who may benefit from specialized services, such as individuals with severe mental illness, substance use disorders, or other physical and/or mental disabilities; reducing unsheltered homelessness; and ensuring equitable access to homelessness assistance; and c) studies on how segregation and areas of minority concentration should be defined so that HUD, local and state governments, and housing developers can best work toward ensuring that housing is located in non-segregated areas of opportunity.

2. Ensure Access to and Increase the Production of Affordable Housing – Areas of interest include: a) studies on how to improve the effectiveness of rental assistance for families of different configurations, sizes, and needs; how to increase participation by private sector owners, including owners with accessible units and those in well-resourced areas of opportunity; how to increase housing choice and geographic mobility for assisted renters; particularly for racial minorities and other protected classes; how to decrease racial segregation; how to ensure housing quality and accessibility; and how to promote long-term housing stability; b) studies related to the identification of barriers to affordable and inclusive housing; studies that explore how local, state, and federal policies affect the cost, availability, and equity of housing for low-income renters and first-time homebuyers; and studies of strategies to increase the affordable housing supply, for example in well-resourced areas of opportunity that are not minority concentrated, with access to high quality schools and employment opportunity and for underserved populations; c) research on how recipients of federal funds can better affirmatively further fair houisng as required by the Fair Housing Act; d) studies related to the equity and impact of conversion, preservation, and replacement housing programs, such as the Rental Assistance Demonstration (RAD), and "e) studies on the types of best practices Public Housing Agencies can implement when recruiting HCV landlords of accessible units such as improving outreach methods to make accessible HCV units better known to households with tenant-based vouchers and identifying and removing barriers for households with tenant-based vouchers in search of units with accessibility features."

3. Promote Homeownership – Areas of interest include: a) studies on initiatives and strategies that increase homeownership and wealth-building opportunities for lower income Americans and underserved communities, that close the racial homeownership gap, that support wealth-building and reduce risk of default and foreclosure, and/or that address financial challenges facing specific populations (e.g., people of color, students, individuals with disabilities, individuals with criminal histories, and older adults); and b) research on opportunities to reform and modernize housing finance systems.

4. Advance Sustainable and Equitable Communities – Areas of interest include: a) studies that expand energy-efficient and climate-resilient housing options in public and assisted housing, which serves primarily very low-income households and large shares of people of color, yet is often more vulnerable to climate change due to locations, aging infrastructure, and historic disinvestment; b) studies on assessing the risk posed by disasters to HUD’s assisted housing stock and insured mortgage portfolio, historically underserved populations, and socially vulnerable populations; on the extent of disparities in administration, receipt, amounts, and priority of assistance based on race, national origin, disability, and other protected characteristics, and on what policy changes could reduce these disparities; on increasing the effectiveness of disaster assistance for homeowners, renters, low-income, and minority communities; c) studies on building capacity to enhance the resilience of communities and homes to mitigate the risk and effects of disasters, pestilence, energy shocks, and public health emergencies; d) studies on environmental justice, including whether protected classes experience disproportionte hazards, health risks, and substandard housing; and what policy changes could reduce these disparities.

In addition, HUD's Office of Lead Hazard Control and Healthy Homes has identified the following research priorities related to the control of lead hazards and other hazards in homes under the Healthy Homes Initiative:

5. Lead Hazards – Research into lead health hazards other than lead-based paint hazards (i.e., lead in deteriorated paint, dust, and soil) and strategies to mitigate or eliminate them (note: this includes evaluation of the impact of policies), except as provided in the last sentence of this paragraph. HUD is interested in supporting novel research on the identification and control of lead exposures from residential drinking water; the evaluation and control of residential lead exposures from legacy industrial emissions and wastes (e.g., near Superfund and state-equivalently-designated sites); factors inhibiting, and effective low-cost methods of increasing, blood lead screening and testing rates among young children in public and other HUD-assisted housing in high-risk states or communities; and modeling of geographic, socioeconomic, and other distributions of factors correlated with high risk of increased blood lead levels in children and subsequent validation of models. Funding for research on other lead safety topics other than those identified above, namely, on the identification and control of residential lead-based paint hazards is only available annually through HUD’s Lead Technical Studies Grant Program (Assistance Listing No. 14.902).

6. Other hazards – HUD’s healthy homes program includes assessing and controlling key residential health and safety hazards. These conditions include pest infestation, mold and excess moisture, indoor air contaminants such as radon and secondhand tobacco smoke, and injury hazards. An important area of research need for several of these issues is evaluation of the incorporation of practices, shown to be effective in research settings, into programmatic and residential building management practices. HUD is also interested in the potential benefits of management practices and requirements such as smoke-free housing policies and integrated pest management (or combinations of these practices) for the health of residents (e.g., residents with asthma, Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), etc.). Evaluation of programs or demonstrations in which healthcare payers (e.g., managed care organizations) or providers support home assessment and mitigation of housing-related health and safety hazards is also an area of interest to HUD.

Funding for research on residential health and safety issues is also available annually through HUD’s Healthy Homes Technical Studies Grant Program (Assistance Listing No. 14.906).

HUD’s Research Partnerships program has produced innovative research that makes significant contributions to HUD’s learning agenda. For example, “Childhood Housing and Adult Earnings” used advanced methods to understand how housing assistance programs improve long-term economic outcomes for disadvantaged children. “What Happens to Housing Assistance Leavers?” used data from the Moving to Opportunity demonstration to address the major evidence gap about reasons tenants exit assisted housing and what happens to them. “HOPE VI:

Data Compilation and Analysis” significantly enhanced data availability for this important community revitalization program. “Advancing the Use of Cold-Formed Steel in the Housing Industry” measured the earthquake resistance of full-scale steel-frame buildings using shake tables. “Brokering the Geography of Opportunity” is examining how landlords affect access of assisted renters to high-quality housing and neighborhoods. These projects and many others are documented at https://www.huduser.gov/portal/oup/research_partnerships.html#impact-overview.

The authority that Congress provided HUD to enter into noncompetitive cooperative agreements for research is an important tool for fulfilling the Learning Agenda’s vision for leveraging evidence-building assets through research collaboration and other means. Potential research partners are encouraged to develop research proposals that fill evidence gaps, inform important and emerging policy and program objectives of HUD that are not otherwise being addressed, support HUD’s strategic objectives and program effectiveness consistent with the 2022–2026 Strategic Plan, and leverage HUD’s data and research assets. In preparing such proposals, researchers also are encouraged to consider and support PD&R’s core principles and practices for research—rigor, relevance (including relevance for underserved communities), transparency, independence, ethics, and technical innovation—as described in the “HUD Program Evaluation Policy Statement” (FR Doc. 2021-44738, available at https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2021/08/13/2021-17339/hud-program-evaluation-policy-policy-statement).

C. HUD Research Assets HUD has made, and continues to make, significant investments in “Research Assets,” as described below, including program demonstrations and the production of datasets and data linkages. HUD is interested in studies that make use of HUD’s Research Assets, as such studies demonstrate a broader usefulness of the Assets and increase the return on these investments for the taxpayer. In considering potential research partnerships, HUD urges organizations to consider ways to take advantage of HUD’s Research Assets to address data and evidence gaps.

1. HUD demonstrations. HUD values demonstrations as a method for evaluating new policy and program initiatives and significantly advancing evidence-based policy, especially when rigorous random-assignment methods are feasible. HUD is interested in research opportunities that take advantage of completed and ongoing demonstrations. For example, researchers continue to answer relevant https://www.huduser.gov/portal/oup/research_partnerships.html#impact-overview https://www.huduser.gov/portal/oup/research_partnerships.html#impact-overview https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2021/08/13/2021-17339/hud-program-evaluation-policy-policy-statement https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2021/08/13/2021-17339/hud-program-evaluation-policy-policy-statement policy questions using data generated by the Moving to Opportunity demonstration. Examples of demonstrations that are underway or recently completed include the Family Options Study, the Rental Assistance Demonstration, the First-Time Homebuyer Education and Counseling Demonstration, the Moving To Work Demonstration, the Rent Reform Demonstration, and the Community Choice Demonstration, Electronic versions of published HUD research can be found at https://www.huduser.gov/portal/research/home.html.

2. HUD data, analysis, and reporting infrastructure. HUD makes significant investments to improve and support the nation’s housing data, so submitting institutions are encouraged to consider opportunities to use HUD-sponsored survey data and administrative data. The American Housing Survey (AHS;

https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/ahs.html) is one of HUD’s largest research investments. The AHS provides a wealth of data on the size and composition of the nation’s housing inventory that researchers could use more effectively to address questions about housing market dynamics.

3. HUD administrative data linkages.

i. PD&R has partnered with the National Center for Health Statistics

(NCHS) to longitudinally link HUD’s administrative records for rental assistance participants with the National Health Interview Survey, the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, and associated NCHS linked files for Medicare, Medicaid, and mortality data. These data resources are available through the NCHS research data centers (https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data-linkage/hud.htm).

ii. HUD and the Census Bureau have entered into an interagency agreement to link data from demonstrations and administrative systems with survey data and other administrative records. PD&R encourages research partnerships that effectively use data assets through public use data or restricted access arrangements with Census or NCHS research data centers. Further information is available at:

https://www.huduser.gov/portal/pdrdatas landing.html.

Data License Applications and Data-Only Requests. To access restricted-use HUD data without a funding request, researchers may obtain a HUD data license provided their research aligns with HUD priorities. A copy of the data license application is available from the HUD USER research portal: https://www.huduser.gov/portal/publications/pdf/data_license.pdf. Applications may be submitted to HUD by e-mail to DataLicense@hud.gov. Data license applications will be forwarded to the appropriate PD&R office for review and approval. HUD does not require researchers to obtain a data license to use the HUD-NCHS linked datasets, but a HUD research partnership can support waivers of NCHS fees for the research data center if a research proposal is accepted by NCHS.

II. Definitions

a. Standard Definitions Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing (AFFH). Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing means taking meaningful actions, in addition to combating discrimination, to overcome patterns of segregation and foster inclusive communities free from barriers that restrict access to https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/ahs.html https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data-linkage/hud.htm https://www.huduser.gov/portal/pdrdatas_landing.html https://www.huduser.gov/portal/publications/pdf/data_license.pdf mailto:DataLicense@hud.gov opportunity based on protected characteristics. Specifically, affirmatively furthering fair housing means taking meaningful actions that, taken together, address significant disparities in housing needs and in access to opportunities, replacing segregated living patterns with truly integrated and balanced living patterns, transforming racially and ethnically concentrated areas of poverty into areas of opportunity, and fostering and maintaining compliance with civil rights and fair housing laws. The duty to affirmatively further fair housing extends to all program participant's activities and programs relating to housing and urban development.

Assistance Listing number refers to the publicly available listing of Federal assistance programs managed and administered by the General Services Administration, formerly known as the Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA). Assistance Listing is a unique number assigned to identify a Federal Assistance Listings, formerly known as the CFDA Authorized Organization Representative (AOR) is the person authorized to submit applications on behalf of the organization via Grants.gov. The AOR is authorized by the E-Biz point of contact in the System for Award Management. The AOR is listed in item 21 on the SF- 424.

Consolidated Plan is a document developed by states and local jurisdictions. This plan is completed by engaging in a participatory process to assess their affordable housing and community development needs and market conditions, and to make data-driven, place-based investment decisions with funding from formula grant programs. (See 24 CFR part 91 for HUD’s requirements regarding the Consolidated Plan and related Action Plan).

Contract means, for the purpose of Federal financial assistance, a legal instrument by which a recipient or subrecipient purchases property or services needed to carry out the project or program under a federal award. For additional information on contractor and subrecipient determinations, see 2 CFR 200.331.

Contractor means an entity that receives a contract as defined above and in 2 CFR 200.1.

Deficiency is information missing or omitted within a submitted application. Examples of deficiencies include missing documents, information on a form, or some other type of unsatisfied information requirement. Depending on specific criteria, deficiencies may be either Curable or Non-Curable.

Curable Deficiencies may be corrected by the applicant with timely action. To be curable the deficiency must.

Not be a threshold requirement, except for documentation of applicant eligibility.

Not influence how an applicant is ranked or scored versus other applicants; and Be remedied within the time frame specified in the notice of deficiency.

Non-Curable Deficiencies cannot be corrected by an applicant after the submission deadline.

Non-curable deficiencies are deficiencies that, if corrected, would change an applicant’s score or rank versus other applicants. Non-curable deficiencies may result in an application being marked ineligible, or otherwise adversely affect an application’s score and final determination.

DUNS Number is the nine-digit Dun and Bradstreet Data Universal Number System identification number assigned to a business or organization by Dun & Bradstreet and provides a means of identifying business entities on a location-specific basis.

E-Business Point of Contact (E-Biz POC) A user registered as an organization applicant who is responsible for the administration and management of grant activities for his or her organization.

The E-Biz POC is likely to be an organization's chief financial officer or authorizing official. The E-Biz POC authorizes representatives of their organization to apply on behalf of the organization (see Standard AOR and Expanded AOR). There can only be one E-Biz POC per DUNS Number.

Expanded Authorized Organization Representative (AOR) AOR is a member of your organization authorized by the EBiz POC to submit applications in Grants.gov on behalf of the organization. An applicant user with the Expanded AOR role is authorized to submit any applications on behalf of the organization and has privileges that allow the user to modify organization-level settings in Grants.gov.

Eligibility requirements are mandatory requirements for an application to be eligible for funding.

Federal Financial Assistance means assistance that entities received or administer in the form of:

1) Grants;

2. Cooperative agreements (which does not include a cooperative research and development agreement pursuant to the Federal Technology Transfer Act of 1986, as amended (15 U.S.C. 3710a));

3. Loans;

4. Loan guarantees;

5. Subsidies;

6. Insurance;

7. Food commodities;

8. Direct appropriations;

9. Assessed and voluntary contributions; and

10. Any other financial assistance transaction that authorizes the non-Federal entity's expenditure of Federal funds.

11. Federal financial assistance does not include amounts received as reimbursement for services rendered to individuals as described in section 200.502(h) and (i). (2 CFR 200.1) Federal award, has the meaning, depending on the context, in either paragraph (1) or (2) of this definition:

(1)(i) The Federal financial assistance that a recipient receives directly from a Federal awarding agency or a subrecipient receives indirectly from a pass-through entity, as described in 2 CFR §200.101; or

ii. The cost-reimbursement contract under the Federal Acquisition Regulations that a non- Federal entity receives directly from a federal awarding agency or indirectly from a pass-through entity, as described in 2 CFR §200.101.

1. The instrument setting forth the terms and conditions. The instrument is the grant agreement, cooperative agreement, other agreement for assistance covered in paragraph (2) of the definitions of Federal financial assistance in 2 CFR §200.1, and this

NOTICE, or the cost-reimbursement contract awarded under the Federal Acquisition Regulations.

2. Federal award does not include other contracts that a Federal agency uses to buy goods or services from a contractor or a contract to operate Federal Government owned, contractor operated facilities (GOCOs).

3. See also definitions of Federal financial assistance, grant agreement, and cooperative agreement in 2 CFR 200.1.

Grants.gov is the website serving as the Federal government’s central portal for searching and applying for Federal financial assistance throughout the Federal government. Registration on Grants.gov is required for submission of applications to prospective agencies unless otherwise specified in this NOTICE.

Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) The Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended, defines an HBCU as: “…any historically black college or university that was established prior to 1964, whose principal mission was, and is, the education of black Americans, and that is accredited by a nationally recognized accrediting agency or association determined by the Secretary [of Education] to be a reliable authority as to the quality of training offered or is, according to such an agency or association, making reasonable progress toward accreditation.”

HBCUs offer all students, regardless of race, an opportunity to develop their skills and talents.

Non-Federal Entity (NFE) means a state, local government, Indian tribe, Institution of Higher Education (IHE), or non-profit organization that carries out a federal award as a recipient or subrecipient.

Point of Contact (POC) is the person who may be contacted with questions about the application submitted by the AOR. The POC is listed in item 8F on the SF-424.

Recipient means an entity, usually but not limited to non-Federal entities, that receives a federal award directly from HUD. The term recipient does not include subrecipients or individuals that are beneficiaries of the award.

Small business is defined as a privately-owned corporation, partnership, or sole proprietorship that has fewer employees and less annual revenue than a corporation or regular-sized business.

The definition of “small”—in terms of being able to apply for government support and qualify for preferential tax policy—varies by country and industry. The U.S. Small Business Administration defines a small business according to a set of standards based on specific industries. See 13 CFR Part 121.

Standard Authorized Organization Representative (AOR) An AOR is a member of your organization authorized by the EBiz POC to submit applications in Grants.gov behalf of the organization. An applicant user with the Standard AOR role can only submit application when they are a Participant of that workspace.

Subaward means an award provided by a pass-through entity to a subrecipient for the subrecipient to carry out part of a federal award received by the pass-through entity. It does not include payments to a contractor or payments to an individual that is a beneficiary of a federal program. A subaward may be provided through any form of legal agreement, including an agreement that the pass-through entity considers a contract.

Subrecipient means an entity, usually but not limited to non-Federal entities, that receives a subaward from a pass-through entity to carry out part of a federal award but does not include an individual that is a beneficiary of such award. A subrecipient may also be a recipient of other federal awards directly from a federal awarding agency.

System for Award Management (SAM) is the Federal Repository into which an entity must provide information required for the conduct of business as a recipient. Registration with SAM is required for submission of applications via Grants.gov. You can access the website at https://www.sam.gov/SAM/. There is no cost to use SAM.

Threshold Requirements are an eligibility requirement that must be met for an application to be reviewed. Threshold requirements are not curable, except for documentation of applicant eligibility and are listed in Section III.D Threshold Eligibility Requirements. Similarly, there are eligibility requirements under Section III.E, Statutory and Regulatory Requirements Affecting Eligibility.

Unique Entity Identifier means the identifier assigned by SAM to uniquely identify business entities.

Environmental Justice is the fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people, regardless of race, color, national origin, or income, with respect to the development, implementation, and enforcement of environmental laws, regulations, and policies. Fair treatment means that no population bears a disproportionate share of negative environmental consequences resulting from industrial, municipal, and commercial operations or from the execution of federal, state, and local laws; regulations; and policies. Meaningful involvement requires effective access to decision makers for all, and the ability in all communities to make informed decisions and take positive actions to produce environmental justice for themselves.

Minority-serving Institution means an accredited academic institution whose enrollment of a single minority or a combination of minorities exceeds fifty percent of the total enrollment, including graduate and undergraduate and full- and part-time students. An institution in this instance is an organization that is independently accredited as determined by reference to the current version of the Higher Education Directory, published by Higher Education Publications, Inc., 6400 Arlington Boulevard, Suite 648, Falls Church, Virginia 22042.

Program Definitions

a. Program Definitions.

Application vs. Proposal may be used interchangeably to be consistent with the language in Grants.gov. Your proposal, with the required forms, will be the document you submit for consideration.

Principal Investigator is lead author of the proposal, of the research design, and of the final report.

III. Authority.

This program is authorized by Sections 501 and 502 of the Housing and Urban Development Act of 1970 (12 U.S.C. §1701z-1 and §1701z-2) and funding is provided by the Consolidated https://www.sam.gov/SAM/

Appropriations Act, 2021 (Public Law 116-260, approved December 27, 2020) and the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2022 (Public Law 117-103, approved March 15, 2022).

IV. Award Information A. Available Funds.

HUD is making up to $2 million available for Lead and Healthy Homes Research Partnerships as described in Section I.B, Research Priorities 5 and 6, and approximately $1 million available for Research Partnerships for other topics as described in Section I.B. If HUD’s review of proposals for either Research Partnerships category does not result in the selection of eligible proposals that would use the entire allotment, the Agency will reallot the unused funds for other purposes authorized under the respective appropriations. Additional funds may become available for award. Use of these funds might be subject to statutory constraints or other requirements. All awards are subject to the funding restrictions contained in this notice.

B. Number of Awards.

The number of awards will be based on the number of eligible proposals HUD receives, reviews, approves, and funds.

C. Minimum/Maximum Award Information.

There are no minimum or maximum award amounts. A notification will be sent to applicants that request funding in amounts exceeding the remaining available funds; the notification will say that the proposal could be funded contingent upon funding in a future funding year or that the applicant can revise the proposal to apply for a reduced amount for up to the remaining available funds.

D. Period of Performance.

The period of performance will be determined by the applicant’s proposal and is subject to statutory restrictions on appropriated funds allotted to this Program and HUD’s discretion following negotiation with the applicant.

E. Type of Funding Instrument.

Funding Instrument Type CA (Cooperative Agreement) V. Eligibility A. Eligible Applicants.

Eligible applicants under this Notice include philanthropic entities, other Federal agencies, State or local governments and their agencies, Indian Tribes, tribally designated housing entities, or colleges or universities located in the United States. Financial proposals may not include a line for profit because successful applicants may not earn profit under their financial arrangements with HUD. Individuals are not eligible.

For the purposes of this Notice, HUD defines a philanthropic entity as one among the subset of 501(c)(3) organizations whose articles of incorporation or other organizational documents include the direct funding of research activities and other charitable purposes. These include private foundations, educational institutions that may have a separate foundation, public charities, and operating foundations. A philanthropic entity must identify and provide, as part of its proposal, the specific part of its articles of incorporation or other organizational documentation establishing it as a philanthropic entity.

Individuals, foreign entities, and sole proprietorship organizations are not eligible to compete for, or receive awards made under this announcement.

B. Cost Sharing or Matching.

This Program requires cost sharing, matching, or leveraging as described below.

Cost sharing is required for research projects to be eligible for funding through HUD’s non-competitive cooperative agreement authority. Research projects submitted by all eligible applicants must include at least 50 percent match toward the cost of the project. Federal funds are generally not allowed to be used for match unless otherwise permitted by that specific federal program’s authorizing statute.

Certification of match or cost-sharing: If an institution offers the salaries of one or more researchers as part or all of the required match, the match will be valid only to the extent that the institution can quantify the extent to which it will release the researcher(s) from other duties without compensation from the grant. The Authorized Individual must provide certification in the proposal package.

Example 1: Professor A has a normal teaching load of 4 preparations per semester and a service load of 2 committees. She proposes to reduce the load to 2 preparations and 1 committee for the duration of the grant. The university proposes that her total salary would be unchanged, but a cost equal to the cost of one preparation and one committee would be charged against the grant.

The valid match from her university would then be the cost of one preparation per semester.

Example 2: Researcher C has ongoing responsibilities in connection with 3 projects (unrelated to the proposed project) that pay for 75 percent of his time; the remainder of his time is spent on a fourth unrelated project that the organization has been supporting from its own overhead. The organization proposes that his total salary would be unchanged, but he will stop spending his time on the fourth project and instead charge 10 percent of his time to the Research Partnership grant. The valid match from the organization’s institutional overhead would then be 15 percent of his salary.

Evidence of cost sharing. You must provide documentation of all match indicated in your budget by letters of firm commitment, such as a letter on the organization’s letterhead, Memoranda of Understanding or other signed agreements from those entities identified as partners in the proposal. All commitment documents MUST clearly identify the dollar amount, the source(s) of the funds, and the proposed uses that comply with the requirements of this Notice and be signed by the authorized official. All matching funds must be used within the period of performance.

The Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards, set forth in 2 CFR part 200, shall apply to this Federal award. Cost sharing or matching means the portion of project costs not paid by Federal funds (unless otherwise authorized by Federal statute). Applicants should refer to 2 CFR 200.306 for specific requirements.

C. Threshold Eligibility Requirements.

Applicants who fail to meet any of the following threshold eligibility requirements will be deemed ineligible. Applications from ineligible applicants will not be evaluated.

1. Resolution of Civil Rights Matters. Outstanding civil rights matters must be resolved before the application deadline. Applicants, who after review are confirmed to have civil rights matters unresolved at the application deadline, will be deemed ineligible. Their proposal will receive no further review .

a. Applicants having any of the charges, cause determinations, lawsuits, or letters of findings referenced in subparagraphs (1) – (5) that have not been resolved to HUD’s satisfaction before or on the application deadline date are ineligible for funding. Such matters include:

1. Charges from HUD concerning a systemic violation of the Fair Housing Act or receipt of a cause determination from a substantially equivalent state or local fair housing agency concerning a systemic violation of a substantially equivalent state or local fair housing law proscribing discrimination because of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability or familial status;

2. Status as a defendant in a Fair Housing Act lawsuit filed by the United States alleging a pattern or practice of discrimination or denial of rights to a group of persons raising an issue of general public importance under 42 U.S.C. 3614(a);

3. Status as a defendant in any other lawsuit filed or joined by the Department of Justice, or in which the Department of Justice has intervened, or filed an amicus brief or statement of interest, alleging a pattern or practice or systemic violation of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, Section 109 of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974, the Americans with Disabilities Act or a claim under the False Claims Act related to fair housing, non-discrimination, or civil rights generally including an alleged failure to affirmatively further fair housing;

4. Receipt of a letter of findings identifying systemic non-compliance with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, Section 109 of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974; or the Americans with Disabilities Act; or

5. Receipt of a cause determination from a substantially equivalent state or local fair housing agency concerning a systemic violation of provisions of a state or local law prohibiting discrimination in housing based on sexual orientation, gender identity, or lawful source of income.

b. HUD will determine if actions to resolve the charge, cause determination, lawsuit, or letter of findings taken before the proposal submission will resolve the matter.

Examples of actions that may be sufficient to resolve the matter include, but are not limited to:

1. Current compliance with a voluntary compliance agreement signed by all the parties;

2. Current compliance with a HUD-approved conciliation agreement signed by all the parties;

3. Current compliance with a conciliation agreement signed by all the parties and approved by the state governmental or local administrative agency with jurisdiction over the matter;

4. Current compliance with a consent order or consent decree;

5. Current compliance with a final judicial ruling or administrative ruling or decision; or

6. Dismissal of charges.

D. Statutory and Regulatory Requirements Affecting Eligibility and Performance.

The following requirements affect applicant eligibility. Detailed information each requirement is posted on HUD’s Funding Opportunities page.

Active Prime and Sub Recipient registration with SAM.gov Outstanding Delinquent Federal Debts •Debarments or Suspensions, or both Pre-selection Review of Performance Sufficiency of Financial Management System False Statements Mandatory Disclosure Requirement Prohibition Against Lobbying Activities Equal Participation of Faith-Based Organizations in HUD Programs and Activities In addition, each applicant under this Notice must have the necessary processes and systems in place to comply with the Award Term in Appendix A of 24 CFR Part 170 if the applicant receives an award, unless an exception applies as provided in 2 CFR 170.110.

VI. Application Submission and Criteria Information A. Obtaining an Application Package.

Instructions for Applicants.

You must download both the Application Instructions and the Application Package from Grants.gov. You must verify that the Assistance Listing Number and Assistance Listing Description on the first page of the Application Package, and the Funding Opportunity Title and the Funding Opportunity Number match the Program and Notice to which you are applying.

The Application Package contains the portable document forms (PDFs) available on Grants.gov, such as the SF-424 Family. The Instruction Download contains official copies of the Notice and forms necessary for a complete application. The Instruction Download may include Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel and additional documents.

An applicant demonstrating good cause may request a waiver from the requirement for electronic submission, for example, a lack of available Internet access in the geographic area in which your business offices are located. Lack of SAM registration or valid DUNS/UEI Number is not good cause. If you cannot submit your application electronically, you must ask in writing for a waiver of the electronic grant submission requirements. HUD will not grant a waiver if the https://www.hud.gov/program_offices/spm/gmomgmt/grantsinfo/fundingopps

Applicant fails to submit to HUD in writing or via email a request for waiver at least 15 calendar days before this Notice’s expiration date. If HUD grants a waiver, a paper application must be received before this Notice’s expiration date.

To request a waiver, you must contact:

Name: Carol Gilliam

Email: Carol.D.Gilliam@hud.gov

HUD Organization: PD&R

Street: 451 7th Street SW

City: Washington

State: DC DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

Zip: 20410

Telephone: 202-402-4354

The phone number above may also be reached by individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing, or who have speech disabilities, through the Federal Relay Service’s teletype service at 800-877- 8339.

B. Content and Form of Application Submission.

Forms/Assurances/Certifications Submission Requirement Notes/Description

HUD Applicant Recipient Disclosure Report (HUD) 2880 Applicant/Recipient Disclosure/Update Report

Submission is required for all applicants by the application due date.

Application for Federal Assistance

(SF424)

Submission is required for all applicants by the application due date.

Required for all applications.

Disclosure of Lobbying Activities (SFLLL), if applicable

HUD will provide instructions to grantees on how the form is to be submitted.

If any funds have been paid or will be paid to any person for influencing or attempting to influence an officer or employee of any agency, a Member of Congress, an officer or employee of Congress, or an employee of a Member of Congress in connection with this mailto:Carol.D.Gilliam@hud.gov

Forms/Assurances/Certifications Submission Requirement Notes/Description commitment providing for the United States to insure or guarantee a loan, the applicant shall complete and submit the SF-LLL, "Disclosure Form to Report Lobbying," in accordance with its instructions. Applicants must furnish an executed copy of the Certification Regarding Lobbying prior to award.

SF-424B Assurances for Non- Construction Programs

SF-424D (Assurances for Construction Programs)

You must verify that boxes 11, 12, and 13 on the SF-424 match the Notice for which you are applying. If they do not match, you have downloaded the wrong Application Instruction and Application Package.

Submission of an application that is otherwise sufficient, under the wrong Assistance Listing and Funding Opportunity Number is not curable unless otherwise stated in Threshold requirements.

Additionally, provide documentation of all match indicated in your budget by letters of firm commitment, such as a letter on the organization’s letterhead, Memoranda of Understanding or other signed agreements from those entities identified as partners in the application. All commitment documents MUST clearly identify the dollar amount, the source(s) of the funds, and the proposed uses that comply with the requirements of this Notice and be signed by the authorized official.

C. Application Submission Criteria.

Proposals must contain sufficient information for PD&R to identify whether the research would meet statutory requirements for cost sharing and alignment with the research priorities identified in Section I.B of this Notice. At a minimum, proposals must include:

a. Proposal Abstract. Applicants must include a Proposal Abstract or cover page with the project title, the names and affiliations of all investigators, identification of the Research Priority, a narrative summary of the research, objectives, study design and expected results, and the total amount of funds requested.

b. Points of Contact. Applicants must clearly identify the name of the entity(s) submitting the proposal and provide detailed contact information for the point of contact, including but not limited to email address.

c. Key Personnel. Applicants must provide information on key personnel/principle staff who will be engaged with the project. HUD will assess the qualifications of key personnel to carry out the proposed activity as evidenced by academic and professional background, publications and recent (within the past 5 years) research experience. A summary of relevant literature, including thorough citations, should be included. Each resume shall not exceed three pages and is limited to information that is relevant in assessing the qualifications and experience of key personnel to conduct and/or manage the proposed study. The proposed Principal Investigator must directly represent and be compensated directly by the applicant for his or her role in the proposed study.

Publications and/or research experience are considered relevant if they required the acquisition and use of knowledge and skills that can be applied in the planning and execution of the technical study that is proposed.

d. Research Proposal Description. Applicants must provide a clear narrative description of the research project, including the proposed methodology, and its alignment with PD&R Research Priorities and HUD’s Strategic Plan. The proposal description should include the following specific components:

i. A clear and thorough description of the proposed study, its data…