Foa_Content_of_RFA-DP-24-004 Modification 3.pdf

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

NATIONAL CENTER FOR CHRONIC DISEASE PREVENTION AND HEALTH

PROMOTION

Health Promotion and Disease Prevention Research Centers: RFA-DP-24-004

RFA-DP-24-004

06/23/2023

Table of Contents Section I. Funding Opportunity Description

Section II. Award Information

Section III. Eligibility Information

Section IV. Application and Submission Information

Section V. Application Review Information

Section VI. Award Administration Information

Section VII. Agency Contacts

Section VIII. Other Information

Overview

Participating Organization(s)

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Components of Participating Organizations

Components of Participating Organizations:

National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) Title

Health Promotion and Disease Prevention Research Centers: RFA-DP-24-004 Activity Code

U48

AMENDMENT 2: May 5, 2023

(1) In Section IV. “Application and Submission Information, 7. Page Limitations," the maximum pages for all appendices was increased to 50 pages.

(2) In Section V. “Application Review Information, 1. Criteria” under “Approach”, the following text were removed as review criteria:

"….a PRC core research project dissemination and translation plan as outlined in the Research Plan section that includes"

"A description of proposed dissemination products and translation products and specific audiences and channels and strategies to reach them?"

AMENDMENT 1: April 6, 2023

(1) In Section VIII. “Other Information”, Appendices 1, 2 and 3 were deleted (pages 78-

320) due to formatting issues which made them illegible. The 3 appendices are available as separate attachments on www.grants.gov.

(2) In Section I. “Funding Opportunity Description”, statutory authority was edited to clarify the definition of eligible applicants (academic research centers) and source of funding for activities under this NOFO.

The following text was removed under “Statutory Authority”: Section 1706 of the Public Health Service Act, as amended, 42 U.S.C. 300u-5, academic health centers, as defined in 42 U.S.C. 300u-5(d) and Section 799B, as amended 42 U.S.C 295p.

The following text was added under “Statutory Authority”: The activities of this NOFO are supported under Section 1706 of the Public Health Service Act, as amended (42 USC 300u-5). The eligible applicants (academic research centers) are further defined in Section 799B of the Public Health Service Act (42 USC 295p). Funding for this activity is current through the Consolidated Appropriations Act 2023, Joint Explanatory Statement on H.R.

2617.

Notice of Funding Opportunity Type

New Agency Notice of Funding Opportunity Number

RFA-DP-24-004

Assistance Listings Number(s)

93.135 Category of Funding Activity

HL - Health NOFO Purpose

This Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) will provide funding to academic research centers to participate in the network of Health Promotion and Disease Prevention Research Centers (PRC Network) to:

Establish and maintain a multi-disciplinary prevention research center (Center) that conducts high-quality applied health promotion and disease prevention public health research (hereafter referred to as prevention research);

Conduct one (1) dissemination and implementation (D&I) core research project that utilizes (a) an evidence-based public health intervention (EBI) and (b) an equitable and evidence-based community engaged approach – e.g., community-based participatory research (CBPR), to address a leading cause of chronic disease morbidity or mortality in a population experiencing high levels of health disparities or health inequities;

Collaborate with partners that can help translate research findings into practice within the research community (hereafter referred to as partners that translate), promote sustainability beyond the core research project, and facilitate dissemination;

Disseminate research findings to community, practice, and academic audiences;

Serve as a resource to other PRCs, as part of the PRC Network, for adapting, implementing, evaluating, disseminating, and translating evidence-based public health interventions at local, state, tribal, or national levels; and

Participate in the PRC Network to (a) leverage the expertise of the network members to inform individual core research project and center activities (as needed) and (b) advance the network’s collective impact in public health prevention research, policy, and practice.

Key Dates

Publication Date:

To receive notification of any changes to RFA-DP-24-004, return to the synopsis page of this announcement at www.grants.gov and click on the "Send Me Change Notification Emails" link.

An email address is needed for this service.

Letter of Intent Due Date:

05/23/2023 05/23/2023

Application Due Date:

06/23/2023 06/23/2023

On-time submission requires that electronic applications be error-free and made available to CDC for processing from the NIH eRA system on or before the deadline date. Applications must be submitted to and validated successfully by Grants.gov no later than 11:59 PM U.S. Eastern Time.

Applicants will use a system or platform to submit their applications through Grants.gov and eRA Commons to CDC. ASSIST, an institutional system to system (S2S) solution, or Grants.gov Workspace are options. ASSIST is a commonly used platform because it provides a validation of all requirements prior to submission and prevents errors.

For more information on accessing or using ASSIST, you can refer to the ASSIST Online Help Site at: https://era.nih.gov/erahelp/assist. Additional support is available from the NIH eRA Service desk via http://grants.nih.gov/support/index.html.

E-mail: commons@od.nih.gov Phone: 301-402-7469 or (toll-free) 1-866-504-9552 Hours: Monday - Friday, 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Eastern Time, excluding Federal holidays

Note: HHS/CDC grant submission procedures do not provide a grace period beyond the application due date time to correct any error or warning notices of noncompliance with application instructions that are identified by Grants.gov or eRA systems (i.e., error correction window).

Scientific Merit Review:

08/25/2023 Secondary Review:

10/25/2023 https://www.grants.gov/ http://grants.nih.gov/support/index.html mailto:commons@od.nih.gov

Estimated Start Date:

09/30/2024 Expiration Date:

06/24/2023 Required Application Instructions

It is critical that applicants follow the instructions in the How to Apply - Application Guide except where instructed to do otherwise in this NOFO. Conformance to all requirements (both in the Application Guide and the NOFO) is required and strictly enforced. Applicants must read and follow all application instructions in the Application Guide as well as any program-specific instructions noted in Section IV. When the program-specific instructions deviate from those in the Application Guide, follow the program-specific instructions.

Note:The Research Strategy component of the Research Plan is limited to 25 pages.

Page Limitations: Pages that exceed the page limits described in this NOFO will be removed and not forwarded for peer review, potentially affecting an application's score.

Applications that do not comply with these instructions may be delayed or may not be accepted for review.

Telecommunications for the Hearing Impaired: TTY 1-888-232-6348

Executive Summary

This Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) invites applications from eligible institutions to participate and collaborate in a network of Health Promotion and Disease Prevention Research Centers (PRC Network). PRCs will conduct high-quality applied health promotion and disease prevention public health research; including one (1) dissemination and implementation (D&I) core research project that utilizes an evidence-based intervention (EBI) and a community-engaged approach to address a leading cause of chronic disease morbidity or mortality in a population experiencing high levels of health disparities or health inequities

Mechanism of Support. Cooperative Agreement

Funds Available and Anticipated Number of Awards. The estimated total funding (including direct and indirect costs) for the 5-year period of performance is $100,000,000. CDC anticipates funding up to 20 awards under this NOFO with each award funded up to $1,000,000 (includes direct and indirect costs) per year for each year of performance.

Budget and Period of Performance. The estimated total funding (including direct and indirect costs) for all awards for the first 12-month budget period, 9/30/2024 - 9/29/2025, is $20,000,000.

The project period for this 5-year cooperative agreement is 9/30/2024 to 9/29/2029.

Application Research Strategy Length. Page limits for the Research Strategy are clearly specified in Section IV. Application and Submission Information of this announcement.

Eligible Institutions/Organizations. Institutions/organizations listed in “Section III. Eligibility Information, 1.” are eligible to apply.

https://grants.nih.gov/grants/how-to-apply-application-guide.html

Eligible Project Directors/Principal Investigators (PDs/PIs). Individuals with the skills, knowledge, and resources necessary to carry out the proposed PRC activities are invited to work with their institution/organization to develop an application for support.

NOTE: CDC does not make awards to individuals directly, but to institutions/organizations.

Individuals from underrepresented racial and ethnic groups as well as individuals with disabilities are always encouraged to apply.

Number of PDs/PIs. Applications may include more than one PI; however, the first PI listed on the application will be the contact PI for all correspondence associated with this NOFO.

Additional PIs are permitted but would be referred to as Co-PIs.

Number of Applications. Only one application per institution (normally identified by having a unique UEI number) is allowed. An academic institution (identified by having a unique UEI number) may submit, or be part of, only a single application in response to this NOFO. Multiple applications from different divisions, faculties, centers, schools, etc. of the same university, school of public health, medicine, or osteopathy will be returned without further consideration by

CDC.

Application Type. New

Special Date(s). A NOFO Pre-application information webinar will be held for potential applicants approximately two weeks after the NOFO has been issued. Details including the date, time and instructions to participate in the Pre-Application Information Webinar will be provided online at www.cdc.gov/PRC/ at least one week prior to the webinar.

Application Materials. See Section IV.1 for application materials.

Hearing Assistance: Telecommunications for the Deaf or Hard of Hearing: TTY 1-888-232-

Section I. Funding Opportunity Description

Statutory Authority The activities of this NOFO are supported under Section 1706 of the Public Health Service Act, as amended (42 USC 300u-5). The eligible applicants (academic research centers) are further defined in Section 799B of the Public Health Service Act (42 USC 295p).

Funding for this activity is current through the Consolidated Appropriations Act 2023, Joint Explanatory Statement on H.R. 2617.

1. Background and Purpose

In 2021, chronic diseases including heart disease, cancer, stroke, chronic lower respiratory diseases, Alzheimer’s disease, diabetes, chronic liver disease and cirrhosis, and kidney disease were among the 10 leading causes of death in the United States [1]. People with chronic diseases account for 90% of US healthcare expenditures and people with five or more chronic diseases account for 41% of the total (based on 2014 data) [2]. Most chronic diseases can be prevented by promoting healthy behaviors such as eating well, being physically active, avoiding tobacco use and excessive drinking, and getting regular health screenings. There are numerous evidence-https://www.cdc.gov/PRC/ based interventions (EBIs) that have been tested through rigorous research and found to be effective at promoting healthy behaviors and reducing risk for chronic disease morbidity and mortality [3,4].

While interventions exist to help prevent chronic disease, there are also challenges to achieving public health impact. Effective interventions are often not dissemination ready. They may lack associated implementation support tools and materials, training for practitioners, and require community capacity to put them into widespread practice. They may also require adaptation for different populations or settings from those where the original research was conducted. In addition, interventions may not be implemented effectively to achieve outcomes similar to those shown in research (e.g., issues with fidelity or adherence to the program as designed, poor fit to different contexts or populations, and lack of resources or support). Public health practitioners need feasible EBIs that are ready to be put into practice with guidance and resources for effective implementation.

Sustaining and implementing EBIs in public health practice is necessary to achieve improvements in public health. Dissemination and implementation (D&I) research increase the understanding of effective strategies to (1) implement EBIs (e.g., the use of translation tools and resources and implementation supports), and (2) disseminate information about EBIs and the associated effective implementation strategies [5] that advance prevention of chronic disease morbidity and mortality. Dissemination and implementation research can also aid in the understanding of factors that can prevent or enable improvements in implementation (e.g., facilitators and barriers to implementation) [6,7]. Dissemination research is needed to develop an understanding of effective dissemination strategies and to widely share knowledge about EBIs. Implementation research aims to expand our understanding of how EBIs can be adopted and implemented effectively in real world settings, and with diverse populations. It is also important to understand the contextual and socio-ecological factors that affect implementation;

to do this, practical measures are needed that help to identify the most relevant aspects of context that influence implementation of EBIs. [8,9].

Public health research and practice has identified many health disparities, defined as the known differences in health outcomes between groups of people. Many health disparities are also considered health inequities because they arise from unfair differences in opportunity to lead healthy lives due to differential access to power, resources, or medical care, treatments, and medicines. It is important to address health disparities and promote health equity through D&I research to increase implementation for all population groups equitably [10]. For the purposes of this NOFO, health equity is defined as the state in which everyone has a fair and just opportunity to attain their highest level of health. In the fall of 2021, CDC launched an agency wide process to expand cross-cutting efforts to address Social Determinants of Health (SDOH) (https://www.cdc.gov/about/sdoh/cdc-doing-sdoh.html) [11,12], and, more recently, declared racism a public health crisis (https://www.cdc.gov/minorityhealth/racism-disparities/cdc-efforts.html). While SDOH are one of the most widespread approaches to addressing drivers of health disparities, other approaches point to the commercial (CDOH), political (PDOH), and moral (MDOH) determinants of health, among others [13,14,15]. Furthermore, multiple structural root causes often combine their effects, necessitating attention to intersectionality when assessing root causes of disparities in drivers of health and health outcomes for the purposes of designing public health research, policy, and practice. To move toward the goal of achieving health equity (i.e., fair and just opportunities), it is important to understand the https://www.cdc.gov/about/sdoh/cdc-doing-sdoh.html https://www.cdc.gov/minorityhealth/racism-disparities/cdc-efforts.html https://www.cdc.gov/minorityhealth/racism-disparities/cdc-efforts.html structural root causes of health inequities (e.g., structural racism, inequitable allocation of resources and opportunities related to EBIs), and the role D&I research and specific EBIs and approaches play in the pathway between root causes and health inequities [8].

Prevention researchers have the expertise needed to conduct high quality D&I research studies to expand knowledge, tools, and resources available to achieve greater adoption, implementation, and wide scale use of effective interventions to reduce health disparities and health inequities.

The Prevention Research Centers (PRC) Program is well suited to fill this critical need in public health. Congress authorized CDC to establish the Prevention Research Centers Program (Public Law 98-551) in 1986 to conduct research and demonstration projects in health promotion and disease prevention and improve methods of appraising health hazards and risk factors and serve as demonstration sites for the use of new and innovative research in public health techniques to prevent chronic disease. Congress mandated that centers be located in academic health centers defined as: accredited schools of public health; accredited schools of medicine with a preventive medicine residency program; or accredited schools of osteopathy with a preventive medicine residency program. CDC administers the PRC Program and provides leadership, technical assistance, oversight, and support for funded PRCs. In addition to building the PRC infrastructure and conducting prevention research on chronic disease prevention priorities, funded PRCs that make up a PRC Network can apply for future NOFO supplemental Special Interest Projects (SIPs). SIP NOFOs fund additional prevention research projects sponsored by CDC, HHS, and other federal agencies that advance evidence-based practice and answer important and timely practice-based questions.

As a collective, the PRCs Network can leverage their individual expertise, partnerships, and infrastructure to increase the utilization of EBIs that will contribute to improved health equity and population health. The PRC network will contribute to sustained, scaled-up, and more widespread use of EBIs and systems-wide public health strategies to reduce or eliminate the drivers and root causes of health disparities or inequities.

The project activities of PRCs that will be funded under this cooperative agreement are divided into the following three components. Applicants are expected to address all three components in their application.

I. PRC Center II. PRC Core Research Project

III. PRC Network

Healthy People 2030 and other National Strategic Priorities This NOFO supports efforts that align with chronic disease prevention and health promotion priorities including the following Healthy People 2030 topic areas:

Health Conditions

Addiction, Arthritis, Cancer, Chronic Kidney Disease, Chronic Pain, Dementias, Diabetes, Heart Disease and Stroke, Mental Health and Mental Disorders, Oral Conditions, Overweight & Obesity, Pregnancy & Childbirth

Health Behaviors

Child & Adolescent Development, Drug & Alcohol Use, Nutrition & Healthy Eating, Physical Activity, Preventive Care, Sleep https://health.gov/healthypeople/objectives-and-data/browse-objectives/addiction https://health.gov/healthypeople/objectives-and-data/browse-objectives/arthritis https://health.gov/healthypeople/objectives-and-data/browse-objectives/cancer https://health.gov/healthypeople/objectives-and-data/browse-objectives/chronic-kidney-disease https://health.gov/healthypeople/objectives-and-data/browse-objectives/chronic-pain https://health.gov/healthypeople/objectives-and-data/browse-objectives/dementias https://health.gov/healthypeople/objectives-and-data/browse-objectives/diabetes https://health.gov/healthypeople/objectives-and-data/browse-objectives/heart-disease-and-stroke https://health.gov/healthypeople/objectives-and-data/browse-objectives/heart-disease-and-stroke https://health.gov/healthypeople/objectives-and-data/browse-objectives/mental-health-and-mental-disorders https://health.gov/healthypeople/objectives-and-data/browse-objectives/oral-conditions https://health.gov/healthypeople/objectives-and-data/browse-objectives/overweight-and-obesity https://health.gov/healthypeople/objectives-and-data/browse-objectives/overweight-and-obesity https://health.gov/healthypeople/objectives-and-data/browse-objectives/pregnancy-and-childbirth https://health.gov/healthypeople/objectives-and-data/browse-objectives/child-and-adolescent-development https://health.gov/healthypeople/objectives-and-data/browse-objectives/drug-and-alcohol-use https://health.gov/healthypeople/objectives-and-data/browse-objectives/nutrition-and-healthy-eating https://health.gov/healthypeople/objectives-and-data/browse-objectives/physical-activity https://health.gov/healthypeople/objectives-and-data/browse-objectives/physical-activity https://health.gov/healthypeople/objectives-and-data/browse-objectives/preventive-care https://health.gov/healthypeople/objectives-and-data/browse-objectives/sleep

Populations

Adolescents, Children, Infants, LGBTQ, Older Adults, Parents or Caregivers, People with Disabilities, Workforce

Social Determinants of Health

Economic Stability, Education Access & Quality, Health Care Access & Quality, Neighborhood & Built Environment, Social & Community Context

Public Health Impact The PRCs will use equitable and participatory evidence-based, community engaged approaches to 1) fill critical gaps in chronic disease prevention and health promotion research, and 2) identify effective strategies to reduce or eliminate health disparities and health inequities. A successful PRC will:

Effectively engage communities and partners in their research, translation, and dissemination activities.

Address translation gaps between research and public health practice through development of translation products (e.g., research and practice tools), and support for partners and community members to adopt and use translation products to implement EBIs in their communities.

Disseminate EBIs (i.e., programs, practices, policies) and associated translation products to intended audiences.

Facilitate adoption and effective implementation of EBIs in the community of focus and additional communities. Contribute to the collective impact of the PRC Network in advancing health-equity-focused public health prevention research, policy, and practice.

This work will contribute to widespread, sustained and scaled-up use of EBIs and systems-wide public health strategies reducing or eliminating the drivers and root causes of health disparities, which will contribute to improved health equity and population health.

Relevant Work For over three decades, PRCs have been at the forefront of engaging community members and partners in equitable and participatory prevention research, building understanding of health problems that center local knowledge and lived experiences. The resulting evidence base has allowed PRCs to design and effectively implement prevention research and sustain and scale-up public health programs and interventions. PRC projects have impacted public health through their efforts to improve public health practice, create healthy communities, and eliminate health disparities.

PRCs have worked with local communities to develop, test, and evaluate solutions to public health problems. Each PRC is funded for five years to maintain a research center and conduct prevention research that promotes health and prevents chronic illness and other diseases and disabilities. The solutions developed by PRCs are intended to be applied widely, especially in populations affected by health disparities. In addition to creating healthier communities, PRCs have increased the skill and capacity of the public health workforce and conducted research that will guide future initiatives.

https://health.gov/healthypeople/objectives-and-data/browse-objectives/adolescents https://health.gov/healthypeople/objectives-and-data/browse-objectives/children https://health.gov/healthypeople/objectives-and-data/browse-objectives/infants https://health.gov/healthypeople/objectives-and-data/browse-objectives/lgbt https://health.gov/healthypeople/objectives-and-data/browse-objectives/older-adults https://health.gov/healthypeople/objectives-and-data/browse-objectives/parents-or-caregivers https://health.gov/healthypeople/objectives-and-data/browse-objectives/people-disabilities https://health.gov/healthypeople/objectives-and-data/browse-objectives/people-disabilities https://health.gov/healthypeople/objectives-and-data/browse-objectives/workforce https://health.gov/healthypeople/objectives-and-data/browse-objectives/economic-stability https://health.gov/healthypeople/objectives-and-data/browse-objectives/education-access-and-quality https://health.gov/healthypeople/objectives-and-data/browse-objectives/health-care-access-and-quality https://health.gov/healthypeople/objectives-and-data/browse-objectives/neighborhood-and-built-environment https://health.gov/healthypeople/objectives-and-data/browse-objectives/neighborhood-and-built-environment https://health.gov/healthypeople/objectives-and-data/browse-objectives/social-and-community-context

The 2024-2029 NOFO’s focus on D&I research will further accelerate the translation, dissemination, and implementation of evidence-based public health research that address chronic disease prevention and health promotion priorities among communities to advance health equity.

For more information about the PRC program visit: https://www.cdc.gov/prc/index.htm.

For information about the National Centers for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion visit https://www.cdc.gov/chronicdisease/index.htm.

2. Approach

This NOFO describes the expectations for PRCs to conduct prevention research to address, reduce, or eliminate the leading causes of chronic diseases and chronic disease associated mortality aligned with chronic disease prevention and health promotion public health priorities, and improve health outcomes of populations experiencing high levels of health disparities and inequities (listed in Appendix 1). This section describes required activities for funded PRCs. The major activity for each PRC is the completion of a core research project focused on D&I research using EBIs. D&I research should focus on EBIs that address chronic disease prevention and health promotion priority health topics (included in Appendix 1) in populations experiencing high levels of health disparities and health inequities. PRCs are also expected to conduct Center activities and actively participate in PRC Network activities.

All center activities, including the core research project, should focus on communities who are experiencing high levels of health disparities or health inequities. For all prevention research projects, recipients are expected to consider the underlying social and structural conditions (e.g., Social Determinants of Health) that contribute to, or drive health disparities or health inequities and the public health burden of chronic diseases. This includes, but is not limited to, rural and tribal communities; neighborhoods with social disadvantage; racial, ethnic, sexual, or gender groups; veterans, and people with disabilities. For more information visit https://www.cdc.gov/chronicdisease/healthequity/health-equity-science.html. Additionally, applicants are expected to employ a diverse and inclusive PRC workforce (i.e., employing people with diverse backgrounds and ensuring everyone is treated fairly and equally).

For the purposes of this NOFO, the following key terms are defined below. Refer to the glossary in Appendix 3 to find additional terms defined.

Translation = Process, supports, and steps needed or taken to ensure effective use and sustainability of evidence-based public health interventions including programs, practices, and policies. Translation products include research and practice tools, that are developed with the primary purpose of enabling public health practitioners to adopt, implement, or scale up EBIs.

Dissemination = Purposeful and facilitated process of distributing research findings, information, and tools to community, practice, and academic audiences, organizations, and individuals who can use them to improve health. Dissemination products are developed with the primary purpose of sharing scientific findings or research results with community, practice, and academic audiences.

Dissemination research = Dissemination research is defined as the systematic study of processes and factors that lead to widespread use of an evidence-based intervention by the target https://www.cdc.gov/prc/index.htm https://www.cdc.gov/chronicdisease/index.htm https://www.cdc.gov/chronicdisease/healthequity/health-equity-science.html population. Its focus is to identify the best methods that enhance the uptake and utilization of the intervention [9].

Implementation research = Scientific study of the use of strategies to promote adoption and integration of evidence-based health interventions into clinical and community settings to improve individual health outcomes and population health [16].

I. PRC Center Component:

1. Establish and maintain a PRC infrastructure to conduct applied prevention and health promotion public health research (hereafter referred to as prevention research) including but not limited to the PRC core research project.

2. Engage the Community Advisory Board (CAB) and other partners to inform all prevention research projects.

3. Build capacity to conduct prevention research.

4. Communicate information about PRC activities to intended audiences.

II. PRC Core Research Project Component:

1. Engage community members throughout the PRC core research project.

2. Develop and sustain partnerships with national, regional, state, and/or local organizations to carry out the PRC core research project, including at least one partnership with a state, local, tribal, or territorial health department.

3. Conduct and complete one (1) D&I PRC core research project from the list of Chronic Disease Prevention priorities included in Appendix 1.

4. Disseminate the PRC core research project’s approaches, methods, tools, products, lessons learned, and findings to community, public health practitioners, and academic audiences.

5. Translate the core research project to facilitate adoption and implementation of EBIs into public health practice.

III. PRC Network Component:

1. Participate in PRC Network activities including but not limited to, workgroups/committees, meetings, and conferences to share information, resources, and inform network-wide decisions.

2. Collaborate with PRCs in the network to advance PRC core research projects and other PRC projects (as appropriate).

Note: CDC will provide network infrastructure and support to foster connections between network members and external partners for training, technical assistance, sharing tools and resources, lessons learned, and best practices.

I. PRC Center Component

PRCs should allocate 30% of the funding (direct and indirect costs) provided through this NOFO to support the PRC center component activities. PRC center component activities should be aligned with the PRC core research project topic and the PRC center infrastructure’s main purpose should be to support the capacity necessary to complete the PRC core research project and associated translation activities.

This NOFO invests in strengthening national capacity in prevention research and public health practice, therefore PRCs may provide expertise and services to state health departments and other local, state, tribal, or national organizations. Services can include public health practice competency training to practitioners, prevention research training to students, and services such as public health needs assessment and evaluation. These activities support the national public health infrastructure, improve the delivery of public health services, and improve population health.

PRC expertise in prevention research and public health practice may be leveraged through additional NOFOs and/or supplemental funding to expand the PRC center’s activities to support CDC public health priorities (research and non-research) including but not limited to public health emergencies, pandemics, and training of the public health workforce.

Major activities of the PRC center component include:

1.Establish and maintain a PRC infrastructure to conduct applied prevention and health promotion public health research (hereafter referred to as prevention research) including but not limited to the PRC core research project.

a. Obtain and use institutional support to sustain the scientific and financial administration of the PRC.

Establish, sustain, and/or enhance the organizational infrastructure and facilities needed to operate the PRC.

Demonstrate institutional support by providing university resources to the PRC (e.g., additional funding, return of Facilities & Administration costs, in-kind support, FTE support, office space, fiscal operations, etc.).

b. Maintain an administrative team (faculty and staff) to conduct PRC center activities and ensure completion of the PRC core research project (CRP).

The PRC's administrative team should consist of required key personnel:

o Principal Investigator/Project Director (PI/PD), o PRC Deputy Director, o PRC Core research project PI (if different from Project Director), and o Other administrative faculty and staff necessary to conduct center component activities.

PRC Principal Investigator (PI) attracts and leads multidisciplinary faculty and staff to accomplish the goals and objectives of the PRC and support long-range planning and implementation of the PRC's research and translation agenda. The PI develops a unified operating infrastructure that ensures resources and processes are in place to conduct and monitor PRC core research project and PRC center activities, implementing the terms and conditions of the grant award, and ensure faculty and staff have adequate capacity to administer a high-quality PRC.

PRC Deputy Director manages the day-to-day operations including management of post-award requirements, monitoring center performance, managing center finances, and ensuring the terms and conditions of the grant award are met.

PRC faculty and staff should possess the capacity and experience to administer a high-quality prevention research center and conduct rigorous prevention research in community settings.

PRC Faculty and staff should be trained in public health principles, health promotion, community-engaged research, applied public health, dissemination and implementation science, translation science, program evaluation, and other related concepts.

The PRCs must include the following staff members with the appropriate knowledge, skills, experience, and expertise to support activities of this NOFO including lead and manage communications, dissemination, translation, and evaluation activities of the PRC center and ensure the PRC core research project can be successfully completed; and to enhance opportunities for collaboration and collective impact across the PRC Network.

o A lead communication staff member that is responsible for planning and executing the PRC center communications activities. PRC center communications staff are expected to be actively involved in PRC center communications activities throughout the duration of the funding cycle.

o A lead dissemination and translation staff member that is responsible for planning and executing the dissemination and translation plan, and ensuring dissemination products are distributed to practice, community and academic audiences; and translation products are provided to partners for translation activities for sustained implementation.

o A lead evaluation staff member that is responsible for managing the PRC site-specific internal evaluation as the evaluation point of contact and monitoring and reporting progress in achieving NOFO requirements as the monitoring point of contact.

o Communications, dissemination and translation, and evaluation staff can be leveraged from existing staff within the broader academic health center.

c. Maintain a Community Advisory Board (CAB).

The PRC will maintain one (1) CAB throughout the entire project period of the award that will be engaged in all components of this NOFO (PRC center, PRC core research project, and PRC Network).

The CAB should be ready to activate by the award start date, with a leadership structure established, by-laws and standard operating procedures developed, and a roster of initial CAB members with signed Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), Memorandum of Agreement (MOA), or Letters of Support (LOS) including:

o Individual members of the community of focus and populations participating in the CRP.

o Key partners with experience working in the community of focus, government, non-government agencies, and private sector partners with interest in the services and products of the center (e.g. health departments, education agencies, community economic development organizations, etc.

d. Develop and sustain partnerships with national, regional, state, and local public health and multi-sector organizations for center activities.

Establish partnerships by generating a memorandum of understanding or agreement (MOU/MOA).

Key partners may include community organizations, multi-sectoral partners, non-profit organizations, health departments, and other agencies.

Work with at least one partner for translation activities that has capacity to address drivers of health disparities.

Build trusting relationships through being responsive to partner needs and interests, creating shared ownership of PRC activities and the process of building the knowledge and evidence-base and recognizing that sufficient time and effort is necessary to establish trust.

2.Engage the CAB and other partners to inform all prevention research projects.

a. Collaborate with the CAB to engage community members throughout all phases of the PRC core research project, and other funded prevention research projects resulting from this

NOFO.

Engage the CAB in the identification of the public health need, selection of the EBI, design and conduct of the study, implementation and dissemination activities, translation activities, and long-term sustainability of the intervention.

Engage the CAB to develop and execute activities through the planning, implementation, analyses/evaluation, dissemination, and translation stages of research.

Use an equitable and evidence-based community engagement approach to collaborate with the CAB (e.g., community-based participatory research) to engage community member and PRC partners (CAB, stakeholders, health departments) in center activities and all phases of the core research project.

Build trusting relationships with the community through being responsive to community needs and interests; creating shared ownership of PRC activities and the process of building the knowledge and evidence-base; and recognizing that sufficient time and effort is necessary to establish trust.

b. Collaborate with the CAB to engage other partners (e.g. community-based organizations, multi-sector organizations, non-profit organizations, education agencies, community economic development organizations) that are not members of the CAB who can advise on planning and implementation of prevention research projects.

Engage with partners to expand PRC center activities like design and execute research, implement program strategies, sustain outcomes, and to exchange information between experts working in various areas of public health, governmental, and non-governmental sectors.

Engage with state, tribal, local, territorial health departments to provide services (e.g., technical assistance, program evaluation, etc.) and subject matter expertise to develop, enhance, or improve public health practice, programs, or activities.

Services may include program evaluation, public health needs, assessments, etc.

3. Build capacity to conduct prevention research

a. Assess capacity needs using formal and/or informal methods during the first year of the award.

Identify gaps in knowledge capacities, strengths, and needs of the CAB, PRC faculty and staff, and partners (stakeholders, health departments, community-based organizations, etc.) to engage in PRC center and PRC core research project activities to support prevention research.

o Determine the appropriate use of formal (e.g., online surveys) or informal methods (e.g., facilitated discussions) to assess needs.

b. Develop and implement training and technical assistance to build capacity for CAB, PRC Faculty and staff, and other partners throughout the 5-year period of performance of the award.

Develop training, provide technical assistance, tools and resources for capacity building, and other products that will address capacity gaps identified in the assessment of the CAB, PRC faculty and staff, and other partners’ needs.

Serve as a training resource for the CAB and other partners to expand awareness of effective population health approaches to address SDOH, health disparities, and promote health equity.

Training may include how to implement effective EBIs, use translation products, evaluate programs and practices, or conduct public health system assessments to improve population health outcomes as needed.

c. Build and maintain expertise of PRC faculty and staff in prevention research, effective population health approaches, and public health practice.

Address gaps in knowledge among PRC faculty and staff that will guide efforts to strengthen organizational capacity to conduct prevention research.

Promote main areas of PRC expertise to partners so these areas of expertise are widely known and can yield additional collaborative research and non-research projects.

d. Build and maintain the capacity of the CAB, and other partners to contribute to high quality prevention research.

Address the CAB, and other partner capacity needs - Identify gaps in knowledge capacities, strengths, and needs of the CAB, and other partners to engage in center and core research project activities to support adoption and implementation of EBIs.

e. Build the capacity of researchers and future researchers to conduct D&I research.

Serve as a training resource for students (i.e., public health undergraduate and graduate students, medical students) and preventative medicine residents and postdoctoral fellows to learn effective D&I research methods, and population health approaches to address social determinants of health, health disparities, and promote health equity.

o Establish a pipeline of applied prevention researchers skilled in community engagement (i.e. building the bench).

o Training may include practicums, internships, and fellowships.

Serve as a resource to the institution’s/university’s early and mid-career faculty and staff by providing mentorship on applied prevention research, and other experiences that will build capacity to conduct community-engaged research, D&I research, and implementation science.

Note: Academic instruction and large-scale public health training programs are not supported under this NOFO. Pilot funding/mini-grants for research projects will not be supported by this

NOFO.

4. Communicate information about PRC activities to intended audiences

a. Develop and maintain a PRC center website (using the CDC PRC Program Style Guide) relevant for sharing information with their intended audience within the first year of award.

b. Establish communication channels (e.g., social media, newsletters) and platforms (e.g., audio/video conferencing) relevant for sharing information with their intended audiences within the first year of award

c. Establish regular lines of communications (e.g., meetings, email) with staff and partners to keep them informed and engaged as information and products become available within the first year of award

d. Promote the skills, knowledge, areas of expertise, and products within the PRC center, the broader academic health center, and to key external audiences (e.g., community, practice, academic).

e. Engage and support strategic partnerships who are positioned to quickly and effectively reach broad community, practice and academic audiences that are not easily accessible to the PRC.

f. Execute a detailed approach (i.e., dedicated center communications plan) to promote the center, including skills, knowledge, expertise, or products and engaging partners (CAB, stakeholders, health departments) throughout a variety of communication channels

A PRC center communications plan, developed within the first year of award, that formally defines who should be given specific information (audiences), when that information should be delivered and what communication channels will be used to deliver the information. The PRC center communications plan is separate from the PRC’s core research project dissemination/translation plan.

The PRC center communications plan will be developed in the first year of the award. CDC will provide guidance post award.

g. Maintain communication capacity to include computer software/tools needed for product development throughout the award (e.g., stock image licensing, graphic design, animations) not likely to be part of a standard office package and provide any necessary training and skill development to use these resources effectively.

h. Ensure at least one partner in PRC communication activities is familiar with the SDOH and health disparities being addressed by the PRC center activities and PRC core research project so they can communicate with the community of interest using principles of inclusive communication, and in a culturally appropriate and relevant manner.

II. PRC Core Research Project Component

The NOFO will support one (1) dissemination and implementation (D&I) research project (i.e., PRC core research project) that utilizes an evidence-based public health intervention (EBI) and a community-engaged approach (e.g., CBPR) to address chronic disease prevention priority categories included in Appendix 1 and health promotion priorities in a population experiencing high levels of health disparities. The PRC Core Research Project must be selected from chronic disease prevention priority categories (1-17) included in Appendix 1. This NOFO will NOT support etiological research or efficacy research.

To ensure adequate resources are committed to this component, at least sixty percent (60%) of the funding (direct and indirect costs) provided through this NOFO should be used to support the design, development, implementation, dissemination, and translation of the PRC core research project component activities. A portion of the PRC core research project funding may include costs of developing translation products and training partners to implement the EBI.

The PRC core research projects may address any of the following dissemination and implementation research questions including but not limited to:

1. What barriers and facilitators to implementation exist?

2. What barriers and facilitators to project sustainability exist within the research community?

3. What are effective strategies for reducing barriers and/or enhancing facilitators that will support adoption and implementation of the evidence-based intervention in practice?

4. How can the evidence-based intervention being researched be scaled up to broader regions or populations outside the research community?

5. How can implementation be improved to achieve desired health outcomes?

6. What are the most effective techniques to improve the dissemination and receipt of evidence?

7. How do contextual factors influence implementation success or failure?

8. How could a program, practice, policy, or service delivery be implemented more equitably, e.g., in settings where financial and human resources are low, or where other cultural and social norms affect health-seeking behaviors?

9. What supports/activities are necessary for successful implementation? Are they replicable?

The PRC core research project should lead to increased adoption and sustained effective implementation of EBIs (i.e., programs, practices, and policies) among populations experiencing high levels of health disparities. Implementation outcomes of interest that align with the above research questions include but are not limited to:

Acceptability- perception among implementation stakeholders that a treatment, service, practice or innovation is agreeable, palatable, or satisfactory.

Adoption – the intent, initial decision, or action of an organization or community to try or employ an evidence-based intervention.

Appropriateness – the perceived fit, relevance, or compatibility of an innovation or evidence-based practice for a given practice setting, provider, or consumer; and/or perceived fit of the innovation to address a particular issue or problem.

Cost- the multiple aspects of the development, testing, and implementation of an intervention including the intervention's cost-effectiveness, the cost around intervention development, implementation of the intervention, and recruitment of subjects into a trial.

Feasibility – the extent to which an intervention can be successfully used or carried out within a given agency or setting.

Maintenance- the extent to which a program or policy becomes institutionalized or part of the routine organizational practices and policies.

Penetration – the integration of a practice within a service setting and its subsystems.

Sustainability – the extent to which an evidence-based intervention is maintained or institutionalized within a service setting’s ongoing, stable operations while continuing to deliver its intended benefits.

Implementation support – general and intervention-specific structures and services such as organizational capacity, champions, staffing, financial resources, training, technical assistance, translation products, and intangibles such as leadership and political will…