fy 15 tpp tier 2a early innovation foa -final 2 24 15.docx

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health Office of Adolescent Health

Supporting and Enabling Early Innovation to Advance Adolescent Health and Prevent Teen Pregnancy (Tier 2A) Announcement Type: New Announcement Number: AH-TP2-15-001 Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) No. 93.297

Funding Opportunity Announcement And Application Instructions

Application Due Date: April 10, 2015

Table of Contents Executive Summary……………….……………..…………….………………………………...3 Purpose……………………………………………………………………………………………4 Background………………………………………………………………………………………7 Expectations of Grantees……………………………………………………………………….12

Cooperative Agreement Substantial Programmatic Involvement….……………………….27 Authority………………………………………………………………………………………...27 Award Information……………………………………………………………………………..28 Eligibility Information………………………………………………………………………….29 Application Screening Criteria………………………………………………………………...30 Application Submission Information………………………………………………………….31

1. Information to Request Application Package…………………………………….31

2. Content and Form of Application Submission……………………………………31

a. Important Grants.gov Information………………………………………..35

b. Application Content………………………………………………………...36

i. Project Narrative…………………………………………………...36

1. Project Approach and Design…………………...…………...37

2. Partnerships and Collaboration………….…………………...39

3. Monitoring and Evaluation……………...…………………...40

4. Dissemination and Collaboration…………………………….42

5. Experience and Capacity……………………………...……...42

6. Project Management…………………………..……………..45

7. Challenges and Risks…………………..…………………….46

ii. Budget Narrative……………………………………………………47

iii. Appendices…………………………………………………………..49

c. Submission Dates and Times………………………………………………50

d. Intergovernmental Review…………………………………………………51

e. Funding Restrictions………………………………………………………..51 Application Review Information………………………………………………………………53 Criteria…………………………………………………………………………………..53 Review and Selection Process………………………………………………………….58 Award Administration Information…………………………………………………………..60 Agency Contacts……………………………………………………………….………………..65 FOA Appendices…………………………………………………………..……………………66

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

AGENCY: Office of the Secretary, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health, Office of Adolescent Health FUNDING OPPORTUNITY TITLE: Announcement of Availability of Funds for Supporting and Enabling Early Innovation to Advance Adolescent Health and Prevent Teen Pregnancy (Tier 2A) ACTION: Notice

ANNOUNCEMENT TYPE: INITIALCOMPETITIVE COOPERATIVE AGREEMENT

FUNDING OPPORTUNITY NUMBER: AH-TP2 -15-001

CFDA NUMBER: 93.297

CFDA PROGRAM: Teenage Pregnancy Prevention Program DATES: Non-binding letters of intent are due February 1, 2015 Applications are due April 10, 2015 by 5 p.m. ET. To receive consideration, applications must be received electronically via Grants.gov by the HHS Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health (HHS/OASH), Office of Grants Management (OGM) no later than this due date. Applications which do not meet the specified deadlines will be returned to the applicant unread. All applicants must submit electronically via Grants.gov unless they obtain a written exemption from this requirement 2 business days in advance of the deadline by the Director, HHS/OASH Office of Grants Management. To obtain an exemption, applicants must request one via email from the HHS/OASH Office of Grants Management, and provide details as to why they are technologically unable to submit electronically through Grants.gov portal. Requests should be submitted at least 4 business days prior to the application deadline to ensure the request can be considered prior to 2 business days in advance of the deadline. If requesting an exemption, include the following in the e-mail request: the HHS/OASH announcement number; the organization's DUNS number; the name, address and telephone number of the organization; the name and telephone number of the Authorizing Official; the Grants.gov Tracking Number (GRANTXXXX) assigned to the submission; and a copy of the "Rejected with Errors" notification from Grants.gov. Send the request with supporting documentation to ogm.oash@hhs.gov. Note: failure to have an active System for Account Management (SAM) registration will not be grounds for receiving an exemption to the electronic submission requirement.

Technical Assistance: A technical assistance webinar for potential applicants will be held on Tuesday, January 27th from 2:30-4:30 pm ET (start time of 1:30 pm CT, 12:30 pm MT, 11:30 pm PT). Potential applicants should call 1-888-566-5780, passcode 3899321, and log-on to https://www.mymeetings.com/nc/join.php?i=PW1052988&p=3899321&t=c.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: The HHS Office of Adolescent Health (OAH) announces the availability of funds for Fiscal Year (FY) 2015 cooperative agreement awards under the authority of Division H, Title II of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2014 (Public Law No. 113-76), and the Continuing Resolution thus far for FY 2015 (Public Law No. 113-164), for Supporting and Enabling Early Innovation to Advance Adolescent Health and Prevent Teen Pregnancy (Tier 2A). OAH intends to make available approximately $3 million per year for an estimated two awards with five-year project periods.

This funding opportunity announcement (FOA) is one of a series of five (5) FOAs, each with a different focus, available in Fiscal Year 2015 from OAH’s Teen Pregnancy Prevention (TPP) Program. Applicants may apply for more than one FOA. This FOA provides information for applying to Supporting and Enabling Early Innovation to Advance Adolescent Health and Prevent Teen Pregnancy (Tier 2A). Other available funding opportunity announcements include:

· Capacity Building to Support Replication of Evidence-Based TPP Programs (Tier 1A)

· Replicating Evidence-Based TPP Programs to Scale in Communities with the Greatest Need (Tier 1B)

· Rigorous Evaluation of New or Innovative Approaches to Prevent Teen Pregnancy (Tier 2B)

· Effectiveness of TPP Programs Designed Specifically for Young Males (Tier 2C).

The overall goal of this FOA (herein referred to as the “TPP Early Innovation Program”) is to enable and support early innovation to advance adolescent health and prevent teen pregnancy.

The specific objectives of the TPP Early Innovation Program are to:

1) Establish two independent intermediaries (one focused on technology interventions and one focused on program interventions) to select, fund, and support a portfolio of innovators across the country to advance adolescent health and prevent teen pregnancy.

2) Develop numerous innovative products, programs, or processes (herein referred to as interventions) that are prototyped, tested, refined, and well designed to prevent teen pregnancy and advance adolescent health.

3) Develop and implement a monitoring and evaluation plan appropriate for early stage innovation, inclusive of performance measures.

4) Communicate and disseminate successes, lessons learned, and knowledge gained to contribute to the literature on teen pregnancy prevention.

OAH will award funds to two intermediaries, each of which will select, fund, and support a portfolio of innovators (estimated 5-15 innovators per year) to develop interventions to advance adolescent health and prevent teen pregnancy. One intermediary will focus on technology interventions and the other will focus on program interventions. OAH is interested in expanding the evidence base for the field of TPP. This may include, but is not limited to: interventions designed to reduce disparities and reach populations with demonstrated need, interventions that leverage technology, and interventions that use non-traditional approaches for implementation.

I. FUNDING OPPORTUNITY DESCRIPTION:

PURPOSE

The primary purpose of the TPP Early Innovation Program is to establish two independent intermediaries that will select, fund, and support a portfolio of innovators across the country to design, test, and refine interventions to advance adolescent health and prevent teen pregnancy. For the purposes of this FOA, OAH defines innovation broadly as new or promising approaches, interventions, curricula, or strategies informed by scientific theory or empirical evidence that may lead to or have the potential to result in a substantial reduction in teen pregnancy rates, sexually transmitted infection (STIs) rates, and associated sexual risk behaviors.

One intermediary will focus on supporting innovation of technology interventions and the other will focus on supporting innovation of program interventions. Interventions may be designed to improve knowledge and skills related to TPP, improve the delivery of programs (e.g., increase participant engagement), and/or expand the ability of programs to reach youth who have otherwise been difficult to reach. Examples of technology interventions may include, but are not limited to, mobile applications, video games or other gaming technology, use of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) technology, adaptation of a pre-existing technology for new use, etc. Examples of program interventions may include, but are not limited to, infusion of TPP content into settings where youth work, live, and play; systems-level approaches; use of non-traditional delivery approaches; etc. Hybrid approaches that combine both program and technology may be classified as either, and will depend on whether the intervention is primarily (i.e., 50% or more) technology driven. Each intermediary is expected to fund a broad range of interventions to advance adolescent health and prevent teen pregnancy.

The successful applicant will determine their focus area (technology or program) and propose a five-year strategy to competitively select, fund, and support a portfolio of innovators across the country (estimate 5-15 per year). The successful applicant must be able to reach a national audience for the selection of innovators. Successful applicants will create an infrastructure to support and foster innovation; monitor and evaluate the outcomes of the TPP Early Innovation Program; and disseminate successes, lessons learned, and knowledge gained. Throughout the five-year grant period, some interventions developed under the intermediary’s portfolio may need further development and testing, others may be deemed impractical or not feasible, and some interventions may be ready for a rigorous impact evaluation. OAH would consider each of these outcomes a valuable contribution to the field.

Supporting HHS Strategic Goals, Healthy People 2020, and the National Prevention Strategy This FOA supports the HHS Strategic Goals to Put Children and Youth on the Path for Successful Futures, Eliminate Health Disparities, and Accelerate the Process of Scientific Discovery to Improve Health. HHS is committed to supporting both evidence-based programs and innovative approaches for children and youth in order to positively impact a range of important social and health outcomes, including, but not limited to sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) and teen pregnancy (http://www.hhs.gov/strategic-plan/hhs-vision.html).

This FOA addresses the Healthy People 2020 (http://www.healthypeople.gov/2020/default.aspx) overarching goals to (1) achieve health equity, eliminate disparities, and improve the health of all groups and (2) promote quality of life, healthy development, and healthy behaviors across all life stages. The FOA addresses several Healthy People 2020 goals and objectives, including Family Planning Objectives 7 through 13; STD Objectives 1 and 6; HIV Objective 2; Adolescent Health Objectives 3 and 5; and the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Topic Area Goal.

This FOA also supports the National Prevention Strategy’s (http://www.surgeongeneral.gov/initiatives/prevention/strategy/#The Goal) overarching strategic direction to help people make healthy choices and eliminate health disparities. This FOA supports the recommendations in the reproductive and sexual health priority area to (1) provide effective sexual health education, especially for adolescents, and (2) enhance early detection of HIV, viral hepatitis, and other STIs and improve linkages to care.

BACKGROUND

OAH’s Teen Pregnancy Prevention Program OAH announces the anticipated availability of FY2015 funding to support the TPP Program, which was initiated in FY 2010 as one of six major evidence-based policy initiatives across the Federal government. OAH supports two types of grants through the TPP program: (1) projects that replicate evidence-based TPP program models that have been shown to be effective through rigorous evaluation, referred to as “Tier 1” and (2) research and demonstration projects in order to develop and test additional models and innovative strategies to prevent teen pregnancy, referred to as “Tier 2.” Additional information about OAH and specifically about the TPP Program can be found on the OAH website ( http://www.hhs.gov/ash/oah/oah-initiatives/teen_pregnancy/).

Within this framework, OAH is announcing five separate FY 2015 FOAs, each with a different focus. Available FOAs include:

· Capacity Building to Support Replication of Evidence-Based TPP Programs (Tier 1A)

· Replicating Evidence-Based Teen Pregnancy Prevention Programs to Scale in Communities with the Greatest Need (Tier 1B)

· Supporting and Enabling Early Innovation to Advance Adolescent Health and Prevent Teen Pregnancy (Tier 2A)

· Rigorous Evaluation of New or Innovative Approaches to Prevent Teen Pregnancy (Tier 2B)

· Effectiveness of Teen Pregnancy Prevention Programs Designed Specifically for Young Males (Tier 2C)

Status of Adolescent Sexual Risk Behaviors Teen pregnancy and birth rates in the United States dropped to a record low since their peak in the early 1990’s. The teen birth rate declined ten percent in 2013 alone and declined 38 percent since 2007 (1). There have also been improvements in teens’ sexual behavior and use of contraceptives. In 2013, about half (47%) of all high school students reported having ever had sex. In that same year among high school students who were sexually active, 86% reported using some method of contraception the last time they had sex (2).

Despite the progress that has been made to reduce teen pregnancy and sexual risk taking, there were still approximately 614,000 pregnancies to women younger than age 20 in 2010 (3) and 25% of teens in the U.S. will become pregnant at least once by the age of 20 (4). Furthermore, young people age 15 to 24 account for nearly one-half of all new cases of STDs although they only comprise one quarter of the sexually active population in the U.S. (5).

In addition, great disparities continue to exist – by age, race and ethnicity, geography, urbanicity, and among especially vulnerable populations.

· Age - Birth rates are much higher among older teens (47.3 per 1,000) than younger teens (12.3 per 1,000), with 2/3 of teen births to girls ages 18 to 19 and 1/3 to girls ages 17 and younger (6,7).

· Race and Ethnicity - In 2010, the teen pregnancy rate among non-Hispanic Black and Hispanic teen girls age 15-19 was more than twice as high as the teen pregnancy rate among non-Hispanic White teen girls age 15-19 (8). In 2012, the teen birth rate was 46 per 1,000 for Hispanic teens; 44 per 1,000 for Black, non-Hispanic teens; 35 per 1,000 for American Indian teens; 21 per 1,000 for White, non-Hispanic teens; and 10 per 1,000 for Asian/Pacific Islander teens (9).

· Geography - Substantial geographic variation exists in adolescent childbearing across the United States with the lowest teen birth rates reported in the Northeast, and the highest rates reported across the southern part of the country (10).

· Urbanicity - Teen birth rates are much higher in rural areas (43 per 1,000) compared to small-medium metro areas (36 per 1,000) and large urban cities (24 per 1,000) (11).

· Vulnerable Populations – Rates of teen pregnancy and teen births have been found to be higher among especially vulnerable youth, including youth in foster care, parenting teens, and Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Questioning (LGBTQ) youth. Teen girls who are in foster care are 2.5 times more likely than their counterparts who are not in foster care to get pregnant by age 19 (12). Teens who are already parents are also at increased risk of becoming pregnant again. Overall, 17% of all teen births are repeat teen births (13). LGBT youth are 2-3 times more likely to be involved in a pregnancy compared to non-LGBT youth. LGB youth are more likely to initiate sex at a very young age, have multiple partners, use alcohol and other substances before engaging in sexual intercourse; and are less likely to use contraception compared to non-LGBT youth (14).

Adolescent Health and Teen Pregnancy Other adolescent health risk behaviors such as substance use and violence relate to teen pregnancy prevention; many of these behaviors and risk factors co-occur among adolescents. For example, teens that drink or use drugs are at increased risk of (1) being sexually active, (2) not using contraception when they have sex, (3) having sex at an earlier age, and (4) having multiple partners (15). Teen pregnancy is also linked with various types of violence including dating violence, intimate partner violence, domestic violence and sexual abuse. Girls in high school who reported experiencing dating violence were four to six times more likely to have ever been pregnant than peers who had not experienced dating violence. Adverse childhood experiences such as physical abuse, verbal abuse, and witnessing intimate partner violence are also linked with having sex at an early age. Approximately 50 to 60 percent of adolescents who become pregnant have a history of childhood sexual or physical abuse (16). Preventing teen pregnancy is important to consider in the broader context of adolescent health and co-occurring risk behaviors.

Supporting Innovation in Teen Pregnancy Prevention In order to best meet the needs of an ever-changing population of adolescents and reduce widespread disparities, transformative, innovative interventions that lead to breakthrough impacts are needed, especially given advances in science technology, information-communication technology, and our understanding of human behavior.

Many of the evidence-based TPP programs identified by the HHS TPP Evidence Review (http://tppevidencereview.aspe.hhs.gov/) were created more than a decade ago (17). As a result, many do not address the role of technology nor do the programs use technology for program delivery. Interventions which incorporate technologies, such as the internet and social media, have potential to reach teens of diverse racial, ethnic and socio-economic backgrounds (18, 19). According to the Pew Research Center’s Internet Project, in 2012, 95% of all teens (ages 12-17) in the US used the internet, and three-fourths of teens accessed the internet via mobile devices such as cellular telephones or tablets (20). Further, the use of internet, texting, and mobile devices was relatively consistent across teens of various socioeconomic and racial groups (21). Interventions that incorporate new technologies could reach adolescents in communities with limited school-based TPP programming, as well as youth who have transient living arrangements (22).

Additional gaps in the existing evidence-base include programs or approaches designed to address disparities that continue to exist in teen pregnancy and adolescent sexual health – by age, race and ethnicity, geography, urbanicity, and among especially vulnerable populations including youth in foster care, parenting teens, and LGBTQ youth (23). Gaps also exist in the current evidence-base related to the program’s focus. Most of the current evidence-based TPP programs are designed to be delivered directly to youth. Few evidence-based TPP programs are available where the focus is on families, schools, neighborhoods, environments, or addressing norms. Only one evidence-based TPP program is designed for working with parents and one other evidence-based TPP program is designed as a systems-level approach for working with an entire school. Furthermore, many of the current evidence-based TPP programs do not address topics important to preventing teen pregnancy, such as cultural norms, gender equity, economic and educational opportunities, and healthy relationships.

Historically, many important innovations have been started through organic processes, resulting in new ideas that are taken up by institutions. However, innovation can also be an organized process consisting of strategic design and support to yield successful interventions. Research has shown that over the past 30 years, methodology exists to cultivate innovation and creativity (24). By providing training on innovation and creating supportive environments, potential innovators, are better positioned to succeed. Research on innovation in the private sector has unveiled a number of key success factors amongst innovation high-performers (25). The research has found that when organizations are strategic (i.e. set compelling and credible objectives and priorities), they are more likely to succeed at innovation. Furthermore, when there is a collaborative culture with innovation weaved into the organization, innovation succeeds. Organizations that focus on idea generation, development, prototyping and testing to create new approaches that meet the needs of the target population better than competitors are more likely to succeed. Portfolio management and project management are also crucial to innovation success to help size, shape, and accelerate the innovation. And lastly, innovators are more likely to be successful if they develop a strategy for scaling and launching the innovation, create feedback loops to ensure continued learning, and allow for adaptations of the innovation (25). In addition to research on what makes innovations more likely to be successful, several frameworks have been developed to help foster innovation. Many of the existing frameworks focus on an iterative process that moves through different stages, including inspiration, ideation, design, implementation, testing, and evaluation, with emphasis on receiving feedback from the target population (i.e., end user) (26, 27).

EXPECTATIONS OF GRANTEES

Included below are OAH’s expectations of grantees throughout the five-year project period. Failure of a grantee to meet major milestones as required/defined by OAH may result in the discontinuation of grant funding at any time during the project period. This FOA is not intended to support rigorous evaluations nor the replication of evidence-based TPP programs. Rather, the purpose is to enable and support early innovation to advance adolescent health and prevent teen pregnancy.

PROJECT APPROACH AND DESIGN

Applicants are expected to clearly describe whether the proposed project will focus on supporting innovation of technology interventions or supporting innovation of program interventions. Applicants are expected to propose a project approach and design that includes (1) a five-year strategy to foster innovation including a description of the applicant’s approach to innovation; goals, objectives, and key activities; and a plan for ensuring the need and relevancy of innovations; (2) a plan for selecting innovators that is efficient, competitive, and national in scope; (3) a plan for supporting innovators to develop, prototype, test, and refine interventions that are feasible and likely to show promise in promoting adolescent health and preventing teen pregnancy; (4) a five-year work plan; and (5) a logic model for the overall project.

1. Five-Year Strategy to Foster Innovation The five-year strategy should describe the applicant’s approach for the project; including how it will determine the types of interventions that will be supported and how the portfolio will foster innovation. The strategy should be national in scope and result in reaching innovators from across the country (at least 5-15 per year).

Applicants can use various approaches to foster innovation and should clearly articulate their vision and planned approach. Potential options for an approach to fostering innovation are included below, however the applicant is not limited to using one of these approaches; rather, these are suggestions to show the wide range of approaches available for use.

· Accelerators and incubators provide supports to help cultivate entrepreneurs and help their innovations grow. Supports might include mentoring, seed funding, physical space, etc. (28).

· A cohort approach would provide funding and support to innovators across the country in different cohorts throughout the five years of funding. The support would be for a specific set of time and funding amount. Different cohorts might receive different amounts of funding.

· Partnership models forge partnerships to integrate innovative approaches within a pre-existing innovation infrastructure (29).

· Prizes and challenges can encourage program innovation and technology innovation. They also attract interest and attention to a defined program, activity, or issue of concern (30).

· A combination approach would combine any of these options or others together to form a mixture that would support innovation to reduce teen pregnancy and promote adolescent health (31).

OAH is especially interested in expanding the evidence base for TPP by supporting early innovations designed to address gaps in the existing evidence. Applicants are expected to support early innovations that address a demonstrated need, are likely to reduce rates of teen pregnancy and/or adolescent sexual risk behavior, and are relevant and feasible for the intended target population. Interventions developed under this FOA should focus on a specific target population in need of programs and products to prevent teen pregnancy and advance adolescent health. Involvement from the target population in the development of the intervention is strongly encouraged to ensure relevance and feasibility. In addition, applicants are expected to identify and support interventions that could be sustainable and have the potential to be taken to scale. Early innovations that show promising outcomes, demonstrate the potential to be taken to scale, and meet the needs of a target population should receive support from the grantee to help position them for a rigorous impact evaluation in the future.

Applicants will ensure that program materials, including all materials associated with the intervention and any supplemental materials (i.e. curricula, facilitator and participant manuals, videos, podcasts, posters, scripts, participant booklets, pamphlets, and handouts) are medically accurate, complete, and age appropriate, and should ensure that all materials are culturally and linguistically appropriate, and inclusive of LGBTQ youth. Interventions should be implemented in environments that are positive, safe, supportive, and healthy for all youth and their families. Definitions of all terms can be found in Appendix B.

To ensure that the most current science is reflected in the program materials, successful applicants will be required to submit all program materials prior to use in the project to OAH for a medical accuracy review. While the applicant may identify the materials proposed for use in the grant, program materials should not be submitted with the grant application. Grantees should do an initial review of the materials for medical accuracy prior to submitting to OAH for final review. The review of materials for medical accuracy will occur prior to the use of any materials in the OAH-funded grant program. Grantees will not be able to begin implementation of materials until after the OAH medical accuracy review is complete and any required modifications have been made. The grantee must verify that all modifications have been made and accepted by OAH.

Grantees should also review all program materials for use in the project for age appropriateness, cultural and linguistic appropriateness, and inclusivity of LGBTQ youth prior to use in the grant. Review of program materials should be conducted after an application is approved for funding using guidance and templates provided by OAH. Grantees are expected to inform OAH of their review process, results, and changes made to ensure that all materials are age appropriate, culturally and linguistically appropriate, and inclusive of LGBTQ youth.

2. Plan for Selecting Innovators The applicant should use an open, competitive process for selecting innovators to work with and support over the course of the five-year project. The innovators and their interventions should not be pre-selected and should not be limited to members of an applicant’s pre-existing network; instead, the applicant must describe an efficient and objective process to attract and select innovators from across the country. The applicant can suggest one or multiple cohorts of innovators to support over the course of the project. The innovator selection plan, number of innovators, and number of cohorts should align with the applicant’s overall five-year strategy and approach to fostering innovation. OAH anticipates that funded recipients will work with approximately 5-15 innovators per year.

Each funded applicant will work with OAH to refine and receive approval for its plan for selecting innovators during the initial 6-12 month planning period. OAH expects that funded applicants will complete the selection of innovators within 10 months of receiving funding. The selection process should have a high likelihood of identifying innovators across the country that are well positioned to design, prototype, and conduct testing and refinement of their interventions. Additionally, the intermediary will be responsible for managing the portfolio of innovators and monitoring the innovator’s overall performance.

3. Plan to Support Innovators and their Interventions Grantees will support innovators to develop, prototype, and test their interventions. Grantees should help to catalyze innovative products, programs, and processes to advance adolescent health and prevent teen pregnancy. Grantees are expected to provide support to innovators to ensure that they are able to successfully develop, prototype, and test their interventions. Grantees will work with OAH to refine the plan to support innovators during the initial 6-12 month planning period. It is expected that the innovator support plan might change over time as the grantee learns about what works best and as the needs of the innovators change.

Grantees will assist their innovators in developing milestones for the project. Intermediaries will provide capacity building assistance (CBA) to innovators on reaching project milestones. CBA can include use of a diversity of methods (e.g., online and offline training, coaching, mentoring) and should cover a range of topics, including but not limited to:

· Innovation principles and frameworks and how they might apply to developing programs and technologies to advance adolescent health and prevent teen pregnancy;

· How to best generate ideas, screen for ideas, prototype, and conduct usability testing of interventions;

· How to reach the intended target population (i.e., end user) to ensure that the innovation meets their needs;

· Evaluating innovations; and

· Marketing and business plan development (if applicable).

Grantees should also provide their innovators with logistical support for project management and should create a mechanism and opportunities to support networking and collaboration among innovators and with other relevant stakeholders.

4. Five-year work plan for the Overall Project Applicants are expected to submit a detailed work plan (as an appendix) for the five-year project period that includes goals, SMART objectives (specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and time-framed), activities and a timeline for the overall project. The first 6-12 months of the first grant year are a planning and readiness period. This period should be devoted to hiring and training staff, finalizing partners, finalizing the strategy and approach to fostering innovation, competitively selecting innovation partners, and finalizing support activities.

5. Logic Model for the Overall Project Applicants are expected to describe the proposed project through a detailed logic model (as an appendix) that clearly depicts the inputs and activities of the project and the intended outputs and outcomes (short- and long-term).

PARTNERSHIPS AND COLLABORATION

OAH expects funded recipients to form partnerships and a collaborative culture to support the overall project. OAH does not expect one organization to have all the technical expertise necessary to carry out this project. Rather, the applicant and its partners should have the collective experience and expertise needed to successfully accomplish the goals and objectives of the project. While the funded recipient will take on primary operational and managerial responsibilities of the project, applicants are encouraged to engage partners who compliment their skills (e.g., TPP expertise, technology development for adolescents, experience fostering the innovation process, usability testing, marketing, communication, and dissemination). These partners are different in nature than the innovators selected by the intermediary. The partnerships to support the project should be formal, with roles, responsibilities, and expectations clearly outlined.

For partnerships that already exist, the application should include a signed Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) that describes how the partner will contribute to the project and clearly outlines roles, responsibilities, and expectations. For partnerships that have not been forged prior to the application submission, the applicant should describe which partners are needed and why, their roles and responsibilities, and how they plan to forge the partnership.

The applicant will also be expected to form partnerships and collaborations with the innovators-and the second OAH-funded intermediary organization, and others deemed necessary by the applicant. Although each grantee will be independent, it is expected that both will collaborate and align their strategy to prevent duplicative efforts. As the project evolves over the five-year grant period, the need for new partners may emerge, and some previously established partnerships may no longer be needed. The applicant is expected to manage all partnerships and foster a collaborative culture across partners, and is responsible for ensuring that partners meet expectations and successfully fulfill their roles and responsibilities.

MONITORING AND EVALUATION

Both intermediaries and innovators will be expected to monitor and evaluate their projects as part of this FOA, including the collection of performance measure data.

Evaluation at the Intermediary-Level Grantees are expected to develop a strategic evaluation and learning plan for the project. The evaluation approach should be flexible, with new measures and monitoring mechanisms evolving over time, if needed. Grantees are expected to evaluate the implementation and outcomes of their project, including implementation of the five-year strategy and approach to foster innovation, process for competitively selecting innovators, support provided to innovators, and the outcome of the supported innovators and interventions. An effective evaluation of the overall project requires having clear goals and plans from the beginning of the process. Applicants must be able to articulate the end goals of the project. A suitable goal provides a specific action to be taken, a timeframe in which the goal will be accomplished, and a way of measuring the success of the action taken. Grantees will be expected to collect evaluation results from across innovators and report progress in summary form to OAH in their semi-annual reports.

Grantees will be expected to develop an evaluation report by the end of the five-year project period, and to disseminate evaluation results and lessons learned throughout the project. Topics for the evaluation report should include but are not limited to:

· Planning – How the intermediary selected innovators, the approach for providing innovation support to innovators, and strategies for forging implementation partners.

· Implementation – A description of how the project was structured, how the structure has changed over time to meet the needs of innovators, and what it would do differently in the future.

· Outcomes – Was the innovation support process helpful and productive? Were the persons/organizations involved in the innovation support process appropriate? Were the goals of the intermediary accomplished? Were any barriers encountered that prevented or hindered achieving the expected outcomes of the intermediary? Has the innovation support resulted in—or will it result in—the creation of multiple interventions to address a target population in need? Will some interventions be positioned and ready for rigorous impact evaluation?

· Lessons Learned – Summary of lessons learned throughout the project to share with stakeholders.

Evaluation at the Innovator-Level Grantees, together with their partners and innovators, should determine the best approach for evaluating their interventions. Grantees and their partners will provide their innovators with technical assistance and support on developing the evaluation design for their particular interventions. In general, innovators should monitor and evaluate the implementation of their intervention to determine if it is feasible and relevant for the target population, being used as intended, and having the intended outcomes. Testing interventions may take the form of formative assessment, diagnostic testing or usability testing, where goals are measured, the intervention is assessed, refined and re-tested until goals are met or the intervention is deemed not feasible for the intended purpose. Evaluation of the innovators should use a flexible, iterative approach that focuses on providing rapid feedback so that changes can be made and retested within a short period of time.

Rigorous impact evaluation is not the focus of this FOA. Interventions that demonstrate promising outcomes; feasibility and relevance for the target population; and have the potential to be scaled up, should receive technical assistance from the grantee in preparing for a future rigorous impact evaluation.

Collecting and Reporting Performance Measure Data Performance measures are critical for accountability purposes and should be a part of the monitoring and evaluation plan for both the intermediaries and the innovators. OAH uses performance measures to demonstrate whether grant projects are making sufficient progress toward their stated missions and are serving the public interest. Performance measures are also critical for continuous quality improvement, informing stakeholders of progress, and informing sustainability efforts.

Grantees are expected to collect and report performance measures to OAH to assess implementation and to determine if the intervention is observing intended outcomes. The broad categories of the OAH performance measures include reach, dosage of intervention, fidelity and quality, linkages and referrals to healthcare services, cost of implementing the program, sustainability, partnerships, trainings, and dissemination (see Appendix F) (OMB #0990-0390, Expires May 2015; OAH will seek renewal.). Grantees and their innovators should use and report to OAH on the existing performance measures to the extent possible, however the existing performance measures were developed primarily for curricula-based programs and thus, OAH anticipates they may not be a good fit for all of the innovations to be developed and evaluated under this FOA. Where the OAH performance measures are not feasible for the innovation projects funded, the grantees will need to develop and propose proxy measures more suitable to the intervention. Performance measures should be developed in consultation with OAH and used for continuous quality improvement and data-driven decision making. Grantees will be responsible for collecting and reporting performance measure data to OAH on its activities and the activities of its partners, including the innovation partners.

Applicants should review relevant state laws, school district policies, and other administrative procedures to ensure the feasibility of data collection. If necessary, applicants should obtain any necessary permission to collect these data. Applicants should indicate their plan for ensuring the innovators will have permissions to collect these data such that the grantee can report them to OAH.

Intermediaries are encouraged to have a staff member dedicated to monitoring, evaluation, performance measures, and learning within their agency. This person can partner with an outside agency for additional evaluation support, but an internal person may be beneficial in guiding learning and continuous quality improvement. This person should oversee collection, submission and analysis of the performance measures among the portfolio of innovators. Responsibilities should include continuous quality improvement and creating a community of learning between the applicant, innovators, and other partners.

DISSEMINATION AND COMMUNICATION

Grantees are expected develop a communication and dissemination strategy to communicate key activities of the initiative as a whole to internal and external stakeholders. The dissemination and communication strategy should complement the overall project approach and evaluation plan. The dissemination and communication strategy should include, but is not limited to, a plan to publicize the opportunity for innovators, market the launch of the initiative and innovator selection, and a strategy to communicate on-going activities, milestones, evaluation results, and lessons learned through the initiative. The strategy should include plans to use diverse dissemination and communication methods to best meet the needs of the target audience.

Grantees should be aware that Federal funding cannot be used for fundraising activities or lobbying. Grantees must comply with the restrictions on lobbying as set out in 45 CFR Part 93. Activities that fall into these categories should not be included in the grantee’s work plan or budget.

EXPERIENCE AND CAPACITY

Collectively, the successful applicant and its partners must be able to demonstrate the following experience:

· Experience and success fostering early innovation

· Experience developing and supporting technology-focused or program-focused interventions (specific to focus area selected)

· Experience providing support to organizations on developing and evaluating innovative interventions

· Experience in teen pregnancy prevention and adolescent health

· Experience launching a large, national initiative of similar size and scope

· Experience monitoring partner performance and taking corrective action when needed to ensure fulfillment of roles, responsibilities, and stated expectations

· Experience collecting performance data and using data for continuous quality improvement

· Experience evaluating projects designed to foster innovation

· Experience communicating and disseminating information using diverse approaches to reach key stakeholders

In addition, the successful applicant must be able to demonstrate that it has the organizational capacity to successfully manage the proposed project. This includes demonstrating that:

· The proposed program aligns with the organization’s mission

· The organization has the capacity to support implementation of the program

· The organization effectively and efficiently manages financial resources, staff performance and strategic relationships with partner organizations

· Data are used to make continuous quality improvements and adjust to meet changing demands and priorities

· The applicant is able to manage multiple complex activities involving collaborative efforts and maintain clear and effective lines of communication between partners and among the innovators

· The organization demonstrates a commitment to the goal of innovation to advance adolescent health and reduce teen pregnancy

· The applicant has a commitment and capacity to continue the activities articulated in the application beyond the life of the grant

PROJECT MANAGEMENT

The applicant should propose an experienced team to manage, implement, and evaluate the proposed project. Applicants should clearly delineate the roles and responsibilities of project staff and their qualifications. If applicable, the applicant should describe how formal partners will contribute to achieving the project’s outcomes. The applicant should describe who would have day-to-day responsibility for key tasks such as project leadership, monitoring the project’s progress, selection of innovators, providing support for innovators, monitoring and evaluation, dissemination and communication, and report preparation and communication with OAH. The applicant should describe how it will monitor and evaluate its innovation partners and other partners supporting implementation of the project to ensure they fulfill their roles and responsibilities and meet stated expectations.

The Project Director (PD) should have demonstrated capabilities in management, innovation, strategic visioning, leadership, coordination, and collaboration. The PD and larger project team are expected to collectively have experience relevant to all aspects of the project, including:

· Experience and success fostering early innovation

· Experience developing and supporting technology-focused or program-focused interventions (specific to focus area selected)

· Experience providing support to organizations on developing and evaluating innovative interventions

· Experience in teen pregnancy prevention and adolescent health

· Experience launching a large, national initiative of similar size and scope

· Experience monitoring partner performance

· Experience collecting data and using data for continuous quality improvement

· Experience evaluating projects designed to foster innovation

· Experience communicating and disseminating information using diverse approaches to reach key stakeholders

CHALLENGES AND RISKS

The applicant should identify the risks in undertaking this project and challenges to the success of this project, including its ability to achieve the intended results within the planned timeframe, and describe how it plans to address the anticipated challenges.

COOPERATIVE AGREEMENT SUBSTANTIAL PROGRAMMATIC INVOLVEMENT OF FEDERAL AGENCY

Awards will be in the form of a five-year cooperative agreement with the grantee. A cooperative agreement, as opposed to a grant, is an award instrument of financial assistance where substantial programmatic involvement is anticipated between OAH and the grantee during performance of the project or activity.

In addition to the usual monitoring and technical assistance provided under the cooperative agreement (e.g., assistance from assigned Federal project officer, monthly conference calls, occasional site visits, ongoing review of plans and progress, participation in relevant meetings, provision of training and technical assistance), OAH substantial programmatic involvement will include:

1) Identification of other awardees and organizations with whom the awardee may be asked to develop cooperative and collaborative relationships and partnerships.

2) Assisting the awardee to establish, review, and update priorities for activities conducted under the auspices of this cooperative agreement.

3) Consulting with the awardee during its preparation and dissemination of materials and performance of activities conducted under the auspices of the cooperative agreement.

4) Review of recipient progress during the planning period and approval to move forward with full implementation.

5) Review and approval of the criteria and plan for selecting innovators, innovator support plan, and evaluation plans.

6) Review all program materials prior to use in the project to ensure the materials are medically accurate and complete.

AUTHORITY: Division H, Title II of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2014 (Public Law No. 113-76), and the Continuing Resolution thus far for FY 2015 (Public Law No. 113-164).

II. AWARD INFORMATION

The HHS Office of Adolescent Health intends to make available approximately $3 million for competitive cooperative agreements.