IP21-2101 Questions and Answers 16 Apr 2021.docx

IP21-2101 – Questions and Answers

Mar 8

Mar 8

For more information, please refer to the section beginning on page 4 of the Announcement. The Period of Performance Length is 5 years. Please also review the ‘Funding Strategy’ section of the announcement beginning on page 21 for further details on specifics of the work plan.

The anticipated average one-year amount is detailed on page 4 under the heading “Average One Year Award Amount”. Anticipated average amounts for each of the two annual components are provided in this section under the heading “Estimated Award Ranges”.

Mar 9

really appreciate to have some clarification about one point:

In page 25 of the call it is stated that there are several positions within the project including "Principal Investigator" and "Project Director".

What is the difference between the two positions?

Thank you for your inquiry.

On page 25 under Organizational Capacity, we are asking for information on the key staff working with the program. Principal Investigator and Project Director could be the same position for a project, or they may be different. It just depends on what terminology and what structure your organization uses. These are examples of positions involved in projects and you need to provide requested information on key personnel based on your organizational structure.

Instructions for applying begin on page 30. section c. Grants.gov. Please review the information provided for instructions on registering and applying to US Government opportunities.

Information on the dates and times for the informational calls is detailed beginning on page 3 of the opportunity announcement. Daylight savings time does not affect the information provided. The information to access the calls is provided in these same pages. If the link is not active, please utilize the meeting ID and passcode to join the calls. You should be able to access Zoom and enter this information.

According to other application rules, multiple Program Director/Principal Investigator (multiple PD/PI) awards are allowable to share the authority and responsibility for leading and directing the project, intellectually and logistically. Are multiple PD/PI allowable by CDC rules if well motivated through the application?

The titles Principal Investigator, Project Director referred to in Organizational Capacity on page 25 of the NOFO were indeed simply examples of key personnel that have been identified in past projects. The intent of the section is for you, the applicant, to describe the organization of your project and the key personnel responsible for managing project activities. For example, applicants under previous NOFOs identified intellectual and logistic activities and some, but not all, applicants follow this structure with the Principal Investigator responsible for intellectual strategy and a Project Director responsible for day to day logistics for the project.

Please use this section to describe your program organization and identify the key positions responsible for managing the projects. For each key position your organization identifies, please provide information on the activities and/or duties the person filling this position will perform in support of the project.

So the calls will take place at the specified time in the NOFO but the time zone is EDT and not EST as specified in the NOFO – correct?

Yes. The calls will be at the designated times once Daylight Savings time takes effect.

Thank you for your questions.

Please reach out to the www.grants.gov help desk for assistance with the application system.

Under # 7 of the NOFO- It states that "Letter of Intent" is not required. and I quote- "7. Letter of Intent LOI is not requested or required as part of the application for this NOFO.

Can I proceed with the submission of the proposal to grants.gov Thank you for your inquiry. There is no requirement for a Letter of Intent (LOI).

All US Government announcements and information can be found and reviewed at www.grants.gov. Please visit this site to locate opportunities and information on the application package and instructions on how to apply.

Please refer to the eligibility section of the Funding opportunity for further clarification on organizations eligible to apply as well as key additional eligibility information. The section can be found beginning on page 29 of the revised announcement.

https://www.cdc.gov/grants/documents/budget-preparation-guidance.pdf

Each component should have a separate budget and work plan and the overall award amount would be a total amount approved for all components deemed acceptable. Finally, please review Phase iii Review section for additional information.

The reference is to the surveillance protocol. Non-research surveillance project protocols (in English) will be requested from all successful applicants. Protocols should clearly demonstrate the plans and authority to conduct public health surveillance in the identified country.

A high-level overview of strategies and activities is provided in table format (logic model) in the funding opportunity announcement with detailed information provided in the Outcomes and Strategies/Activities sections immediately below the logic model. Bolded items in the logic model are of particular interest to CDC.

Based on the NoFO, there has been an Informational Conference Call on March 23, 2021 and March 24, 2021. We missed to attend the call on either date. I would like to know if there will be another schedule on the Informational Conference Call which we can attend. If not, will you make the transcript of the call available to us?

Your response is much appreciated.

Thank you for your inquiry.

We will not be hosting another informational call. The transcript of the call as well as Questions and Answers will be posted as an addendum to the funding announcement on www.grants.gov. Please go to the ‘Related Documents’ tab of the announcement.

The documents will be posted for review within the next week. Please visit www.grants.gov to monitor for any future updates.

Also, who is eligible for this competition and if so, what is the duration of the project.

This funding announcement supports the work initiated in 2004 and continued under recent funding opportunities CDC-RFA-19-1902 and CDC-RFA-16-1603. Please refer to section “e. Relevant Work” for more information.

Eligibility information can be found in the “Eligibility” and “Additional Information on Eligibility” sections which provides specific information on types of entities as well as details on countries. The project period of performance as stated in the funding announcement is 5 years.

Also please review the ‘Related Documents’ section of the www.grants.gov site for updates on other Questions and Answers. We will have post all updated information here.

The extra 20 pages includes both Component 2 and Component 3. A total of 40 pages if the applicant applies to all 3 Components.

Can you please clarify whether we can apply for this application as XXX is classified as an upper-middle income country?

In case of a positive decision, please send us more detailed requirements for writing a project.

Thank you for the inquiry.

Please refer to the funding opportunity and review the ‘Eligibility’ section as well as the ‘Additional Information on Eligibility’ section. The list of countries designated by the World Bank as low- and middle-income (as of January 7, 2021) are listed for your reference. Countries in the list are considered to meet the designation noted in the ‘Eligibility’ section.

Unfortunately, due to the competitive nature of the application process, I cannot provide you with specific direction on writing the project response. Please refer to the funding opportunity section ‘D Application and Submission Information’ for specific information on the application process and requirements.

Another resource is the ‘Related Documents’ page on the www.grants.gov site. We are posting updates to the funding announcement as well as questions and answers. (updated weekly). Some detailed guidance was provided during the scheduled informational calls. If you were not able to attend, the information is provided on the Grants.gov site under the ‘Related Documents’ page. (Informational-Call IP21-2101 Script).

Please refer to ‘H. Other Information’ section for complete details on acceptable attachments. As noted, applicants may not attach documents other than those listed.

The ‘Project Narrative’ section provides information on the specific sections to be included within the application. Page counts specified in the funding announcement under the ‘Project Narrative’ section as well as the ‘H. Other Information’ section should include all information the applicant deems necessary to support their application request.

Can we have a Zoom call or if there’s a recording of the previous Zoom meetings provided…we can first review [that] if possible.

Thank you for your inquiry. The Zoom meeting transcript and a document of questions & answers are posted online as an addendum to the application package. Visit www.grants.gov and select the Funding Announcement for CDC-RFA-IP21-2101 and navigate to the ‘Related Documents’ tab. Please refer to these documents and the funding announcement for full details of the requirements.

We are unable to schedule individual Zoom calls, but any additional questions can be submitted by email.

However, the 'apply' tab does not highlight for me.

I have an institutional DUNS number and have also registered in SAM.

Is there any reason why the 'apply' tab does not highlight for me?

Thank you for your inquiry.

For technical difficulties with the grants.gov website, please contact the Grants.gov Support Center https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/support.html.

MOH letter of agreement indicating designation as bona-fide agent to support surveillance goals at the national and local level for epidemiological and laboratory-based goals.”

Currently we have [an] MoU and active Cooperative Agreement with Ministry of Health. Would the documents suffice without the letter of support?

Thank you for your inquiry.

Please refer to the Eligibility and Organizational Capacity of Recipients sections for further details on the Letter of Support. Any letter submitted should indicate the Ministry of Health’s designation of other partners as bona-fide agent to support surveillance goals at the national and local level for epidemiological and laboratory-based goals is required.

After carefully reviewing the instructions as well as the Q&As, we are unfortunately still unclear as to whether the WHO country office can apply directly. More specifically, we were wondering whether (i) we can apply as WHO, with a letter of support from the Ministry of Health, meaning that the funds would be channeled through the country office or (ii) whether we should apply as bona fide agent of the government, meaning that the funds would be channeled through the government.

If possible, your guidance on this would be much appreciated and we look forward to hearing from you.

Applications to NOFO CDC-RFA-IP21-2101 are open and unrestricted. Additional eligibility applies to Ministries of Health or their bona fide agents in World Bank low- and middle-income designated countries. If any of these conditions pertain to the applying entity, then the organization may submit an application.

For the Report on Programmatic, Budgetary and Commitment Overlap please refer to the Duplication of Efforts section for detailed instructions. If the Duplication of Efforts section does not apply, no action is needed.

Please refer to the Application and Submission Information. The Project Narrative for Component 1 is limited to 20 pages, and applicants applying to Components 2 and 3 are allowed an extra 20 pages for both Component 2 and Component 3. A total of 40 pages, if the applicant applies to all 3 Components, is permitted for the Project Narrative