oppPA-FPT-18-001-cfda93.260-cidPA-FPT-18-001-061737-instructions.pdf

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

AGENCY: Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health, Office of Population Affairs

FUNDING OPPORTUNITY TITLE: Announcement of Availability of Funds for a Clinical

Training and Technical Assistance Project to Support the Title X Family Planning

Program

ACTION: Notice

ANNOUNCEMENT TYPE: INITIAL COMPETITIVE COOPERATIVE AGREEMENT

FUNDING OPPORTUNITY NUMBER: PA-FPT-18-001

CFDA NUMBER: 93.260

CFDA PROGRAM: Family Planning Personnel Training

DATES:

Non-binding Letters of Intent: We are requesting non-binding letters of intent. Your letter of intent is due June 4, 2018.

Technical Assistance: A technical assistance webinar for potential applicants will be held within

30 days from the posting of this announcement. Please visit www.hhs.gov/opa for more information.

Please be sure to review the entire announcement promptly so you can have any questions answered well in advance of the application due date.

Applications: Your application is due June 19, 2018 by 6 p.m. Eastern Time. To receive consideration, you must submit your application electronically via Grants.gov no later than this http://www.hhs.gov/opa due date and time. If you do not submit your application by the specified deadline, we will return it to you unread. You must submit electronically via Grants.gov unless you obtain a written exemption from this requirement 2 business days in advance of the deadline from the

Director, HHS/Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health (OASH) Office of Grants

Management (OGM). To obtain an exemption, you must request one via email from the

HHS/OASH OGM, and provide details as to why you are technologically unable to submit electronically through Grants.gov. Your request should be submitted at least 4 business days prior to the application deadline to ensure your request can be considered prior to 2 business days in advance of the deadline. If you request an exemption, include the following in your e-mail request: the HHS/OASH announcement number; your organization's DUNS number; your organization’s name, address and telephone number; the name and telephone number of your

Authorizing Official; the Grants.gov Tracking Number (for example, GRANT####) assigned to your 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 prior to the application due date will not be grounds for receiving an exemption to the electronic submission requirement. Failure to follow

Grants.gov instructions to ensure software compatibility will not be grounds for receiving an exemption to the electronic submission requirement.

The HHS/OASH OGM will only accept applications via alternate methods

(hardcopy paper via U.S. mail or other provider or PDF via email) from applicants obtaining prior written approval. If you receive an exemption, you must still submit your application by the deadline. Only applications submitted through the Grants.gov portal or alternate format (hardcopy paper via U.S. mail or other service or PDF via email) with an mailto:ogm.oash@hhs.gov approved written exemption will be accepted. See Section D.7 (“Other Submission

Requirements”) for information on application submission mechanisms.

Executive Order 12372 comment due date: The State Single Point of Contact (SPOC) has 60 days from the application due date to submit any comments. For more information on the

SPOC see section D.4 Intergovernmental Review.

To ensure adequate time to successfully submit your application, HHS/OASH recommends that you register as early as possible in Grants.gov since the registration process can take up to one month. For information on registering for Grants.gov, refer to http://www.grants.gov or contact the Grants.gov Contact Center 24 hours a day, 7 days a week

(excluding Federal holidays) at 1-800-518-4726 or support@grants.gov.

Your organization is strongly encouraged to register multiple authorized organization representatives in Grants.gov to ensure someone is available to submit your application.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:

The Office of Population Affairs (OPA) announces the availability of funds for a Fiscal

Year (FY) 2018 cooperative agreement award under the authority of section 1003 of Title X of the Public Health Service Act. This notice solicits applications for a project to establish and operate a family planning clinical training center that will serve Title X family planning services projects nationally. OPA’s intent is to fund one National Clinical Training Center for Family

Planning (NCTCFP) as a cooperative agreement, for a period of up to three (3) years.

The successful applicant will be responsible for the design, development, implementation, and evaluation of a training program that includes four components: (1) Clinical http://www.grants.gov/ mailto:support@grants.gov

Skills Development; (2) Clinical Protocol Development; (3) Clinical Skills Assessment; and (4) a

National Clinical Training Meeting to be held every year, with an in-person meeting held in 2020 and virtual meetings held in alternate years. The purpose of the family planning clinical training center is to ensure that health care practitioners and support staff who provide services in Title

X-funded service projects have the knowledge, skills, and attitudes to effectively deliver high quality family planning services.

This notice solicits applications from public and private nonprofit entities to establish and operate a family planning clinical training center which will develop and provide, at a minimum, training and technical assistance to Title X family planning service grantees and sites that deliver clinical family planning and related preventive health services; information, education, and counseling related to family planning; and referral services as indicated.

All activities funded under this announcement must be in compliance with the Title X statute, as well as the program regulations and legislative mandates, as applicable. Copies of the

Title X statute, regulations, and legislative mandates may be downloaded from the Office of

Population Affairs web site at http://www.hhs.gov/opa/familyplanning.

HHS/OASH encourages applicants to review all program requirements, eligibility information, application format and submission information, evaluation criteria and other information in this funding announcement to ensure their application fully complies with all requirements and instructions.

A. PROGRAM DESCRIPTION:

The Office of Population Affairs (OPA) provides funding for grants and contracts to support training for personnel working in Title X-funded services projects pursuant to section http://www.hhs.gov/opa/familyplanning

1003 of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 300 a-1). The purpose of OPA-funded family planning training is to ensure that personnel working in Title X Family Planning Services projects have the skills, knowledge, and attitudes necessary to effectively manage and deliver high quality family planning services and programs within a holistic optimal-health framework.

Optimal health refers to the best possible outcomes for an individual’s physical, emotional, and social health.

OPA expects that the National Clinical Training Center for Family Planning (NCTCFP) funded under this announcement will work to fulfill that purpose by delivering training and technical assistance grounded in evidence-based principles and culturally and linguistically appropriate strategies. The successful applicant will develop and implement a process by which the NCTCFP will review, assess, and revise their clinical training and technical assistance plan, training design, and materials on an ongoing basis (e.g., annually) to ensure guidance and supporting materials are holistically focused on an optimal-health framework, up-to-date and align with culturally competent and linguistically appropriate standards, as well as with Federal and professional medical associations’ published clinical recommendations and other nationally recognized standards of care.

From the early 1970s until the year 2000, OPA funded certificate family planning/women’s health nurse practitioner training programs to ensure the availability of health care practitioners with expertise in family planning to work in Title X-funded clinics. In 2000, OPA began funding “clinical specialty’’ training programs, as a means to ensure health care practitioners had the hands-on knowledge and skills to provide effective, high quality family planning services in Title X-funded service projects. Beginning in 2006, the Family Planning

Clinical Training cooperative agreement was funded to provide preceptor training and a biennial clinical reproductive health conference. In 2015, OPA awarded a cooperative agreement to fund a new clinical training program which built upon all of the previous efforts and served Title X-funded service providers throughout the country. This notice announces the availability of funds to further develop and operate a clinical training program to support clinical knowledge and skills-building for Title X family planning services providers.

OPA seeks applications from public and private nonprofit entities to establish and operate a Title X family planning clinical training center, which will provide training, instruction, and technical assistance to health care practitioners and other staff who deliver care, counseling, and services in Title X-funded service projects. The successful applicant will demonstrate evidence of familiarity with and understanding of the diverse needs of the existing Title X family planning service delivery network. While the training and technical assistance materials developed in this project are for the purpose of training Title X grantees and their networks, the materials also may be of use to reproductive health and family planning service providers who, though not funded to provide Title X services, aim to deliver high quality care and services in a manner which mirrors the goals and objectives of OPA funded projects. The successful applicant will incorporate applicable evidence-based recommendations, practices and protocols as documented in respected publications such as in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and

Office of Population Affairs (OPA) joint publication, “Providing Quality Family Planning

Services” (MMWR; 63 (No. 4)). In addition, the successful applicant will incorporate nationally recognized standards of care and applicable Federal and professional medical associations’ published clinical recommendations into training design, curricula development, and material creation, as appropriate.

OPA expects that the NCTCFP will use evidence-based information, and will incorporate best practices and/or evidence-informed practices into all aspects of training and technical assistance. In addition, the successful applicant will maintain knowledge of the most current research and standards of care in order to act as a resource on a broad range of clinical family planning, reproductive health, and other related health and preventive care issues for Title X grantees and their networks, and will contextualize clinical training activities within a holistic optimal-health framework. Approvable applications will demonstrate evidence that the applicant currently possesses accreditation to provide eligible training participants with continuing education credits, hours, units or their equivalent, which are accepted in all 50 states and the

District of Columbia. OPA expects the clinical training center funded under this announcement will carry out four major elements. The NCTCFP will execute each in accordance with Federal and professional medical associations’ published clinical recommendations and nationally-recognized standards of care, and will demonstrate incorporation of culturally and linguistically appropriate strategies, approaches, and standards.

1) Clinical Skills Development

The training center will ensure that Title X health care practitioners providing direct, hands-on clinical family planning services have the most current information, skills, and attitudes necessary for the effective delivery of high quality family planning services. OPA expects that the NCTCFP will develop and provide training, materials, and other assistance to improve the clinical skills of Title X family planning service providers. This includes, but is not limited to, increasing the capacity and improving the competency of clinicians who provide family planning and reproductive health services through 1) improving the knowledge base of clinicians regarding the delivery of clinical services, e.g., data updates, releases of new evidence and other advances in clinical service provision; and 2) ensuring that the NCTCFP delivers training and education to Title X clinical providers throughout the entire project period, using a variety of training methods and learning modalities, including webinars, e-learning modules, and other multimedia tools. OPA expects the successful applicant clinical training center will make resources produced during the project period readily accessible to users remotely via a website, web-based modality, or other method, throughout the entirety of the project period.

Additionally, OPA expects the clinical training center will develop and make available clinical support tools, reflecting nationally recognized standards of care and Federal and professional medical associations’ published clinical recommendations, for use in clinical settings. These tools should be in a format which is easy for family planning clinical practitioners to access, use, and reference, and should be available via internet. OPA expects the clinical training center funded through this announcement will develop and deliver clinical skills training, technical assistance, and tools using evidence-based practices and culturally competent and linguistically appropriate strategies, in order to address the diverse needs of Title X networks, providers, and clients.

2) Clinical Protocol Development

OPA expects the successful applicant will provide Title X recipients, subrecipients, and

Title X clinical service providers with training, materials, and other assistance in the development of clinical protocols for providing Title X family planning services in accordance with current Federal and professional medical associations’ published clinical recommendations and nationally recognized standards of care. In addition, the NCTCFP will ensure that training and technical assistance is made available to Title X service providers to help modify and adapt their existing clinical protocols to reflect changes and updates made to Federal and professional medical associations’ published clinical recommendations and nationally recognized standards of care. The NCTCFP will develop and deliver training, technical assistance, and tools by using evidence-based practices, and will address the needs of Title X Family Planning Services providers to enhance the delivery of high-quality family planning services.

3) Clinical Skill Assessment

OPA expects that the clinical training center funded under this announcement will develop and implement a strategy for continuously evaluating Title X family planning clinical providers’ level of clinical skills. The purpose of this assessment is to provide grant directors, program and site managers, and clinicians with methods and tools to measure the level of Title X clinical providers’ competency. The successful applicant will demonstrate their capacity to develop and implement cost-effective strategies and activities using evidence-based methodologies and innovative, state-of-the-art technology to facilitate and/or conduct clinical provider assessment and monitoring, with both in-person and remote functionality. The NCTCFP will evaluate the results of these assessments annually, and will use information gathered from the assessments and the subsequent evaluation to inform development of clinical training tools and materials, as well as to generate topics for additional training and possible collaboration with other entities and training centers, in order to improve the skills of Title X family planning service providers.

4) National Clinical Training Meeting

The recipient will conduct an in-person clinical training meeting in 2020 to provide those in attendance with current, evidence-based information on family planning and related preventive health issues, including new or emerging national standards of care, pertinent clinical topics, clinical education and counseling issues and techniques, and other topics relevant to the delivery of family planning clinical services. In the intervening years, the recipient will conduct a virtual clinical training meeting for the same purposes. The content of the training meetings must incorporate culturally and linguistically appropriate strategies, techniques, and standards within a holistic optimal-health framework., and must reflect Federal and professional medical associations’ published clinical recommendations; nationally recognized standards of care; the needs of the Title X Family Planning Services network; and Title X statute, as well as the program regulations and legislative mandates, as applicable.

The Office of Population Affairs often identifies specific programmatic focus areas and topics of importance. Each year, OPA will share the identified programmatic focus areas and topics with the NCTCFP. The successful applicant will address how it will incorporate these areas within the four training elements. For at least the first year of the clinical training center cooperative agreement the focus areas are:

1. Ensuring that Title X Grant directors, clinic managers, and clinical providers have the appropriate level of competency to ensure that Title X client services are coded and billed correctly to maximize reimbursement and cost recovery;

2. Ensuring that family planning providers have up-to-date information and skills to provide counseling and provision of a broad range of acceptable and effective contraceptive methods, with an emphasis on building skills and proficiency with a range of long-acting reversible contraceptive devices (LARC) and fertility awareness based methods (FABM);

3. Ensuring that Title X grantees have the necessary training and resources to respond to OPA Program Priorities and Key Issues, including annual training on child abuse, child molestation, sexual abuse, rape, incest, intimate partner violence, and human trafficking for Title X family planning service providers and clinic staff; and

4. Ensuring that an assessment strategy is implemented which will identify the current and future needs of the Title X clinical workforce, and assess the ability of the workforce to provide culturally appropriate and competent clinical services in accordance with Federal and professional medical associations’ published clinical recommendations and nationally recognized standards of care.

Successful applicants will demonstrate their ability to monitor and evaluate training and other interventions, and will provide evidence of their experience in developing evidence-based strategies, implementing tested and reliable interventions, and conducting background research to ensure they produce and deliver training, technical assistance, and other resources with fidelity.

Program Statute, Regulations, Legislative Mandates, Program Priorities, and Key Issues

Statute: Title X of the PHS Act, 42 U.S.C. 300 et seq., authorizes grants for projects to provide family planning services to persons from low-income families and others. Section 1001 of the

Act, as amended, authorizes grants ‘‘to assist in the establishment and operation of voluntary family planning projects which shall offer a broad range of acceptable and effective family planning methods and services (including natural family planning methods, infertility services, and services for adolescents).’’ Section 1001 of the statute requires that, to the extent practicable, Title X entities which receive grants or contracts under this subsection shall encourage family participation in family planning services projects. This requirement applies throughout the program, extending to all individuals, couples and families seeking Title X services, as practicable, always being mindful of the health, safety, and best interest of the client. Section

1003 of the Act, as amended, authorizes the Secretary of Health and Human Services to award grants to entities to provide training for personnel to carry out family planning services programs. Section 1008 of the Act, as amended, stipulates that ‘‘none of the funds appropriated under this title shall be used in programs where abortion is a method of family planning.’’

Regulations: The regulations set out at 42 CFR part 59, subpart C, govern grants to provide training for family planning service providers. Training must be consistent with the requirements regarding the provision of family planning services under Title X, which can be found in the

Title X statute and the implementing regulations for family planning services (42 CFR part 59, subpart A). In addition, any training regarding sterilization of clients as part of the Title X program must be consistent with 42 CFR part 50, subpart B (‘‘Sterilization of Persons in

Federally Assisted Family Planning Projects’’).

Legislative Mandates: The following legislative mandates have been part of the Title X appropriations language for the last several years. This funding opportunity announcement assumes these provisions will be carried forward in FY 2018. Title X Family Planning Services projects should include administrative, clinical, counseling, and referral services as well as training of staff necessary to ensure adherence to these requirements.

“None of the funds appropriated in this Act may be made available to any entity under Title X of the Public Health Service Act unless the applicant for the award certifies to the Secretary of Health and Human Services that it encourages family participation in the decision of minors to seek family planning services and that it provides counseling to minors on how to resist attempts to coerce minors into engaging in sexual activities;” and

“Notwithstanding any other provision of law, no provider of services under Title X of the Public Health Service Act shall be exempt from any State law requiring notification or the reporting of child abuse, child molestation, sexual abuse, rape, or incest.”

All activities funded under this announcement must be in compliance with the Title X statute, as well as the program regulations and legislative mandates, as applicable. Copies of the

Title X statute, regulations, and legislative mandates may be downloaded from the Office of

Population Affairs web site at http://www.hhs.gov/opa/familyplanning.

Program Priorities: Each year the Office of Population Affairs establishes program priorities that represent overarching goals for the Title X program. Program priorities derive from the

Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) priorities. Applicants should provide evidence of their capacity to address program priorities. The FY 2018 program priorities are as follows:

1. Assuring innovative, high quality family planning and related health services that will improve the overall health of individuals, couples, and families, with priority for services to those of low-income families, offering, at a minimum, core family planning services enumerated in the FY2018 Announcement of Anticipated Availability of Funds for Family

Planning Services Grants (https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/view-opportunity.html?oppId=297943). Assuring that projects offer a broad range of family planning and related health services that are tailored to the unique needs of the individual, http://www.hhs.gov/opa/familyplanning https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/view-opportunity.html?oppId=297943 https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/view-opportunity.html?oppId=297943 that include natural family planning methods (also known as fertility awareness based methods) which ensure breadth and variety among family planning methods offered, infertility services, and services for adolescents; breast and cervical cancer screening and prevention of STDs as well as HIV prevention education, counseling, testing, and referrals;

2. Assuring activities that promote positive family relationships for the purpose of increasing family participation in family planning and healthy decision-making;

education and counseling that prioritize optimal health and life outcomes for every individual and couple; and other related health services, contextualizing Title X services within a model that promotes optimal health outcomes for the client;

3. Ensuring that all clients are provided services in a voluntary, client-centered and non-coercive manner in accordance with Title X regulations;

4. Promoting provision of comprehensive primary health care services to make it easier for individuals to receive both primary health care and family planning services preferably in the same location, or through nearby referral providers, and increase incentive for those individuals in need of care choosing a Title X provider;

5. Assuring compliance with State laws requiring notification or the reporting of child abuse, child molestation, sexual abuse, rape, incest, intimate partner violence, and human trafficking;

6. Encouraging participation of families, parents, and/or legal guardians in the decision of minors to seek family planning services; and providing counseling to minors on how to resist attempts to coerce minors into engaging in sexual activities;

7. Demonstrating that Title X activities are separate and clearly distinct from non-Title X activities, ensuring that abortion is not a method of family planning for this grant; and

8. Use of OPA performance metrics to regularly perform quality assurance and quality improvement activities.

Key Issues: In addition to program priorities, the following key issues should be considered in developing the project plan:

1. Efficiency and effectiveness in program management and operations;

2. Management and decision-making and accountability for outcomes;

3. Cooperation with community-based and faith-based organizations;

4. Meaningful collaboration with subrecipients and documented partners in order to demonstrate a seamless continuum of care for clients;

5. A meaningful emphasis on education and counseling that communicates the social science research and practical application of topics related to healthy relationships, to committed, safe, stable, healthy marriages, and the benefits of avoiding sexual risk or returning to a sexually risk-free status, especially (but not only) when communicating with adolescents;

6. Activities for adolescents that do not normalize sexual risk behaviors, but instead clearly communicate the research informed benefits of delaying sex or returning to a sexually risk-free status;

7. Emphasis on the voluntary nature of family planning services; and

8. Data collection (such as the Family Planning Annual Report (FPAR) for use in monitoring performance and improving family planning services.

Agency Substantial Involvement:

Award will be a cooperative agreement. OPA anticipates substantial programmatic involvement during the planning and 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, regular conference calls, occasional monitoring visits, ongoing review of plans and progress, participation in relevant meetings, provision of training and technical assistance), OPA substantial programmatic involvement will include:

1. Assisting the recipient to establish, review, and update priorities for training and technical assistance activities conducted under the auspices of this cooperative agreement

2. Consulting with the recipient throughout the preparation and dissemination of products and materials (e.g., webinars, job aids, assessments, e-learning courses, etc.) related to this cooperative agreement to ensure clinical and programmatic accuracy;

3. Assisting the recipient to identify and contact other organizations, awardees, and Federal personnel with whom they may develop cooperative and collaborative relationships and partnerships, as appropriate; and

4. Keeping the awardee abreast of important Federal initiatives that could potentially influence the direction or implementation of a given strategy.

AUTHORITY: Section 1003 of the Public Health Service Act; Title X family planning training regulations at 42 CFR Part 59, subpart C.

B. FEDERAL AWARD INFORMATION

The Office of Population Affairs intends to make available approximately $900,000 for one competing cooperative agreement

We will fund awards in annual increments (budget periods) and generally for a project period of up to 3 years, although we may approve shorter project periods. Funding for all approved budget periods beyond the first year of the award is generally level with the initial award amount and is contingent upon the availability of funds, satisfactory progress of the project, adequate stewardship of Federal funds, and the best interests of the Government.

Award Information

Estimated Federal Funds Available: $900,000

Anticipated Number of Awards: 1

Award Ceiling (Federal Funds including indirect costs): $900,000 per budget period

Award Floor (Federal Funds including indirect costs): $600,000

Anticipated Start Date: 09/01/2018

Period of Performance: Not to exceed 3 years

Budget Period Length: 12 months

Type of Award: Cooperative Agreement. Agency substantial involvement is outlined in the Program Description in Section A.

Type of Application Accepted: Electronic via Grants.gov ONLY unless an exemption is granted

C. ELIGIBILITY INFORMATION

1. Eligible Applicants.

Any public or private nonprofit entity located in a State (which includes one of the 50

United States, District of Columbia, Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, American Samoa, Guam, Republic of Palau, Federated States of Micronesia, and the Republic of the Marshall Islands) is eligible to apply for a cooperative agreement under this announcement. Faith-based organizations and American

Indian/Alaska Native/Native American (AI/AN/NA) organizations are eligible to apply for Title

X family planning training grants.

2. Cost Sharing or Matching

You are not required to provide cost sharing or matching in your proposed budget.

3. Other Eligibility Information

Application Disqualification Criteria

If you successfully submit an application, we will screen it to assure a level playing field for all applicants. If we determine your application fails to meet the criteria described below we will disqualify it, that is, it will not be reviewed and will receive no further consideration.

a) You must submit your application electronically via www.grants.gov (unless an exemption was granted 2 business days prior to the deadline) by the date and time indicated in the

DATES section of this announcement.

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

c) HHS/OASH/OGM deems your application eligible according to section C.1 Eligible

Applicants.

d) Your Project Narrative section of the application must be double-spaced, on the equivalent of

8 ½ ” x 11” inch page size, with 1” margins on all sides (top, bottom, left and right) and font size not less than 12 points.

e) Your Project Narrative must not exceed 50 pages. NOTE: The following items do not count toward the page limit: all required forms, including SF-424, SF-424A, SF-424B, SF-LLL, Project Abstract Summary, and Budget Narrative (including budget tables).

f) Your total application, including the Project Narrative plus Appendices, must not exceed 110 pages. NOTE: items listed in “e” immediately above do not count toward total page limit.

g) Your Federal funds request including indirect costs does not exceed the maximum indicated in Award Ceiling.

h) Your Federal funds request including indirect costs is not below the minimum indicated in

Award Floor.

D. APPLICATION AND SUBMISSION INFORMATION

1. Address to Request Application Package

You may obtain an application package electronically by accessing Grants.gov at http://www.grants.gov/. You can find it by searching on the CFDA number shown on page 1 of this funding opportunity announcement. If you have problems accessing the application or difficulty downloading, contact:

Office of Grants Management

Phone: 240-453-8822

Email: ogm.oash@hhs.gov

2. Content and Form of Application Submission

i. Letter of Intent

If you plan to apply for this funding opportunity, you should submit a letter of intent as early as possible, but no later than the deadline indicated in the DATES section of this mailto:ogm.oash@hhs.gov announcement. Although you are not required to submit a letter of intent, the information that it contains allows HHS/OASH to estimate the potential review workload and plan the review. A letter of intent is not binding, and is not part of the review of a subsequent application. Your letter of intent should include a descriptive title of your proposed project, the name, street address, email address, and telephone number for the designated authorized representative of your organization, and the FOA number and title of this announcement. Your letter of intent should be sent to the address listed under the AGENCY CONTACTS in section G.

ii. Application Format

Your application must be prepared using the forms and information provided in the online application package.

The Project Narrative, and total application including appendices, must adhere to the page limit indicated in Application Disqualification Criteria listed in Section C.

You must double-space the Project Narrative pages.

You should use an easily readable typeface, such as Times New Roman or Arial. You must use 12-point font. You may single-space tables or use alternate fonts but you must ensure the tables are easy to read. The page limit does not include the Budget Narrative (including budget tables), required forms, assurances, and certifications as described in the Application

Disqualification Criteria. Please do not number pages or include a table of contents. Our grants management system will generate page numbers once your application is complete.

If your application exceeds the specified page limits for the Project Narrative or Project

Narrative plus Appendices when printed on 8.5” X 11” paper by HHS/OASH/OGM, we will not review it. We recommend you print out your application before submitting electronically to ensure that it is within the page limits and is easy to read.

Appendices

Your Appendices should include any specific documents outlined in Section D.2.iii., under the heading “Appendices” in the Application Content section of this funding opportunity announcement. Your documents should be easy to read. You should use the same formatting specified for the Project Narrative. However, documents such as resumes/CVs, organizational charts, tables, or letters of commitment may use formatting common to those documents, but the pages must be easy to read. All of your appendices must be uploaded as a single, consolidated file in the Attachments section of your Grants.gov application.

Project Abstract Summary

You must complete the Project Abstract Summary form provided in the application package. The abstract will be used to provide reviewers with an overview of the application and will form the basis for the application summary in grants management and program summary documents. If your project is funded, HHS may publish information from your form; therefore, do not include sensitive or proprietary information.

Budget Narrative

The Budget Narrative should use the formatting required of the Project Narrative for the explanatory text. Budget tables may be single-spaced but should be laid out in an easily-readable format and within the printable margins of the page.

iii. Application Content

Successful applications will contain the following information:

Project Narrative

The Project Narrative is the most important part of the application, since it will be used as the primary basis to determine whether or not your project meets the minimum requirements for an award under this announcement. The Project Narrative should provide a clear and concise description of your project. HHS/OASH recommends that your project narrative include the following components:

Understanding of the Project’s Context and Objectives

Technical Approach

Project Management and Organizational Capacity

Evaluation Plan

Understanding of the project’s context and objectives: This section should demonstrate a thorough understanding of the purpose, scope and activities of the project. In particular, the approvable application will demonstrate knowledge and understanding in the following areas:

The mission and organization of the Title X program;

The role of training and technical assistance in the Title X program at a national level, and

OPA’s interest in and objectives for this project;

How the project plan will adequately provide for the following requirements set out in the

Title X training regulations at 42 CFR § 59.205(a)(1-3):

o An assurance that no portion of the Federal funds will be used to train personnel for programs where abortion is a method of family planning.

o An assurance that no portion of the Federal funds will be used to provide professional training to any student as part of his education in pursuit of an academic degree.

o An assurance that no project personnel or trainees shall on the grounds of sex, religion or creed will be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under the project.

Technical Approach: This section should describe how the applicant would approach the development and implementation of clinical training and technical assistance for Title X service grantees, and will be used to assess the applicant’s overall level of expertise in the development and delivery of family planning clinical training and technical assistance. An approvable application will include (i) a methodology to assess the particular training (e.g., skills, attitudes, or knowledge) that prospective trainees in the area to be served need to improve their delivery of family planning services; (ii) a methodology to define the objectives of the training program in light of the particular needs of trainees, (iii) a methodology for development of the training curriculum and any attendant training materials and resources, (iv) a method for implementation of the needed training, and (v) provision of a method and criteria by which trainees will be selected. The successful applicant will describe their overall approach to addressing all four of the major elements listed and described within the Program Description of this funding announcement (Clinical Skills Development; Clinical Protocol Development;

Clinical Skill Assessment; National Clinical Training Meeting), and will:

1. Clearly identify the human performance improvement and/or instructional design frameworks and learning theories that will be used to guide the overall development of the clinical training and technical assistance. The approvable application will also make explicit how the framework(s) and learning theories are applied at various points in the process of providing clinical training and technical assistance;

2. Propose the competencies (e.g., knowledge, skills) needed by staff at the grantee, sub-recipient and service site level to successfully provide high quality Title X family planning clinical services. In this context, “competencies” refer to the knowledge and skills an individual needs to perform specific job tasks;

3. Propose learning objectives to help the Title X service grantees successfully build the needed competencies (as defined above in element 2) in their service site networks. The learning objectives should describe specifically what the learner should be able to do after the instruction, and be specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-oriented (SMART); and

4. Describe potential delivery modalities that can be used to provide clinical training and technical assistance to Title X service grantees to ensure relevant staff possess, build, and maintain the needed competencies. The successful applicant will be able to describe how a tiered level of training and technical assistance would be used in this project, including:

a. A universal level of training, e.g., prepackaged e-learning courses or webinars that are applicable to all service grantees and the entire Title X network, and can be accessed by service grantees (or subrecipients and/or service sites) and used with only minor modifications;

b. A selected level of training and/or technical assistance for a sub-set of service grantees (or subrecipients and/or service sites) that have a particular interest or need for assistance, e.g., creation of learning collaboratives comprised of several grantees with shared learning objectives; and

c. An individualized level of technical assistance for individual service grantees (or subrecipients and/or service sites) that require one-on-one coaching to address specific challenges/barriers to optimal clinical performance.

The description of the training and technical assistance modalities should note the extent to which there is scientific evidence that the selected modalities change any of the following outcomes: Trainee knowledge, skills and attitudes; trainee practice/behavior;

and/or client outcomes. Delivery modalities that do not rely exclusively upon in-person meetings are encouraged, such as e-learning or other forms of distance education. The project narrative should also include citations from relevant research, such as from the fields of training, implementation science, and improvement science to document that the proposed modalities are evidence-based.

Project Management and Organizational Capacity: This section should document how the applicant organization has previously achieved successful and concrete outcomes in developing, delivering and evaluating training and technical assistance in family planning and reproductive health care. The organizational capability statement should also describe how the applicant agency is organized, the nature and scope of its work, and the capabilities it possesses. The application should include two organizational charts: (1) an organizational chart of the larger organization within which the project is hosted, which specifies where the project resides; and (2) an organizational chart for the project itself.

The application should also include a description of project personnel, including the extent to which staff possess high levels of expertise at the national level in the development and delivery of training and technical assistance in areas relevant to family planning and/or reproductive health services in a large programmatic context. Curriculum vitae or biographical sketches for key project personnel should be included.

The application should include a clear delineation of the roles and responsibilities of project staff and sub-recipients and any participating partner organizations, and how they will contribute to achieving the project’s objectives and outcomes. It should specify who would have day-to-day responsibility for key tasks such as: leadership of project; monitoring the project’s on-going progress; oversight and management of any subrecipient or partner organizations; preparation of reports; and communications with OPA.

The application should describe the approach that will be used to monitor and track progress on the project’s tasks and objectives. HHS/OASH expects that, throughout the project period, the Project Director will have involvement in, and substantial knowledge about, all aspects of the project.

Evaluation: This section of the project narrative should clearly identify the measurable outcome(s) that will result from the clinical training center’s activities. A

“measurable outcome” is an observable end-result that describes how a particular intervention benefits program participants. It demonstrates the “impact” of the intervention.

For example, the outcome may be at the level of reaction (How well did the learners like the learning process?), learning (the extent to which the learners gain knowledge and skills), behavior (What changes in job performance resulted from the learning process?) or results

(What are the tangible results of the learning process in terms of reduced cost, improved quality, increased production, efficiency, etc.?)

This section should also describe the methods that will be used to evaluate whether or not the proposed intervention achieves its measurable outcome(s) and assess and evaluate the impact of the training center’s activities. The project narrative should describe the quantitative and qualitative tools and techniques that will be employed to measure the outcome(s), and how the “lessons learned” will be identified and documented.

Budget Narrative

You must complete the required budget forms and submit a budget narrative with detailed justification as part of your application. You must enter the project budget on the Budget

Information Non-construction Programs standard form (SF 424A) according to the directions provided with this standard form. The budget narrative consists of a detailed line-item budget that includes calculations for all costs and activities by "object class categories" identified on the

SF-424A and justification of the costs.

Project budget calculations must include estimation methods, quantities, unit costs, and other similar quantitative detail sufficient to verify the calculations. If matching or cost sharing is required, you must include a detailed listing of any funding sources identified in box 18 of the

SF-424 (Application for Federal Assistance).

Please be sure to carefully review section D.6 Funding Restrictions for specific information regarding allowable, unallowable, and restricted costs.

You must provide an object class category budget using Section B, box 6 of the SF 424A for the first year of the proposed project. Provide a budget justification, which includes explanatory text and line-item detail, for the first year of the proposed project. The budget narrative should describe how the categorical costs are derived. Discuss the necessity, reasonableness, and allocation of the proposed costs.

For subsequent budget years, provide a summary narrative and line item budget. For categories or items that differ significantly from the first budget year, provide a detailed justification explaining these changes. Note, do not include costs beyond the first budget year in the object class budget in box 6 of the SF- 424A or box 18 of the SF-424; the amounts entered in these sections should only reflect the first budget year.

Your budget narrative should justify the overall cost of the project as well as the proposed cost per activity, service delivered, and/or product. For example, the budget narrative should define the amount of work you have planned and expect to perform, what it will cost, and an explanation of how the result is cost effective. For example, if you are proposing to provide services to clients, you should describe how many clients are you expecting to serve, the unit cost of serving each client, and how this is cost effective.

Use the following guidelines for preparing the detailed object class budget required by box 6 of the SF-424A. The object class budget organizes your proposed costs into a set of defined categories outlined below. Both federal and non-federal resources (when required) must be detailed and justified in the budget narrative. "Federal resources" refers only to the

HHS/OASH funds for which you are applying. "Non-federal resources" are all other non-

HHS/OASH federal and non-federal resources. We recommend you present budget amounts and computations in a columnar format: first column, object class categories; second column, federal funds requested; third column, non-federal resources; and last column, total budget.

Sample Budget Table

Object Class Federal Funds

Requested

Non-federal

Resources

Total Budget

Personnel $100,000 $25,000 $125,000

Note, subrecipient/contract and consultant detailed costs should all be included in those specific line items, not in the overall project object class line items, i.e., subrecipient travel should be included in the Contractual line item not in Travel.

Object Class Descriptions and Required Justifications

Personnel Description: Costs of staff salaries and wages, excluding benefits.

Personnel Justification: Clearly identify the project director or principal investigator, if known at the time of application. Provide a separate table for personnel costs detailing for each proposed staff person: the title; full name (if known at time of application), time commitment to the project as a percentage or full-time equivalent: annual salary and/or annual wage rate;

federally funded award salary; non-federal award salary, if applicable; and total salary. No salary rate may exceed the statutory limitation in effect at the time you submit your application

(see D.6 Funding Restrictions, Salary Limitation for details). Do not include the costs of consultants, personnel costs of delegate agencies, or of specific project(s) and/or businesses to be financed by the applicant. Contractors and consultants should not be placed under this category.

Sample Personnel Table

Position Title and Full Name

Percent Time Annual Salary Federally-funded Salary

Non-federal

Salary

Total

Project

Salary

Project

Dire…