PA-FPT-26-002 ITC-NOFO.pdf

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

Office of Population Affairs

Notice of Funding Opportunity Infertility Training Center

Opportunity Number

PA-FPT-26-002

Application Due Date July 13, 2026 at 6:00 PM Eastern

Technical Assistance Webinar Date June 22, 2026

Table of Contents

SUMMARY

A. ELIGIBILITY INFORMATION

1. Eligible Applicants

B. REQUIRED ALIGNMENT WITH OASH MISSION AND AGENCY PRIORITIES

C. PROGRAM DESCRIPTION

1. Purpose of this Opportunity

2. Federal Involvement in the Project

3. Eligibility criteria for project participants

D. AWARD INFORMATION

E. APPLICATION FORMAT AND CONTENTS

1.Format of the Application

2. Content

F. SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS AND DATES

1. Obtaining an Application Package

2. Required Registrations

3. Submission Instructions

4. Other Submission Requirements

G. APPLICATION REVIEW INFORMATION

1. Responsiveness Review

2. Merit Review Criteria

3. Merit Review and Selection Process

4. Review of Risk Posed by Applicant

H. AWARD NOTICES

I. AWARD REQUIREMENTS AND ADMINISTRATION

1. Administrative and National Policy Requirements

2. Program Specific Terms and Conditions

3. Award Closeout

4. Lobbying Prohibitions

5. Non-Discrimination Requirements

6. Smoke- and Tobacco-free Workplace

7. Acknowledgement of Funding

8. HHS Rights to Materials and Data

9. Trafficking in Persons

10. Efficient Spending

11. Whistleblower Protection

12. Health Information Technology (IT) Interoperability

13. Certain telecommunications and video surveillance services or equipment

14. Human Subjects Protection

15. Research Integrity

16. Reporting

J. CONTACTS

K. OTHER INFORMATION

1. Application Checklist

2. Acronyms

3. Glossary

4. Object Class Descriptions and Required Justifications

5. Considerations in Recipient Plans for Oversight of Federal Funds

6. Financial Assistance General Certifications and Representations

7. Protections for Healthcare Entities under Weldon and Other Conscience Protection Statutes

BASIC INFORMATION

Opportunity Title Infertility Training Center

Program Office Office of Population Affairs Application Submission and Format

Electronic application submitted via Grants.gov ONLY. Opportunity Number

PA-FPT-26-002

Award Type CA (Cooperative Agreement)

Application Deadline 7/13/2026 06:00 PM Eastern

Announcement Type Initial

Technical Assistance Webinar Date 6/22/2026

Assistance Listing

93.260 (Family Planning Personnel Training)

Technical Assistance Webinar Details visit the OPA website at https://opa.hhs.gov/grant-programs/funding-opportunities for details

Eligible Applicants (see Section A.1 for full details) Executive Order 12372 does apply to this NOFO (see section F.3.D)

Estimated Total Funding Available $4,000,000

Estimated Period of Performance (months) 24 months

• 12-month first budget period

• 12-month second budget period

• Optional competitive third year

Estimated Number of Awards

Anticipated Award Date 9/30/2026

Anticipated Award Funding Range Up to $4,000,000

Anticipated Project Start Date 9/30/2026

QUESTIONS?

Additional contact information in Section J https://opa.hhs.gov/grant-programs/funding-opportunities https://opa.hhs.gov/grant-programs/funding-opportunities

SUMMARY

The Office of Population Affairs (OPA) announces the availability of funds for Fiscal Year (FY) 2026 under the authority of 42 U.S.C. § 300a–1 (Section 1003 of the Public Health Service Act).

OPA seeks applications to establish and operate an Infertility Training Center to support Title X-funded organizations in expanding and enhancing root cause infertility diagnostic treatments and referrals available to patients at Title X-funded clinics. OPA intends to make available up to approximately $4,000,000 for one grant award for a period of up to two (2) years with an optional competitive third year. The actual amount available will not be determined until enactment of the FY2027 federal budget.

The Infertility Training Center will be expected to:

1. Develop and implement a training and technical assistance plan to assist Title X-funded organizations, providers, and patients with:

a. Education on the root causes of female and male-factor infertility and the broad range of holistic infertility treatments and referrals available to patients at Title X-funded clinics.

b. Promoting access to robust body literacy education and fertility awareness-based methods (FABMs) to help address root causes and prevention of infertility, such as endometriosis, polyendocrine metabolic ovarian syndrome (PMOS), thyroid conditions, other chronic health conditions, and male-factor infertility.

c. Expansion of root cause infertility testing and treatment options available within Title X-funded clinics to support and maximize personalized infertility services and fertility restoration.

d. Developing and enhancing referrals relationships between Title X-funded clinics and root cause infertility specialists, including fertility awareness-based methods (FABMs) trained professionals and minimally invasive surgeons to enable and maximize patients to access personalized and comprehensive patient-centered care for fertility restoration.

2. Raise awareness and increase use of the Infertility Training Center and the training and technical assistance available among Title X-funded organizations, medical professionals, and patients.

3. Implement gold standard science, including monitoring, evaluating, and continuously improving the quality and effectiveness of the training and technical assistance provided to Title X-funded organizations to ensure project goals are being met.

Applicants may be a public or nonprofit private entity. 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 https://opa.hhs.gov/grant-programs/title-x-service-grants/title-x-statutes-regulations-and-legislative-mandates.

https://opa.hhs.gov/grant-programs/title-x-service-grants/title-x-statutes-regulations-and-legislative-mandates https://opa.hhs.gov/grant-programs/title-x-service-grants/title-x-statutes-regulations-and-legislative-mandates

The Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health (OASH) Grants and Acquisitions Management Division (GAM) will administer this competition.

We encourage you to review all program requirements, eligibility information, application format and submission instructions, OASH Priorities (available online at https://health.gov/priorities), and other content of this notice to ensure your application complies with all requirements.

A. ELIGIBILITY INFORMATION

1. Eligible Applicants Any public or private nonprofit entity is eligible to apply.

You must meet all of the eligibility requirements in order for us to review your application.

a. Eligible Entities

Additional examples of eligible organizations include:

State governments County governments City or township governments Special district governments Independent school districts Public and State controlled institutions of higher education Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized) Public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities Native American tribal organizations (other than Federally recognized tribal governments) Nonprofits having a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education Nonprofits without 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education

b. PD/PI Eligibility

There is no restriction on an individual’s eligibility to be Project Director (PD)/Principal Investigator (PI) on an application. However, we will not make an award with a PD/PI who has an active government-wide exclusion, suspension, or debarment recorded in SAM.gov.

We expect that throughout the period of performance the PD/PI will be involved in, and have substantial knowledge about, all aspects of the project. Although your organization may recognize co-PD/PIs on team-managed projects, we recognize only a single PD/PI who will be responsible for the programmatic aspects of the project.

c. Other Considerations Submitting Multiple Applications

You may submit more than one application, but each application must be for a distinctly different project.

https://health.gov/priorities

If you submit multiple applications for the same project, we will accept only the last application submitted a Grants.gov timestamp that is before the due date and time. We will disqualify all other versions of the application. See Section G.1.b for all disqualification factors.

Submitting an Application as a Group or Consortium

For any given project, we will only make an award to a single eligible entity. More than one entity may choose to work together on a project under this opportunity, but only one entity may submit the application. If awarded, that entity will be the award recipient and will be responsible for conducting the project.

The other entities may participate in the project, if awarded, and would be responsible to the recipient for their respective roles, typically as subrecipients.

Groups may form a consortium, partnership, or other legally recognized entity for the purpose of applying for this opportunity and carrying out any awarded project. The resulting entity must exist and be legally recognized when it applies and must have an active registration in SAM.gov.

We will conduct a risk assessment on the applying entity (Section G.4) prior to making any award.

Eligibility Documentation

We do not require you to submit documentation of your eligibility (e.g., proof of 501(c)(3) status as determined by the Internal Revenue Service or an authorizing tribal resolution) when you submit your application. It is important that your organization is correctly classified in your SAM registration (Section F.2.a).

During our review of your application, we might request additional documentation to support your eligibility. This request means only that your application is under review and not that you will receive an award.

More specific information on the type of documentation that we might request specific to this opportunity appears in Section F.4.b.

Application Disqualification

We will disqualify applications that fail to meet the eligibility, responsiveness, formatting, and submission requirements (Sections G.1.b) prior to conducting merit review. Disqualified applications will not undergo further review.

We will notify disqualified applicants at the end of the competition when we announce the award recipients.

2. Application Responsiveness Criteria

We will review your application to determine whether it meets the responsiveness criteria below.

If your application does not meet the responsiveness criteria, we will disqualify it from the competition; we will not review it beyond the initial screening.

The responsiveness criteria are as follows:

• The grant applicant clearly includes the required Title X Assurances (42 CFR part 59, subpart C (59.205) as an Appendix in their application. Includes assurance that (1) No portion of the Federal funds will be used to train personnel for programs where abortion is a method of family planning; (2) No portion of the Federal funds will be used to provide professional training to any student as part of his/her education in pursuit of an academic degree; and (3) No project personnel or trainees shall on the grounds of race, color, national origin, religion, sex, disability, age, or another protected characteristic be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under the project.

3. Cost Sharing or Matching

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

B. REQUIRED ALIGNMENT WITH OASH MISSION AND

AGENCY PRIORITIES

Consistent with OASH’s mission, in carrying out any project that is funded under this NOFO, recipients must align program design and activities with agency priorities where consistent with program authority and the scope of the award (Priorities of the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health,” available online at: https://health.gov/priorities), and when authorized by law according to the Title X statute, regulations, legislative mandates, and additional program guidance. Funded activities must advance and support OASH’s mission to improve the health and well-being of Americans.

In addition, the recipient is required to administer any project that is awarded under this NOFO in accordance with the following objectives in the Title X program that are authorized to advance them:

1. Promote body literacy education for making informed and healthy decisions that advance optimal health

2. Advance reproductive goals counseling

The recipients must demonstrate ongoing compliance with these priorities, in all programs that are authorized to advance them, through program design, implementation, reporting, and evaluation. Failure to meaningfully align funded activities with the applicable requirements may result in corrective action, additional reporting requirements, or other actions consistent with federal grant regulations found at 2 C.F.R. Part 200 and the terms and conditions of this award (including termination pursuant to 2 C.F.R. 200.340(a)(4) for no longer effectuating program goals or agency priorities).

C. PROGRAM DESCRIPTION

Office of Population Affairs (OPA) anticipates making an award for Fiscal Year (FY) 2026 under the authority of 42 U.S.C. § 300a–1 (Section 1003 of the Public Health Service Act)

OPA administers the Title X program, which was established in 1970 when Congress enacted Title X of the Public Health Service Act. The Title X program is implemented through competitively awarded grants to a diverse network of public and private nonprofit health and https://health.gov/priorities community-based clinics. Title X services are guided by the requirements of the Title X statute, regulations, and legislative mandates.

Under this funding opportunity (PA-FPT-26-001), the cooperative agreement award will be given to one organization to serve as the Infertility Training Center to provide training and technical assistance to support Title X-funded organizations in: 1) educating on the root causes of infertility and the broad range of holistic infertility treatments and referrals available; 2) promoting access to robust body literacy education and fertility awareness-based methods to address root causes of infertility; 3) expanding and enhancing the root cause infertility diagnostic treatments and referrals available to patients at Title X-funded clinics; and 4) developing and enhancing referrals between Title X-funded clinics and root case infertility specialists.

1. Purpose of this Opportunity

a. Background

The goal of this funding opportunity is to establish and operate an Infertility Training Center to support Title X-funded organizations in expanding and enhancing the root cause infertility treatments and referrals available to patients at Title X-funded clinics. Although the training and technical assistance developed by the Infertility Training Center are developed for Title X-funded organizations, the materials may also be useful to others who, though not funded by Title X, aim to deliver high quality infertility services.

The primary audience for this training center is Title X-funded organizations, providers, and patients. Many Title X-funded organizations rely on sub-recipients and partners to deliver services. Therefore, OPA expects the funded training center to provide training and technical assistance at the grant recipient, sub-recipient, and service site levels to support organization efforts and service delivery networks. More information about the Title X service delivery project is available on the OPA website at https://opa.hhs.gov/.

Infertility

Infertility is a symptom of one or more underlying condition(s) that makes it difficult or impossible to successfully conceive and carry a child to term. Infertility is diagnosed after 12 months of intercourse without the use of a chemical, barrier, or other contraceptive method, where conception should otherwise be possible, or after 6 months of targeted intercourse without the use of a chemical, barrier, or other contraceptive method, where conception should otherwise be possible.

In the United States, 1 in 5 (19%) of married women aged 15 to 49 with no prior births are unable to conceive after 1 year of trying. About 1 in 4 (26%) of women in this group have difficulty getting pregnant or carrying a pregnancy to term.1 In addition to primary infertility, couples may also experience secondary infertility or recurrent pregnancy loss (RPL).

Infertility may be caused by female factors, male factors, or a combination of female and male factors.

1 CDC, Infertility: Frequently Asked Questions | Reproductive Health | CDC https://opa.hhs.gov/ https://www.cdc.gov/reproductive-health/infertility-faq/index.html

Causes of female infertility may include heavy menstrual bleeding (menorrhagia), endometriosis, polyendocrine metabolic ovarian syndrome (PMOS), disruption of ovarian function, fallopian tube obstruction or damage, pelvic adhesions, blood clotting disorders, thyroids disorders, hormone imbalances, insulin resistance, and/or abnormalities of the uterus. Causes of male infertility may include low sperm count (oligospermia), thyroid disorders, insulin resistance, disruption of testicular or ejaculatory function, hormonal disorders, and/or genetic disorders.

Factors associated with decreased female and male fertility include age; smoking; excessive alcohol use; certain medications; vitamin and nutritional deficiencies; being overweight, obese, or low body weight; extreme weight gain or loss; and excessive physical or emotional stress.

Additional factors associated with decreased male fertility specifically include: a history of trauma to the testes; exposure to testosterone, radiation, certain medicines, or certain environmental toxins; and frequent exposure of the testes to high temperatures.2 STIs can also contribute to infertility by causing pelvic inflammatory disease (PID), reduced sperm quality and motility, and other inflammatory conditions that may cause difficulty with conception or carrying to term.

Difficulty getting pregnant can be unexpected and very challenging for couples that desire biological children. A broad range of root cause infertility treatment options is available, and services ought to be comprehensive and tailored to the needs of each couple. One important early step is helping people understand fertility, their body, and conditions that may contribute to infertility. Many couples who experience the struggles of infertility ultimately have children with root cause treatment and fertility planning training.3

Overview of the Title X Program

Title X clinics provide services to clients of both sexes and all ages, including adolescent clients, with priority given to people from low-income families. Title X services are voluntary, and provided regardless of one’s ability to pay or a client's religion, race, color, national origin, disability, age, sex, number of pregnancies, or marital status.

The majority of the clients served by Title X providers are low-income, female, and under 30 years old. In order to ensure that all prospective low-income clients are able to access services, there is no charge for services to people with family incomes at or below 100% of the most recent federal poverty level (FPL) guidelines, and services are discounted on a sliding scale for people with family incomes between 101-250% of the FPL. In 2023, 60% of clients had family incomes at or below 100% FPL, while 83% had family incomes below 250% of the FPL.

Detailed information about current and past clients served by Title X recipients and the broad range of services provided to clients by Title X recipients is available in the Family Planning Annual Report (FPAR) available on the OPA website at https://opa.hhs.gov/research-evaluation/title-x-services-research/family-planning-annual-report-fpar.

Title X services include a broad range of medically approved services, which includes natural family planning methods, also commonly known as fertility awareness-based methods;

2 CDC, Infertility: Frequently Asked Questions | Reproductive Health | CDC 3 CDC, Infertility: Frequently Asked Questions | Reproductive Health | CDC https://opa.hhs.gov/research-evaluation/title-x-services-research/family-planning-annual-report-fpar https://opa.hhs.gov/research-evaluation/title-x-services-research/family-planning-annual-report-fpar pregnancy testing and counseling; assistance to achieve pregnancy; basic infertility services;

sexually transmitted infection (STI) services; and other preconception health services.

Title X services are delivered by highly trained clinical services providers, including physicians, physician assistants (PAs), nurse practitioners (NPs), certified nurse midwives (CNMs), and registered nurses with an expanded scope of practice who are trained and permitted by state-specific regulations to perform all aspects of the user physical assessments recommended for preventive health and infertility care. Other service providers including registered nurses, public health nurses, licensed vocational or licensed practical nurses, certified nurse assistants, health educators, social workers, and clinic aides also assist in the delivery of Title X services, including patient education and counseling.

Patients Served and Services Provided within Title X clinics in 20234

In 2023, 2.8 million patients received Title X services through 3,853 clinics nationwide. 16% of Title X patients were ages 15-19, 21% were ages 20-24, 19% were ages 25-29, 16% were ages 30-34, 12% ages 35-39, 8% ages 40-44, and 9% over age 44. 85% of patients were female and 15% were male. 60% of patients had incomes below 101% of the FPL and received services for free, 23% had incomes between 101-250% of the FPL and received services on a discounted sliding fee scale, 9% had incomes over 250% of the FPL, and 8% had incomes unknown/not reported and paid full price for services.

Title X grant recipients receive support from Federal Project Officers (PO) and OPA-funded Training and Technical Assistance (TTA) providers. The POs conduct regular, ongoing monitoring calls and review annual progress reports to assess grant recipients’ progress in meeting program expectations. POs also conduct program reviews, a virtual or onsite visit to a grant recipient and their service sites, to ensure recipient compliance, provision of high-quality clinical care, and program integrity. POs work closely with OPA-funded TTA organizations to provide TTA so that grant recipients not only meet program expectations but can deliver the highest quality fertility planning services.

b. Opportunity Details

Priorities for this Opportunity

The Infertility Training Center will be expected to:

1. Develop and implement a training and technical assistance plan to assist Title X-funded organizations, providers, and patients with:

a. Education on the root causes of female and male-factor infertility and the broad range of holistic infertility treatments and referrals available to patients at Title X-funded clinics.

4 OPA, 2023 Family Planning Annual Report (https://opa.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/2025-05/2023-FPAR-National- Summary-Report.pdf) https://opa.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/2025-05/2023-FPAR-National-Summary-Report.pdf https://opa.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/2025-05/2023-FPAR-National-Summary-Report.pdf

b. Promoting access to robust body literacy education and fertility awareness-based methods (FABMs) to address root causes of infertility, such as chronic health conditions, including endometriosis, polyendocrine metabolic ovarian syndrome (PMOS), and thyroid conditions, and male-factor infertility before patients may be aware that they may experience challenges with fertility.

c. Expanding and enhancing root cause infertility testing, treatments, and referrals available within Title X-funded clinics to enable patients to receive as many personalized and comprehensive infertility services needed as possible within the Title X-funded clinic for fertility restoration.

d. Developing and enhancing referrals between Title X-funded clinics and root cause infertility specialists, including fertility awareness-based method trained professionals and minimally invasive surgeons, to ensure patient-centered care.

2. Raise awareness about and increase use of the Infertility Training Center and the training and technical assistance available among Title X-funded organizations, medical professionals, and patients.

3. Monitor, evaluate, and continuously improve the quality and effectiveness of the training and technical assistance provided to Title X-funded organizations to ensure project goals are being met.

Expected Performance Goals and Outcomes for Funded Projects

OPA will fund one applicant that meets the goals of the NOFO and provides objective measurements for success. We expect the Infertility Training Center to meet the following goals:

Goal 1. Develop and implement a training and technical assistance (TTA) plan

The Infertility Training Center must develop and implement a training and technical assistance (TTA) plan to assist Title X funded organizations, providers, and patients with:

a. Education on the root causes of infertility and the range of holistic infertility treatments and referrals available to patients at Title X-funded clinics.

b. Access to robust body literacy education and fertility awareness-based methods to address root causes of infertility, including endometriosis, polyendocrine metabolic ovarian syndrome (PMOS), and thyroid conditions, other chronic health conditions, and male-factor infertility.

c. Expansion of root cause infertility testing and treatment options available within Title X-funded clinics to support and maximize personalized infertility services and fertility restoration

d. Enhancing referrals between Title X-funded clinics and root cause infertility specialists, including fertility awareness-based method (FABM) trained professionals and minimally invasive surgeons, to ensure patient-centered care.

Expected Outcomes:

• Increased patient understanding of the biological and lifestyle-related causes of infertility, especially as it affects their individual situation.

• Improved patient awareness of root-cause infertility treatment options and referrals available at and through Title X-funded clinics.

• Increased Title X provider knowledge in counseling patients on infertility prevention, early identification of risk factors, and referrals as appropriate.

OPA expects the Infertility Training Center to develop and implement a cost-effective, efficient, appropriate, and sustainable TTA plan to guide the provision of TTA throughout the project period. The plan should describe:

• How TTA needs will be identified

• How TTA will be delivered using approaches informed by research, best practices, adult learning, and implementation science

• How TTA will be monitored, evaluated, and improved over time

• How TTA will reflect the target audience, including their roles, responsibilities, service settings, and communities served.

OPA expects the Infertility Training Center to develop an annual TTA plan for each budget year and update the plan throughout the year, as needed. OPA expects the Infertility Training Center to provide TTA for Title X-funded organizations, including their subrecipients and service sites, providers, and patients. TTA is expected to be provided at varying levels of intensity (i.e., universal, selected, and individualized) using diverse modalities (e.g., in-person or online training and follow-up support, training of trainers, individual or group technical assistance, coaching, mentoring, peer-to-peer support, interviews and podcasts, videos, syntheses of available research and best practices, development of resources and tools, and virtual skills-building, etc.). Determining the best modality to use should be based on which modality is most likely to meet the intended outcomes of each TTA activity. The plan should include modalities that do not rely exclusively upon in-person meetings; however, in-person meetings are also allowable as needed and appropriate.

OPA expects the tiered level of TTA to include:

• Universal TTA that is applicable to all organizations/providers/patients (or subrecipients and/or service sites) and can be accessed and utilized by all.

• Selected TTA for a sub-set of organizations/providers/patients (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

• Individualized TTA that requires one-on-one coaching to address specific challenges/barriers.

Possible TAA topics for Title X-funded organizations, providers, and patients to deepen the skill and ability of Title X clinics to expand and enhance root-cause infertility treatments and referrals include, but are not limited to:

• Screening for need and desire for personalized and holistic root-cause fertility treatments and preparing for a healthy pregnancy.

• Strengthening effective patient education approaches focused on root cause fertility supports and treatments.

• Helping patients understand their fertility and assist with fertility planning, especially education on how to employ FABMs to monitor and track relevant biomarkers and the female cycle.

• Updates on advances in digital modalities or FinTech to support and monitor fertility and teaching clinic staff how to support patients in using new digital platforms.

• Supporting behavior change to avoid metabolic, lifestyle, and environmental toxins that impact fertility in women and men.

• Expanding provider, clinical staff or health educator training on all available FABMs.

• Understanding the fertility health landscape to provide referral for advanced and specialized restorative surgery.

• Identifying incentives and barriers for expanding and enhancing root cause infertility services and treatments within Title X clinics.

• Developing communications, marketing, and promotional materials that Title X staff and providers can use to raise awareness with patients about the root cause infertility testing and treatments available within all Title X clinics.

Goal 2. Raise awareness about and increase use of the Infertility Training Center and the training and technical assistance available among Title X-funded organizations, medical professionals, and patients.

The Infertility Training Center should develop and implement a communication strategy to:

• Raise awareness of the TTA resources available through the Training Center among Title X-funded organizations, providers, and patients that results in increased uptake and engagement; and

• Share information with OPA and relevant audiences that provides for an active exchange of knowledge (e.g., expertise, learnings, best practices) that can be applied to create positive impacts on Title X recipients, the public, and other interested parties.

OPA expects the communication strategy to utilize a variety of dissemination strategies and formats to increase utilization of TTA resources. The strategy should also use a tailored approach to ensure Title X grant recipients are able to access TTA tailored to their needs.

The Infertility Training Center should build and maintain a user-friendly online presence that allows Title X grant recipients, OPA, and the public to freely access, easily find, and immediately use the training and technical assistance resources available to them.

The Infertility Training Center should ensure that their TTA content is not duplicative of other OPA-funded organizations. Where topics and content may be similar, we encourage the recipient to collaborate with other OPA-funded organizations for alignment and recognition of each organization’s contribution.

• Engagement of Title X grant recipients with training and technical assistance resources developed by the Infertility Training Center.

• Increased and ongoing engagement by OPA, Title X recipients, and the public with the Infertility Training Center’s communications sharing expertise and best practices.

Goal 3. Monitor, evaluate, and continuously improve the quality and effectiveness of the training and technical assistance provided to Title X-funded organizations to ensure project goals are being met.

Throughout the course of the project, we expect the Infertility Training Center to monitor, evaluate, and continuously improve the 1) quality and effectiveness of TTA provided to Title X grant recipients and 2) the project approach in achieving the goals of the NOFO. The Infertility Training Center should develop and implement an evaluation plan to identify successes and gaps, and to assess if the TTA provided results in:

e. Education on the root causes of infertility and the broad range of holistic infertility treatments and referrals available to patients at Title X-funded clinics.

f. Improved access to robust body literacy education and fertility awareness-based methods to address root causes of infertility, such as chronic health conditions, including endometriosis, polyendocrine metabolic ovarian syndrome (PMOS), and thyroid conditions, and male-factor infertility before patients may be aware that they will experience challenges with fertility.

g. Expanded and enhanced root cause infertility testing, treatments, and referrals available within Title X-funded clinics to enable patients to receive as many personalized and comprehensive infertility services needed as possible within the Title X-funded clinic for fertility restoration.

h. Enhanced referrals between Title X-funded clinics and root cause infertility specialists, including fertility awareness-based methods trained professionals and minimally invasive surgeons, to ensure patient-centered care.

• Adjustments to improve the training center’s TTA based on ongoing monitoring and evaluations.

The evaluation plan should be reviewed annually and updated as needed. We expect the Infertility Training Center to include opportunities in the evaluation plan for Title X grant recipients to regularly provide feedback on TTA they have received. Information collected should be used by the Infertility Training Center to adjust the content, delivery mechanisms, quality, and/or dosage of the TTA to better meet the needs of Title X grant recipients and in alignment with OASH Priorities.

Results of assessments conducted should be shared with OPA and other federal staff, including a senior appointee or senior appointee’s designee, during monitoring calls and semi-annual progress reports. We expect results from these evaluations to feed into an iterative process that informs the TTA plan and personnel needs over the period of performance.

2. Federal Involvement in the Project If you receive an award, we will encourage you to seek the advice and opinion of federal staff when problems arise. However, you would be responsible for making sound programmatic and administrative judgments. The responsibility for operating decisions will be yours and does not shift to HHS, OASH, or Office of Population Affairs.

Under a grant, the program office’s involvement may include routine monitoring and technical assistance such as monthly conference calls, occasional site visits, ongoing review of plans and progress, participation in relevant meetings, provision of training and technical assistance.

A single award will be made in the form of cooperative agreement with the recipient.

Cooperative agreements are a form of assistance that allows for substantial involvement between federal program office and the recipient during the project period. In addition to the usual monitoring and technical assistance provided under the cooperative agreement (e.g., assistance from assigned Federal project officer, frequent monitoring calls, site visits, ongoing review of plans and progress, participation in relevant meetings, provision of training and technical assistance), substantial programmatic involvement from OPA may include:

a. Facilitating communication with OPA-funded Title X grant recipients and other OPA-funded organizations.

b. Keeping the funded training center abreast of important Federal initiatives that could potentially influence the direction or implementation of a given strategy.

c. Translation and dissemination of lessons learned through publications, meetings, and other means.

3. Eligibility criteria for project participants You must not restrict participation in the project on the basis of race, color, national origin, religion, sex, disability, age, or another protected characteristic (See Section I.5).

D. AWARD INFORMATION

OPA intends to award one cooperative agreement to a single awardee under this announcement.

Budget period(s)

We expect to fund awards in 12-month budget periods for a total period of performance up to 24 month(s) with an optional competitive third year. However, we may approve shorter periods of performance. Budget periods may vary from the estimated 12 months because of the timing of award issuance or other administrative factors.

For multi-year projects, recipients must submit a non-competing continuation (NCC) application for each budget period after the first. We anticipate offering a competing continuation for a third year for the purpose of providing funding to support selected recipients as they transition projects to sustainability. We will provide guidance generally 3 months prior to the end of the active budget period. Continuation funding is contingent upon the availability of funds, satisfactory progress of the project, appropriate stewardship of federal funds, and the best interests of the government. Funding for all approved budget periods after the first is generally the same as the initial award amount and may be subject to any offset with funds unused in a previous budget period.

E. APPLICATION FORMAT AND CONTENTS

1.Format of the Application You must prepare your application using the forms and information described in this NOFO.

The official online application package on Grants.gov contains all necessary forms and guidance for preparing an application. This package includes but is not limited to:

• Full Text of the NOFO

• Standard forms (required) and their instructions o SF-424 Application for Federal Assistance o SF-424A Budget Information for Non-Construction Programs o SF-LLL Disclosure of Lobbying Activities o Project Abstract Summary

• Sample templates, if available.

In addition to the four standard forms in the application package, your application will consist of 3 sections of materials you prepare:

1. Project Narrative

2. Appendices to the Project Narrative

3. Budget Package

We strongly encourage you to read all instructions for the application format and content to avoid disqualification of your application. An application checklist is available in Section K.1.

a. Project Narrative – Formatting Following the formatting instructions below will help ensure that your application is readable for review process. Acceptable electronic file formats are in Section F.3.a.

Names of Individuals

We encourage you to use individuals’ full names (first, middle, last) on the standard forms and any other documents such as résumés/curricula vitae/biographical sketches to distinguish them for verification in the SAM exclusion records. Delays may result in award processing if full names are not provided.

You should avoid submitting personally identifiable information such as personal contact information (e.g., home address and telephone number) on résumés/curricula vitae/biographical sketches. Do not submit social security numbers.

If you receive an award, only one Project Director/Principal Investigator (PD/PI) will be named on the award documents. (Section A.1.b) Avoid using a placeholder or honorary

PD/PI. If you have not hired an individual to be the PD/PI, you should name an interim PD/PI, and your application should clearly identify that person as such.

We typically expect the PD/PI to be named on the SF-424 in box 8.f. Avoid naming grant writers in box 8.f unless they have the expertise to respond to technical questions about the proposed project in a timely manner.

Identify other personnel who are essential or key to the execution of the proposed project clearly in your project narrative.

If you receive an award, a request for a change in PD/PI or key personnel under any circumstance requires prior approval of the grants management officer before becoming effective. We may disallow any costs incurred as a result of that change prior to our approval. See Section I.1.c.

Page Formatting

If you submit documents that do not conform to the following instructions, GAM will disqualify your application during the review process (Section G.1.b).

Use an easily readable typeface, such as Times New Roman or Arial.

Use a 12-point font.

Use an 8.5” X 11” page size. Any other size page (e.g., A4, legal) will disqualify your application.

You must double-space the Project Narrative pages or we will disqualify your application. You may single-space tables or use alternate fonts, but you must ensure the tables are easy to read.

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

You must submit your application in the English language and in terms of U.S. dollars ((2 C.F.R. § 200.111(a)).

Page Limits

Your project narrative and appendices must adhere to these page limits.

The page limits do not include the budget package (Section E.2.c)

The page limits do not include the required forms (SF-424, SF-424A, SF-LLL, and the Project Abstract Summary)

If your application exceeds the specified page limits when printed on 8.5” X 11” page, we will not review your application further.

We encourage you to print out your application before submitting it to ensure that it is within the page limits and is easy to read. Do not reduce pages to fit multiple pages on a single sheet to avoid exceeding the page limitation.

Do not hyperlink to documents or sites outside of your application to augment your application. Reviewers will not be permitted to follow links to external content during their assessment of your application. The one exception to this is a link to your internal controls as part of your budget package (Section E.2.c.3).

Page Limit

Project Narrative _____40____

Project Narrative plus Appendices ____70_____

Labeling Proprietary Information

Proprietary information includes patentable ideas, trade secrets, privileged or confidential commercial or financial information, the disclosure of which may harm the applicant.

You should include proprietary information in your application only to the extent that it is essential to the reviewers’ understanding of the project. Proprietary information should not appear in your Project Abstract Summary.

If your application contains proprietary information, you should clearly label the top of the first page of the project narrative. For example, Contains proprietary or confidential information that [Your Organization Name] requests not be released to persons outside the government, except for purposes of review and evaluation.

Awarded applications are subject to release under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) with redactions as the FOIA statute permits.

b. Appendices to the Project Narrative – Formatting Your appendices should include any specific items outlined in Section E.2.b. Your documents should be easy to read.

You should use the same formatting specified for the Project Narrative. However, documents such as résumés/curricula vitae/biographical sketches, organizational charts, tables, Memoranda of Agreement (MOAs) or Letters of Commitment (LOCs) may have formatting common to those documents, so long as the pages are easy to read. For example, resumes, MOAs and LOCs may be single-spaced.

You must upload all of your appendices as a single, consolidated file in the Attachments section of your Grants.gov application. You must use an acceptable file format (Section F.3.a). We strongly encourage you to convert your file(s) to PDF format before uploading and review them to ensure accurate conversion.

Your Project Narrative plus the Appendices may not exceed the total number of pages for the application (Section E.1.a).

c. Budget Package - Formatting 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 an 8.5” x 11” page. You must use an acceptable file format (Section F.3.a). We do not accept Excel or other similar spreadsheet formats.

The application page limit does not include the SF-424A or the budget narrative (including budget tables).

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.

Object Class Federal Funds Requested

Non-Federal Resources Total Budget

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

2. Content

a. Project Narrative - Content The Project Narrative is the most important part of your application. We will use it as the primary basis to determine whether your project merits an award. The project narrative should provide a clear and concise description of your project. We recommend that your project narrative include the following components with the requested information. Labeling the sections accordingly will help the reviewers find information quickly.

Successful applications will contain the following:

Organizational Capacity and Expertise in Providing TTA

• Describe your organization’s relevant history and experience providing TTA, including the number of organizations you have provided TTA to at any one time, the approaches you have used to ensure TTA meets the need of the end user(s), and the impact of the

TTA.

• Describe your organization’s experience with managing the demands of TTA to multiple stakeholders at any one time and at varying levels of experience and expertise.. Describe the strategy used to manage such complexity.

• Describe your organizational capacity and expertise designing and providing effective TTA, in various modalities, at various levels of intensity (universal, selected, individualized), at different organizational levels of a project (grantee, subrecipient, service site), and to individuals with varying levels of expertise (novice to expert).

• Describe your proposed staffing plan in support of this application, including a description of the project team, the roles and responsibilities of all members of the project team, and how they will work together to achieve the project’s objectives and outcomes.

This should include a description of the quality and sufficiency of the proposed staffing of the project. Include the expertise and experience of proposed staff (including sub-recipients). Specifically, address the following aspects of proposed staffing:

o For existing staff, provide position descriptions, qualifications for performing the role, and FTE of the position. Include an abbreviated résumé (as an appendix) for all staff.

o For staff to be hired, provide position descriptions and desired qualifications for each position. Include a timeline for when the position will be staffed, FTE of the position(s), and the methods to be used for recruiting qualified applicants.

• Describe the organization’s existing infrastructure and its ability to make rapid and effective use of this funding, as well as to support and manage a project of this size and scope within the existing infrastructure.

Technical Approach

• Describe your approach to fulfill the services delivery needs of the area to be served.

i. Describe your approach for assessing TTA needs of Title X-funded organizations, providers, and patients related to the expectations described on pages 9-12 of this NOFO. Describe the data and processes that will be used to identify TTA needs and priorities. Describe how this information will be used to develop and implement a TTA plan that will increase knowledge and skills, transfer of skills to job performance, and improve the delivery of services as related to (1) education on the root causes of infertility and the broad range of holistic infertility treatments and referrals available to patients at Title X-funded clinics; (2) promoting access to robust body literacy education and fertility awareness-based methods to address root causes of infertility, such as chronic health conditions, including endometriosis, polyendocrine metabolic ovarian syndrome (PMOS), and thyroid conditions, and male-factor infertility well before patients may be aware that they will experience challenges with fertility; (3) expanding and enhancing root cause infertility testing, treatments, and referrals available within Title X-funded clinics to enable patients to receive as many personalized and comprehensive infertility services needed as possible within the Title X-funded clinic for fertility restoration; (4) enhancing referrals between Title X-funded clinics and root cause infertility specialists, including fertility awareness-based method trained professionals and minimally invasive surgeons, to ensure patient-centered care.

• Describe your approach for ensuring the TTA plan is responsive to the ways in which Title X grant recipients best learn. Include the various modalities and levels of intensity of TTA (universal, selected, and individualized) that will be utilized. Demonstrate how you will ensure that the proposed approach for designing a TTA activity includes a clear and logical connection between the identification of the TTA need to the definition of TTA activity objectives, training modality, and development of resources.

• Describe your process for designing and implementing a TTA…