PKG00258253-instructions.pdf

DEPARTMENT OF

HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

OFFICE OF THE

ASSISTANT SECRETARY FOR HEALTH

Office of Population Affairs

Funding Opportunity: Tier 2 Innovation and Impact Network Grants:

Achieving Optimal Health and Preventing Teen Pregnancy in Key Priority

Areas

Opportunity Number: PA-TP2-20-002

Application Due Date:

Friday, April 17, 2020 6:00 PM Eastern

OVERVIEW

FEDERAL AGENCY NAME

Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health / Office of Population Affairs

FUNDING OPPORTUNITY TITLE

Tier 2 Innovation and Impact Network Grants: Achieving Optimal Health and Preventing

Teen Pregnancy in Key Priority Areas

ACTION

Notice

ANNOUNCEMENT TYPE

Competitive Cooperative Agreement

FUNDING OPPORTUNITY NUMBER

PA-TP1-20-002

CFDA NUMBER AND PROGRAM:

93.297 Teen Pregnancy Prevention

DATES

Application Deadline: Friday, April 17, 2020 by 6:00 PM Eastern.

Technical Assistance: Webinar Thursday, February 20 at 2:30 PM ET

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The Office of Population Affairs announces the availability of funds for Fiscal Year (FY)

2020 cooperative agreement awards under the authority of Division A, Title II of the Further

Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2020 (Public Law No. 116-94).

This notice solicits applications for projects that establish, coordinate, and support a multidisciplinary network of partners to develop, refine, and test innovative interventions and to disseminate those demonstrated to be effective in improving optimal health and preventing teen pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections (STI).

The FY2020 Teen Pregnancy Prevention (TPP) Tier 2 Innovation and Impact Network

Grants: Achieving Optimal Health and Preventing Teen Pregnancy in Key Priority Areas (TPP20

Innovation Networks) will fund nine to fifteen grants between $1 million to $2 million each annually over three years, to improve optimal health, prevent teen pregnancy, and address sexually transmitted infections/diseases (STI) within key priority areas. Applicants will select one priority area, and will establish, fund, coordinate, and support a multidisciplinary network of partners to develop and test innovative interventions in the selected priority area and disseminate those interventions that demonstrate effectiveness. Priority areas represent critical systems, populations, and/or program components for which significant and strategic investment in innovation and testing is necessary to make an impact on optimal adolescent health and, particularly, teen pregnancy and STI rate disparities. The priority areas, as discussed below, include (1) juvenile justice; (2) foster care/child welfare; (3) caregivers; (4) expectant and parenting youth; (5) youth with disabilities; (6) youth access to and experience with sexual health care; and (7) youth engagement. Within the selected priority area, awardees and their network will explore, develop, test, refine, and evaluate many types of innovative interventions to improve optimal health, prevent teen pregnancy, and address sexually transmitted infections/diseases; they will widely disseminate throughout the project period interventions that are effective. Grantees will also discover new interventions and partners throughout the duration of the project. By targeting limited resources to these priority areas, grantees can make an impact on promoting optimal health, preventing teen pregnancy, and reducing STI disparities. For purposes of this funding opportunity announcement, “project” will refer to all activities described in the grant application and funded by the grant, and “intervention” will refer to innovative programs, models, components, products, approaches, and strategies within the priority area.

This funding announcement (TPP20 Tier 2 Innovation Networks) makes funding available to an anticipated 9-15 grantees to establish, fund, support, and coordinate a network of partners in key priority areas to explore, develop, test, refine, evaluate, and disseminate innovate interventions and make measurable impacts in key priority areas. By contrast, a TPP program announced in a different funding opportunity, the TPP20 Tier 1 Replication and Scaling Grants FOA, makes funds available to replicate effective programs in communities with the greatest needs and disparities to promote optimal health among adolescents and prevent teen pregnancy and STIs. And a different

Tier 2 TPP program, the FY2020 Teen Pregnancy Prevention (TPP) Tier 2, Phase II Rigorous

Evaluation of Promising Interventions (PA-TP2-20-001) FOA, makes funding available for summative evaluations of interventions with demonstrated readiness.

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 that its application complies with all requirements and instructions.

FUNDING OPPORTUNITY DETAILS

A. DATES

1. Application Deadline

Your application is due Friday, April 17, 2020 by 6 p.m. Eastern Time. To receive consideration, you must submit your application electronically via Grants.gov no later than this 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 mailto:ogm.oash@hhs.gov 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 approved written exemption will be accepted. See

Section F.8 (“Other Submission Requirements”) for information on application submission mechanisms.

To ensure adequate time to submit your application successfully, HHS/OASH recommends that you register as early as possible in Grants.gov since the registration process can take up to one month. You must register an authorizing official for your organization. HHS/OASH does not determine your organization’s authorizing official; your organization makes that designation. 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.

2. Technical Assistance

A technical assistance webinar for potential applicants will be held on February 20, 2020, at 2:30 PM Eastern. Details to log-in to the webinar will be available on the OPA website at www.hhs.gov/opa.

http://www.grants.gov/ mailto:support@grants.gov http://www.hhs.gov/opa

We recommend you review the entire announcement promptly so you can have any questions answered well in advance of the application due date. We also recommend you subscribe to this announcement in Grants.gov so you receive any amendments, question and answer documents, or other updates.

B. PROGRAM DESCRIPTION:

The Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health, Office of Population Affairs announces the availability of funds for Fiscal Year (FY) 2020 cooperative agreement awards under the authority of Division A, Title II of the Further Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2020 (Public Law

No. 116-94). The primary focus of the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health is leading

America to healthier lives, especially for those who are most vulnerable, including those who have suffered historic disparities. In support of this vision, the Office of Population Affairs promotes health across the reproductive lifespan through innovative, evidence-based adolescent health and family planning programs, services, strategic partnerships, evaluation, and research. The Teen

Pregnancy Prevention (TPP) Program is designed to give youth the information and skills to promote optimal health and prevent teen pregnancy across the United States, especially among those who are most vulnerable.

1. Background

There has been much progress in reducing teen pregnancy and teen birth. However, the current teen birth rate in 2018 of 17.4 per 1,000 females aged 15-191 is still much higher than other western industrialized nations,1 and we continue to see disparities by race,1 ethnicity,1 and among our most vulnerable populations, including those living in foster care, or involved with the juvenile justice system.2,3,4 Further, STI rates reached an all-time high in the United States in 2018,5 with significant concern for transmission of STIs in adolescents. Syphilis rates jumped 34% from 2017 for females age 15-19. Approximately 62% of all chlamydia cases (1,087,277) were reported in individuals aged 15-24, and 15-19-year-old males and females experienced an increase of 3.7% and 1.3%, respectively, from 2017. Females in this age group also reported the second highest rate of gonorrhea, after females age 20-24. Herpes continues to be prevalent. Finally, while not as common in adolescents, individuals aged 13-24 made up 21% of all new HIV diagnoses in 2017.6

The Office of Population Affairs’ (OPA) goal is to ensure optimal health beginning in adolescence and continuing across the reproductive lifespan through lifestyle change. Optimal health is a dynamic balance of physical, emotional, social, spiritual, and intellectual health.

Lifestyle change can be facilitated through a combination of learning experiences that enhance awareness, increase motivation, and build skills and, most important, through the creation of opportunities that open access to environments that make positive health practices the easiest choice.7 OPA takes an optimal health approach in supporting adolescents to lead healthier lives by avoiding and/or reducing sexual risks, preventing teen pregnancy, and STI acquisition and/or transmission. The optimal health model can be applied to a broad range of programs proven effective at preventing teen pregnancy and associated risk behaviors, including positive youth development, sex education, abstinence education, and programs designed for diverse populations and settings. Under this framework, OPA also promotes healthy adolescence through the

Adolescent Health: Think, Act, Grow® (TAG) Five Essentials, including: positive connections with supportive people; safe and secure places to live, learn, work and play; access to high quality and teen-friendly health care; opportunities to engage as learners, leaders, team members, and workers; and coordinated adolescent and family-centered services.

Although many teen pregnancy prevention programs have been developed, there is great opportunity to pursue new, coordinated efforts to integrate optimal health and the TAG Five

Essentials. Additionally, there is still much to learn about what works, how, for whom, and why.

New and innovative programs for special populations are being rigorously evaluated through investments by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and others. The Personal

Responsibility Education Innovative Strategies Program (PREIS) at ACF, for example, has funded research and demonstration projects that implement innovative strategies for preventing pregnancy among youth aged 10-19 years old. Through OASH, in 2015, investments were made to projects to enable and support early innovation to advance adolescent health and prevent teen pregnancy

(FY15 TPP Tier 2A); through this funding, new technologies and programs have been developed.

At the same time, teen pregnancy prevention programs were funded to undergo rigorous evaluation

(FY15 TPP Tier 2B). More recently, in 2018, OPA invested in Phase I New and Innovative

Strategies (Tier 2) to Prevent Teen Pregnancy and Promote Healthy Adolescence. These projects were funded for two years to conduct formative evaluations of new and innovative programs.

While these investments are important and contribute to declines in teen pregnancy, there has not been a coordinated effort to improve optimal health and reduce teen pregnancy and STI rate disparities in key priority areas. These areas continue to either experience high rates of teen pregnancy or have few available interventions. Additionally, there has been limited opportunity to explore, develop, test, and refine interventions; often, programs are required to immediately begin evaluation without demonstrating readiness.

To increase progress in these priority areas, OPA will fund grants to form innovation and impact networks within specific, targeted priority areas. Applicants will select one priority area, and will establish, fund, coordinate, and support a multidisciplinary network of partners to develop and test innovative interventions in the selected priority area and disseminate those interventions that demonstrate effectiveness. Priority areas represent critical systems, populations, and/or program components for which significant and strategic investment in innovation and testing is necessary to make an impact on optimal adolescent health and, particularly, teen pregnancy and

STI rate disparities. Priority areas include: (a) juvenile justice; (b) foster care/child welfare; (c) caregivers; (d) expectant and parenting youth; (e) youth with disabilities; (f) youth access to and experience with sexual health care; and (g) youth engagement.

a. Juvenile Justice

Youth with juvenile justice involvement report disprportionately high teen pregnancy and

STI rates, and are more likely to experience and/or have experienced sexual abuse, exploitation, and childhood trauma.8,9,10 Studies have found that approximately one-third of girls in detention have been pregnant at least once in their lives.11 Additionally, a survey of 125 incarcerated boys and young men found that 25% had fathered a pregnancy, and 40% had contributed to more than one pregnancy.12

b. Foster Care/Child Welfare

As with youth involved in juvenile justice, youth in foster care/the child welfare system experience disproportionately high teen pregnancy and STI rates. Findings from a recent representative study found that one in three girls in foster care age 17 or 18 had been pregnant, and nearly half (48%) had been pregnant by age 19.13 Nationally representative data of all youth in the child welfare system, not just those placed in foster care, show that roughly one-third (34%) of 17-year-old girls had experienced a pregnancy.14 Of special concern is the fact that foster youth also report high rates of sexual coercion and trauma, and are vulnerable to commercial sexual exploitation (CSE).

c. Caregivers

Research shows that when families are meaningfully and continuously engaged in their children’s learning and development, they can positively impact their child’s health, development, and well-being outcomes into adulthood.15 Caregivers in particular play a critical role in setting a supportive home environment, and educating and communicating with their adolescents about sexual health, and are therefore a critical ally in the effort to prevent unintended teen pregnancy.

The federal call to action, Adolescent Health: Think, Act, Grow® (TAG), specifically emphasizes the role of families in supporting the health and healthy development of adolescents.16 While many TPP programs engage parents or even focus primarily on family programming, more needs to be done to identify and understand effective approaches and programming for the range of caregivers supporting adolescents. 17 This includes but is not limited to parents, including biological, adoptive, and single parents, including single mothers, fathers, or parents that identify as neither; siblings; grandparents and extended family; foster parents; and “chosen” family members such as mentors or trusted providers.

d. Expectant and Parenting Youth

In 2015, about one in six (17%) births to 15-19- year olds and over half (51%) of births to

20-24-year olds were to females with one or more babies.18 Compared with their peers who delay childbearing, teen girls who have babies are less likely to finish high school, more likely to rely on public assistance, and more likely to be poor as adults.19 Teen fathers are also less likely to graduate high school and more likely to face fewer employment opportunities than their nonparent peers.20

e. Youth with Disabilities

In the United States, more than 2.8 million youth live with a physical, intellectual, or emotional disability,21 and about one in seven (14 percent) children between the ages of three and

17 have developmental disabilities. 22 The sexual health needs of this population remain chronically under-addressed and overly stigmatized, with many of these youth never receiving any adequate sexual health education and programming that is responsive to their unique needs and ability to process and act on the information provided. Some research has found that young people with intellectual disabilities are more likely than their peers to have unsafe sex and become pregnant or cause a pregnancy.23

f. Youth Access to and Experience with Sexual Health Care

In addition to skill-building and educational programming, it is essential that youth receive regular health screenings and also connect to, use, and have positive experiences with a broad range of health services including, but not limited to, sexual health services. However, significant barriers to such services persist, including a lack of youth-friendly services that are uniquely suited to attract and serve adolescents. Additionally, there is a need to improve linkages and referrals between prevention programs and health care settings.

g. Youth Engagement

In recent years, growing recognition of meaningful youth engagement and the power of user-driven programs has fueled efforts to identify best practices for engaging youth in sexual health initiatives. Studies have suggested that involving the target group and using formative research to ensure that both the content and delivery of the intervention is acceptable can increase likelihood of uptake.24 However, many youth-serving agencies and organizations continue to lack a systematic process for soliciting youth voice and taking action on suggestions to ensure program responsiveness. Further, more rigorous testing is necessary in order to determine the effectiveness of different youth engagement strategies across diverse settings.

These priority areas provide opportunities for learning, partnership, innovation, and impact, ultimately improving optimal health and reducing teen pregnancy and STI disparities.

Within the priority areas, grantees and their partners will establish, fund, coordinate, and support a multidisciplinary network of partners to explore, develop, test, refine, and evaluate interventions;

they will widely disseminate interventions that are effective. Grantees will also be responsible for discovering and adding new interventions and partners throughout the duration of the grant.

Grantees will use a strategy for innovation and impact to guide their project; engage participants and stakeholders throughout all project phases; communicate project activities; monitor and improve; and make an impact on the priority area in order to reduce teen pregnancy, STI rates, and move youth progressively toward optimal health. While networks and collaboration exist within the field of teen pregnancy prevention, funding has never been solely dedicated to establishing networks to develop, test, and disseminate interventions in key priority areas. These grants have the potential to make a profound impact for those in greatest need and help youth progress toward achieving optimal health.

The objectives of this funding opportunity are to:

• Fund nine to twelve grants (Innovation Networks) across key priority areas to achieve optimal health, prevent teen pregnancy, and decrease

STI rates using a three-year innovation and impact strategy.

• Establish, fund, coordinate, and support a network of multidisciplinary partners in the priority area. Discover and add new partners and interventions in the priority area throughout the project period.

• Explore, develop, test, refine, and evaluate different interventions within the priority area and across the network; disseminate medically accurate, age appropriate, trauma-informed, and user-centered interventions that are effective.

• Monitor and improve the grant overall; and use key performance measures to document.

• Communicate successes, lessons learned, and knowledge gained to the public and key stakeholders in the priority area; continuously engage participants and stakeholders at all stages.

2. Award Expectations

Below are OPA’s expectations of grantees throughout the three-year project period. The

TPP20 Innovation Grantees are expected to: (a) Make a Measurable Impact on the Priority area;

(b) Implement a Three-year Innovation and Impact Strategy; (c) Establish, Coordinate, and

Support a Network of Partners; (d) Explore and Develop Interventions; (e) Test, Refine, and

Evaluate Interventions; (f) Disseminate Effective Interventions; (g) Engage Participants and

Stakeholders; (h) Monitor and Improve the Project; (i) Communicate Project Activities; and

(j) Manage the Project and Ensure Capacity

a. Make a Measurable Impact on the Priority Area

Applicants are expected to select one priority area and define the focus of their project within that priority area. They are expected to justify why they have selected the priority area using available data. Key partners should be identified upfront and added throughout the project as needed. Applicants are expected to identify the needs and resources within the priority area, design a project to fulfill those needs, and describe how they will make a measurable impact in the area.

Successful applicants and their partners are expected to have a deep understanding and history with both the priority area and teen pregnancy. It is expected that applicants will understand the background and complexities of the priority area, including needs and resources, key stakeholders, the factors that influence health outcomes, and will apply the latest science and research. It is expected that applicants will use a systems thinking approach to help understand and navigate the big picture of the priority area, teen pregnancy, and optimal health. Systems thinking shows how different factors such as the people, environments, laws, norms, and organizational behavior all interact to affect each other and the issues at play. System thinkers focus on identifying harmful or beneficial patterns of behavior and tweak these interactions so that the system changes itself and produces better outcomes over time.

In order to meet this expectation, applicants will conduct an environmental scan in their priority area of relevant research, data, stakeholders, needs, and resources related to teen pregnancy, STIs, and optimal health. This information should be included in the priority area section of the application. The applicant is also expected to include a stakeholder map as an

Appendix. While the stakeholder map will look different among projects, it should depict specific stakeholders that are critical to the success of the project, such as youth, caregivers, people, or institutions and their relationship to each other. The environmental scan and the stakeholder map should be part of the application; however, both will be updated during the planning period and throughout the grant.

The priority areas for applicants to select include: (a) juvenile justice; (b) foster care/child welfare; (c) caregivers; (d) expectant and parenting youth; (e) youth with disabilities; (f) youth access to and experience with sexual health care; and (g) youth engagement.

(a) Juvenile Justice - Innovation Network(s) in this priority area will explore, develop, test, refine, evaluate, and disseminate different interventions for participants and stakeholders connected to the Juvenile Justice system to achieve optimal health and prevent teen pregnancy and STIs. Network(s) may consider diverse efforts that target different setting(s) (e.g., detention, other residential facilities, community, remote), youth sub-population(s) (e.g., by race/ethnicity, LGBTQ), stakeholder(s) (e.g., family, probation officers, judges, law enforcement, juvenile justice health professionals), or their relationships and interactions as components of a larger system.

(b) Foster Care/Child Welfare - Innovation Network(s) in this priority area will explore, develop, test, refine, evaluate, and disseminate different interventions for participants and stakeholders connected to the child welfare system to achieve optimal health and prevent teen pregnancy and STIs.

Network(s) may consider diverse efforts that target different setting(s) (e.g., out-of-home placements and independent living spaces, community, remote), youth sub-populations (e.g., by race/ethnicity, LGBTQ), stakeholders (e.g., biological family, foster family, out-of-home placement staff, judges, community-based providers, court-mandated multidisciplinary teams), or their relationships and interactions as components of a larger system. Consistent with the recent passage of the Family First Prevention Services Act (enacted as part of the Bipartisan

Budget Act of 2018, Public Law No. 115-123),25 network(s) should also engage local efforts focused on both moving away from congregate care/group homes in favor of family environments, as well as preventing system involvement by strengthening youth and family protective factors.

(c) Caregivers - Innovation Network(s) in this priority area will explore, develop, test, refine, evaluate, and disseminate different interventions for caregivers to help youth achieve optimal health and prevent teen pregnancy and

STIs. Networks may consider both (1) intervention content, with particular emphasis on adolescent brain development, positive youth development, and trauma-informed caregiving; and (2) engagement strategies for various caregivers, as this role may be filled by different individuals depending on the youth’s circumstances (e.g., parents, including biological, adoptive, single parents;

siblings; extended family including grandparents; foster parents; “chosen” family members such as mentors or trusted providers).

(d) Expectant and Parenting Youth – Innovation Network(s) in this priority will explore, develop, test, refine, evaluate, and disseminate different interventions to support expectant and parenting youth and their families.

Expectant, for the purposes of this funding, includes both females and males who are expecting a child. Interventions can focus directly on the young mothers and fathers as well as with key stakeholders (e.g., educators, providers, additional family members) or institutions (e.g., health care settings, schools) that support expectant and parenting youth.

(e) Youth with Disabilities - Innovation Network(s) in this priority area will explore, develop, test, refine, evaluate, and disseminate different interventions for youth with disabilities, including physical, developmental, cognitive, intellectual, visual, and/or hearing impairments, as well as key stakeholders (e.g., parents, educators, providers) to achieve optimal health and prevent teen pregnancy and

STIs.

(f) Youth Access to and Experience with Sexual Health Care - Innovation

Network(s) in this priority area will explore, develop, test, refine, evaluate, and disseminate innovations with respect to youth access to and experience with sexual health care. They may propose diverse focus areas in order to achieve optimal health and prevent teen pregnancy and STIs. For example, network innovations might address linkages and referrals to services through programming, physical or technological access to sexual health care, health information sharing across youth-serving partners, clinic environment and youth-friendliness, and the providers’ ability to identify and meet youth needs. Grant funds cannot be allocated to cover sexual health services or care.

(g) Youth Engagement - Innovation Network(s) in this priority area will explore, develop, test, refine, evaluate, and disseminate innovative interventions for incorporating meaningful youth engagement and youth voice in programs to achieve optimal health and prevent teen pregnancy and STIs, with special emphasis on advancing equity through youth engagement efforts. Equitable engagement of youth means that youth of all backgrounds and lived experiences, but particularly those who are the most vulnerable, have opportunities to participate, be empowered, and have their voices heard along with other youth in the health programs that affect their lives. The findings in this priority area will have vast applicability across all OPA and youth-focused grant projects.

b. Implement a Three-year Innovation and Impact Strategy

Applicants are expected to have a strategy to guide their three-year innovation and impact network grant. This strategy can include multiple models, frameworks, or theories to guide the applicant and their network. It should be relevant to the priority area and reassessed annually throughout the grant. Research has shown that over the past 30 years, methodology exists to cultivate innovation strategically.26 Research has found that when organizations are strategic, they are more likely to succeed at innovation. Applicants are expected to work toward closing the gap in health disparities to reduce teen pregnancy and STIs for the selected priority area in order to make an impact.

The applicant and their partners are expected to determine the most appropriate strategy for innovation and impact for their work, based on the needs within the priority area, execute it, and reassess to ensure it meets the needs of the project. The strategy should also be reflected in a visual depiction for the project, such as a logic model, results framework, systems map, theory of change, or conceptual model. The visual depiction is expected to reflect the strategy and include long-term outcome(s), medium/short-term outcome(s), major milestone activities, and key assumptions.

c. Establish, Coordinate, and Support a Network of Partners

The applicant is expected to have multidisciplinary partnerships to form a network in the priority area and will support partners to develop, test, and disseminate interventions throughout the grant period. The grantee and their partners are expected to establish, coordinate, and support the network. When forming network partnerships, the primary grantee is expected to consider equity by valuing everyone equally with focused and ongoing efforts to address avoidable inequalities and the elimination of health and healthcare disparities.

1) Establish a Network of Partners

The applicant and their partners are expected to use best practices for developing a collaborative, impactful network such as building trust, convening the right people, coordinating actions, collaborating generously, and clarifying the purpose of the network. Partners should not be limited to members of an applicant’s pre-existing network; rather, the applicant is expected to use an efficient and objective process to establish partnerships that are most appropriate for the project. The applicant organization should make determinations for partnerships based on their ability to make an impact on outcomes. The partners within the network may or may not be geographically determined; rather, they should be determined based on the scope and needs of the selected priority area. The applicant should start and apply with established partners, but also explain how they will discover, attract, add, and retain new partners throughout the three years.

Open competitions may be used to find additional partners.

While the applicant organization can explore, develop, test, refine, evaluate, and disseminate interventions, it is expected to engage and support multiple partners to also explore, develop, test, refine, evaluate, and disseminate interventions. The applicant should expect to sub-award at least half of their total grant to partners. Partners receiving sub-awards may be involved in any activity to support the network (e.g., coordination, training, communication, evaluation, intervention development, testing, or dissemination, etc.). The applicant should determine the best partnership structure for the purposes of the project and one that ensures equity. However, not all partners in the network need to receive a sub-award from the applicant organization to support the project; in fact, having partners with in-kind, separate, or supplemental funding sources can help boost the sustainability of the network.

2) Coordinate the Network

The grantee or their partners shall coordinate the network using the best methods available and factor distance between organizations. Coordination should include established governance practices and processes for collaborating. The grantee will be expected to monitor and track the activities of the network to learn and improve.

3) Support Provided to the Network

It is expected that the applicant and their partners will provide in-person and virtual support to the network. Support may come in various formats, including but not limited to personalized coaching, expert-led workshops, peer-to-peer learning, small team workgroups, and technical assistance. Support may also come in the form of creating a healthy community of collaborators.

d. Explore and Develop Interventions

Applicants are not expected to have interventions in all stages at the beginning of their grant but will be expected to have interventions in all stages (exploration and development; testing, refining, and evaluation; and dissemination) throughout the three years. Grantees are expected to explore and develop innovative interventions appropriate for the priority area based on needs. For the purposes of this FOA, “explore and develop” and “test, refine, and evaluate” are two distinct categories; however, it is expected that interventions will move between the two categories throughout the course of the project. Grantees are expected to employ different processes for exploration and development, depending on the stage of development; they are expected to use the best methods available and ones most appropriate given the type of intervention and need. Grantees are expected to have a clear theory of change for the different interventions under development;

theories help drive intervention success. Grantees are also expected to apply the latest science, research, and adolescent brain development science into interventions. Interventions must be medically accurate and age appropriate, and are expected to be trauma-informed, and user-centered, including participants and stakeholders during all development phases, including in decision-making. A trauma-informed approach includes (1) realizing the widespread impact of trauma and potential paths for recovery; (2) recognizing the signs and symptoms of trauma in youth, families, staff, and others; (3) responding by fully integrating knowledge about trauma into policies, procedures, and practices; and (4) seeking to actively resist re-traumatization.27

Applicants who choose to use any copyrighted curriculum materials in their proposed project must include a signed agreement with the developer or purveyor of the materials that demonstrates that the applicant has permission to use the materials as planned. This should include, but is not limited to, permission to use the materials as proposed in the application and/or alter them as needed for compliance with OPA medical accuracy review.

e. Test, Refine, and Evaluate Interventions

The grantee and their network are expected to test and evaluate interventions at different stages of development. It is expected that some interventions will move between testing and development, evolving throughout the course of the project, and it is expected that interventions will be refined based on learnings. Grantees should use testing and evaluation methods appropriate for the stage of intervention development, collecting and analyzing data to make changes and assess impacts. The applicant is expected to navigate the IRB process, and receive IRB approval, when needed. During early testing and refining of interventions, evaluation staff do not need to be independent; however, when grantees and their partners conduct summative evaluations, it is expected that external, independent evaluation staff will be utilized.

f. Disseminate Effective Interventions

In addition to exploring, developing, testing, refining, and evaluating interventions, grantees and their network will be expected to (1) determine if the interventions have been effective and (2) disseminate those interventions to others. Applicants are expected to describe how they would determine effectiveness of interventions. Additionally, applicants are expected to plan for making effective interventions accessible, and available to others.

g. Engage Participants and Stakeholders

Authentic and proactive engagement of participants and stakeholders in the priority area

(such as youth, caregivers, health workers, social workers, or other youth-serving professionals, etc.) improves interventions.28 It is expected that grantees will work directly with individuals from the priority area to design the program and intervention, involving participants and stakeholders in planning and making decisions in projects that affect them. The grantee is expected to conduct stakeholder mapping to understand the different and interconnected relationships among stakeholders to find points of leverage, convergence, and opportunity. Additionally, given the prevalence of trauma, it is expected that all grantees adopt a trauma-informed approach to engagement, especially when interacting with populations who are often marginalized or disconnected.

h. Monitor and Improve the Project

Projects should include research and evaluation staff that are part of the process to continuously monitor, improve, and translate knowledge to improve the project. Furthermore, grantees should establish procedures to maintain improvements and assure quality. It is expected that the grantee will document and monitor the project overall, using performance measures to track progress. OPA will have a set of performance measures for the grant, such as number of partnerships (funded and non-funded), number of interventions in each stage (exploration and development; testing, refining, and evaluation; and dissemination), and support provided to partners. It is expected that grantees will document and collect OPA measures, as well as unique measures for the project. Grantees will be expected to learn from their performance measures, translating the data and knowledge into actions and improvements. In order to meet this expectation, applicants are expected to have a Monitoring and Improvement Plan for the project.

This plan should include a Learning Agenda for the selected priority area and the Innovation

Network overall. Further, as a condition of the grant award, all successful recipients will be required to participate in any OPA-directed Federal evaluation, if selected, and if funding for such an evaluation becomes available.

i. Communicate Project Activities

Communicating information is vitally important to project success, sustainability, and to stakeholders. The public, internal stakeholders, and external stakeholders should be informed about progress made by the Innovation Networks. Innovation Networks should contribute to local, state, and federal professional and academic conferences, meetings, and publications. To meet this expectation, it is expected that applicants will include a strategic communications plan within their application and implement and update the plan throughout the course of the project. Such plans should include the key stakeholder group, type of message, content, method for delivering information (i.e., website, newsletter, presentation, etc.), and frequency. The applicant will be expected to update the communications plan during the six-month planning period.

j. Manage the Project and Ensure Capacity

Successful applicants will demonstrate that the proposed project aligns with the primary applicant's organizational mission. The applicant should have an experienced team to manage the overall project, with clearly delineated roles and responsibilities. The applicant should describe how partners will contribute and be integrated into the project, which individuals and partners would have the day-to-day responsibilities for key tasks, and ensure individual strengths align with project tasks. The grantee is expected to manage the network of partners, communication, and ensure governance processes are in place. Given the large size of the grant award, it is important that the primary applicant and their key partners have capacity and experience in managing a project of this size and scope. Applicants should include a visual diagram of how the project will be managed, and how the Innovation Network will be structured. This visual diagram should display current partners and indicate where future partners will be included. It should be more than a simple organizational chart, and should clearly illustrate the collaborative dynamics of the network.

Grantees are expected to use up to the first six months of the project for a planning period to ensure readiness of implementation. The duration of the planning period is contingent upon each recipient’s demonstrated readiness, but will not exceed six months. It is assumed that work is already underway with the submission of this application and therefore, the planning period is the time in which recipients are checking the assumptions made in the application, refining their plan for the project, and getting ready for implementation.

3. Award Type

This award is a cooperative agreement, a form of assistance that allows for substantial involvement by OPA. 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 site visits, ongoing review of plans and progress, participation in relevant meetings, provision of training and technical assistance), OPA’s substantial programmatic involvement will include:

a. Prior approval for change of time that Key Personnel are dedicated to the project and for replacement of Key Personnel. Key Personnel includes any position that is responsible for the day-to-day management and oversight of the project, as well as the lead evaluator for the project.

b. Review of recipient progress during the planning period and approval to move forward with full implementation. Note funding levels for years two and three will depend on status of plan approvals and may be negotiated between HHS/OASH and the recipient.

c. Consulting with the awardee throughout the preparation and dissemination of materials related to the project.

d. Review of stakeholder maps, visual depiction of project strategy, network visualizations, monitoring and improvement plans, learning agendas, and other planning tools.

e. Ensuring review of all intervention materials prior to use in the project to ensure the materials are medically-accurate, age appropriate, trauma-informed, and user-centered.

f. Review evaluation and testing design, questions, and measures.

g. Assist the awardee in defining the criteria for suitable partner and subawardee candidates.

h. Review and approve the criteria and plan for establishing and supporting the

Innovation Network.

C. AUTHORITY

Division A, Title II of the Further Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2020 (Public Law No.

116-94).

D. FEDERAL AWARD INFORMATION

The Office of Population Affairs intends to make funds available for competing cooperative agreement. This program announcement is subject to the appropriation of funds, and is a contingency action taken to ensure that, should funds become available for this purpose, applications can be processed, and funds can be awarded in a timely manner.

We will fund awards in annual increments (budget periods) and generally for a project period up to 3 years, although we may approve shorter project periods. Budget periods may also vary from the estimate indicated below due to timing of award issuance or other administrative factors. Funding for all approved budget periods beyond the first is generally level with the initial award amount and is contingent upon the availability of funds, satisfactory progress of the project, and adequate stewardship of Federal funds.

Award Information

Estimated Federal Funds Available: $18,275,000

Anticipated Number of Awards: 9-15

Award Ceiling (Federal Funds including indirect costs):

$2,000,000 per budget period

Award Floor (Federal Funds including indirect costs): $1,000,000 per budget period

Anticipated Start Date: July 15, 2020

Estimated Period of Performance: Not to exceed 3 years

Anticipated Initial Budget Period Length: 12 months

Type of Award: Cooperative Agreement. Agency substantial involvement outlined above in Program Description.

Type of Application Accepted:

Electronic via Grants.gov ONLY unless an exemption is granted

E. ELIGIBILITY INFORMATION

1. Eligible Applicants.

Any public or private entity, including faith-based, community-based, and Indian Tribes or

Tribal organizations are eligible to apply.

2. Cost Sharing or Matching

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

3. Other Eligibility Information

None

4. 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:

• Applicant has selected a single priority area described above in

Section B.1.a-g.

5. Application Disqualification Criteria

If you successfully submit an application, we will screen it to ensure it meets the below requirements. If we determine your application fails to meet the criteria described below we will disqualify it, that is, we will not review it and will give it 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 (A.1) 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

E.1 Eligible Applicants.

(d) You must complete the required forms in the application package: SF-424, SF-424A, SF-424B, SF-LLL, and Project Abstract Summary.

http://www.grants.gov/

(e) 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.

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

Budget Narrative (including budget tables).

(g) Your total application, including the Project Narrative plus Appendices, must not exceed 100 pages. NOTE: the items listed in “(f)” immediately above that do not count toward total page limit.

(h) Your Federal funds request including indirect costs must not exceed the maximum indicated in Award Ceiling.

(i) Your Federal funds request including indirect costs must not be below the minimum indicated in Award Floor.

(j) Your application must meet the Application Responsiveness Criteria outlined above.

APPLICATION AND SUBMISSION INFORMATION

6. 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 2 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

7. Content and Form of Application Submission

a. Application Format

Your application must be…