RFA-CE-25-030_20241113.pdf

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

NATIONAL CENTER FOR INJURY PREVENTION AND CONTROL

Research Grants to Rigorously Evaluate Innovative and Promising Strategies to Prevent Firearm- Related Violence and Injuries

RFA-CE-25-030

12/02/2024

Table of Contents Section I. Funding Opportunity Description

Section II. Award Information

Section III. Eligibility Information

Section IV. Application and Submission Information

Section V. Application Review Information

Section VI. Award Administration Information

Section VII. Agency Contacts

Section VIII. Other Information

Overview

Participating Organization(s) Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Components of Participating Organizations Components of Participating Organizations:

National Center for Injury Prevention and Control Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) Title Research Grants to Rigorously Evaluate Innovative and Promising Strategies to Prevent Firearm- Related Violence and Injuries Activity Code Applications in response to this Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) will be funded using the R01 activity code for a research grant.

Notice of Funding Opportunity Type New Agency Notice of Funding Opportunity Number

RFA-CE-25-030

Assistance Listings Number(s) 93.136 Category of Funding Activity HL - Health NOFO Purpose The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) National Center for Injury Prevention and Control (NCIPC or the Injury Center) is soliciting investigator-initiated research to rigorously evaluate the effectiveness of innovative and promising strategies to prevent all forms of firearm-related injuries, deaths, violence, or crime. For this announcement such forms include:

• mass shooting incidents

• other firearm homicides/assaults

• firearm suicides/self-harm

• unintentional firearm deaths and injuries

• firearm-related crime

This announcement supports research to evaluate the effectiveness of strategies to keep individuals, families, schools, and communities safe from firearm-related injuries, deaths, violence, or crime.

Key Dates Publication Date:

To receive notification of any changes to RFA-CE-25-030, return to the synopsis page of this announcement at www.grants.gov and click on the "Send Me Change Notification Emails" link.

An email address is needed for this service.

Letter of Intent Due Date:

11/01/2024 Application Due Date:

12/02/2024 On-time submission requires that electronic applications be error-free and made available to CDC for processing from the NIH eRA system on or before the deadline date. Applications must be submitted to and validated successfully by Grants.gov no later than 11:59 PM U.S. Eastern Time.

Applicants will use a system or platform to submit their applications through Grants.gov and eRA Commons to CDC. ASSIST, an institutional system to system (S2S) solution, or Grants.gov Workspace are options. ASSIST is a commonly used platform because it provides a validation of all requirements prior to submission and prevents errors.

For more information on accessing or using ASSIST, you can refer to the ASSIST Online Help Site at: https://era.nih.gov/erahelp/assist. Additional support is available from the NIH eRA Service desk via http://grants.nih.gov/support/index.html.

• E-mail: commons@od.nih.gov

• Phone: 301-402-7469 or (toll-free) 1-866-504-9552

• Hours: Monday - Friday, 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Eastern Time, excluding Federal holidays

Note: HHS/CDC grant submission procedures do not provide a grace period beyond the application due date time to correct any error or warning notices of noncompliance with application instructions that are identified by Grants.gov or eRA systems (i.e., error correction window).

Scientific Merit Review:

03/18/2025 This date is an estimate.

https://www.grants.gov/ http://grants.nih.gov/support/index.html mailto:commons@od.nih.gov

Secondary Review:

05/01/2025 This date is an estimate.

Estimated Start Date:

09/30/2025 Expiration Date:

01/02/2025 Required Application Instructions It is critical that applicants follow the instructions in the How to Apply - Application Guide except where instructed to do otherwise in this NOFO. Conformance to all requirements (both in the Application Guide and the NOFO) is required and strictly enforced. Applicants must read and follow all application instructions in the Application Guide as well as any program-specific instructions noted in Section IV. When the program-specific instructions deviate from those in the Application Guide, follow the program-specific instructions.

Note:The Research Strategy component of the Research Plan is limited to 12 pages.

Page Limitations: Pages that exceed the page limits described in this NOFO will be removed and not forwarded for peer review, potentially affecting an application's score.

Applications that do not comply with these instructions may be delayed or may not be accepted for review.

Telecommunications for the Hearing Impaired: TTY 1-888-232-6348

Executive Summary Research funded under this Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) should rigorously evaluate the effectiveness of innovative and promising strategies to keep individuals, families, schools, and communities safe from firearm-related injuries, deaths, violence, or crime.

This NOFO offers Funding Option A or B to address the research objective. Applicants may submit a research proposal under either Funding Option A or B (not both).

• Funding Option A will support research projects that rely on existing data to evaluate effectiveness and that do not support implementing prevention activities. These projects will be funded up to $350,000 per year (direct and indirect costs) for a period of performance for up to 2 years.

• Funding Option B will support research projects that require new data collection and/or implementing prevention activities to evaluate effectiveness. These projects will be funded up to $650,000 per year (direct and indirect costs) for a period of performance for up to 3 years.

Applicants are requested to clearly indicate in the Abstract whether the research proposal falls under Funding Option A or Funding Option B. CDC will only consider one funding option for each applicant.

https://grants.nih.gov/grants/how-to-apply-application-guide.html

Special Date(s)

A pre-application webinar call will be conducted on October 22, 2024 to address questions from prospective applicants regarding NOFO RFA-CE-25-030. The call will begin at 2:00pm Eastern Standard Time (EST) and end at 2:50pm Eastern Standard Time (EST), or sooner if all questions are addressed. Questions and answers from the discussion will be included in an amended NOFO approximately 3 weeks after the call.

Participant Access Information:

• Call Date: October 22, 2024

• Call Start Time: 2:00pm Eastern Standard Time (EST)

• Call End Time: 2:50pm Eastern Standard Time (EST)

• Call Leader: Emiko Petrosky, MD, MPH, Scientific Program Official

• Webinar Link:

https://cdc.zoomgov.com/j/1605372272?pwd=NldPVFJ0TjdKSnBya0hjekU0VGdrdz09

• Webinar ID: 160 537 2272

• Passcode: Xk3&dyp1

• Call-In Numbers:

o +1 669 254 5252 US (San Jose) o +1 646 828 7666 US (New York) o +1 646 964 1167 US (US Spanish Line) o +1 551 285 1373 US (New Jersey) o +1 669 216 1590 US (San Jose) o +1 415 449 4000 US (US Spanish Line)

• Dial-In Passcode: 71672817

Section I. Funding Opportunity Description

Statutory Authority Section 301 (a) [42 U.S.C. 241(a)] of the Public Health Service Act, and Section 391 (a) [42 U.S.C. 280 b (a)] of the Public Health Service Act, as amended.

1. Background and Purpose Firearm-related injuries, deaths, violence, and crime, including mass shooting incidents, other firearm homicides/assaults, firearm suicides, and unintentional firearm injuries affect people in all stages of life. Firearm injuries are among the leading causes of death for young people. In 2022, 79% of all homicides and 55% of all suicides involved firearms. The impact of firearm-related injuries extends beyond deaths. Many more people suffer nonfatal firearm-related injuries. People hospitalized with nonfatal gunshot wounds often experience long-term consequences, including physical disabilities and chronic mental health problems from conditions such as post-traumatic stress disorder. The economic impact of firearm violence is also substantial and costs the United States billions of dollars each year, including medical and lost productivity costs.

https://cdc.zoomgov.com/j/1605372272?pwd=NldPVFJ0TjdKSnBya0hjekU0VGdrdz09

The effects of firearm violence are pervasive and extend beyond victims and their families.

Public mass shooting incidents and other firearm homicides and assaults can affect the sense of community safety and impact everyday decisions. For example, in a recent study, adolescents exposed to a high school shooting had a 20% greater odds of avoiding school because of feeling unsafe. Research that helps guide strategies to enhance safety and reduce risk for all forms of firearm-related injuries, deaths, violence, or crime is critical.

While firearm-related injuries can affect anyone, some populations experience more firearm injuries and deaths than others. For example, rates of firearm homicide are generally higher in urban than rural communities, whereas rates of firearm suicide are often higher in rural than in urban communities. Firearm suicide rates are highest among older adults and non-Hispanic American Indian/Alaskan Native and White populations. Firearm homicide rates are highest among adolescents and young adults and non-Hispanic Black, American Indian/Alaskan Native, and Hispanic populations. The firearm homicide rate rose nearly 35% between 2019 and 2020, with the highest rates and largest increases among young Black men and boys. Firearm homicide rates continued to rise in 2021 and remained high but decreased slightly in 2022. The firearm suicide rate rose substantially between 2019 and 2022, with the largest increase among the American Indian and Alaska Native population relative to other racial and ethnic groups.

Research can address inequities by considering the contextual conditions that contribute to variations in risk across communities and populations. Inequities in these social and structural determinants of health (e.g., concentrated poverty, structural racism, high rates of unemployment and community violence, weak social connectedness, limited access to high-quality education and/or affordable, high-quality childcare) contribute to health inequities including those seen in health status across population groups and communities. The COVID-19 pandemic worsened the effects of multiple stressors for some groups, particularly in racial/ethnic minority communities.

Research is needed to better address inequities in risk for firearm-related injuries. This will include studies that inform or evaluate strategies to address social and structural conditions that contribute to these inequities.

In 2013, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) in collaboration with the National Research Council (NRC) released the report, Priorities for Research to Reduce the Threat of Firearm-Related Violence. CDC and the CDC Foundation asked the IOM/NRC to convene a committee to engage diverse partners. The task of this committee was to identify the most pressing research questions on firearm violence, including those with the greatest potential for public health impact. This research funding announcement draws on the priorities included in the Priorities for Research to Reduce the Threat of Firearm-Related Violence (see https://www.nap.edu/catalog/18319/priorities-forresearch-to-reduce-the-threat-of-firearm-related-violence).

Purpose

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) National Center for Injury Prevention and Control (NCIPC or the Injury Center) is soliciting investigator-initiated research to rigorously evaluate the effectiveness of innovative and promising strategies to prevent all forms of firearm-related injuries, deaths, violence, or crime. For this announcement, this includes mass shooting incidents, other firearm homicides/assaults, firearm suicides/self-harm, unintentional firearm deaths and injuries, and firearm-related crime. This announcement supports research to https://www.nap.edu/catalog/18319/priorities-for-research-to-reduce-the-threat-of-firearm-related-violence https://www.nap.edu/catalog/18319/priorities-for-research-to-reduce-the-threat-of-firearm-related-violence evaluate the effectiveness of strategies to keep individuals, families, schools, and communities safe from firearm-related injuries, deaths, violence, or crime.

CDC’s Injury Center has been the nation’s leading authority on violence and injury prevention for 30 years. The impact of firearm-related injuries on the health and safety of Americans underscores the importance of a comprehensive public health approach to prevention. CDC’s Injury Center emphasizes both preventing incidents of violence and suicide from happening in the first place and mitigating their effects through population-based approaches to achieve public health impact.

Toward this end, CDC supports research to understand the best ways to prevent violence and suicide. The results of this research are then applied to real-world solutions to keep people safe, healthy, and productive.

Healthy People 2030 and other National Strategic Priorities This research addresses the "Healthy People 2030" focus on injury and violence prevention as described in www.healthypeople.gov. Specifically, this NOFO supports the Healthy People 2030 Injury and Violence Prevention (IVP) areas of IVP-09 Reduce homicides, IVP-13 Reduce firearm-related deaths, IVP-14 Reduce nonfatal firearm-related injuries, IVP-12 Reduce gun carrying by adolescents, and MHMD-01 Reduce the suicide rate.

Public Health Impact Firearm violence and suicide are significant problems that affect the health of individuals, families, and communities. NCIPC is committed to preventing all forms of firearm-related injuries, deaths, violence, or crime. The results from the research funded under this announcement will directly benefit communities seeking to implement prevention strategies based on the best available evidence.

Relevant Work CDC’s approach involves three elements: 1) a focus on prevention, 2) a science-driven approach to understand risk and protective factors, and 3) multidisciplinary collaboration to address the problem and to keep people safe, healthy, and productive.

Descriptions of CDC’s currently funded research on firearm violence and injury prevention are available on NCIPC’s website: Funded Research | Firearm Injury and Death Prevention | CDC

Descriptions of CDC’s violence prevention initiatives are available on NCIPC’s website:

Violence Prevention | Violence Prevention | CDC

Information about CDC’s National Violent Death Reporting System is available at About The National Violent Death Reporting System | NVDRS | CDC

Information about CDC research priorities in violence prevention and examples of guiding questions are available at Injury Research Priorities (cdc.gov)

Information about CDC’s Strategic Vision for violence prevention is available at About the Division of Violence Prevention | Injury Center | CDC

CDC’s definition of youth violence is available at About Youth Violence | Youth Violence Prevention | CDC http://www.healthypeople.gov/ https://www.cdc.gov/firearm-violence/php/funded-research/index.html https://www.cdc.gov/violence-prevention/ https://www.cdc.gov/nvdrs/about/index.html https://www.cdc.gov/nvdrs/about/index.html https://www.cdc.gov/injury/pdfs/researchpriorities/CDC-Injury-Research-Priorities.pdf#page=40 https://www.cdc.gov/injury/divisions-offices/about-division-of-violence-prevention.html https://www.cdc.gov/injury/divisions-offices/about-division-of-violence-prevention.html https://www.cdc.gov/youth-violence/about/index.html#cdc_behavioral_basics_over-what-is-youth-violence https://www.cdc.gov/youth-violence/about/index.html#cdc_behavioral_basics_over-what-is-youth-violence

CDC's definition of child maltreatment is available at About Child Abuse and Neglect | Child Abuse and Neglect Prevention | CDC

CDC’s definition of intimate partner violence is available at Intimate Partner Violence Prevention | CDC

CDC’s suicide prevention homepage is available at:

Suicide Prevention | CDC

Facts About Suicide | Suicide Prevention | CDC

CDC has released a series of Resources for Action to help communities use the best available evidence for violence prevention. The Resources for Action describe general prevention strategies and provide examples of specific approaches and their supporting evidence. They are available at

Resources for Action | Violence Prevention | CDC

Suicide Prevention Resource for Action CDC

References

• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 1991-2021 High School Youth Risk Behavior Survey Data. Available at http://nccd.cdc.gov/youthonline/. Accessed on June 24, 2024.

• Institute of Medicine. Priorities for research to reduce the threat of firearm related violence. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press; 2013. Available at https://www.nap.edu/catalog/18319/priorities-for-research-to-reduce-the-threat-offirearm-related-violence.

• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Web-based Injury Statistics Query and Reporting System (WISQARS). Atlanta, GA: National Center for Injury Prevention and Control; 2024. Available at: http://www.cdc.gov/injury/wisqars/index.html.

• Fowler K, Dahlberg LL, Haileyesus T, Annest JL, Bacon S. Firearm injuries in the United States. Preventive Medicine 2015;79:5-14.

• Hodges JC, Walker DT, Baum CF, Hawkins SS. Impact of School Shootings on Adolescent School Safety, 2009–2019. American Journal of Public Health. 2023 Apr;113(4):438-41.

• Ivey-Stephenson AZ, Crosby AE, Jack SP, Haileyesus T, Kresnow-Sedacca M. Suicide trends among and within urbanization levels by sex, race/ethnicity, age group, and mechanism of death — United States, 2001–2015. MMWR Surveill Summ 2017;66(No.

SS-18):1–16. http://dx.doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.ss6618a1.

• Kaczkowski W, Kegler SR, Chen MS, Zwald ML, Stone DM, Sumner SA. Notes from the field: Firearm suicide rates, by race and ethnicity — United States, 2019–2022.

MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep 2023;72:1307–1308.

http://dx.doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.mm7248a3.

• Kegler SR, Simon TR, Sumner SA. Notes from the field: Firearm homicide rates, by race and ethnicity — United States, 2019–2022. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep 2023;72:1149–1150. http://dx.doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.mm7242a4.

https://www.cdc.gov/child-abuse-neglect/about/index.html#cdc_behavioral_basics_over-what-are-child-abuse-and-neglect https://www.cdc.gov/child-abuse-neglect/about/index.html#cdc_behavioral_basics_over-what-are-child-abuse-and-neglect https://www.cdc.gov/intimate-partner-violence/about/index.html#cdc_behavioral_basics_over-what-is-intimate-partner-violence https://www.cdc.gov/intimate-partner-violence/about/index.html#cdc_behavioral_basics_over-what-is-intimate-partner-violence https://www.cdc.gov/suicide/prevention/index.html https://www.cdc.gov/suicide/facts/index.html https://www.cdc.gov/violence-prevention/php/resources-for-action/index.html https://www.cdc.gov/suicide/resources/prevention.html https://nccd.cdc.gov/youthonline/ https://www.nap.edu/catalog/18319/priorities-for-research-to-reduce-the-threat-offirearm-related-violence https://www.nap.edu/catalog/18319/priorities-for-research-to-reduce-the-threat-offirearm-related-violence http://www.cdc.gov/injury/wisqars/index.html http://dx.doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.ss6618a1 http://dx.doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.mm7248a3 http://dx.doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.mm7242a4

• Kegler SR, Simon TR, Zwald ML, et al. Vital Signs: Changes in firearm homicide and suicide rates — United States, 2019–2020. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep

2022;71:656–663. https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/71/wr/mm7119e1.htm.

• Miller GF, Barnett SBL, Florence CS, Harrison KM, Dahlberg LL, & Mercy JA. Costs of fatal and nonfatal firearm injuries in the US, 2019 and 2020. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 2024;66(2), 195-204.

• Schleimer JP, Buggs SA, McCort CD, et al. Neighborhood racial and economic segregation and disparities in violence during the COVID-19 pandemic. Am J Public Health. 2022;112(1):144-153. doi:10.2105/AJPH.2021.306540.

• Simon TR, Kegler SR, Zwald ML, et al. Notes from the Field: Increases in firearm homicide and suicide rates — United States, 2020–2021. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep 2022;71:1286–1287. http://dx.doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.mm7140a4

• Solar O, Irwin A. A conceptual framework for action on the social determinants of health. Social Determinants of Health Discussion Paper 2 (Policy and Practice). Geneva, Switzerland: World Health Organization; 2010.

https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789241500852. Retrieved on July 7, 2020.

2. Approach CDC/NCIPC is soliciting investigator-initiated research to rigorously evaluate the effectiveness of innovative and promising strategies to prevent all forms of firearm-related injuries, deaths, violence, or crime.

Objectives/Outcomes This funding announcement supports rigorously evaluating the effectiveness of innovative and promising strategies to keep individuals, families, schools, and communities safe from firearm-related injuries, deaths, violence, or crime. A firearm injury is defined as a gunshot wound or penetrating injury from a weapon that uses a powder charge to fire a projectile. This definition includes gunshot injuries sustained from handguns, rifles, and shotguns but excludes gunshot wounds from air- and gas-powered guns, BB guns, and pellet guns, and non-penetrating injuries associated with firearms (e.g., “pistol whipping”).

Investigations could, for example, conduct research to evaluate the effectiveness and/or test the effects of scaling up or expanding strategies:

• To prevent firearm-related assaults and homicides, suicide/self-directed firearm injuries, mass shooting incidents, unintentional firearm deaths and injuries, and firearm-related crime;

• For different population groups (e.g., children, youth, young adults, active-duty military/veterans, rural/tribal populations, and those at risk of harming themselves or others, including in situations of family and intimate partner violence);

• For different settings (e.g., rural/urban, school, neighborhood, community, online) that can be leveraged to prevent firearm-related injuries and crime; and

• For addressing various individual, peer/family, community and societal risk and protective factors including strategies that address social and structural conditions that contribute to the risk of racial/ethnic inequities for firearm-related injuries and crime.

https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/71/wr/mm7119e1.htm http://dx.doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.mm7140a4 https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789241500852

For this announcement, “strategies” can include programs, policies, or practices. Applicants are encouraged to rigorously evaluate those with the potential for population-wide effects.

Applicants are also encouraged to rigorously evaluate factors that lead to effectiveness and barriers to implementation, sustainability, and/or the success of strategies.

Strategies can include broad policies related to healthcare, economic, housing, employment, or educational factors associated with risk for firearm-related injuries and inequities that contribute to disparities in firearm-related injuries. This could also include evaluating strategies specific to firearms, such as laws, programs, and education campaigns related to storage practices or the effects of minimum age requirements, extreme risk protection orders, background checks, mandatory waiting periods, or gun shop interventions on firearm-related injury and death. The prevention strategies listed above are examples and are not an exhaustive list.

Applicants are expected to examine the range of outcomes from the programs, policies, or practices evaluated, including potential unintended negative effects, such as costs or risks to firearm owners. Applicants should describe how the research proposed could inform efforts to reduce firearm-related injuries, deaths, violence, or crime.

Applicants are expected to use the most objective and rigorous study designs possible to answer the proposed research questions. Rigorous evaluations should use experimental (i.e., randomized controlled trials) or quasi-experimental designs (e.g., involve matched comparison groups, use propensity-score matching, instrumental variable methods, regression point displacement, regression discontinuity, or time series). Randomized trials are not feasible for some prevention strategies (e.g., policy evaluations), and alternative quasi-experimental designs are appropriate and acceptable. The proposed research can include qualitative and quantitative methods.

Applicants are encouraged to consider using a combination of methods.

The research proposal should include:

• Appropriate outcome measures, such as firearm-related behavior (e.g., access, use, carrying, secure storage and other safety practices), victimization or perpetration, or fatal or nonfatal injury.

• Data analytic plans that are appropriate to the prevention strategy

• Research design and hypotheses; and

• Data collection measures that anticipate and evaluate the effects of threats to the internal and external validity of the specified research design within the period of performance.

Innovative methodologies, such as predictive analytics or machine learning, are also encouraged when appropriate to address the proposed hypotheses.

Prevention programs, policies, or practices examined should be theoretically justified (e.g., include a conceptual model or theory of change, with proposed mediators and moderators, and how the prevention approach is related to firearm injuries, deaths, violence, or crime) and supported with epidemiological and behavioral research.

Examples of outcome and impact data sources include:

• Information from vital statistics

• Police records

• Criminal justice data

• Injury-related hospital or emergency department data

• Relevant self-reported behaviors

The research proposal should anticipate, conceptualize, and measure the intended benefits and potential unintended negative outcomes relevant to the proposed study. The research proposal should also describe appropriate indicators of program, policy, or practice implementation process and success (e.g., coverage, participation, awareness, enforcement). Using multiple data sources is encouraged to improve validity and reliability of each outcome or other selected measures.

Prevention strategies may be categorized based on the timing of prevention efforts - for example, before violence occurs (primary prevention), immediately after violence occurs (secondary prevention), or over the longer term to address trauma or the consequences of violence (tertiary prevention). NCIPC seeks to support research to inform primary (before violence occurs) and secondary prevention strategies (e.g., hospital-based violence intervention programs to prevent escalation or revictimization from firearm violence among youth).

Data Collection, Acquisition, and Analysis

Applicants must identify and describe appropriate data sources and provide evidence of their ability to acquire and/or collect data of sufficient quantity and quality to conduct the proposed research within the period of performance.

At a minimum, applications should clearly describe and justify:

• The proposed sampling methods

• Sample size

• Power estimates

• Data collection methods for the primary outcome(s)

• The timeline for data acquisition (requests for extant data and or primary data collection)

Other proposed secondary measures and subgroup analyses may also be included. Numerous data sources can be used for the outcome data, including information from vital statistics, hospitals or emergency departments, law enforcement or criminal justice agencies, self-reports, and other sources. Administrative data from relevant agencies and survey data collected prior to or in the context of the evaluation are also potential sources. Appropriate data sources will vary by the proposed research approach and outcome measures. The implementation indicators (e.g., acceptability, coverage, participation, awareness, enforcement, and sustainability), and outcome(s) should be measured at the level consistent with the research focus (e.g., federal, state, local, or organizational), the population of interest, and the data sources available or collected for this project (e.g., administrative, survey, surveillance, hospital or emergency departments, detention facilities).

Protection of Human Subjects and Personally Identifiable Information

The Research Strategy section of the application should clearly describe the type, source, access to, and protections of the data and human subjects participating in the study. Access to non-publicly available, previously collected data must be clearly described in the Research Strategy and documented with a signed Data Sharing Agreement or Letter of Support. Access to publicly available, previously collected data must be clearly described in the Research Strategy.

Protecting previously collected data includes, but is not limited to, safeguarding personally identifiable information from loss and/or misuse.

The application should identify each performance site that will be conducting human subjects research and include the FWA number for the applicant institution and each performance site.

Research conducted with more than one institution should use a single Institutional Review Board (sIRB) to conduct the ethical review required by HHS regulations. See Section IV.

Application and Submission Information, 10 Funding Restrictions, Human Subjects for details.

Population of Focus Funds are available to conduct studies focused on preventing firearm-related injuries, deaths, violence, or crime. Firearm-related injuries and deaths affect people across the lifespan and in all communities. However, some subgroups are at greater risk and patterns of risk vary by the intent of the injury (e.g., homicide, suicide). For example, firearm homicide rates are high in urban neighborhoods with high rates of crime, violence, and social disadvantage. Young people, particularly racial/ethnic minority male youth, are most at risk for firearm homicide. The most common perpetrator of firearm homicides of females are intimate partners. Firearm suicide rates are high in rural and tribal communities. Males and veterans are at elevated risk for firearm suicide. Applicants are encouraged to focus on populations disproportionately impacted by firearm-related injuries and to consider the underlying social and structural conditions that contribute to these inequities in risk.

This NOFO, including funding and eligibility, is not limited based on, and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, disability, age, sex (including gender identity, sexual orientation, and pregnancy) or other constitutionally protected statuses.

Collaboration/Partnerships The applicant organization and contact PI should provide the scientific and technical leadership to conduct the proposed research throughout the entire project. The proposed research work plan described in the Research Strategy section of the application and the SF-424 Research and Related Budget should demonstrate the applicant organization’s leadership and involvement throughout the entirety of the project. The applicant organization cannot serve as a “pass through” to fund another entity to conduct most of the research or to provide the scientific or technical leadership to complete the proposed research project.

As stated in the Background of this NOFO, NCIPC recognizes that context matters. The conditions where people live, work, play and learn affect their overall health. As a result, it is important to evaluate innovative and promising prevention strategies that relate to addressing community conditions and ensuring community engagement to prevent firearm-related injuries, deaths, violence, or crime. Applicants are encouraged to seek and include the meaningful involvement of communities to develop and conduct the proposed research and to translate and disseminate results. Community partners include, but are not limited to, state and/or local health departments, local governmental and non-governmental agencies, businesses, firearm owners, faith-based organizations, and other community-based organizations. Applicants are strongly encouraged to form strong partnerships with community members with lived experience who can participate throughout the project (e.g., developing study methods, collecting data, interpreting results, and disseminating findings). The goals of community involvement include ensuring the relevance of the research for the community and to efficiently and effectively translate results for community use.

Partnerships between the applicant institution and multiple outside entities may be necessary or advantageous to complete the proposed work. The application must describe roles and responsibilities of each partnering entity. This includes demonstrating the applicant’s access to planned data sources and study populations and to all partnerships to complete the proposed project.

The Research Strategy section of the application should describe the roles and responsibilities of each research team member and each participating entity. This includes describing how the partnership will allow the applicant to complete the proposed work. The Research Strategy section of the application must describe:

• The nature and extent of the proposed partnership, including the roles and responsibilities of the PI(s) and of the outside entities or partner agencies

• The existing working relationship

• Plans for the proposed research

• The outside entity’s scope of work, and

• How the partnership will ensure implementation and sustainability of the proposed evaluation.

The Research Strategy section must describe all data sources and the partnerships that are in place to assure data access for all proposed analyses within the period of performance.

The roles and responsibilities described for each partnering entity must be substantiated with a signed Data Sharing Agreement, Letter or Support (LOS), or Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), and be included in the Letter of Support section of the application. The Data Sharing Agreement, Letter of Support (LOS), or Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) must describe the partner’s commitment of resources, time, and personnel to the proposed research.

Applications that do not include a signed Data Sharing Agreement, Letter of Support, or Memorandum of Understanding from each partnering entity may not be recommended for funding during the second level of review (see Section V. Application Review Information 4.

Review and Selection Process).

Peer reviewers will evaluate applications on the extent to which:

• The Research Strategy section clearly describes the roles and responsibilities of each partner involved in data collection and/or the effectiveness evaluation.

• The Research Strategy clearly describes the working relationships between the applicant institution and all partner organizations.

• The Research Strategy clearly describes the involvement and scope of work each partner is willing to complete to ensure the success of the proposed research.

• The relationships and activities of the partnerships described in the Research Strategy are documented by a signed Data Sharing Agreement, Letter of Support, or Memorandum of Understanding that clearly delineates the intent and capabilities of each partnership.

This NOFO encourages including early-stage investigators as members of the SF-424 Senior/Key Personnel research team to help build experience and expertise in firearm-related injury prevention research.

Applications should demonstrate that the research staff have the necessary skills and experience to ensure quality and timeliness of proposed activities. The participation of students and other researchers-in-training is encouraged. Applicants planning to incorporate training and/or mentorship roles into their research activities should describe the plans for the recruitment, training, and supervision of trainees/mentees and the ongoing quality assurance of their scientific products.

Evaluation/Performance Measurement Applicants should provide an evaluation and performance measurement plan with measures of effectiveness. The plan must be able to demonstrate the feasibility of accomplishing the proposed project objectives. Measures of effectiveness must relate to the goals stated in the “Purpose” section of this announcement and be able to measure the intended outputs and outcomes described. Evaluation outcomes should be clearly specified. If applicable, performance measures should include the number of participants recruited into the study, the participation rate, and types of samples collected.

For RFA-CE-25-030, applicants should include appropriate outcome measures, such as firearm-related behavior (e.g., access, use, and safety practices), self-harm/suicide, victimization or perpetration of violence or crime, fatal or nonfatal injury.

Examples of violence outcome and impact data sources include:

• Vital statistics data

• Police record

• Criminal justice data

• Injury-related hospital or emergency department data

• Relevant self-reported behaviors

Applicants are encouraged to use multiple data sources to improve validity and reliability of each outcome or other measure selected. The applicant should appropriately anticipate, conceptualize, and measure the intended benefits and potential unintended negative outcomes of the study proposed.

Translation Plan Applicants should describe the potential for widespread use of the results from the research proposed and the potential to translate the results with and for community partners. This could include using the findings to promote, enhance, or advance implementation and dissemination of the proposed strategy to inform practice. Applicants should also include plans to appropriately document relevant policy or program implementation methods as well as lessons learned to facilitate future replication in another research or non-research setting if the prevention strategy is found to be effective. This may include identifying the core components of policies or programs and documenting lessons learned from the study that might inform future adaptations of the strategy for other settings or populations.

Grant recipients may be required to attend one reverse site visit per year in Atlanta with CDC/NCIPC staff during the period of performance to review their progress and findings and to discuss opportunities for widespread dissemination of their research achievements and lessons learned. Travel costs for attending this meeting must be included in the application’s travel budget submitted in response to this NOFO.

3. Funding Strategy N/A

Section II. Award Information

Funding Instrument Type:

G (Grant) A support mechanism providing money, property, or both to an eligible entity to carry out an approved project or activity.

Application Types Allowed:

New - An application that is submitted for funding for the first time. Includes multiple submission attempts within the same round.

Estimated Total Funding:

$12,900,000 CDC/NCIPC intends to commit up to $4,300,000 in FY 2025 to fund up to ten (10) applications.

Awards issued under this NOFO are contingent upon availability of funds and a sufficient number of meritorious applications.

Anticipated Number of Awards:

For awards made under Funding Option A, the maximum award amount will be $350,000 per award for the first 12-month budget period, including direct and indirect costs. The maximum total project funding amount is $700,000 over a two (2) year period of performance length, with a maximum of $350,000 per award per year. The period of performance for an award made under Funding Option A is expected to run from 9/30/2025 to 9/29/2027.

For awards made under Funding Option B, the maximum award amount will be $650,000 per award for the first 12-month budget period, including direct and indirect costs. The maximum total project funding amount is $1,950,000 over a three (3) year period of performance length, with a maximum of $650,000 per award per year. The period of performance for an award made under Funding Option B is expected to run from 9/30/2025 to 9/29/2028.

Awards issued under this NOFO are contingent on the availability of funds and submission of a sufficient number of meritorious applications.

Award Ceiling:

$650,000 Per Budget Period

Award Floor:

$0 Per Budget Period

Total Period of Performance Length:

3 year(s)

Throughout the Period of Performance, CDC's commitment to continuation of awards will depend on the availability of funds, evidence of satisfactory progress by the recipient (as documented in required reports), and CDC’s determination that continued funding is in the best interest of the Federal government.

HHS/CDC grants policies as described in the HHS Grants Policy Statement (https://www.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/grants/grants/policies-regulations/hhsgps107.pdf) will apply to the applications submitted and awards made in response to this NOFO.

If you are successful and receive a Notice of Award, in accepting the award, you agree that the award and any activities thereunder are subject to all provisions of 45 CFR Part 75, currently in effect or implemented during the period of the award, other Department regulations and policies in effect at the time of the award, and applicable statutory provisions.

Section III. Eligibility Information

1. Eligible Applicants Eligibility Category:

00 (State governments)

01 (County governments)

02 (City or township governments)

04 (Special district governments)

05 (Independent school districts)

06 (Public and State controlled institutions of higher education)

07 (Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized))

08 (Public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities)

11 (Native American tribal organizations (other than Federally recognized tribal governments)) https://www.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/grants/grants/policies-regulations/hhsgps107.pdf

12 (Nonprofits having a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education)

13 (Nonprofits without 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education)

20 (Private institutions of higher education)

22 (For profit organizations other than small businesses)

23 (Small businesses)

25 (Others (see text field entitled "Additional Information on Eligibility" for clarification))

99 (Unrestricted (i.e., open to any type of entity above), subject to any clarification in text field entitled "Additional Information on Eligibility")

Additional Eligibility Category:

The following types of Higher Education Institutions are always encouraged to apply for CDC support as Public or Private Institutions of Higher Education:

Hispanic-serving Institutions

Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs)

Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities (TCCUs)

Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian Serving Institutions

Nonprofits (Other than Institutions of Higher Education):

Nonprofits (Other than Institutions of Higher Education)

Other:

Faith-based or Community-based Organizations

Regional Organizations

Bona Fide Agents: A Bona Fide Agent is an agency/organization identified by the state as eligible to submit an application under the state eligibility in lieu of a state application. If applying as a bona fide agent of a state or local government, a legal, binding agreement from the state or local government as documentation of the status is required. Attach with "Other Attachment Forms."

Federally Funded Research and Development Centers (FFRDCs): FFRDCs are operated, managed, and/or administered by a university or consortium of universities, other not-for-profit or nonprofit organization, or an industrial firm, as an autonomous organization or as an identifiable separate operating unit of a parent organization. A FFRDC meets some special long-term research or development need which cannot be met as effectively by an agency's existing in-house or contractor resources. FFRDC's enable agencies to use private sector resources to accomplish tasks that are integral to the mission and operation of the sponsoring agency. For more information on FFRDCs, go to https://gov.ecfr.io/cgi-bin/searchECFR.

https://gov.ecfr.io/cgi-bin/searchECFR?ob=r&idno=&q1=FFRDC&r=&SID=1510a9feb7999d185d40b026ad998cc0&mc=true

2. Foreign Organizations Foreign Organizations are not eligible to apply.

Foreign components of U.S. Organizations are not eligible to apply.

For this announcement, applicants may not include collaborators or consultants from foreign institutions. All applicable federal laws and policies apply.

3. Additional Information on Eligibility Please see Section III. Eligibility Information.

4. Justification for Less than Maximum Competition N/A

5. Responsiveness It is the applicant’s responsibility to ensure that the application meets all responsiveness criteria listed in this section. Applications that do not meet all of the following Responsiveness criteria will be considered nonresponsive and will not be forwarded for peer review. HHS/CDC will notify the applicant that the application did not meet the submission requirements.

1. The proposed budget for each fiscal year must be less than or equal to the budget ceiling of $350,000 for Funding Option A or $650,000 for Funding Option B as outlined in the Executive Summary of the NOFO. Applications that exceed the budget in any year will be considered nonresponsive and will not be forwarded for peer review.

2. Applications must propose a study within the stated objectives of the NOFO and propose rigorous evaluations (e.g., experimental, quasi-experimental designs) of a prevention strategy to prevent firearm-related injuries, deaths, violence, or crime, as evidenced in the Research Strategy section of the Research Plan. Applications that propose studies outside of the stated objective of this NOFO will be considered nonresponsive and will not be forwarded for peer review. Examples of studies that are considered nonresponsive include research to strengthen surveillance, proposals to study risk or protective factors, and proposals to conduct development and feasibility testing.

In addition, applications that do not propose rigorous evaluation of a prevention strategy to prevent firearm-related injuries, deaths, violence, or crime, as evidenced by the Research Strategy section of the Research Plan, will be considered nonresponsive and will not be forwarded for peer review.

3. Applicants must propose research to inform primary prevention (before violence occurs) and secondary prevention (e.g., hospital-based violence intervention programs to prevent escalation or revictimization from firearm violence among youth) strategies to prevent firearm-related violence and injuries in the Research Strategy section of the Research Plan. Applications proposing to examine or evaluate tertiary response strategies will be considered nonresponsive and will not be forwarded for peer review. In addition, applications that do not focus on preventing future firearm-related injury or violence, as evidenced by the Research Strategy section of the Research Plan, will be considered non-responsive and will not be forwarded for peer review.

4. Applicants must include a SF-424 Biographical Sketch for the PI or Co-Investigator that documents expertise in firearm-related injury prevention (e.g., youth violence, intimate partner violence, suicide), injury prevention, criminology or related discipline that is reflected in the application’s research strategy section. The knowledge, experience, and expertise necessary to conduct this research and achieve proposed objectives must be documented with at least one first-authored, peer-reviewed publication as defined by the NIH National Library of Medicine in the relevant area of firearm-related injury prevention; or by serving as a principal investigator on a research grant in violence, suicide, injury, or crime prevention research. Experience requirements may be demonstrated through the combined experiences of a Principal and Co-Principal Investigator (if applicable). The citation of the relevant publication(s) or research experience must be clearly identified (by bold text or highlight) in the appropriate SF 424 Biographical Sketch. Applications that do not include documentation to meet this requirement will be considered non-responsive and will not be forwarded for peer review.

6. Required Registrations Applicant organizations must complete the following registrations as described in the SF 424 (R&R) Application Guide to be eligible to apply for or receive an award. Applicants must have a valid Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) number in order to begin each of the following registrations.

PLEASE NOTE: Effective April 4, 2022, applicants must have a Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) at the time of application submission. The UEI replaced the Data Universal Numbering System (DUNS) and is generated as part of SAM.gov registration. Current SAM.gov registrants have already been assigned their UEI and can view it in SAM.gov and Grants.gov. Additional information is available on the GSA website, SAM.gov, and Grants.gov-Finding the UEI.

(Foreign entities only): Special Instructions for acquiring a Commercial and Governmental Entity (NCAGE) Code: NCAGE Tool / Products / NCS Help Center (nato.int).

System for Award Management (SAM) – must maintain current registration in SAM (the replacement system for the Central Contractor Registration) to be renewed annually, SAM.gov.

Grants.gov eRA Commons

All applicant organizations must register with Grants.gov. Please visit www.Grants.gov at least 30 days prior to submitting your application to familiarize yourself with the registration and submission processes. The one-time registration process will take three to five days to complete.

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