RFA-CE-25-031_20240830.pdf

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

NATIONAL CENTER FOR INJURY PREVENTION AND CONTROL

Rigorously Evaluating Primary Prevention Strategies for Intimate Partner Violence and Sexual Violence

RFA-CE-25-031

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 Rigorously Evaluating Primary Prevention Strategies for Intimate Partner Violence and Sexual Violence Activity Code Applications in response to this Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) will be funded using the U01 activity code for a research cooperative agreement.

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

RFA-CE-25-031

Assistance Listings Number(s) 93.136 Category of Funding Activity HL - Health NOFO Purpose This NOFO seeks proposals aimed at building the evidence base for the primary prevention of intimate partner violence, including teen dating violence, and/or sexual violence. This funding opportunity will support rigorous outcome evaluations of promising practice-based prevention approaches that are currently being implemented by state, tribal, and/or local organizations that address intimate partner violence and/or sexual violence. This includes, but is not limited to, organizations that receive funding under CDC’s Rape Prevention and Education Program and CDC’s DELTA AHEAD program. By promising practice-based approaches we mean programs, policies, or practices that can demonstrate the following:

• Evidence of implementation in the field for a minimum of two years and

• Collection of prior data demonstrating one or more of the following:

o Positive implementation-related outcomes (e.g., data demonstrating reach, fidelity, availability, and/or acceptability of the approach) and/or o Collection of outcome monitoring data before and after implementing the approach that demonstrate positive changes in intimate partner violence, sexual violence, or established risk and protective factors for intimate partner violence and/or sexual violence

Research on promising practice-based prevention approaches will evaluate the effectiveness of approaches that already have traction within the field but have not been rigorously evaluated. As a result, this research can build the evidence for approaches that are feasible to implement by practitioners and acceptable to communities. Research aimed at building evidence at the community- or societal-levels is of particular interest. In addition, research aimed at building evidence for populations and communities that experience inequitable risk for intimate partner violence and/or sexual violence is of particular interest, including approaches that address social determinants of health.

This NOFO intends to cover a four (4) year period of performance to complete a full-scale rigorous evaluation. This research can address critical research gaps and expand the evidence base for effective programs, policies, and practices that prevent intimate partner violence and/or sexual violence. The availability of a broader range of evidence-based approaches will help address risk and protective factors across all levels of the social ecology. Implementing comprehensive prevention approaches can help move the field towards reductions in intimate partner violence and sexual violence at the population level (DeGue et al., 2012).

There are two CDC Injury Center Notice of Funding Opportunities (NOFOs) that address intimate partner violence and sexual violence:

• “Formative Research of Community-led Primary Prevention Approaches to Address Elevated Risk of Intimate Partner Violence & Sexual Violence” (CE-25-032) and

• “Rigorously Evaluating Primary Prevention Strategies for Intimate Partner Violence and Sexual Violence” (CE-25-031).

The purpose of NOFO CE-25-032 is to build the evidence base for the primary prevention of intimate partner violence (IPV) and/or sexual violence (SV) in communities experiencing elevated risk of IPV and/or SV. NOFO CE-25-032 seeks proposals to support formative research of prevention approaches that address inequities in IPV and/or SV. Formative research is the process that occurs prior to a large-scale rigorous evaluation. Therefore, this funding opportunity intends to build the pipeline of prevention approaches for communities experiencing elevated risk of IPV and/or SV that will be ready for future rigorous evaluations.

https://www.cdc.gov/sexual-violence/programs/index.html https://www.cdc.gov/intimate-partner-violence/programs/index.html

The purpose of this NOFO CE-25-031 is to rigorously evaluate primary prevention approaches for IPV and/SV that can demonstrate existing capacity and readiness for a full-scale rigorous outcome evaluation. Specifically, NOFO CE-25-031 funds rigorous outcome evaluations of promising primary prevention approaches that are currently being implemented by state, tribal, and/or local organizations that address IPV and/or SV. Unlike NOFO CE-25-032, the proposed full-scale rigorous evaluation of the selected approach is not required to focus on populations at elevated risk of IPV and/or SV, though it is strongly encouraged. Research on prevention approaches being implemented at the community- or societal-level are also strongly encouraged, including approaches that address social determinants of health.

Key Dates Publication Date:

To receive notification of any changes to RFA-CE-25-031, 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:

03/04/2025 This date is an estimate.

Secondary Review:

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

05/05/2025 This date is an estimate.

Estimated Start Date:

09/30/2025 Expiration Date:

02/03/2025 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 Purpose

This NOFO seeks proposals to support research aimed at building the evidence base for the primary prevention of intimate partner violence, including teen dating violence, and/or sexual violence. This funding opportunity will support rigorous outcome evaluations of promising practice-based prevention approaches that are currently being implemented that address intimate partner violence and/or sexual violence. By promising practice-based approaches, we mean programs, policies, or practices that can demonstrate the following:

• Evidence of implementation in the field for a minimum of two years and

• Collection of prior data demonstrating one or more of the following:

o Positive implementation-related outcomes (e.g., data demonstrating reach, fidelity, availability, and/or acceptability of the approach) and/or o Collection of outcome monitoring data before and after implementing the approach that demonstrate positive changes in intimate partner violence, sexual violence, or established risk and protective factors for intimate partner violence and/or sexual violence.

Research to evaluate promising practice-based prevention approaches that are perceived to be effective but have not been rigorously evaluated will increase the evidence for intimate partner violence and/or sexual violence prevention approaches that have traction within the field and are, therefore, feasible to implement by practitioners and acceptable to communities. Research aimed at building evidence at the community- or societal-levels is of particular interest. In addition, https://grants.nih.gov/grants/how-to-apply-application-guide.html research aimed at building evidence for populations and communities that experience inequitable risk for intimate partner violence and sexual violence is of particular interest under this announcement, including research on approaches that address social determinants of health.

This funding opportunity intends to cover a four (4) year period of performance to complete a full-scale rigorous evaluation that can address critical research gaps and expand the evidence base for effective programs, policies, and practices that prevent intimate partner violence and sexual violence. The availability of a broader range of evidence-based approaches will help move the field towards implementation of effective, multilevel approaches that address risk and protective factors across all levels of the social ecology and hold promise for reducing intimate partner violence and sexual violence at the population level (DeGue et al., 2012).

Mechanism of Support

The funding mechanism for this Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) will be a [Research Cooperative Agreement (U-01)].

Funds Available and Anticipated Number of Awards CDC/NCIPC intends to commit up to $1,500,000 in FY 2025 to fund up to three (3) applications.

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

Budget and Period of Performance The maximum award amount will be $500,000 per award for the first 12-month budget period.

This includes both direct and indirect costs. An applicant may request a period of performance of up to four years. The maximum total project funding amount is $2,000,000 (including both direct and indirect costs) over the expected period of performance, with a maximum of $500,000 per award per year. The period of performance for this award is expected to run from 9/30/2025 to 9/29/2029.

Application Research Strategy Length Page limits for the Research Strategy are clearly specified in Section IV. Application and Submission Information of this announcement.

Eligible Institutions/Organizations Institutions/organizations listed in Section III. Eligibility Information 1. Eligible Applicants are eligible to apply.

Eligible Project Directors/Principal Investigators (PDs/PIs)

The CDC does not award individuals directly. Individuals possessing the necessary skills, knowledge, and resources to conduct proposed research should collaborate with their institutions to submit a support application. Underrepresented racial and ethnic groups, as well as individuals with disabilities, are especially encouraged to apply.

For applications where the contact PD/PI qualifies as an NIH Early Stage Investigator (ESI), as confirmed through the NIH Investigator Status determination process, and has a commendable peer review score, prioritization may occur during the second level of review (refer to Section V.

Application Review Information 4. Review and Selection Process). Regarding the determination of Investigator Status for the contact PD/PI:

https://grants.nih.gov/policy/early-stage/index.htm

Before submitting an application, PD/PIs should confirm or update the date of their terminal research degree or the conclusion of their post-graduate clinical training in their eRA Commons Profile for accurate identification. NIH systems will automatically determine each investigator's status and reflect it in their eRA Commons personal profile. The ESI status for PD/PIs on any R01 or equivalent application will be indicated at submission. Investigators must ensure their status is accurately represented in their profile. If the status is incorrect, they should reach out to the NIH eRA Service Desk.

Number of PDs/PIs An application may name more than one PD/PI; their names must appear on the face page of the application. However:

• One (1) principal investigator must be designated as the contact PD/PI for all correspondence related to the application.

• All PD/PIs must include their eRA Commons Identification in the Credential Field of the Senior/Key Person Profile Component of the SF-424 (R&R) Application Package.

• Institutions/organizations proposing multiple PDs/PIs must visit the Multiple Program Director/Principal Investigator Policy and submission details in the Senior/Key Person Profile (Expanded) Component of the SF-424 (R&R) Application Guide.

Number of Applications Organizations eligible to apply may submit multiple applications to this NOFO, as long as each is scientifically distinct. However, institutions may only submit one application per contact PD/PI. Only one application for each contact PD/PI will receive funding under this announcement. If multiple applications from the same contact PD/PI are submitted, only the most recent one, based on the time and date stamp at www.grants.gov, will be considered for review. It is the applicant's responsibility to withdraw any duplicate applications before the review date.

Institutions that submit applications proposing essentially the same research to two or more CDC/ATSDR NOFOs will not receive funding for more than one.

Application Type

NEW

Special Date(s) A pre-application teleconference call will be conducted on 10/24/2024 to address questions from prospective applicants regarding NOFO RFA-CE-25-025. The call will begin at 2:00pm Eastern Standard Time (EST) and end at 2:50 pm Eastern Standard Time (EST), or sooner if all questions are addressed. Questions and answers from the discussion will be included in a supplemental document on grants.gov approximately 2-3 weeks after the call.

Participant Access Information:

• Call Date: October 24, 2024

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

• Call End Time: 2:50pm Eastern Standard Time (EST) https://www.era.nih.gov/need-help

• Call Leader: Joyce Dieterly, Scientific Program Official

• Webinar Link:

https://cdc.zoomgov.com/j/1614969586?pwd=bnIwWEo3WVJrUVNXYmlGQStGTU5F

UT09

• Webinar ID: 161 496 9586

• Passcode: 6S9^ixQ!

• Call-In Numbers:

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

• Dial-In Passcode: 19123744

Application Materials See Section IV.1 for application materials.

Hearing Impaired Telecommunications for the hearing impaired are available at: TTY: 1-888-232-6348.

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 Intimate partner violence and sexual violence are significant public health problems that affect millions of people in the United States (Leemis et al., 2022; Basile et al., 2022). Intimate partner violence (including teen dating violence) is committed by a current or former intimate partner. A partner may be a spouse, boyfriend/girlfriend, dating partner, or ongoing sexual partner.

(Breiding et al., 2015). Intimate partner violence includes:

• physical violence

• sexual violence

• stalking

• psychological aggression including coercive tactics.

Almost 1 in 2 women (47.3% or 59 million) and more than 2 in 5 men (44.2% or 52.1 million) in the United States reported any contact sexual violence, physical violence, and/or stalking victimization by an intimate partner at some point in their lifetime (Leemis et al., 2022).

Sexual violence can be perpetrated by anyone. For example, perpetrators of sexual violence may include, but not be limited to friends/acquaintances, current or former intimate partners, family members, strangers, or persons in positions of power, authority, or trust. The CDC defines sexual https://cdc.zoomgov.com/j/1614969586?pwd=bnIwWEo3WVJrUVNXYmlGQStGTU5FUT09 https://cdc.zoomgov.com/j/1614969586?pwd=bnIwWEo3WVJrUVNXYmlGQStGTU5FUT09 https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/31292 violence as a sexual act that is committed or attempted by another person without freely given consent of the victim or against someone who is unable to consent or refuse (Basile, Smith, Breiding, Black, & Mahendra, 2014), including:

• forced or alcohol/drug facilitated penetration of the victim (i.e., rape)

• making a victim penetrate a perpetrator or someone else (i.e., being made to penetrate)

• non-physically pressured unwanted penetration (i.e., sexual coercion)

• unwanted sexual touching that does not involve penetration (e.g., groping, grabbing sexual body parts)

• unwanted non-contact acts of a sexual nature (e.g., verbal sexual harassment, tech-facilitated sexual violence)

• sex trafficking (i.e., the recruitment, harboring, transportation, provision, obtaining, patronizing, or soliciting of a person for the purpose of a commercial sex act)

Approximately 33.5 million women and 4.5 million men in the United States report a lifetime experience of completed or attempted rape (Basile et al., 2022). In addition, 54.3% of women (approximately 67.8 million) and 30.7% of men (approximately 36.2 million) have experienced some form of contact sexual violence in their lifetime (Basile et al., 2022).

The field has made progress in building the evidence-base for intimate partner violence and sexual violence prevention. However, many important gaps remain. To help address the gap between what is known and what is being implemented in communities, the CDC’s Division of Violence Prevention has developed Prevention Resources for Action that outline the best available evidence. These resources include examples of programs, policies, and practices with impact on risk and protective factors for intimate partner violence and sexual violence. Most effective programs are implemented specifically in school-based settings. Limited evidence exists for approaches that can be implemented in community settings, such as businesses or workplaces, youth-serving organizations, or faith-based institutions. Research is needed to expand the evidence base for prevention approaches that can be implemented in diverse settings.

Furthermore, many of the evidence-based approaches focus on teaching healthy relationship skills and encouraging bystander behavior to address individual and relationship factors. The field needs research on policies, programs, and practices that can be implemented at the community- and societal-level of the social-ecological model. For example, limited evidence exists for effective policy-based prevention approaches for intimate partner violence and sexual violence.

Challenges exist in the uptake, implementation, and sustainability of primary prevention approaches and underscore the importance of research that evaluates practice-based approaches (Smith et al., 2018). These challenges are especially salient in communities and among populations that experience inequitable risk for violence. Additional research is needed to identify effective trauma-informed and culturally responsive prevention approaches, including approaches that address social and structural determinants of health. The social and structural conditions in which people are born, grow, live, work, and age can be shaped by the distribution of resources, which is influenced in part by policies. Examples of social and structural determinants of health are concentrated poverty, structural racism, high rates of unemployment, limited access to high-quality education, and affordable, high-quality childcare. These contribute to health inequities, including differences in health status seen across population groups (Solar & https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/26326 https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/26326 https://www.cdc.gov/violence-prevention/php/resources-for-action/index.html

Irwin, 2010; Yearby, 2020). Building evidence for these types of approaches can support efforts to address inequities in risk for intimate partner violence and/or sexual violence. Communities require a broader and more comprehensive set of effective programs, policies, and practices that allow them to select approaches to meet their unique needs. The availability of a broad range of evidence-based approaches will also help address risk and protective factors across all levels of the social ecology. Implementing comprehensive prevention approaches can help move the field towards reductions in intimate partner violence and sexual violence at the population level (DeGue et al., 2012).

The CDC’s National Center for Injury Prevention and Control (NCIPC) has published research priorities for intimate partner violence and sexual violence prevention (https://www.cdc.gov/injury-violence-prevention/programs/research-priorities.html). These priorities include evaluating innovative or promising prevention approaches to expand the evidence base on what works to prevent intimate partner violence and sexual violence. Research funded under this announcement is expected to add to the limited existing evidence base and address immediate and divergent needs in the field. Specifically, research funded under this announcement will rigorously evaluate promising practice-based prevention approaches for their impact on intimate partner violence and/or sexual violence outcomes. Promising practice-based approaches are programs, policies, or practices that have the following:

• Evidence of implementation in the field for a minimum of two years by a state, tribal, or local organization that addresses prevention of intimate partner violence and/or sexual violence. This includes, but is not limited to, organizations that receive funding under CDC’s Rape Prevention and Education Program and CDC’s DELTA AHEAD program.

• Collection of prior data demonstrating one or more of the following:

o Positive implementation-related outcomes (e.g., data demonstrating reach, fidelity, availability, and/or acceptability of the approach) and/or o Collection of outcome monitoring data before and after implementing the approach that demonstrate positive changes in intimate partner violence, sexual violence, or established risk and protective factors for intimate partner violence and/or sexual violence.

Research on promising practice-based prevention approaches will evaluate the effectiveness of prevention approaches that already have traction within the field but have not been rigorously evaluated. As a result, this research can build the evidence for approaches that are feasible to implement by practitioners and acceptable to communities.

For the purposes of this announcement, communities are defined as formal or informal organizations or geographical settings in which social relationships occur (e.g., neighborhoods, cities, states, etc.; Dahlberg & Krug, 2002). Communities may include any defined population with shared characteristics, risk/protective factors, and potential for exposure to the program, policy, or practice.

In addition, the following definitions are provided to distinguish between community-based approaches and community-level approaches:

• Community-based approaches are implemented in community settings and aim to change individual, peer, family, and other proximal relationship factors. Examples of these https://www.cdc.gov/injury-violence-prevention/programs/research-priorities.html factors include conflict resolution skills, parenting skills, personal attitudes, knowledge about violence, bystander behaviors.

• Community-level approaches are defined as approaches that address the characteristics of settings that increase or buffer against the risk for violence, particularly the social, economic, and environmental characteristics of neighborhood, school, workplace, and other organizational settings (Dahlberg, 2018), as indicated by the outer levels of the social ecological model (DeGue, Hipp, & Herbst, 2016).

Research aimed at building evidence for community-level approaches is of particular interest under this announcement. Programs, policies, or practices that are designed to address one or more of the outer layers of the social ecological model (https://www.cdc.gov/violence-prevention/about/index.html) are strongly encouraged. However, both community-based approaches and community-level approaches are eligible for evaluation under this announcement.

This announcement also strongly encourages research on programs, policies, or practices that address the needs of populations and communities experiencing inequitable risk for intimate partner violence and/or sexual violence.

Identifying the needs, barriers, and supports that are necessary for preventing violence within populations and communities that face heightened risk has the potential to inform prevention efforts and produce greater impacts. Limited evidence exists for program implementation within diverse populations. Rigorous evaluation of approaches that have been tailored to meet the needs of populations experiencing inequitable risk can address important gaps in the evidence.

Populations experiencing inequitable risk include, but are not limited to:

• racial/ethnic minority persons

• people with disabilities

• undocumented immigrants

• asylum seeking and refugee populations

• tribal populations

• rural communities and other geographically underserved areas

• sexual and gender minority persons

• people experiencing poverty and/or housing instability

• people who exchange sex

Public health approaches are often characterized in terms of the timing of prevention.

• Primary prevention approaches aim to prevent violence before it occurs.

• Secondary prevention approaches focus on the more immediate responses to recent violence, such as victim treatment or arrest strategies.

• Tertiary prevention approaches focus on long-term care after violence has occurred, such as rehabilitation/reintegration, attempts to lessen trauma or reduce the long-term disability associated with violence.

Research funded under this announcement is intended to focus specifically on rigorous evaluation of primary prevention approaches.

https://www.cdc.gov/violence-prevention/about/index.html https://www.cdc.gov/violence-prevention/about/index.html

Most existing evidence-based programs are designed for group-based delivery in school-, college-, or university-based settings. For the purposes of this announcement school-based prevention approaches refer to programs, policies, and practices implemented in K-12 schools, colleges, or university-based settings. The intent of this NOFO is to broaden the evidence beyond school-based prevention approaches and focus on programs, policies, and practices implemented in other diverse settings or environments. For example, other diverse settings or environments may include, but are not limited to, neighborhoods, community-based organizations, businesses or workplaces, faith-based organizations, and youth-serving organizations. Applicants proposing to rigorously evaluate school-based prevention approaches will be considered nonresponsive.

References:

Athey, S., & Imbens, G.W. (2017). The state of applied econometrics: Causality and policy evaluation. Journal of Economic Perspectives, 31(2), 3-32.

Basile, K. C., Smith, S. G., Breiding, M. J., Black, M. C., & Mahendra, R. R. (2014). Sexual violence surveillance: Uniform definitions and recommended data elements, Version 2.0. Atlanta (GA): National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Basile, K.C., Smith, S.G., Kresnow, M., Khatiwada S., & Leemis, R.W. (2022). The National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey: 2016/2017 Report on Sexual Violence. Atlanta, GA: National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Breiding MJ, Basile KC, Smith SG, Black MC, Mahendra RR. Intimate Partner Violence Surveillance: Uniform Definitions and Recommended Data Elements, Version 2.0. Atlanta (GA):

National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention;

2015.

Dahlberg, L.L. (2018). The Distinction between Community-based vs. Community-level Prevention: Implications for the Prevention of Sexual Violence. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Sexual Violence Resource Center Regional Training Workshops for the Rape Prevention and Education Program Directors – April 24, 2018 (Atlanta, GA) and May 1, 2018 (Portland, OR).

Dahlberg, L. L., & Krug, E. G. (2002). Violence-a global public health problem. In E. G. Krug, L. L. Dahlberg, J. A. Mercy, A. B. Zwi, & R. Lozano (Eds.), World report on violence and health (pp. 1–56). Geneva, Switzerland: World Health Organization.

Damschroder, L.J., Aron, D.C., Keith, R.E., Kirsh, S.R., Alexander, J.A., & Lowery, J.C. (2009).

Fostering implementation of health services research findings into practice: a consolidated framework for advancing implementation science. Implementation Science, 4, 50.

DeGue S., Hipp T.N., Herbst J.H. (2016) Community-Level Approaches to Prevent Sexual Violence. In: Jeglic E., Calkins C. (eds) Sexual Violence. Springer, Cham

DeGue, S., Holt, M. K., Massetti, G. M., Matjasko, J. L., Tharp, A. T., & Valle, L. A. (2012).

Looking ahead toward community-level strategies to prevent sexual violence. Journal of Women's Health, 21, 1-3.

Eccles, M., Grimshaw, J., Campbell, M., & Ramsay, C. (2003). Research designs for studies evaluating the effectiveness of change and improvement strategies. Quality and Safety in Health Care, 12(1), 47-52.

Leemis R.W., Friar N., Khatiwada S., Chen M.S., Kresnow M., Smith S.G., Caslin, S., & Basile, K.C. (2022). The National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey: 2016/2017 Report on Intimate Partner Violence. Atlanta, GA: National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Massetti, G.M., Holland, K.M., & Gorman-Smith, D. (2016). Implementation measurement for evidence-based violence prevention programs in communities. Journal of Community Health, 41(4), 881-894.

Nation, M., Crusto, C., Wandersman, A., Kumpter, K. L., Seybolt, D., Morrissey-Kane, E., & Davino, K. (2013). What works in prevention: Principles of effective prevention programs.

American Psychologist, 58, 449-456. (What works in prevention. Principles of effective prevention programs - PubMed (nih.gov)).

Smith, L. S., & Wilkins, N. (2018). Mind the gap: approaches to addressing the research-to-practice, practice-to-research chasm. Journal of Public Health Management and Practice, 24, S6-S11.

Smith, L. S., Wilkins, N., Marshall, S. W., Dellapenna, A., Pressley, J. C., Bauer, M., ... & Green, K. (2018). The power of academic-practitioner collaboration to enhance science and practice integration: injury and violence prevention case studies. Journal of Public Health Management and Practice, 24, S67-S74.

Solar O, & Irwin A. (2010). 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.

Yearby, R. (2020). Structural racism and health disparities: Reconfiguring the social determinants of health framework to include the root cause. Journal of Law, Medicine & Ethics, 48(3), 518-526.

Healthy People 2030 and other National Strategic Priorities This research addresses the health promotion and disease prevention objectives of “Healthy People 2030”, including the focus area of injury and violence prevention. For more information, see https://health.gov/healthypeople.

The objectives of this funding announcement also align with goals of the first-ever “U.S.

National Plan to End Gender-Based Violence: Strategies for Action” released by the White House. For additional information on the "U.S. National Plan to End Gender-Based Violence:

Strategies for Action" see https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/National- Plan-to-End-GBV.pdf.

Public Health Impact Intimate partner violence, including teen dating violence, and sexual violence are significant public health problems that are associated with adverse physical and mental health conditions.

The proposed research will add to the limited existing literature on effective approaches for the primary prevention of intimate partner violence and/or sexual violence. By preventing intimate https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12971191/ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12971191/ https://health.gov/healthypeople https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/National-Plan-to-End-GBV.pdf https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/National-Plan-to-End-GBV.pdf partner violence and sexual violence, the overall health of individuals can be improved.

Specifically, research funded under this announcement will rigorously evaluate a diverse set of approaches that address immediate and divergent needs in the field. These approaches have the potential to reach many people and could significantly reduce morbidity and mortality associated with intimate partner violence and sexual violence.

Relevant Work For more than 30 years, NCIPC has been the nation’s leading public health authority on violence and injury prevention. NCIPC’s approach involves three elements:

• Focus on prevention

• Science-driven approach to identify risk and protective factors, and

• Multidisciplinary collaboration to address the problem and keep people safe, healthy and productive

The research focus of this NOFO is informed by and will inform future updates to NCIPC Division of Violence Prevention’s Prevention Resources for Action, formerly known as “technical packages.” These resources help states and communities take advantage of the best available evidence to prevent violence (https://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/communicationresources/pub/resource-for-action.html). The strategies and approaches in the Prevention Resources for Action represent different levels of the social ecology. This includes efforts intended to impact individual behaviors as well as the relationship, family, school, community, and societal factors that influence risk and protective factors for violence.

This work aligns with NCIPC’s research priorities (https://www.cdc.gov/injury/priorities/index.html) and the Division of Violence Prevention’s Strategic Vision (https://www.cdc.gov/injury/divisions-offices/about-division-of-violence-prevention.html#cdc_about_cio_priorities-priorities) to:

• Evaluate the effectiveness of programs, policies, and practices that have substantial uptake in practice but lack evaluation research evidence

• Evaluate the efficacy and effectiveness of programs, policies or practices across all levels of the social ecology

• Expand evidence for populations that experience a disproportionate risk for intimate partner violence and/or sexual violence.

A detailed list of previously funded research awards is available on NCIPC’s website:

https://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/fundinghub/fundedprograms/research-awards.html.

Additional descriptions of violence prevention initiatives supported by NCIPC are available at:

http://www.cdc.gov/injury/.

NCIPC also provides funding for implementation of primary prevention efforts that address intimate partner violence and sexual violence at the state and local level. Under the Rape Prevention and Education (RPE) Program, CDC funds health departments in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and four U.S. territories. RPE recipients work with rape crisis centers, state sexual assault coalitions, and others to advance sexual violence prevention. A list of current RPE recipients and state sexual assault coalitions are available at:

http://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/rpe/states.html.

https://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/communicationresources/pub/resource-for-action.html https://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/communicationresources/pub/resource-for-action.html https://www.cdc.gov/injury/priorities/index.html https://www.cdc.gov/injury/divisions-offices/about-division-of-violence-prevention.html#cdc_about_cio_priorities-priorities https://www.cdc.gov/injury/divisions-offices/about-division-of-violence-prevention.html#cdc_about_cio_priorities-priorities https://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/fundinghub/fundedprograms/research-awards.html http://www.cdc.gov/injury/ http://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/rpe/states.html

CDC also provides funding for state domestic violence coalitions through the Domestic Violence Prevention Enhancement and Leadership Through Alliances (DELTA): Achieving Health Equity through Addressing Disparities (AHEAD) program. The purpose of DELTA AHEAD is to decrease risk factors and increase protective factors related to intimate partner violence.

Additional information on the DELTA AHEAD program and a list of current recipients are available at: https://www.cdc.gov/intimate-partner-violence/programs/index.html

2. Approach Strategy Focus: Promising Practice-based Primary Prevention Approaches

Research funded under this announcement will rigorously evaluate promising practice-based programs, policies, or practices for their impact on intimate partner violence and/or sexual violence outcomes. Promising practice-based approaches are defined as programs, policies, or practices that can demonstrate the following:

• Evidence of implementation in the field for a minimum of two years by state, tribal, or local organization(s) that address prevention of intimate partner violence and/or sexual violence

• Collection of prior data demonstrating one or more of the following:

o Positive implementation-related outcomes (e.g., data demonstrating reach, fidelity, availability, and/or acceptability of the approach) and/or o Collection of outcome monitoring data before and after implementing the approach that demonstrates positive changes in intimate partner violence, sexual violence, or established risk and protective factors for intimate partner violence and/or sexual violence.

Applicants who are not a state, tribal, or local organization responsible for implementation of the proposed practice-based prevention approach must partner and collaborate with one or more state, tribal, or local organizations that are currently implementing the approach. Eligible partner organizations include, but are not limited to, organizations that receive funding under CDC’s Rape Prevention and Education Program and CDC’s DELTA AHEAD program. These partner organizations should be actively involved in the planning and implementation of the proposed research. See the Collaboration/Partnership section for the requirements to document the partnership in the application.

Strategy Scope

This Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) intends to cover a four (4) year program plan to complete a full-scale rigorous evaluation of a primary prevention program, policy, or practice for intimate partner violence and/or sexual violence. Secondary or tertiary prevention approaches are not of interest under this announcement.

Research aimed at building evidence at the community- or societal-levels is of particular interest.

In addition, research aimed at building evidence for populations and communities that experience inequitable risk for intimate partner violence and/or sexual violence is of particular interest, including approaches that address social and structural determinants of health. The research results are expected to add to the limited existing literature on effective approaches for primary prevention of intimate partner violence and sexual violence. In particular, the results are https://www.cdc.gov/intimate-partner-violence/programs/index.html https://www.cdc.gov/sexual-violence/programs/index.html https://www.cdc.gov/intimate-partner-violence/programs/index.html expected to expand the evidence base for effective programs, policies, and practices that can be implemented outside of school-based settings.

Primary Prevention Approaches Eligible for Evaluation and Related Requirements.

Examples of potential programs, policies, and practices that could be evaluated for effects on intimate partner violence and/or sexual violence outcomes, include:

• Approaches that leverage technology and online spaces (e.g., digital apps, social media, etc.) to enhance prevention for both technology-facilitated violence and violence perpetrated in person

• Policies and other community- or societal-level approaches impacting social norms in society, communities/neighborhoods, and other novel or innovative settings (e.g., bars, workplaces)

• Policies to strengthen economic supports for families (e.g., comparable worth policies, access to affordable quality childcare, livable wage policies, paid family and medical leave)

• Programs aimed at strengthening household financial security (e.g., microfinance, financial literacy, job skills training programs)

• Programs aimed at strengthening leadership and opportunities for adolescent girls, such as community-based organizations that build adolescent girls’ confidence, job readiness, and marketability

• Efforts that improve safety and monitoring in neighborhood or community settings by enhancing and maintaining the physical characteristics of settings (e.g., increased lighting, abandoned building and vacant lot remediation, creating green space, sponsoring community events that bring residents together)

• Policies to improve organizational settings and create a healthy organizational climate to reduce violence (e.g., sexual harassment policies)

• Efforts focused on addressing community-level risks through environmental approaches that change, enact, or enforce laws, regulations, or organizational policies or other characteristics of the community (e.g., alcohol-related policies)

The examples above are not an exhaustive list. This announcement is particularly interested in research focused on gathering evidence at the community or societal levels. Research that aims to build evidence for populations and communities disproportionately affected by intimate partner violence and/or sexual violence is of special interest, especially approaches that address social determinants of health.

Approaches that are NOT eligible for evaluation.

Most existing evidence-based programs are designed for group-based delivery in K-12 school-, college-, or university-based settings. The intent of this NOFO is to broaden the evidence beyond school-based prevention approaches. The Specific Aims section of the application must demonstrate that the proposed program, policy, or practice to be evaluated is not a school-based prevention approach and will not be implemented in a K-12 school, college, or university-based setting.

Applications must demonstrate that rigorous evaluation of the selected approach will expand on, and not replicate, modify, or adapt, the existing evidence base in intimate partner violence and/or sexual violence prevention. The following programs, policies, or practices have been identified as having existing evidence of effectiveness for preventing intimate partner violence and/or sexual violence perpetration in a rigorous evaluation and are NOT eligible for evaluation under this NOFO:

• Safe Dates

• Dating Matters®: Strategies to Promote Healthy Teen Relationships

• Families for Safe Dates

• Shifting Boundaries - Building Level Intervention

• GreenDot

• RealConsent

• Coaching Boys into Men

• Bringing in the Bystander

• Second Step

• Expect Respect Support Groups

• The Fourth R: Strategies for Healthy Teen Relationships

• Prevention and Relationship Enhancement Program

• ePREP

Additionally, several programs, policies, or practices aimed at preventing intimate partner violence and/or sexual violence are currently being evaluated under existing CDC-funded initiatives and are NOT eligible for this NOFO. A list of CDC-funded research awards focused on intimate partner violence, teen dating violence, and/or sexual violence prevention can be generated at https://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/fundinghub/fundedprograms/research-awards.html.

The Specific Aims section of the application must demonstrate that the proposed prevention program, policy, or practice is not a criminal justice approach (e.g., community policing, arrest strategies). The application must also demonstrate that the proposed prevention approach is not solely surveillance and/or etiological research. Surveillance and/or etiological research includes research examining the prevalence or correlates of behavior with the intent to uncover the causes or correlates of violence.

In summary, to be responsive to this funding opportunity, the prevention program, policy, or practice must meet the following criteria:

• Focus on the primary prevention of intimate partner violence and/or sexual violence

• Have evidence of implementation in the field for a minimum of two years by a state, tribal, or local organization that addresses intimate partner violence and/or sexual violence

• Have evidence of data demonstrating one or more of the following:

o Prior positive implementation-related outcomes (e.g., data demonstrating reach, fidelity, availability, and/or acceptability of the approach) and/or o Collection of outcome monitoring data before and after implementing the approach that demonstrates positive changes in intimate partner violence, sexual violence, or established risk and protective factors for intimate partner violence and/or sexual violence https://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/fundinghub/fundedprograms/research-awards.html https://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/fundinghub/fundedprograms/research-awards.html

• Have evidence that evaluating the proposed program, policy, or practice will expand on, and not replicate, modify, or adapt, the existing evidence base. More specifically:

o The selected approach does not have existing evidence of effectiveness from a rigorous evaluation for reducing intimate partner violence or sexual violence o The selected approach is not currently undergoing a rigorous evaluation of effects on intimate partner violence or sexual violence.

• Focus on primary prevention programs, policies, and practices being implemented outside of school-based settings. For example, approaches implemented in neighborhoods, community-based organizations, businesses or workplaces, faith-based organizations, or youth-serving organizations.

• Not represent a criminal justice approach (e.g., community policing, arrest strategies)

• Not represent solely surveillance or etiological research examining the prevalence or correlates of behavior with the intent to uncover the causes or correlates of violence

Research Plan

The research plan should describe the overall concept for the proposed rigorous evaluation. This includes, but is not limited to:

• research questions

• study design

• hypotheses

• theory of change

• primary and secondary outcomes to be measured

• data collection methods

• proposed data analysis plan

• estimated sample size and power for each proposed hypothesis

• timeline and milestones for all research activities

The proposed research design is expected to be well described and appropriate to meet the objectives of this NOFO and the applicant’s proposed study. The proposed research design must allow for a rigorous quantitative evaluation of the effectiveness of the program, policy, or practice for its impact on intimate partner violence and/or sexual violence outcomes. The intimate partner violence and/or sexual violence outcomes to be assessed in the evaluation must be clearly described and appropriate for the evaluation method and research objectives. Analytic plans should anticipate and evaluate the effects of potential threats to the internal and external validity. Applicants are encouraged to additionally propose a qualitative component to support the rigorous quantitative evaluation.

The applicant should include Timelines and Milestones for all research activities. The Timelines and Milestones should be sufficiently detailed, complete, and clearly describe…