RFA CE-25-032 Questions and Answers.pdf

RFA CE-25-032 Questions and Answers

1. Can you please guide me on how to find the grant application?

More information about the grant opportunity can be found here on grants.gov. The full announcement can be found under section “Related Documents” which provides additional guidance for applying and navigating the application process. Application submissions can be accessed by pressing the red buttons to apply and/or subscribe for updates and research application portal.

2. What prevention approaches, if any, will be considered not eligible for this cooperative agreement?

Please see Section I: Funding Opportunity Description > 2. Approach > Prevention Approaches that are NOT eligible for evaluation starting on page 12 of the NOFO for more information regarding ineligible prevention approaches for this opportunity. For example, this section includes some prevention approaches and adaptations that have been identified as having existing evidence of effectiveness for preventing intimate partner violence and/or sexual violence in a rigorous evaluation, as well as several programs, policies or practices aimed at preventing intimate partner violence and/or sexual violence that are currently being evaluated under existing CDC-funded initiatives.

3. Is it acceptable to submit a proposal for a prevention program that has not yet been implemented? Or must the prevention program have previously been or is currently implemented?

a. Similar question: Could you say more about that the intervention must "already be implemented"? Can this fund Community Based Organizations (CBOs) that are starting new programs or expanding their current programs?

As found in the Executive Summary on page 4 of the NOFO, “the prevention approach selected for this formative research proposal must be community-led, which means that the selected approach was developed with significant input from the impacted community and is already implemented in the community.” It is incumbent on the applicant to justify the selected approach and ensure that their research plan aligns with the intent of this NOFO. Applicants should review the responsiveness criteria (page 24) and peer review criteria (page 35) while developing their applications.

4. Please find the attached application for your review – your feedback and any assistance you can provide would be greatly appreciated.

a. Similar question: Does this approach align with the objectives of community-led primary prevention?

https://www.grants.gov/search-results-detail/353986?ACSTrackingID=DM132193&ACSTrackingLabel=Copy+of+Copy+of+ERPO+Information+Sharing+Newsletter+-&deliveryName=DM132193

While we are not able to provide guidance or information on the appropriateness of your application, aims, or research plan to the NOFO, we can point you to sections of the NOFO that may address your inquiries and assist in developing your application:

• Section I: Funding Opportunity Description > 2. Approach starting on page 11 to understand the objectives and intent of the NOFO;

• Section III: Eligibility Information > 5. Responsiveness starting on page 24 to review aspects of an application that would be considered responsive and non-responsive; and

• Section V: Application Review Information starting on page 35 to understand the scientific review criteria.

As a reminder, the intent of this NOFO is to focus on formative research and evaluation activities designed to build capacity for a future rigorous evaluation of the intimate partner violence and/or sexual violence primary prevention approach for populations experiencing the inequitable risk for intimate partner violence and/or sexual violence. It is incumbent on the applicant to justify their research plan to ensure it aligns with the intent of this NOFO.

5. Can you explain formative and how that can be separate from evidence-based practices?

As found in Section I: Funding Opportunity Description > 2. Approach > Research Design on page 15 of the NOFO, “formative research involves using qualitative and quantitative methods to strengthen the components of the prevention approach, such as the design and implementation, appropriateness, and acceptability, as well as components of the evaluation activities, such as instrument development, implementation evaluation, recruitment and retention, and pilot studies.” It is the process that occurs prior to a large-scale rigorous evaluation.

The purpose of this NOFO and use of formative research is to build capacity for a future rigorous evaluation of intimate partner violence and/or sexual violence primary prevention approaches.

This is different from evidence-based practices that have already been identified as having existing evidence of effectiveness for preventing intimate partner violence and/or sexual violence in a rigorous evaluation. Please see Section I: Funding Opportunity Description > 2.

Approach > Prevention Approaches that are NOT eligible for evaluation starting on page 12 for more information. Applicants seeking to evaluate promising primary prevention approaches in a full-scale rigorous evaluation should review NOFO RFA-CE-25-031 to see if their proposal better aligns with that NOFO.

6. Is there any information you can offer about what the cooperative agreement relationship can/will look like?

A cooperative agreement is a support mechanism used when there will be substantial federal scientific or programmatic involvement. Substantial involvement means that, after award, scientific or program staff will assist, guide, coordinate, or participate in project activities. Please see Section VI: Award Administration Information > 4. Cooperative Agreement Terms and https://www.grants.gov/search-results-detail/354033

Conditions starting on page 47 for more information regarding the cooperative agreement relationship between CDC and the recipient. Here the NOFO states, “the administrative and funding instrument used for this program will be the cooperative agreement, an ‘assistance’ mechanism (rather than an ‘acquisition’ mechanism), in which substantial CDC programmatic involvement with the recipients is anticipated during the performance of the activities. Under the cooperative agreement, the HHS/CDC's purpose is to support and stimulate the recipients' activities by involvement in and otherwise working jointly with the award recipients in a partnership role; CDC Project Officers are not to assume direction, prime responsibility, or a dominant role in the activities. Consistent with this concept, the dominant role and prime responsibility reside with the recipients for the project as a whole, although specific tasks and activities may be shared among the recipients and HHS/CDC as defined below [see page 47 for more details].”

7. We are keen to understand if a foreign tertiary institution and the university’s wholly owned non-for-profit subsidiary can participate either directly and/or collaborate with local entities in the U.S. to address this opportunity.

As found in Section III: Eligibility Information > 2. Foreign Organizations on page 23 of the

NOFO, foreign organizations and foreign components of U.S. organizations are not eligible to apply for this opportunity. Additionally, applicants may not include collaborators or consultants from foreign institutions.

8. Can senior authorship substitute for first authorship regarding PI eligibility/demonstrating prior experience in IPV/SV-related research?

Section III: Eligibility Information > 5. Responsiveness on page 24 of the NOFO, in particular item 2, outlines the requirements for demonstrating prior empirical research experience in intimate partner violence, sexual violence, or other violence-related research. As stated in the

NOFO, “evidence of the experience must be documented by at least one relevant first-authored, peer-reviewed journal article.” This experience can be documented by the PI and/or Co-

Investigator.

9. Where can I find support for the following information? “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.”

More information on how to register with eRA Commons and acquire the identification needed to fill the credential field can be found in Section III: Eligibility Information > 6. Required Registrations on page 25.

More information related to the SF-424 (R&R) Application Package can be found in Section IV:

Application and Submission Information > 2. Content and Form of Application Submission on page 28 and in the “How to Apply – Application Guide” link. Downloading the general or https://grants.nih.gov/grants-process/write-application/how-to-apply-application-guide research instructions has the following instructions related to the Senior/Key Person Profile Component: G/R.240 Senior/Key Person Profile (Expanded) Form.

10. Would it be appropriate to define this [insert study population group of interest] group as my initial study population?

We are unable to provide specific guidance on the appropriateness of your study population of interest to the aims and objectives of the NOFO. The purpose of this NOFO is to build the evidence base for the prevention of intimate partner violence and/or sexual violence in populations experiencing elevated risk of intimate partner violence and/or sexual violence.

Please see Section I: Funding Opportunity Description > Approach > Population of Focus starting on page 17 of the NOFO for more information related to study populations of interest.

11. Can you define “school-based”? Does this include charter schools? Universities?

As found in Section III: Eligibility Information > 5. Responsiveness on page 25 of the NOFO, “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. Examples of school-based prevention approaches that are considered nonresponsive include a program, policy, or practice implemented in a K-12 school, college, and university-based setting.” This includes charter schools and universities.

12. When you say "in the community" does that mean by service providers working in the space/location? Do you think healthcare is a community and can we work on that?

In accordance with the NOFO, “community-led” means the approach is developed with leadership or substantial input from communities that face inequitable risk for intimate partner violence and/or sexual violence and is being implemented in a community-based setting.”

Please see Section I: Funding Opportunity Description > Approach on page 11 of the NOFO and the subsections related to Collaboration/Partnerships (page 18), Letters of Support (page 18), and Community Engagement (page 19) for more information regarding community partners.

Selected approaches may be implemented in a number of different settings, including but not limited to healthcare settings (for example, see table on page 13 of NOFO). However, it is incumbent upon the applicant to select an approach that was developed to address intimate partner violence and/or sexual violence in populations experiencing elevated risk of intimate partner violence and/or sexual violence (i.e., people with shared social and structural conditions that create elevated risk).

13. Does implementation need to happen in only one community-based organization (CBO)? Or is piloting across grass-root organizations and CBOs as part of a collective acceptable for this

NOFO? What is implementation expected to look like in a CBO?

There is no requirement that applicant work with only one community-based organization so long as the applicant is able to produce the required Letter(s) of Support from the community partner that is directly responsible for implementing the proposed prevention approach. Please see responsiveness criteria #3 in Section III: Eligibility Information > 5. Responsiveness on page

24 as well as Section I: Funding Opportunity Description > Approach >

Collaboration/Partnership starting on page 18 for information on Letters of Support. Related to implementation, applicants must describe the approach to be evaluated, how it addresses inequities in intimate partner violence and/or sexual violence, and how it is designed for or accepted by the community. Please see the section on Community Engagement starting on page 19 for more information.

14. Is there is anything we should be considering in making the determination on whether the primary applicant should be the university, which has more experience with funding mechanisms such as this, or [implementing organization], where the program and some of the research will be based? For example, are there specific requirements our organization would need to have to receive these funds, such as an indirect cost rate agreement?

Please see the following subsections in Section III: Eligibility Information for more information to help determine whether you or the university should be the primary applicant:

• 3. Additional Information on Eligibility on page 23 provides more information on eligible organizations for this grant. As a reminder, “the applicant organization cannot serve as a ‘pass through’ to fund another entity to conduct the majority of the research.”

• 5. Responsiveness on page 24 details information needed from the principal investigator of the applicant organization as well as letters of support from the community-based organization. This section might help designate what roles your organization and the university will have to determine who should be the primary applicant.

• 6. Required Registrations and 7. Universal Identifier Requirements and System for Award Management on pages 25-26 outline the specific registrations required for primary applicant organizations to be deemed eligible to apply or receive an award.

Additionally, you can find information about indirect cost rate agreements Section V:

Application Review Information > 3. Additional Review Considerations > Budget and Period of

Support on page 40.

15. Is there is a specific CDC grant format that we can use? Any recommendations?

CDC does not have specific formatting guidelines, other than requiring all text attachments to the Adobe application forms be submitted as PDFs and conform to agency-specific formatting requirements noted in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide. More information can be found in

Section IV: Application and Submission Information > 8. Format for Attachments on page 31 of the NOFO and NIH’s How to Apply – Application Guide.

16. Is there any unique style of CV format/proposal format you need from us?

Regarding biographical sketches, more information regarding formatting can be found in Section

III: Eligibility Information > 5. Responsiveness starting on page 24 of the NOFO, as well as in the

SF424 (R&R) How to Apply – Application Guide under the Senior/Key Person Profile (Expanded)

Form as well.

In addition, please review Section IV: Application and Submission Information starting on page

27 to ensure that you are meeting all required components of an application, including 5. PHS

398 Research Plan Component.

17. How/where do we send the letter of intent?

The letter of intent should be sent by email to Dr. Carlisha Gentles at NCIPC-Peer-

Review@cdc.gov. Please see Section IV: Application and Submission Information > 3. Letter of

Intent on page 28 of the NOFO for more information.

18. I am having trouble accessing the full announcement electronically/being able to apply – can you provide any assistance?

As CDC does not manage the submission platforms for grant opportunities we encourage you to reach out the following resources:

• For assistance with your electronic application or for more information on the electronic submission process, visit https://grants.nih.gov/grants/how-to-apply-application-guide.html. Applicants who encounter problems when submitting their applications must attempt to resolve them by contacting the NIH eRA Service desk at: Toll-free: 1-

866-504-9552; Phone: 301-402-7469 | http://grants.nih.gov/support/index.html |

Hours: Mon-Fri, 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Eastern Time.

• Problems with Grants.gov can be resolved by contacting the Grants.gov Contact Center at: Toll-free: 1-800-518-4726 | Support | Grants.gov | Email: support@grants.gov

19. Is this the first time this NOFO has been released? Are there examples of previous/successful projects/applications?

https://grants.nih.gov/grants-process/write-application/how-to-apply-application-guide https://grants.nih.gov/grants-process/write-application/how-to-apply-application-guide mailto:NCIPC-Peer-Review@cdc.gov mailto:NCIPC-Peer-Review@cdc.gov https://grants.nih.gov/grants/how-to-apply-application-guide.html https://grants.nih.gov/grants/how-to-apply-application-guide.html http://grants.nih.gov/support/index.html https://www.grants.gov/support mailto:support@grants.gov

This is the first time this NOFO has been released, and as a result we do not have examples/templates available. Additionally, we are unable to share materials from previous applicants. We encourage you to reach out to your colleagues and researchers at your institution regarding their grant submissions as well as review Section I: Funding Opportunity

Description > 1. Background and Purpose > Relevant Work starting on page 10 of the NOFO.

20. How many awards are awarded for this grant?

CDC intends to fund up to two applications, contingent on the availability of funds and a sufficient number of meritorious applications. Please see Section II: Award Information for more details.

21. Is $375K the cap for three-year projects? Do you have to reapply for years 2-3?

In accordance with Section II: Award Information on page 21 of the NOFO, $375,000 is the award ceiling for each 12-month budget period, with a period of performance of 3 years.

Projects go through a noncompetitive continuation application process annually to receive funding for years 2 and 3. The recipient’s Research Performance Progress Report (RPPR) serves as the continuation application. Please see Section VI: Award Administration Information > 5.

Reporting > Annual Performance Report (APR)/RPPR starting on page 50 for more information.

22. Can we schedule a call with you to discuss the NOFO?

We unfortunately are unable to meet with potential applicants, but will happily assist you with any questions sent via email to NCIPC_ERPO@cdc.gov.

23. Will there be an extension of future release of this call for me to apply? If a similar future RFA is released in future year(s), could there be other ways to demonstrate capacity to be a PI or Co-PI other than being a first author on a peer reviewed journal article?

We unfortunately cannot speak to future opportunities. However, if you are interested in staying up to date on CDC Injury Center funding announcements, please consider subscribing to our ERPO newsletter to receive updates on grants as they become available.

• Visit CDC News & Updates | CDC

• Search for the topic “Funding”

• Select “Injury Center Funding Announcements” to subscribe.

We also encourage you to monitor the grants.gov and NCIPC websites to know if this RFA will be posted again.

mailto:NCIPC_ERPO@cdc.gov https://tools.cdc.gov/campaignproxyservice/subscriptions.aspx https://www.grants.gov/search-grants https://www.cdc.gov/injury-violence-prevention/programs/injury-center-nofos.html