National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases Division of Global Migration Health

Notice of Funding Opportunity

Application due November 5, 2026

Emerging Infections Network - Research for Preventing, Detecting, and Managing Travel-associated Infectious Diseases Opportunity number: RFA-CK-26-035

Contents

Step 1: Review the Opportunity 4

Basic information 5

Eligibility 7

Agency priorities 10

Program description 13

Step 2: Get Ready to Apply 28

Find the application package 29

Get registered 29

Help applying 30

Step 3: Build Your Application 31

Application checklist 32

Application contents and format 34

Step 4: Understand Review, Selection, and Award 38

Application review 39

Award notices 45

Step 5: Submit Your Application 46

Submission requirements and deadlines 47

Step 6: Learn What Happens After Award 49

Post-award requirements and administration 50

Contacts and Support 57

Before you begin 3

Contents 2

Before you begin If you believe you are a good candidate for this funding opportunity, secure your SAM.gov and Grants.gov registrations now. If you are already registered, make sure your registrations are active and up to date.

SAM.gov registration (this can take several weeks) You must have an active account with SAM.gov. This includes having a Unique Entity Identifier (UEI).

See Step 2: Get Ready to Apply

Grants.gov registration (this can take several days) You must have an active Grants.gov registration. Doing so requires a Login.gov registration as well.

See Step 2: Get Ready to Apply

Apply by the application due date Applications are due by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on November 5, 2026.

To help you find what you need, this NOFO uses internal links. In Adobe Reader, you can go back to where you were by pressing Alt + Left Arrow (Windows) or Command + Left Arrow (Mac) on your keyboard.

Before you begin 3 https://sam.gov/ https://grants.gov/

1. Review 2. Get Ready 3. Build 4. Understand 5. Submit 6. Award Contacts

Step 1:

Review the Opportunity

In this step

Basic information 5

Eligibility 7

Agency priorities 10

Program description 13

Basic information Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases

Division of Global Migration Health

Conducting research and surveillance to detect and prevent travel-associated diseases.

Have questions?

See Contacts and Support.

Key facts Opportunity name:

Emerging Infections Network - Research for Preventing, Detecting, and Managing Travel-associated Infectious Diseases

Opportunity number: RFA-

CK-26-035

Activity Code: U01

Assistance listing: 93.084

NOFO version: Original

Key dates Application submission deadline: November 5, 2026

Required letter of intent:

September 15, 2025

Expected scientific review date: December 15, 2026

Expected secondary review date: January 12, 2027

Expected award date:

August 2, 2027

Expected start date:

September 1, 2027

Expiration date: December 7, 2026

See Submit Your Application for other submission requirements and deadlines that may apply to this NOFO.

Summary The focus of this notice of funding opportunity (NOFO) is to produce insights into disease detection and prevention strategies, burden, severity, diagnostics, treatment, and outcomes of infectious diseases in international travelers. Timely surveillance and sentinel detection are essential for collecting actionable data.

The research should:

• Address public health questions that improve the speed of outbreak detection.

• Help develop guidelines and recommendations to improve patient care.

• Enhance understanding of the natural history of disease.

• Optimize genomic surveillance as well as diagnostic and treatment strategies.

• Advance the global health security of the United States.

• This NOFO will have two components:

◦ Component A – Clinic-based sentinel network.

◦ Component B – Sentinel detection in international transportation hubs.

You may apply for Component A, B, or both. If your application for both Component A and B is ranked top, Component B will be awarded.

Step 1: Review the Opportunity 5

Funding details Funding type: Cooperative agreement

Expected awards: 2 The number of awards is subject to available funds and program priorities.

We expect to make one award for each component.

Period of performance: 5 years in 12-month budget periods.

Application type: New

Expected total program funding over the performance period: Component A: $5,000,000; Component B: $25,000,000

Expected total program funding per budget period: Component A:

$1,000,000; Component B: $5,000,000

Expected funding per applicant per budget period: Component A:

$1,000,000; Component B: $5,000,000

Maximum award amount per budget period: Component A: $1,000,000;

Component B: $5,000,000

Minimum award amount per budget period: Component A: $750,000;

Component B: $1,000,000

Step 1: Review the Opportunity 6

Eligibility Eligible applicants Only these types of organizations may apply.

• State governments.

• County governments.

• City or township governments.

• Special district governments.

• Independent school districts.

• Public and state-controlled institutions of higher education.

• Native American tribal governments (federally recognized).

• Public housing authorities and Indian housing authorities.

• Native American tribal organizations, other than federally recognized tribal governments.

• Nonprofits having a 501(c)(3) status, other than institutions of higher education.

• Nonprofits without 501(c)(3) status, other than institutions of higher education.

• Private institutions of higher education.

• For-profit organizations other than small businesses.

• Bona fide agents applying on behalf of state, territorial, local, and tribal government organizations.

Note: Bona fide agents must submit documentation that demonstrates their arrangement with the eligible applicant. See Other Attachments form.

Responsiveness criteria We will review your application to make sure it meets these requirements.

These are the basic requirements you must meet to move forward in the competition. We won’t consider an application that:

• Is from an organization that doesn’t meet all eligibility criteria. See requirements in Eligibility.

• Is submitted after the application deadline.

• Exceeds the 12-page limit for the Research Strategy for each component.

Step 1: Review the Opportunity 7

• Exceeds the ceiling and total budget described in the NOFO for each component.

• Fails to clearly state which component(s) to apply for in the Specific Aim section.

• Fails to clearly delineate activities supporting Component A or Component B.

See the application checklist to understand which elements of your application are part of the responsiveness criteria.

Application limits You must follow these limits on the number of applications your organization can submit.

You may submit only one application per institution. Each institution must have their own Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) number.

Qualifications for principal investigator or project director We invite anyone who has the skills, knowledge, and resources needed to carry out the proposed research as a project director or principal investigator (PD/PI) to work with their organization or institution to apply.

At a minimum, the PD/PI should have a successful track record in public health research and surveillance with examples of productive collaboration with partners in this space.

You should:

• Ensure that the PD/PIs, collaborators, and other researchers are well suited to the project.

• Demonstrate an ongoing record of accomplishments that have advanced your field.

• Demonstrate that investigators have complementary and integrated expertise with an appropriate leadership approach, governance plan, and organizational structure for a collaborative or multi-PD/PI project

• Demonstrate that investigators have a successful track record in public health research.

• Provide evidence of past collaborations among the proposed research team.

Step 1: Review the Opportunity 8

Cost sharing and matching funds This program has no cost-sharing requirement, meaning you do not need to contribute to the costs of this project.

If you choose to include cost-sharing funds, we won’t consider it during review. If you receive an award, we will include your voluntary commitment in the award, and you must report on the funds.

Post-award requirements

Before you apply, make sure you understand the requirements that come with an award.

See Step 6: Learn What Happens After Award for information on regulations that apply, reporting, and more.

Step 1: Review the Opportunity 9

Agency priorities Required alignment with CDC priorities The recipient of this award must implement any funds awarded under this NOFO to effectuate program goals or agency priorities in accordance with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Priorities when authorized (for a full description of the CDC Priorities, please follow the provided hyperlink).

Funded activities must:

• Align with CDC’s core priorities by demonstrating a commitment to gold-standard science, transparency, and evidence-based practices.

• Support CDC’s mission to protect Americans from infectious and chronic diseases, strengthen public health systems, and advance innovation in health data and infrastructure.

• Contribute to rapid, science-driven responses to health threats, promote global health leadership, and adhere to principles of integrity, accountability, and compliance with applicable laws and federal priorities.

Consistent with CDC’s values, in carrying out any project funded under this NOFO, the recipient must adhere to the following principles where consistent with the authority and scope of the award and its activities:

• A commitment to gold-standard science and ensuring trust, transparency, and credibility: To build trust and improve CDC’s ability to lead during health crises, CDC will increase transparency, be more accountable, and follow strict, gold-standard scientific practices that are open, unbiased, and based on clear evidence.

• A commitment to global leadership: With staff in 63 countries and supporting 20 more, CDC’s Global Health Center:

◦ Works to prevent disease and advance emergency response.

◦ Detect health threats early, sends response teams, trains health workers, and provides personal protective equipment, vaccines, and medicines.

◦ Test disease samples from around the world to prepare for flu and other serious outbreaks.

◦ Has strengthened systems to better protect people at home and abroad after the COVID-19 outbreak.

1. Review 2. Get Ready 3. Build 4. Understand 5. Submit 6. Award Contacts

Step 1: Review the Opportunity 10 https://www.cdc.gov/about/cdc/index.html

• A commitment to ensuring rapid, evidence-based responses to crises:

During public health emergencies, ensuring rapid, science-driven responses is critical to minimizing harm, maintaining public trust, and restoring stability. To meet this goal, CDC must continue to strengthen its emergency response systems by:

◦ Streamlining internal processes.

◦ Improving risk communication strategies.

◦ Ensuring that laboratory capacity is fully equipped and tested—capable of rapidly developing and deploying scalable diagnostics during crises.

◦ Embedding structures for real-time learning, independent after-action reviews, and the application of lessons learned will ensure that each crisis response is smarter, faster, and more effective than the last.

• A commitment to vaccine safety and efficacy research: CDC will apply “gold-standard” science to all of its vaccine safety and effectiveness research. It will make vaccine data, research methods, and related datasets publicly available through simple data use agreements to improve transparency, accountability, and trust.

• A commitment to advancing our understanding of the causes of autism spectrum disorder (ASD), neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs), and chronic disease: CDC conducts research and works with partners to better understand the causes of autism spectrum disorder, neurodevelopmental disorders, and chronic diseases. It will use new and existing data to study the rise in these conditions, including the increase in autism diagnoses from 1 in 150 to nearly 1 in 31 over the past 25 years.

• A commitment to modernizing public health infrastructure and enhancing our approach to health data: CDC will modernize public health infrastructure to create a faster, more efficient health system that can detect and respond to outbreaks in real time. This effort includes:

◦ Replacing data silos with integrated systems.

◦ Using advanced technology.

◦ Strengthening partnerships with states to ensure shared responsibility and strong local health data systems.

◦ Emphasizing collaboration across federal and state partners, resilient and adaptable systems, and accountability for funded programs to ensure they align with these priorities and federal requirements.

Step 1: Review the Opportunity 11

• Conflicts of interest: CDC will not support funding programs with conflicts of interest and ensure its work is based on transparent, unbiased science.

• Immigration: CDC funds will not be used to support or encourage illegal immigration, consistent with federal law.

• Protecting life and the family: CDC funds will not be used to support elective abortions, consistent with the Hyde Amendment, and will promote maternal health, the dignity of life, and strong families.

• Ending disorder on America’s streets: CDC will prioritize evidence-based programs that reduce homelessness, drug use, and public disorder. It will support comprehensive services for people with serious mental illness and substance use disorder. CDC will not support housing first strategies, harm-reduction or safe consumption sites, or related activities. To the extent allowable by federal law, CDC intends to give priority to grantees in States and municipalities that have laws and policies that support and enforce CDC’s priorities.

• Gender ideology and protecting children [PDF]: CDC will not fund medical interventions for minors seeking gender transition and will define sex based on biological criteria.

• DEI: CDC will not support DEI initiatives based on group identity and focus on merit-based, evidence-driven approaches to improve health outcomes.

• Parental rights: CDC will support policies that protect parental authority, promote transparency, and give parents greater control over their children’s education.

The recipient must demonstrate ongoing compliance with the full description and listing of CDC values and priorities, in all programs that are authorized to advance them, through program design, implementation, reporting, and evaluation.

Failure to meaningfully align funded activities with the applicable requirements may result in corrective action, additional reporting requirements, or other enforcement actions consistent with federal grant regulations found at 2 CFR Part 200 and the terms and conditions of this award. The full CDC Priorities Statement can be found here: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Priorities.

1. Review 2. Get Ready 3. Build 4. Understand 5. Submit 6. Award Contacts

Step 1: Review the Opportunity 12 https://opa.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/2025-11/gender-dysphoria-report.pdf

Program description Background Travelers move from place to place quickly and can spread pathogens across international borders. This makes them an important population to consider when monitoring new and emerging communicable diseases. This NOFO continues and expands CDC’s efforts to better understand risks to international travelers. Previous work included:

• Timely and efficient monitoring and detection of sentinel infectious disease outbreaks to contain and respond to emerging infectious diseases.

• Conducting research activities and enhanced surveillance to inform guidelines and recommendations to prevent, detect, and manage infectious diseases in international travelers who become ill during or after travel.

The surveillance and research conducted previously among traveling populations has been vital to CDC’s outbreak response when novel, emerging, or re-emerging pathogens were detected. It helped us gain critical knowledge on disease transmission, exposure risks, seasonality and geographic range, incubation periods and infectiousness, natural clinical history, and outcomes.

Continuing this routine, sentinel, and enhanced surveillance and research work is essential to advancing the global health security of the people of the United States.

Related work The work described in this NOFO will be conducted within the context of other travel-related surveillance systems at CDC, including:

• Research and Surveillance | Travelers’ Health | CDC

• GeoSentinel: past, present and future - PubMed

1. Review 2. Get Ready 3. Build 4. Understand 5. Submit 6. Award Contacts

Step 1: Review the Opportunity 13 https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/page/partners https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33247586/

Purpose The purpose of this NOFO is to support significant and innovative surveillance and research activities that will help prevent, detect, and manage infectious diseases in international travelers who become ill during or after travel. The project aims to:

• Detect sentinel events, syndromic clusters, and infectious disease outbreaks.

• Systematically collect data that will contribute to the understanding of the risks to travelers.

As set out in the terms of this award, CDC has determined that data identified by the funding program during the period of performance must be shared with CDC. CDC intends to use data for public health purposes, that may include, but are not limited to, informing situational awareness and predictive modeling; strategic, tactical, and policy decision making; tracking the presence, and intensity of certain conditions; determining where federal resources for public health data (e.g., technical, financial, or in-kind assistance) may be needed; understanding the spectrum of illness, disease burden, and risk factors for disease and severe outcomes; understanding the impact of diseases, healthcare systems, and communities; reporting on or publishing findings related to analyses done with these data; and other purposes as specified in the award. As needed or as directed, CDC may share data with HHS agencies and other federal partners, as authorized by law, for public health purposes. Such sharing is limited to what is appropriate and consistent with applicable privacy, security, and confidentiality laws.

Public health impact Research and surveillance of traveling populations supports national public health security by detecting and mitigating the spread of any potential international outbreaks or epidemics that threaten the public health of Americans. Through the activities outlined in this NOFO, the work will continue to leverage expertise, surveillance systems, and global partnerships to develop public health alerts, recommendations, and guidance for American travelers and healthcare providers. It will further equip Americans with the information they need to safely travel abroad.

Step 1: Review the Opportunity 14

Approach You may apply for either or both Component A and B. Only one component will be awarded per recipient.

Component A – Clinic-based sentinel network In your application, propose to develop and maintain a clinic-based surveillance system that collects a comprehensive set of illnesses that are associated with international travel and important to public health. This system must:

• Include travel and tropical medicine institutions that can conduct routine surveillance.

• Include enhanced surveillance or research activities that can answer scientific questions that are important to public health.

• Collect and report data in a timely manner.

• Demonstrate scalability of the proposed project.

Component B – Sentinel detection in international transportation hubs In your application, propose to develop pathogen agnostic research methods that can be optimized for traveler-based genomic surveillance. These projects must:

• Establish and operate an international aircraft wastewater–based genomic surveillance network at strategically selected, high-traffic international transportation hubs.

• Detect and genomically characterize emerging pathogens and variants associated with international travel to provide timely early-warning signals.

• Advance pathogen-agnostic and metagenomic approaches to enable detection of known and novel biological threats.

• Standardize methods and ensure high-quality, interoperable data through coordination with global platforms such as GLOWACON.

Your application should respond to the following sections:

Step 1: Review the Opportunity 15

Significance To demonstrate significance, your project should aim to:

• Address an important problem or a critical barrier to progress in the field.

• Improve scientific knowledge, technical capability, or public health.

• Change the concepts, methods, technologies, treatments, services, or preventative interventions that drive this field.

Innovation To demonstrate innovation, your project should aim to:

• Challenge and seek to shift current research or clinical practice paradigms by using novel theoretical concepts, approaches or methodologies, instrumentation, or interventions.

• Use novel concepts, approaches or methodologies, instrumentation, or interventions.

• Propose a refinement, improvement, or new application of theoretical concepts, approaches or methodologies, instrumentation, or interventions.

Objectives and outcomes This section includes the outcomes we expect you to report progress on and achieve within the period of performance if you receive funding.

Your application should address how you’ll achieve all the objectives below.

Component A – Clinic-based sentinel network Objective A1: Operate a global emerging infectious sentinel network

• Identify, recruit, and maintain an active network of travel and tropical medicine practitioners and sites that have:

◦ Diverse geographic locations.

◦ Large patient volumes, including travelers moving to or from multiple regions.

◦ Robust diagnostic and laboratory capabilities, including whole genomic sequencing (WGS) and metagenomic sequencing (MGS).

◦ Research experience and interest.

◦ Access to specific traveler populations (e.g., migrants, students, etc.).

Step 1: Review the Opportunity 16

• Ensure continued research capacity (e.g., specimen collection, storage and shipment capability, advanced diagnostics including WGS).

• Create and/or maintain a system to rapidly and effectively disseminate communications, information, and specimens to and between clinics and sites.

• Develop and/or maintain sites that contribute meaningfully to the network’s work by submitting cases and participating in enhanced surveillance projects and research. Sites that may lack certain capacity, such as reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction or WGS, should have plans in place to use reference laboratories within the network or commercial labs to participate in network activities.

• Use and update proper data use agreements, internal review board assessments, and material transfer agreements in a way that does not delay information sharing during outbreak response needs.

• Ensure accurate and high-quality data collection.

• Conduct regular, continuous data quality assessments for relevant and robust data.

• Summarize and report on actions taken to improve the network (i.e., data quality improvements and site management strategies undertaken).

• Ensure internal and external partners have timely access to data and reports, as necessary.

• Help develop and maintain umbrella surveillance and research protocols to facilitate efficient projects, including assisting sites to maintain the same.

Objective A2: Conduct surveillance for travel-related infectious diseases

• Monitor and detect sentinel events based on novel geography, clinical presentation, population, severity, outcomes, and novel, emerging, or re-emerging pathogens.

• Ensure detection of sentinel events is timely and actionable.

• Detect outbreaks of infectious diseases or syndromes among international travelers.

• Develop innovative methods for advancing traveler-based surveillance strategies.

• Conduct genomic surveillance when appropriate.

Step 1: Review the Opportunity 17

Objective A3: Conduct scientific research activities to improve outcomes among infected international travelers

• Use appropriate research techniques to develop research protocols that address scientific questions that are important to CDC.

• Perform enhanced surveillance investigations to address CDC outbreak response needs and other pressing scientific questions.

• Produce peer-reviewed publications that provide meaningful contributions to travel-associated infectious diseases.

• Conduct research on emerging or understudied aspects of travel medicine.

• Partner with internal CDC subject matter experts (SMEs) to develop enhanced surveillance projects that support their data needs.

• Create a repository of biologic specimens from travelers with unknown diseases.

Objective A4: Communicate and respond

• Disseminate information rapidly to internal and external partners and stakeholders.

• Collaborate with the healthcare community and public health partners during outbreaks to communicate evidence-based recommendations for management and care.

• Disseminate the results of research and surveillance activities through scientific publications and presentations.

• Notify CDC and its internal SMEs of sentinel events in a timely manner.

• Summarize and disseminate the contributions to sentinel event detection, public health action, recommendations, or other notable changes in risk maps, etc., on a regular basis.

Component B – Sentinel detection in international transportation hubs Objective B1: Establish and operate an international aircraft wastewater–based traveler genomic surveillance network at strategically selected high-traffic international transportation hubs

• Identify, select, and support a limited number of high-throughput international airports to serve as sentinel hubs for traveler-based genomic surveillance. Prioritize highly connected travel corridors and avoid redundancy within regions. Sentinel hubs may include Addis Ababa Bole International Airport (ADD) or Jomo Kenyatta International Airport

Step 1: Review the Opportunity 18

(NBO), Istanbul Airport (IST), Bangkok Suvarnabhumi Airport (BKK), Incheon International Airport (ICN), and São Paulo/Guarulhos International Airport (GRU).

• Implement and maintain routine aircraft wastewater collection operations at participating hubs. Use sampling strategies designed to maximize early-detection value while minimizing operational disruption.

• Ensure sustained surveillance capacity at participating hubs, including:

◦ Reliable aircraft wastewater collection, storage, and transport systems.

◦ Laboratory capacity for pathogen detection and genomic characterization.

◦ Bioinformatics infrastructure to support sequence analysis and interpretation.

• Establish standardized operational workflows for coordination among airport authorities, airlines, laboratories, and public health partners.

• Maintain the ability to surge sampling and analytic capacity in response to emerging global threats or changing risk profiles.

• Ensure accurate, complete, and high-quality collection of surveillance metadata necessary for interpretation of pathogen signals by travel corridor, time, and location.

• Conduct regular assessments of site performance and surveillance yield.

Implement corrective actions to improve data quality, operational efficiency, and analytic value.

Objective B2: Detect and genomically characterize emerging pathogens and variants associated with international travel

• Detect pathogen signals and emerging variants in aircraft wastewater associated with arriving international flights. Emphasize early identification prior to widespread detection through traditional surveillance systems.

• Conduct genomic characterization of detected pathogens to support lineage identification, variant tracking, and assessment of potential public health relevance.

• Ensure surveillance outputs are timely, actionable, and suitable to integrate into public health risk assessment and decision-support processes.

• Evaluate the early-detection performance of aircraft wastewater surveillance by comparing findings with national, regional, and global surveillance data streams.

Step 1: Review the Opportunity 19

• Identify changes in pathogen circulation patterns associated with specific international travel corridors, regions, or temporal trends.

Objective B3: Advance pathogen-agnostic and metagenomic approaches for aircraft wastewater surveillance

• Develop, implement, and evaluate metagenomic and other pathogen-agnostic methods to detect known and novel pathogens in aircraft wastewater.

• Assess the sensitivity, specificity, and reproducibility of metagenomic approaches relative to targeted assays across diverse epidemiologic and operational contexts.

• Optimize laboratory and bioinformatics workflows to enable scalable, timely analysis of complex wastewater metagenomic data.

• Characterize the breadth of microbial and viral diversity detected through pathogen-agnostic surveillance to support early identification of unexpected or previously unrecognized biological threats.

• Establish quality assurance and validation procedures for metagenomic data to ensure reliability and interpretability for public health use.

Objective B4: Standardize methods, ensure data quality, and support coordination through global surveillance platforms

• Develop, implement, and refine standardized protocols for aircraft wastewater sample collection, laboratory processing, sequencing, bioinformatics, and quality assurance across participating sites.

• Promote harmonization of surveillance methods and data elements to ensure comparability and interoperability across countries and regions.

• Support coordination, data sharing, and analytic alignment through participation in global platforms such as the Global Consortium for Wastewater and Environmental Surveillance for Public Health

(GLOWACON).

• Ensure appropriate data governance mechanisms are in place. This includes data use agreements and material transfer agreements that facilitate timely information sharing while maintaining data integrity and security.

• Disseminate surveillance findings, technical guidance, and best practices to support continuous improvement and sustainability of traveler-based genomic surveillance.

Step 1: Review the Opportunity 20

Collaborations Collaborations and partnerships that may be considered include:

• Global public health agencies and national ministries of health.

• Local or national public health, academic, and research laboratories.

• U.S. state, tribal, local, and territorial health departments.

• Existing professional networks (including within and separate from the specialties of travel and tropical medicine).

• Travel and tropical medicine providers outside the network.

• Academic and commercial research institutions and laboratories.

• Airports, airlines, and transportation agencies.

Evaluation and performance measurement

Overall program evaluation Overall program success will be evaluated based on the extent to which funded activities:

• Demonstrate the feasibility, scalability, and public health value of traveler–based sentinel surveillance.

• Improve early detection and situational awareness of emerging infectious diseases and variants circulating internationally.

• Produce high-quality, timely, and interoperable data that can be integrated into public health analytic and decision-support systems.

• Generate evidence and best practices that inform sustainable approaches for traveler-based surveillance.

Component A – Clinic-based surveillance network Over the period of performance, the recipient will be expected to identify outputs and the metrics against which those outputs will be measured. The following performance metrics reported annually should be addressed in your application:

• The number of patients seen by year.

• The number of patients enrolled in research and enhanced surveillance activities.

• The number of manuscripts published by year.

• The number of sentinel events and other significant detections made by the network by year.

Step 1: Review the Opportunity 21

• Catchment area (number and percentage of countries and territories captured).

• The number of public health and infectious disease SMEs engaged in partnership for surveillance and research activities.

• Time delay from patient seen to case input into system (trends over time).

• Catchment area corrections and trends.

Component B – Sentinel detection in international transportation hubs We’ll assess progress toward achieving the objectives of this NOFO with quantitative and qualitative performance measures. You must:

• Propose milestones, targets, and timelines consistent with the measures below.

• Describe methods for monitoring performance and implementing corrective actions as needed.

Performance measures may include:

• Number of sentinel airports with operational aircraft wastewater surveillance established and maintained over the project period.

• Frequency and consistency of aircraft wastewater sample collection per site.

• Proportion of samples meeting predefined quality and completeness criteria.

• Time from sample collection to initial pathogen detection and genomic characterization.

• Lead time gained between detection through aircraft wastewater surveillance and detection through traditional surveillance systems, when comparable data are available.

• Completeness and accuracy of genomic and associated metadata generated for detected pathogens.

• Frequency and timeliness of reporting surveillance findings to designated analytic or public health partners.

• Sensitivity and reproducibility of metagenomic approaches as demonstrated through validation or benchmarking activities.

• Breadth of microbial and viral taxa detected and characterized using pathogen-agnostic methods.

Step 1: Review the Opportunity 22

• Documentation of optimized laboratory and bioinformatics workflows suitable for routine surveillance use.

• Implementation of quality assurance and quality control metrics specific to metagenomic data generation and analysis.

• Results of routine data quality assessments, including completeness, consistency, and comparability across sites.

• Timeliness and completeness of data submissions to shared analytic environments or global platforms, including GLOWACON.

• Number of participating sites contributing data to shared platforms, according to agreed-upon standards.

• Execution and maintenance of data use agreements and material transfer agreements without delays to surveillance activities.

• Dissemination of technical guidance, protocols, or best practices informed by project findings.

Paperwork Reduction Act Any activities involving information collection from 10 or more individuals or organizations may require the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) approval. The PRA requires review and approval of the information collection by the White House Office of Management and Budget.

To determine if a proposed activity requires PRA approval, contact your scientific and research contact. Collections include items like surveys and questionnaires. If you have collections requiring PRA approval, CDC is responsible for working with OMB to gain approval.

For more information about CDC’s requirements under PRA see CDC Paperwork Reduction Act Compliance.

1. Review 2. Get Ready 3. Build 4. Understand 5. Submit 6. Award Contacts

Step 1: Review the Opportunity 23 https://www.cdc.gov/scientific-integrity/php/public-information-collection/?CDC_AAref_Val=https://www.cdc.gov/os/integrity/reducepublicburden/index.htm https://www.cdc.gov/scientific-integrity/php/public-information-collection/?CDC_AAref_Val=https://www.cdc.gov/os/integrity/reducepublicburden/index.htm

Funding policies and limitations Changes in HHS regulations As of October 1, 2025, HHS will adopt 2 CFR 200, with some exceptions included in 2 CFR 300. These regulations replace those in 45 CFR 75. You can find details in HHS Summary of Regulatory Changes, which is posted in the Grants.gov Related Documents tab for this opportunity.

General guidance All activities proposed in your application and budget narrative must align with applicable law, including but not limited to statutes, executive orders, federal regulations and applicable judicial holdings. Accordingly, discretionary awards shall not be used to fund, promote, encourage, subsidize, or facilitate;

racial preferences or other forms of racial discrimination by the recipient, including activities where race or intentional proxies for race will be used as a selection criterion for employment or program participation; denial by the recipient of the sex binary in humans, or the belief that sex is a chosen or mutable characteristic; illegal immigration; or any other initiatives that compromise public safety. If an application does not align, the application will not receive funding to the extent permitted by law and applicable court orders.

• You may use funds only for reasonable program purposes consistent with the award, its terms and conditions, and federal laws and regulations that apply to the award. If you have questions about these purposes, ask the grants management specialist.

• Your budget is arranged in eight categories: salaries and wages, fringe benefits, travel, equipment, supplies, contractual, other (includes consultant costs), and indirect costs.

• Support beyond the first budget year will depend on:

◦ Appropriation of funds.

◦ Satisfactory progress in meeting your project’s objectives.

◦ A decision that continued funding is in the government’s best interest.

• Generally, you may not use funds to purchase furniture or equipment.

Clearly identify and justify any such proposed spending in the budget.

◦ If we receive more funding for this program, we will consider:

◦ Funding more applicants.

1. Review 2. Get Ready 3. Build 4. Understand 5. Submit 6. Award Contacts

Step 1: Review the Opportunity 24 https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-2/part-200 https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-2/subtitle-B/chapter-III/part-300

◦ Extending the period of performance.

◦ Awarding supplemental funding.

Unallowable costs You may not use funds for:

• Clinical care, except as allowed by law.

• Pre-award costs, unless we give you prior written approval.

• Other than for normal and recognized executive-legislative relationships:

◦ Publicity or propaganda purposes, including preparing, distributing, or using any material designed to support or defeat the enactment of legislation before any legislative body.

◦ The salary or expenses of any grant or contract recipient, or agent acting for such recipient, related to any activity designed to influence the enactment of legislation, appropriations, regulation, administrative action, or executive order proposed or pending before any legislative body.

See Anti-Lobbying Restrictions for CDC Recipients.

For guidance on some types of costs that we restrict or do not allow, see 2 CFR 200.420, Considerations for Selected Items of Cost.

Indirect costs Indirect costs are those shared across multiple projects and not easily separated. Learn more at CDC Budget Preparation Guidelines.

To charge indirect costs you can select one of two methods:

Method 1 — Approved rate. If you currently have an indirect cost rate approved by your cognizant federal agency, you may use that rate.

Enclose a copy of the current approved rate agreement in your Other Attachments form.

Method 2 — De minimis rate. If you do not have a current negotiated indirect cost rate, you may elect to charge a de minimis rate (see 2 CFR 200.414(f)). This rate is 15% of modified total direct costs (MTDC). See the definition of MTDC (2 CFR 200.1). You can use this rate indefinitely.

1. Review 2. Get Ready 3. Build 4. Understand 5. Submit 6. Award Contacts

Step 1: Review the Opportunity 25 https://www.cdc.gov/grants/documents/Anti-Lobbying-Restrictions.pdf https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-2/section-200.420 https://www.cdc.gov/grants/documents/budget-preparation-guidance.pdf https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-2/section-200.414 https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-2/section-200.414 https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-2/part-200#p-200.1(Modified%20Total%20Direct%20Cost%20(MTDC))

Other indirect cost policies As described in 2 CFR 200.403(d), you must consistently charge items as either indirect or direct costs and may not double charge.

Indirect costs may include the cost of collecting, managing, sharing, and preserving data.

Salary rate limitation The salary rate limitation in the current appropriations act applies to this program. As of January 2026, the salary rate limitation is $228,000. We update this limitation when it changes.

Program income If you earn any money from your award-supported project activities (known as program income), you must use it for the purposes and under the conditions of the award. Find more about program income at 2 CFR 200.307.

Expanded authority For more information on expanded authority and pre-award costs, see the HHS Grants Policy Statement and speak to the grants management contact.

Pre-award costs may be allowable as an expanded authority, but only if we authorize the costs.

Public health data We require that awards include the needed costs and methods to share public health data. You may include the reasonable cost of sharing or archiving public health data as part of your requested budget for first-time or continuation awards. For more information, see Data Management and Access.

Human subjects We will restrict funds related to conducting research involving human subjects until the appropriate assurances and Institutional Review Board (IRB) approvals are in place. To lift the restrictions, we require copies of all current local IRB approval letters, local IRB-approved protocols, and CDC IRB approval letters, when applicable.

If the proposed research project involves more than one institution and will be conducted in the United States, we expect you to:

1. Review 2. Get Ready 3. Build 4. Understand 5. Submit 6. Award Contacts

Step 1: Review the Opportunity 26 https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-2/part-200#p-200.403(d) https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-2/section-200.307 https://www.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/hhs-grants-policy-statement-october-2024.pdf https://www.cdc.gov/grants/additional-requirements/ar-25.html

• Use a single Institutional Review Board (sIRB) to conduct the required ethical review.

• Include a single IRB plan in your research plan and PHS Human Subjects and Clinical Trials Information form, unless either of the following is true:

◦ Review by an sIRB would be prohibited by a federal, tribal, or state law, regulation, or policy.

◦ You provide a compelling justification based on ethical or human subject protection issues or other well-justified reasons.

Do not duplicate information in the research plan form and the PHS Human Subjects and Clinical Trials Information form.

In your research plan, discuss the overall strategy, methodology, and analyses of your proposed research. Use the PHS Human Subjects and Clinical Trials Information form to provide detailed information for human subjects studies and clinical trials.

We will review and approve exceptions in accordance with 45 CFR part 46 and, as applicable, 21 CFR part 50 and 21 CFR part 56, or we may place a restriction on the award.

Note: The sIRB requirement applies to participating sites in the United States.

Foreign sites participating in CDC-funded, cooperative research studies do not need to follow the requirement for sIRB.

For more information, please consult the scientific and research contact listed for this NOFO.

Statutory authority Public Health Service Act, Sections 317(k)(2) [42 USC 247b(k)(2)], as amended.

1. Review 2. Get Ready 3. Build 4. Understand 5. Submit 6. Award Contacts

Step 1: Review the Opportunity 27 https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-45/part-46 https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-21/part-50 https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-21/part-56

Step 2:

Get Ready to Apply

In this step

Find the application package 29

Get registered 29

Help applying 30

Find the application package The application package has all the forms you need to apply. You can find it online. Go to Grants Search at Grants.gov or eRA ASSIST and search for opportunity number RFA-CK-26-035. After opening the opportunity, select the “package” tab to see the forms.

We recommend that you select the Subscribe button from the View Grant Opportunity page for this NOFO to get updates.

If you can’t use Grants.gov to download application materials or have other technical difficulties, including issues with application submission, contact Grants.gov for help.

Get registered You must be registered in both SAM.gov and Grants.gov to apply. You can review the requirements and get started on developing your application before your registrations are complete.

SAM.gov You must have an active account with SAM.gov to apply. SAM.gov registration can take several weeks. Begin that process today.

To register:

• Go to SAM.gov Entity Registration and select Get Started. From the same page, you can also select the Entity Registration Checklist for the information you will need to register.

• You must agree to the financial assistance general certifications and representations specifically. Those for contracts are different.

When you register, you will also receive your required Unique Entity Identifier

(UEI).

Once you register:

• You will have to maintain your registration throughout the life of any award.

• If your organization has multiple UEIs, use the one associated with your physical location.

1. Review 2. Get Ready 3. Build 4. Understand 5. Submit 6. Award Contacts

Step 2: Get Ready to Apply 29 https://grants.gov/search-grants https://public.era.nih.gov/assist/public/login.era?TARGET=https%3A%2F%2Fpublic.era.nih.gov%3A443%2Fassist%2F https://www.grants.gov/support https://www.grants.gov/support https://sam.gov/content/entity-registration https://www.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/financial-assistance-general-certification-representations.pdf https://www.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/financial-assistance-general-certification-representations.pdf

Grants.gov You must also have an active account with Grants.gov. You can see step-by step instructions at the Grants.gov Quick Start Guide for Applicants.

eRA Commons You must register in eRA Commons. Your senior and key personnel must also register and affiliate their accounts with your organization’s account.

Register at least four weeks before the application deadline.

Help applying For help with the application process and tips for preparing your application, see How to Apply on our website and the Research Instructions for NIH and Other PHS Agencies [PDF].

If any instructions differ from those in this NOFO, follow the instructions in this NOFO.

For other questions, see Contacts and Support.

1. Review 2. Get Ready 3. Build 4. Understand 5. Submit 6. Award Contacts

Step 2: Get Ready to Apply 30 https://grants.gov/applicants/applicant-registration http://www.grants.gov/quick-start-guide/applicants https://public.era.nih.gov/commonsplus/public/login.era?TARGET=https%3A%2F%2Fpublic.era.nih.gov%3A443%2Fcommons https://www.cdc.gov/grants/applying/index.html https://grants.nih.gov/grants/how-to-apply-application-guide/forms-i/research-forms-i.pdf

Step 3:

Build Your Application

In this step

Application checklist 32

Application contents and format 34

Application checklist You must follow the research instructions [PDF] to complete your application.

In this section, we also provide NOFO-specific guidance for some forms.

Make sure that you have everything you need to apply:

Form Required for

PHS 398 Research Plan form All applications.

SF-424 (R&R) All applications.

PHS 398 Cover Page Supplement Form All applications.

SF-424 (R&R) Other Project Information All applications.

SF-424 (R&R) Project/Performance Site Locations All applications.

SF-424 (R&R) Senior/Key Person Profile All applications.

R&R Budget form or HS 398 Modular Budget form

Include only one of these forms, not both, in your application.

The modular form is typically used by domestic organizations requesting $250,000 or less per budget period in direct costs.

R&R Subaward Budget Attachments form If your application proposes subawards.

PHS Human Subjects and Clinical Trials Information All applications.

PHS Assignment Request form Optional.

Other Attachments form All applications.

Report on overlap If applicable.

Bona fide agents documentation If applicable.

Indirect cost agreement If applicable.

1. Review 2. Get Ready 3. Build 4. Understand 5. Submit 6. Award Contacts

Step 3: Build Your Application 32

See submission requirements and deadlines to see if there are other requirements beyond the application itself.

Important: public information

When filling out your SF-424 form, pay attention to Box 15: Descriptive Title of Applicant’s Project.

We share what you put there with USAspending. This is where the public goes to learn how the federal government spends their money.

Instead of just a title, insert a short description of your project and what it will do.

See instructions and examples.

1. Review 2. Get Ready 3. Build 4. Understand 5. Submit 6. Award Contacts

Step 3: Build Your Application 33 https://www.usaspending.gov/ https://www.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/hhs-writing-award-descriptions.pdf

Application contents and format You must follow the research instructions [PDF] in the How to Apply:

Application Guide unless this NOFO says otherwise. We strictly enforce these requirements. If you do not follow them, we may delay or not accept your application for review.

See responsiveness criteria to make sure you meet all requirements.

As you build your application, keep the review criteria in mind.

PHS 398 Research Plan form You will use the PHS 398 Research Plan form to complete your research plan.

You will upload each of the following parts of the form as a separate attachment.

Some parts may not be required for your application.