RFA-GH-22-001_Q & A_Final.pdf

CENTER FOR GLOBAL HEALTH

EXTRAMURAL RESEARCH PROGRAM OFFICE

GH22-001 DPDM NOFO Q&A Page 1 of 4

GH-22-001 - Enhancing Capacity for Strategic and Applied Research Activities in Support of Control and Elimination of Malaria and Other

Parasitic Diseases

Update regarding application package instructions Please use the form and instructions for SF424 (R&R) Form F for this NOFO. Applicants must use FORMS-F application packages until April 3, 2022.

Format for Attachments

Designed to maximize system-conducted validations, multiple separate attachments are required for a complete application. When the application is received by the agency, all submitted forms and all separate attachments are combined into a single document that is used by peer reviewers and agency staff. Applicants should ensure that all attachments are uploaded to the system.

CDC requires all text attachments to the Adobe application forms be submitted as PDFs and that all text attachments conform to the agency-specific formatting requirements noted in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide at .How to Apply - Application Guide.

Applicants must use FORMS-G application packages for due dates on or after April 4, 2022 and must use FORMS-F application packages until April 3, 2022.

Application guides for FORMS-F and FORMS-G application packages are posted to the How to Apply - Application Guide page.

Q&A

1. Q. - I would like to know if International Non-Profit organization is eligible for it or not. We would like to apply for it and prepare our proposals.

a. International non-profit organizations are eligible to apply to this Notice of Funding Opportunity as stated in ‘Part 1. Eligible Applicants’ of ‘Section III. Eligibility Information’. This section states, in part that “…a Foreign Organization is a public or private organization, whether non-profit or for-profit, located in a country other than the United States (U.S.) and its territories that is subject to the laws of the country in which it is located, irrespective of the citizenship of project staff or place of performance.”

2. Q. - Are start-up organizations eligible for the funding opportunity?

a. Start-up organizations are eligible to apply for this funding opportunity as indicated ‘Part 1.

Eligible Applicants’ of ‘Section III. Eligibility Information’.

3. Q. - Page 23 states that 10 pdf documents are allowed to be included in the appendix, however page 24 states that 20 pdf documents are allowed to be included in the appendix. Can the CDC please clarify which is the correct limit?

a. The maximum number of pdf documents allowed for this Notice of Funding Opportunity is ten (10).

The amended NOFO will be corrected to clarify the 10-pdf document limit in ‘Part 6. Appendix’ under ‘Section IV. Application and Submission Information’.

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

GH22-001 DPDM NOFO Q&A Page 2 of 4

4. Q. - Can CDC clarify the geographical scope they would like to see included in the workplan?

(Multi-national vs National vs District vs Health zones)

a. Category 1 - Schistosomiasis and STH: This work should focus on District and Health Zone levels.

b. Category 2 - Malaria: We are happy to receive projects from partners able to work in multiple countries. Based on expected budgets, we would expect projects at District and Health Zone levels.

5. Q. - Can CDC please clarify whether there is preference between evaluation across a country versus evaluation in a specific setting and district.

a. Category 1 - Schistosomiasis and STH: This work should focus on district rather than national levels.

b. Malaria: We do not have a preference for national vs district level.

6. Q. - Are clinical trials allowed within this mechanism?

a. Category 1 - Schistosomiasis and STH: Yes, provided the same stipulations as described for

Category 2 - Malaria.

b. Category 2 - Malaria: Yes, clinical trials are allowed provided that they can be completed within the allocated timeframe and budget, and noting that funds will be allocated on a yearly basis with no guarantee of funding in subsequent years.

7. Q. - Is implementation included within this mechanism, or will the consortium only be evaluating existing interventions?

a. Category 1 - Schistosomiasis and STH: Implementation alone (i.e., program delivery) does not address this research funding opportunity, but development and evaluation of implementation approaches (i.e., identifying optimal delivery methods) addresses the funding opportunity goals.

b. Category 2 - Malaria: Depending on the question to be assessed, the partner may include implementation.

8. Q. - Will CDC consider evaluation of innovative approaches to intervention deployment processes and M&E?

a. Category 1 - Schistosomiasis and STH: Innovative approaches are welcomed.

b. Category 2 - Malaria: Yes, we will certainly consider innovative approaches to deploy interventions and M&E.

9. Q. - Will the incumbent be allowed to access CDC-handled distribution channels for the RTS,S vaccine and other commodities?

a. Category 1 - Schistosomiasis and STH: N/A

b. Category 2 - Malaria: CDC does not have distribution channels for the RTS,S vaccine or other commodities. CDC would facilitate working with in country and ministry partners and channels to the extent possible.

10. Q. - Can CDC please confirm if there is a maximum indirect cost rate for Categories 1 and 2?

a. For foreign organizations and entities, please see the subsection ‘Budget and Period of Support’ which states “Indirect costs on grants awarded to foreign organizations and foreign public entities and performed fully outside of the territorial limits of the U.S. may be paid to support the costs of compliance with federal requirements at a fixed rate of eight percent of modified total direct costs exclusive of tuition and related fees, direct expenditures for equipment, and subawards in

GH22-001 DPDM NOFO Q&A Page 3 of 4 excess of $25,000. Negotiated indirect costs may be paid to the American University, Beirut, and the World Health Organization.”

In ‘Section V. Application Review Information’ under ‘Part 3. Additional Review Considerations’ this Notice of Funding Opportunity states that potential applicants must include a copy of either a current negotiated federal indirect cost rate agreement or a cost allocation plan approval letter.

11. Q. - If an organization does not have a Negotiated Indirect Cost Rate Agreement (NICRA), is documentation of prior financial audits acceptable justification for a proposed indirect cost rate? If not, what additional documentation is sufficient justification?

a. In Section V ‘Application Review Information’ under ‘Part 3 Additional Review Considerations’ this Notice of Funding Opportunity states that potential applicants must include a copy of either a current negotiated federal indirect cost rate agreement or a cost allocation plan approval letter.

12. Q. - In reading this RFA, it seems to only address malaria work in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Can you confirm that this RFA will NOT fund malaria projects in regions outside of SSA?

a. The focus of the Notice of Funding Opportunity in terms of region and countries is described in ‘Section I. Funding Opportunity Description’ under ‘Part 1. Background and Purpose’. Category 1 of this NOFO addresses Schistosomiasis and/or Soil-transmitted Helminth work in Kenya, while Category 2 addresses Malaria in Sub-Saharan Africa.

13. Q. - Applicants are expected to select a subset of approaches listed to address in the application, and that Approaches 1 (Evaluate community-level case management activities and practices for severe and complicated malaria) and 2 (evaluate surveillance as a core intervention) should be a focus for year 1. My question: must the project address BOTH or is it enough with ONE of them?

a. This Notice of Funding Opportunity lists the key goals for each respective Category (1 and 2) on which prospective applicants should focus their proposed activities in ‘Section I. Funding Opportunity Description’ of ‘Part 1. Background and Purpose’. Prospective applicants may focus their proposed activities to address one of the Approaches.

14. Q - Will proposals addressing BOTH Approach1 and Approach 2 be more strong for the independent panel? It is not fully clear to me if the number of approaches covered by the project is an element that will be taken into account in the evaluation.

This NOFO will be amended to specify that applicants can develop their proposals to focus on key goal 1 AND/OR key goal 2, as follows:

1. [Page 6 of 52]: “An applicant applying for Category 1 should focus their Year 1 activities on the key goals (#1 and/or #2)”

2. [Page 7 of 52]: “An applicant applying for Category 2 should focus their Year 1 activities on the key goals (#1 and/or #2)

15. Q. - The Letter of Intent is due for submission on 1 Feb. (section 3 on page 21) of the NOFO?

‘Part 3. Letter of Intent’ in ‘Section IV. Application and Submission Information’ of this NOFO states that the due date for the Letter of Intent is February 1st, 2022. Although a letter of intent is not required, is not binding, and does not enter into the review of a subsequent application, the information that it contains allows CDC staff to estimate the potential review workload and plan the review.

a. We do not need to submit the forms on 1 Feb, only the letter of intent?

Only the Letter of Intent is due on February 1st, 2022.

b. If encouraged to apply for the full proposal, then we follow the steps in 'Section 2: Content and Form of Application Submission' with the list of mandatory forms and one optional form. Potential applicants are encouraged to apply for this Notice of Funding Opportunity regardless of submitting a Letter of Intent. Please follow instructions in the application package and use

GH22-001 DPDM NOFO Q&A Page 4 of 4 mandated forms as well as optional forms, if needed.

c. Is there a word limit for the letter of intent? There is no word limit. ‘Part 3. Letter of Intent’ in ‘Section IV. Application and Submission Information’ of this NOFO outlines the information requested in the Letter of Intent.