RFA - PHPA 3708- Q_A1.pdf

Request For Application (IFB) eMMA# BPM054505 (PHPA 3708)

Issue Date: 12/12/2025

Vendor Questions and Answers #1 Date: 12/26/2025

1.Question: Thank you for the Pre-Application Conference today regarding the RFA for Health Equity Approaches to Support Maryland’s LGBTQ+ Youth and Young Adult Communities in Living Tobacco- and Cannabis-Free (PHPA 3708). After the call, I realized I have a few points I would like to clarify to ensure our proposal is fully aligned with the Department's expectations.

When I inquired about the expectations of the 20% community partner cost, I was told to refer to the capacity building section of the proposal. Could you please confirm if this 20% allocation requires that funds be transferred as direct sub-awards or cash grants to the partner organizations? Or, can this 20% allocation be used to cover internal personnel costs (such as salary and fringe for the applicant’s staff or consultants) who are dedicated to providing the intensive "capacity building mentorship" and technical assistance to those partners as described in Core Activity 3? Clarifying whether these funds must be grants or can be used for internal staff time for mentorship is helpful in our budget planning.

We also want to follow-up to our previous question where the RFA identifies "Racial and ethnic minorities" as priority populations. We wanted to add a little more detail to our question and ask, could you please confirm that an application would be considered fully responsive if it justifies a focus on a specific sub-population (such as Black LGBTQ+ youth and young adults) across all five regions, provided the tools developed remain accessible to the broader LGBTQ+ community statewide?

Thank you for your time and assistance in clarifying these requirements.

Answer: 1. Could you please confirm if this 20% allocation requires that funds be transferred as direct sub-awards or cash grants to the partner organizations? Or, can this 20% allocation be used to cover internal personnel costs (such as salary and fringe for the applicant’s staff or consultants) who are dedicated to providing the intensive "capacity building mentorship" and technical assistance to those partners as described in Core Activity 3? Does the 20% allocation (starting in Year 2) need to be paid out as formal sub-awards to the partner organizations? Does the 20% requirement apply exclusively to the funds transferred directly to the partners? Or can the 20% include costs associated with community partner activities (such as UMD staff time, materials, and technical assistance specifically dedicated to those partners)?

Response: Refer to Section 3.3.5: Beginning in Year 2, at least 20% of the budget must be allocated to fund community partners. Also refer to Section 3.2.2 (E 3): provide more in-depth and funded capacity building mentorship around youth and young adult-centered tobacco and cannabis use prevention and cessation implementation to the partners that are part of the network. The community partnerships are to be funded partnerships through at least 20% of the budget.

1A. Does the 20% allocation (starting in Year 2) need to be paid out as formal sub-awards to the partner organizations? Or, if the funds are being split among multiple partners in smaller amounts (e.g., $4,000–$5,000 per partner)? Can these be categorized as Consulting Agreements or Purchase Orders?

Response: The successful Applicant shall work with the Grant Monitor to provide a detailed scope of work of their sub-recipients (section 3.2.2 (E 3). Funds for community partners should be listed under the “Community Partners” in the budget template (Exhibit A - Budge Form). It is up to the Applicant to propose how the community partnership funding will be used. The successful Applicant shall provide in-depth capacity building support with at least five community organizations who are part of the partnership network described above (at least one organization per Maryland region) (section 3.2.2 (E 3). Funded partners can differ from year to year or remain the same (section 3.2.2 (E 3). However, if funded partners are part of the project for more than a year, then the program needs to build off of the work of the previous year. It is for the Applicant to decide how many partners will be funded each year. Applicants, either directly or through their subcontractor(s), must be able to provide all services and meet all the requirements requested in this solicitation and the successful Applicant shall remain responsible for performance regardless of subcontractor participation in the work (section 1.1.4).

2.Question: I am writing to provide a quick follow-up to my previous email regarding the budget for the Health Equity Approaches to Support Maryland’s LGBTQ+ Youth and Young Adult Communities in Living Tobacco- and Cannabis-Free (PHPA 3708).

As our university's Office of Research Administration begins the formal routing process, we have two additional technical questions to ensure our budget justification meets the Department's requirements for the 20% community partnership allocation:

1. Does the 20% allocation (starting in Year 2) need to be paid out as formal sub-awards to the partner organizations?

Or, if the funds are being split among multiple partners in smaller amounts (e.g., $4,000–$5,000 per partner), can these be categorized as Consulting Agreements or Purchase Orders?

2. Does the 20% requirement apply exclusively to the funds transferred directly to the partners?

Or can the 20% include costs associated with community partner activities (such as UMD staff time, materials, and technical assistance specifically dedicated to those partners)?

Confirming these details now will allow us to ensure our internal budget routing is accurate.

Thank you again for your assistance

Answer: Could you please confirm that an application would be considered fully responsive if it justifies a focus on a specific sub-population (such as Black LGBTQ+ youth and young adults) across all five regions, provided the tools developed remain accessible to the broader LGBTQ+ community statewide?

Response: Applicants can propose a specific sup-population within the community of focus for this RFA of LGBTQ+ youth and young adult communities in Maryland. The State is issuing this solicitation to support CTPC partners and community organizations in reducing tobacco- and cannabis-related health disparities in Maryland LGBTQ+ youth and young adult communities and to promote culturally appropriate tobacco and cannabis use prevention and cessation interventions that improve the overall health and wellbeing of these communities (Section 3.1)

3.Question: Is there currently an incumbent for this work?

Answer: Please request information (PIA request) about an incumbent via an email to the Procurement Officer email with the title of the RFA.

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