WorkforceFOA1292015.pdf

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology

American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009:

Information Technology Professionals in Health Care:

Workforce Training to Educate Health Care Professionals in Health Information Technology

Program Guidance Funding Opportunity Announcement

Fiscal Year 2015 FOA Release Date: February 3, 2015 Application Due Date: April 6, 2015

Anticipated Award Date: May 1, 2015

Legislative Authority: American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Recovery Act), Division A—Appropriations Provisions, Subtitle B—Information Technology Professionals in Health Care, Section 3016 of the Public Health Service Act (PHSA)

Table of Contents Executive Summary Opportunity Overview 1 Funding Opportunity Description

1.1 Background

1.2 Purpose

1.3 Scope of Services

1.4 Program Evaluation

1.5 Statutory Authority

2 Award Information

2.1 Summary of Funding

2.2 Intellectual Property/Copyrights

3 Eligibility Information

3.1 Eligible Applicants

3.2 Cost-Sharing or Matching

3.3 Other

3.3.1 Application Screening Criteria

3.3.2 Application Completeness Criteria

4 Application and Submission Information

4.1 Address to Request Application Package

4.2 Content and Form of Application Submission

4.2.1 Project Abstract

4.2.2 Project Narrative

4.2.3 Problem Statement

4.2.4 Targeted Topic Areas

4.2.5 Proposed Approach

4.2.6 Collaborator Involvement

4.2.7 Project Management

4.2.8 Evaluation

4.2.9 Work Plan

4.2.10 Process for Dissemination of Learning Resources

4.2.11 Budget Forms:

4.2.12 Budget Narrative/Justification

4.2.13 Letters of Commitment

4.3 Submission Dates and Times

4.4 Intergovernmental Review

4.5 Funding Restrictions

4.6 Other Submission Requirements

5 Application Review Information

5.1 Criteria

5.2 Objective Review Criteria

5.2.1 Understanding of Project Purpose (25 points)

5.2.2 Applicant Capabilities (35 points)

5.2.3 Approach, Work Plan and Activities (20 points)

5.2.4 Process for Dissemination of Learning Resources 10 points

5.2.5 Budget Narrative/Justification (10 points)

5.3 Review and Selection Process

6 Award Administration Information

6.1 Award Notices

6.2 Standard Terms and Conditions - ONC Grants

6.3 Administrative Requirements

6.4 Cost Principles

6.5 Audit Requirements

7 Agency Contacts 8 Other Information

8.1 Appendix A – Instructions for Completing the Required Budget Forms

8.1.1 a. Standard Form 424

8.1.2 Standard Form 424A

8.1.3 Standard Form 424B - Assurances

8.1.4 Certification Regarding Lobbying

8.1.5 Other Application Components

8.2 Budget Detail, Page 1 – Sample Format with EXAMPLES

Executive Summary This funding opportunity will establish 5-7 cooperative agreements to update materials and develop a training program to further the Workforce Training Programs – Community College Consortia to Educate Health Information Technology Professionals in Health Care and the Curriculum Development Centers cooperative agreement programs funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Recovery Act), Public Law 111-5. The purpose of the Workforce Training Program is to provide assistance to institutions of higher education, or consortia thereof, to establish or expand medical health informatics education programs to promote the rapid and effective utilization and development of health information technologies.

The Recovery Act, signed into law February 17, 2009, included an estimated $167 billion over ten years for programs at the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). HHS Recovery Act activities support efforts to increase access to health care, protect those in greatest need, expand educational opportunities, and modernize the Nation’s infrastructure. Of these funds, $118,000,000 was allocated to support cooperative agreements under the Workforce Training Program. The original program did not expend the entire $118,000,000, and the remaining $6,400,000 in funding will be reallocated under the same intent. The new program, Workforce Training to Educate Health Care Professionals in Health Information Technology (WTPHIT), will build on previous training programs. It will expand the existing workforce training materials to incorporate Meaningful Use criteria and related care transformation programs that have been introduced, or have been updated, since the Affordable Care Act was signed into law on March 30, 2010.

Opportunity Overview Funding Opportunity Announcement Title: Information Technology Professionals in Health Care: Workforce Training to Educate Health Care Professionals in Health Information Technology

Federal Funding Agency: Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)

Announcement Type: New Award

Funding Opportunity Number: WF-WF-15-300

Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) Number: 93.721

Key Dates and Submission Information: Table 1 presents the expected number of awards, available funding, submission and award schedule for these training grants. Successful applications will be awarded a two-year cooperative agreement.

Table 1. Funding Information and Award Schedule Number of Awards

Funding Available

Notice of Intent Application Due Date

Anticipated Award Announcement Date

5-7 $6,400,000 March 2, 2015 April 6, 2015 May 1, 2015

Applicants are strongly encouraged to submit a non-binding e-mail notice of intent to apply for this funding opportunity to assist ONC in planning for the application review process by 11:59 P.M. Eastern Time, March 2, 2015. This notice should simply identify the name of the applicant organization, the city and state in which the applicant organization is located, and identify the Funding Opportunity Announcement number WF-WF-15-300 and Title: Workforce Training.

Notices of Intent should be sent to workforcefoa@hhs.gov by 11:59 P.M. Eastern Time, March 2, 2015.

ONC will conduct an informational session to provide information related to this FOA. The purpose of the session is to:

• Discuss the background, purpose and scope of services requested in the FOA;

• Explain the eligibility and application requirements;

• Describe the application review process; and

• Provide an opportunity for interested parties to ask questions about the FOA.

Further details about the informational session – including the date, time, and instructions for joining – are available at: http://healthit.gov/newsroom/workforce-training-educate-health-care-professionals-health-information-technology mailto:workforcefoa@hhs.gov http://healthit.gov/newsroom/workforce-training-educate-health-care-professionals-health-information-technology http://healthit.gov/newsroom/workforce-training-educate-health-care-professionals-health-information-technology

To ensure that ONC addresses all comments and questions regarding this announcement during the technical assistance calls, please submit any questions via email to workforcefoa@hhs.gov no later than three days prior to the call.

1 Funding Opportunity Description

1.1 Background

The purpose of this funding is to update the health information technology (health IT) instructional training material developed under cooperative agreements that were initially funded under FOA-OC-HIT-10-001. Progressive changes to the Medicare and Medicaid Electronic Health Record (EHR) Incentive Programs require these outdated materials to be updated to reflect modern care delivery processes. Furthermore, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) establishes new programs that require the use of health IT to improve and coordinate care, develop and sustain data infrastructure necessary for multi-payer value-based payment, and integrate clinical and claims data to enable data analytics for informed decision making and streamlined reporting. The current health IT instructional training material, developed under the original Curriculum Development Centers cooperative agreement program, needs to be updated to address four areas relevant for improved care delivery:

1. Population health,

2. Care coordination,

3. New care delivery and payments models, and

4. Value-based care.

Instructional training materials are specifically needed to address the training needs of those working in team-based care environments, long-term care facilities, patient-centered medical homes, accountable care organizations, hospitals, clinics, and other care settings.

In addition to updating current health IT instructional material, funding will support training for health professionals using the new materials. Professionals trained by this workforce program provide key support to federally-funded programs, such as the Regional Extension Center program (REC), the State Health Information Exchange (HIE) program, Beacon Community Program, and the State Innovative Model (SIM). The accelerated pace of change from new and expanding technology will continue to be an ongoing challenge for preparing a skilled workforce.

Meaningful Use and advanced health IT systems will require on-the-job training and continuous learning for employees in a rapidly changing environment. To meet the promise of better health care, better health, and lower costs through health IT, all levels of health professionals will require some level of training, including front desk staff, physicians, nurses, pharmacists, health care managers, and other allied health professionals.

1.2 Purpose

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, under section 3016 of the Public Health Service Act (PHSA), Information Technology Professionals in Health Care, authorizes “assistance to institutions of higher education (or consortia thereof) to establish or expand health informatics education programs, including certification, undergraduate, and master’s degree programs, for both health care and information technology students to ensure the rapid and effective mailto:workforcefoa@hhs.gov http://www.grants.gov/web/grants/view-opportunity.html?oppId=50461 http://www.healthit.gov/providers-professionals/regional-extension-centers-recs http://www.healthit.gov/providers-professionals/regional-extension-centers-recs http://www.healthit.gov/policy-researchers-implementers/state-health-information-exchange http://www.healthit.gov/policy-researchers-implementers/beacon-community-program http://www.healthit.gov/policy-researchers-implementers/beacon-community-program http://innovation.cms.gov/initiatives/state-innovations/ utilization and development of health information technologies in the United States health care infrastructure.” The program established under Section 3016 will consist of at least two components described in one Funding Opportunity Announcement.

This funding opportunity is designed for two years. In the first year, 5-7 applicants will receive awards to update the health IT instructional training material that was initially developed under the Curriculum Development Centers Cooperative Agreement. Existing training materials are available on the ONC website at: http://www.healthit.gov/providers-professionals/health-it-curriculum-resources-educators.

The grantees will convene an advisory board or equivalent entity to update the existing training materials. The advisory board will consist of:

ONC Fellows, and

• State Innovative Models (SIM) grantees.

ONC is seeking grantees to update training materials in four key topic areas:

1. Population health,

2. Care coordination,

3. New care delivery and payments models, and

4. Value-based care.

The grantees will update health IT instructional training materials to include these four key topic areas. Specifically, the material should include competencies such as leveraging interoperable health IT, new value-based payment models, the Medical Home model, data analytics, tele-health, consumer engagement, care automation tools, patient safety and quality of care, population health, and accountable care organizations.

Updated training materials will be publicly available at the end of the program’s period of performance or 24 months from start date.

In the second year, grantees will collectively train approximately 6,000 incumbent health care workers with the updated materials. Once the training material has been updated, grantees will work together to develop one training program that can be used to train staff members in organizations that include, but are not limited to, accountable care organizations, patient centered medical homes, solo practices, group practices, safety net clinics, hospitals, private practices, and health systems. Completion of the training needs to be accomplished within the span of 5 days or less. The curriculum must have the flexibility to be conducted through various training approaches, including, but not limited to, in-person, web-based, and train-the-http://www.healthit.gov/providers-professionals/health-it-curriculum-resources-educators http://www.healthit.gov/providers-professionals/health-it-curriculum-resources-educators trainer. Additionally, grantees will use updated training materials to develop a baseline health IT curriculum that can be taught in a traditional academic capacity over a course of 2-4 semesters or its equivalent. This baseline curriculum will be made publicly available.

Based on assessments from the previous Workforce Training Program, the priority gap areas where incumbent workers need improved skills to perform new job functions include ensuring the rapid and effective use of interoperable health IT systems, coordinating care more effectively, and improving quality of care. Table 2 explains these priority topic areas in more detail in later sections. Although the focus areas are grouped with further qualifying examples, the intent is to help delineate topics and competencies, recognizing a competency often applies to more than one topic area.

Table 2. Priority Topic Areas Topic Area Proposed Competencies Population health management

Running registry reports Planning for population health Data collection, storage, and management Population monitoring and stratification Interaction with and reporting to public health agency registries Patient engagement and team-based interventions

Care coordination and interoperable health IT systems

Patient registries, including by clinical and administrative data from a variety of sources

Care management automation tools Privacy and security Types of exchange methods Direct secure messaging and Stage 2 MU Coordination with caregivers and community social services using health IT Patient engagement methods, tools, and processes Analytic tools to help evaluate, improve, and report on organizational, practice, and provider performance Tele-health tools services and workflow redesign Admission, discharge, and transfer feeds

New care delivery and payment models

Accountable Care Organization (ACO) , Patient Centered Medical Homes (PCMH), and other models of care

Assessing and continual quality improvement in the way patient care is delivered at all levels in a care delivery organization

Achieving patient safety Clinical outcomes and quality care through process redesign and

IT implementation Effectively blending people, processes, and technology across departments and clinical fields of expertise

Bringing together claims and clinical data from a variety of data sources to examine utilization and outcomes measurement

Topic Area Proposed Competencies Value-based care How to reduce readmissions

utilization rates, and performance against internal and external benchmarks, leading to improved quality and a sustained change in culture

Also during the second year of funding, each grantee will begin their training programs.

Training programs may be implemented through various modes, including, but are not limited to, in-person, web-based, and train-the-trainer. Implementation of the training and materials designed and updated for this program should be conducted by academic institutions or health IT training organizations through a model or approach that best fits the existing needs of the health care professionals being trained. While incumbent health care workers are the target audience, grantees should consider marketing their programs to local displaced health care workers, clinical staff, and Veterans. Grantees also should ensure they are able to provide training to those in underserved populations. Each grantee will be responsible to train approximately 1,000 students per grant award.

1.3 Scope of Services

The funding is designed to update resources and materials by grantees to ensure that evolving needs in the field of health care and health IT are incorporated into training programs. Grantees awarded funding will develop and/or update curriculum and learning resources that will be made available to the public. Collectively, grantees also will train a total of 6,000 incumbent health care professionals. Each recipient will train approximately 1,000 health care professionals.

Prior to updating and implementing the training and learning resources, the grantees will work together to perform a preliminary assessment and evaluation to determine additional details on content and requirements through the following:

• Performing a gap analysis of the existing ONC training materials and making recommendations to ONC;

• Convening an advisory board to advise on the development of training criteria and materials for the training model or approach;

• Field-testing draft components/units of revised training materials by the Advisory Boards constituents partners and stakeholders;

• Reconvening stakeholders to review and approve the proposed training prior to launch;

and,

• Making updated training materials 508 compliant and available through an on-line vehicle, such as ONC’s website, beyond the project period of performance.

All training delivered shall include an assessment of all professionals trained during the project period of performance, by way of a survey or other assessment to capture the number of professionals trained and other employment outcomes.

1.4 Program Evaluation

Recipients are required to cooperate with the ONC directed national program evaluation.

Evaluation criteria can include, but are not limited to, individuals trained, evaluation of the training, whether trainee received promotions, salary increases, new jobs, new titles, and demographic information. Grantees will be required to use ONC’s Customer Relationship Management Tool (CRM). The CRM will be used for tracking and evaluating progress of grantees. After awards are made, ONC will provide the grantee with access to the CRM.

Additional instructions for this system will be provided post award.

1.5 Statutory Authority

The statutory authority for this re-obligation is section 3016 of the Public Health Service Act.

2 Award Information

2.1 Summary of Funding

Table 3. Summary of Funding Information Type of Award Re-obligation Total Funding Available $6,400,000 Number of Awards 5-7 Range of Awards $800,000 to $2,000,000 Project Period and Budget Period End Date

June 1, 2015 – May 31, 2017

Estimated Start Date June 1, 2015 *Materials developed through this funding will be made publicly available at the end of the project period.

ONC will evaluate the grantee’s performance quarterly to ensure the project is meeting criteria described under Scope of Services, including the gap analysis and convening of subject matter experts.

ONC reserves the right to make additional awards under this announcement, consistent with Agency policy, if additional funding becomes available after the original selections are made.

Any additional selections for awards will be made no later 12 months after the original selection decisions.

2.2 Intellectual Property/Copyrights

The Government reserves all rights granted by, and the recipient agrees to be bound by,

herein. Generally, the recipient may copyright any work that is subject to copyright and was developed, or for which ownership was purchased, under this award. The Government reserves a royalty-free, nonexclusive, and irrevocable right to reproduce, publish, or otherwise use the work for Federal purposes, and to authorize others to do so. For any work owned by a third-party that was licensed by the recipient under this award, recipient will assure that said license also reserves for the Government a royalty-free, nonexclusive, and irrevocable right to reproduce, publish, or otherwise use the work for Federal purposes, and to authorize others to do so.

3 Eligibility Information

3.1 Eligible Applicants

This funding opportunity is open to the public in the United States. Considering the timeframe and the amount of funding available to execute and accomplish workforce training goals, ONC anticipates that applicants will have experience and a working knowledge of the previous work product and the ability to update and develop materials as specified in the FOA. ONC also anticipates that the applicants will have experience in training Health IT professionals as specified in the FOA.

3.2 Cost-Sharing or Matching

None

3.3 Other

3.3.1 Application Screening Criteria

Applications must be submitted electronically via http://www.grants.gov by April 6, 2015.

All of the applicants must provide signed letters of commitment and budgets as part of the application.

The Project Narrative Section of the Application must be double-spaced, on 81/2” X 11” plain white paper with 1” margins on all sides, and use either Cambria or Times New Roman font size

below 8 point font.

The Project Narrative must not exceed 20 pages. Any pages over the limit will not be reviewed.

NOTE: Project Abstracts do not count as part of the Project Narrative.

3.3.2 Application Completeness Criteria

Applicants that do not meet the following completeness criteria will be administratively eliminated and will not be sent forward for merit review:

The applicant does not meet the eligibility criteria as required by Section III A, Eligible Applicants.

The Application is not received by the deadline required by Section IV. C, Submission Dates and Times.

http://www.grants.gov

4 Application and Submission Information

4.1 Address to Request Application Package

Application materials will be available for download at http://www.grants.gov. ONC requires full applications for all announcements to be submitted electronically through http://www.grants.gov.

Applicants will be able to download a copy of the application packet, complete it off-line, and then upload and submit the application electronically via: http://www.grants.gov.

APPLICATIONS WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED THROUGH ANY OTHER WEBSITE AND

WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED THROUGH PAPER MAIL, COURIER, OR DELIVERY

SERVICE.

APPLICANTS ARE STRONGLY ENCOURAGED TO COMPLETE AND SUBMIT

APPLICATIONS AS FAR IN ADVANCE OF THE SUBMISSION DEADLINE AS POSSIBLE.

THE APPLICATION INCLUDING ALL REQUIRED ATTACHMENTS AND INCLUDED

FILES FOR POTENTIAL CONSIDERATION IN THE REVIEW PROCESS MUST BE

RECEIVED BY 11:59 PM EASTERN TIME ON THE DATE SPECIFIED IN SECTION 4.3

BELOW.

Application procedures:

• Applicants must access the electronic application for this program via http://www.grants.gov. Search the downloadable application page by the Funding Opportunity Number WF-WF-15-300 or CFDA number (93.721).

• All applicants should have a Dun and Bradstreet (D&B) Data Universal Numbering System (DUNS) number and register in the System for Award Management (SAM).

Allow a minimum of five days to complete the SAM registration.

• Ensure that the application complies with any page limitation requirements described in this Funding Opportunity Announcement.

assurance that your application was complete, only that the application was received.

• Organizations applying for federal grants will need to be registered with the System for Award Management (SAM). You can register with the SAM online in about 30 minutes (http://www.sam.gov). If you have already registered with SAM but have not renewed your registration in the last 12 months, you must renew your registration at http://www.sam.gov.

http://www.grants.gov/ http://www.grants.gov/ http://www.grants.gov/ http://www.grants.gov http://www.sam.gov

4.2 Content and Form of Application Submission

4.2.1 Project Abstract

Applicants shall include an abstract of the application of no more than two pages, single spaced, and has a maximum of 500 words. This abstract is often submitted to provide information to the public and Congress and should present a high-level project summary. Applicants should prepare a clear, accurate, and concise abstract that can be understood without reference to other parts of the application and which gives a description of the proposed project, including: the project’s goal(s), objectives, overall approach (including partnerships), anticipated outcomes, products, and duration.

The Project Abstract must have a font size of not less than 11 point.

The applicant must place the following information at the top of the Project Abstract (this information is not included in the 500 word maximum):

4.2.2 Project Narrative

The application will include a narrative on the approach to using the funds to develop quality learning resources that meet the evaluation criteria described in Section V. Evaluation Criteria.

The narrative must provide the reader with an understanding of how the applicant will develop the learning resources to align with the four key topic areas identified in the FOA, which are:

population health, care coordination, new care delivery and payments models, and value-based care.

The Project Narrative must be double-spaced, on 8 ½” x 11” pages with 1” margins on all sides, and use either Calibri or Times New Roman font with a font size of not less than 11 point.

narratives should be no more than 20 pages. ONC will not review Project Narrative pages beyond the 20 pages allowed. The Project Abstract will not be counted as part of the narrative.

The components of the Project Narrative counted as part of the 20 page limit include:

The Project Narrative is the most important part of the application because it will be used as the primary basis to determine whether the application meets the minimum requirements, and it will serve as a primary basis for the review. The Project Narrative must provide a clear and concise description of your goals, objectives, strategy, and outcomes.

4.2.3 Problem Statement

This section should describe, from the applicant’s perspective, the benefits of having these educational materials and the challenges of creating them. (<1 page)

4.2.4 Targeted Topic Areas

This section should describe which of the four topic areas the applicant is prepared to address.

The applicant’s current experience with training in these topic areas should be discussed.

Applicants should address a minimum of 1 and a maximum of 4 topic areas. (2-3 pages)

4.2.5 Proposed Approach

This section should provide a clear and concise description of the applicant’s approach to updating training materials and addressing the challenges described in the “Problem Statement.”

This should consist of a detailed development plan. It also should discuss the applicant’s knowledge of the training work product and use of ONC training materials. The applicant should discuss how the training materials will be updated, how a standard curriculum will be developed, and how version control will be maintained. The applicant should describe plans for collaborating with experts in training development and learning institutions. Possible anticipated collaborations could include community colleges, universities, professional training organizations, health care and health IT subject matter experts to shape the materials to for incumbent workers and to also develop a baseline health IT curriculum. Applicants also should include a description of how instructional developers will be incorporated into the project approach. The applicant also should note any major barriers they anticipate encountering and how they anticipate overcoming barriers.

This section should describe the instructional technology and format that the applicant would prefer to use for creating the modules, recognizing that the final decision will be a collective one among all funded development sites.

The applicant will describe the how the training will be disseminated and the method(s) in which they will train incumbent health care professionals. The applicant also will describe marketing strategies to train approximately 1000 health care professionals and provide details on how they will track individuals trained. (5-6 pages)

4.2.6 Collaborator Involvement

This section should describe the role and makeup of any other strategic collaborators the applicant plans to involve in implementing the approach, including, but not limited to, other institutions of higher education, employer groups, health IT organizations, accreditation bodies, RECs, HIEs, Beacon Communities, consumers, and the private industry. (1-2 pages)

4.2.7 Project Management

This section should include a clear delineation of the roles and responsibilities of project staff, participating faculty members, consultants and collaborating organizations, and how each will contribute to achieving the project’s outcomes. It should specify who will have day-to-day responsibility for key tasks such as: project leadership; monitoring the project’s on-going progress, preparation of reports; communications with other collaborating organizations and ONC. It also should describe the approach for monitoring and tracking progress on the project’s tasks and objectives. (1-2 pages)

4.2.8 Evaluation

The applicant will describe how they will track evaluation criteria as outlined under Program Evaluation. (1-2 pages)

4.2.9 Work Plan

The project work plan should reflect and be consistent with the project narrative and budget and should cover both years of the project period. The work plan should identify important milestones and each major task or action step needed to reach those milestones. For each major task or action step, the work plan should identify timeframes involved, including start and end dates. (1-2 pages)

4.2.10 Process for Dissemination of Learning Resources

This section should include the approach for administering training. It should describe the target audiences and illustrate the benefits that will come from this training and inform how the training will affect the environment in which the training is taken. This section also will describe the plans to market this training program. (1-2 pages)

4.2.11 Budget Forms:

All applicants are required to complete the following budget forms to include the costs associated with the proposed project activities. These forms will be submitted through grants.gov as part of the application package and will include the following:

Please note that these forms do not replace program-specific guidance provided in this funding opportunity announcement. Additional instruction regarding budget forms can be found in Appendix A.

4.2.12 Budget Narrative/Justification

All applicants are required to provide a detailed budget that includes the costs necessary to support project activities. The budget narrative/justification must include the allowable costs that will be incurred in support of the cooperative agreement. Costs may not be incurred until the begin date of the award, as indicated on the official Notice of Award. Whether direct or indirect, costs must be allowable, allocable, reasonable and necessary under the applicable OMB Cost Circulars. See http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/circulars as well as programmatic and financial requirements, as part of the terms and conditions of the award.

grants.gov http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/circulars

The duration of this award is for a maximum of 24 months (2 years).

4.2.13 Letters of Commitment

Include confirmation of the commitments to the project (should it be funded) made by key collaborating organizations and agencies in this part of the application. Any organization that is specifically named to have a significant role in carrying out the project should be considered an essential collaborator. For example, letters could include community college, university collaborators, and/or organizations providing professional instructional design for the materials. Signed letters of commitment should be scanned and included as attachments. In the transmission, the applicant must include the funding opportunity number and the organization’s name.

4.3 Submission Dates and Times

The deadline for the submission of applications under this Program Announcement is April 6, 2015. Applications must be submitted electronically by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time, April 6, 2015.

Applications that fail to meet the application due date will not be reviewed and will receive no further consideration.

Grants.gov will automatically send applicants a tracking number and date of receipt verification electronically once the application has been successfully received and validated in Grants.gov.

After each application is retrieved by ONC from Grants.gov, a return receipt will be emailed to the applicant. This will be in addition to the validation number provided by Grants.gov.

4.4 Intergovernmental Review

This program is excluded from Executive Order 12372.

4.5 Funding Restrictions

Funds under this announcement cannot be used for the following purposes:

improvements to any building;

4.6 Other Submission Requirements

NON-DISCLOSURE REQUIREMENTS

This cooperative agreement may require the grantee to have access to information relating to any and all aspects of grants management operations that may be of a technical, legal, sensitive, and/ or confidential nature and which may be the sole property of the U.S. Government. Therefore, the grantee shall ensure that all its personnel (to include chief executives, directors, any consultants, or sub recipients or any other personnel that are substantially involved in the performance of this

Grants.gov Grants.gov Grants.gov cooperative agreement) who will be personally and substantially involved in the performance of this cooperative agreement:

• Execute and submit Non-Disclosure Agreements prior to the commencement of any work on the cooperative agreement; and, The grantee shall put in place appropriate procedures for the protection of such information and shall be liable to the Government for any misuse or unauthorized disclosure of such information by its personnel, as defined above.

POTENTIAL FOR ORGANIZATIONAL AND PERSONAL CONFLICTS OF

INTEREST (COI)

The term “organizational conflict of interest” means that the applicant (which term hereinafter shall be deemed to include its chief executives, directors, any consultants, or sub recipients or any other personnel that are substantially involved in the performance of this cooperative agreement) has interests in which:

1. May diminish its capacity to give impartial, technically sound, objective assistance and advise in performing this tasks;

2. May otherwise result in a biased work product under this cooperative agreement; or,

3. May result in an unfair competitive advantage to itself or others.

In accordance with Section 200.112 All applicants and Non-federal entities must disclose in writing any potential conflict of interest (COI) that they have with the HHS awarding agency and/ or any other pass-through entities. The applicant shall notify the HHS awarding agency and their respective grants management officer (GMO) when they believe a COI may exist. If after award, an awarded grantee discovers a COI, with respect to this cooperative agreement, it shall make an

In the event the grantee was aware of an organizational COI prior to award of the award of the cooperative agreement and did not disclose the conflict to the GMO or becomes aware of an organizational COI after award of this cooperative agreement and does not disclose the COI within ten (10) days of becoming aware of such conflict, the Government may terminate the cooperative agreement and the grantee shall not be entitled to reimbursement of any cost incurred in performing the cooperative agreement or payment of any fee there under.

The rights and remedies of the Government provided in this clause shall not be exclusive and are in addition to any other rights and remedies of the Government provided by law or under this cooperative agreement.

5 Application Review Information

5.1 Criteria

Selection factors ensure consistency with work provided for in the original

FOA-OC-HIT-10-001.

Applications that meet the criteria described in Section III A, as described above.

The following section describes the evaluation criteria for the cooperative agreement program which will apply to award. In preparing applications, applicants are strongly encouraged to review the programmatic requirements detailed in Section I, Funding Opportunity Description.

The application must be organized as detailed in Section IV, Application and Submission Information of this solicitation.

Applications will be scored based on 100 available points. Reviewers will use the criteria described in the following section to evaluate applications received in response to this solicitation.

5.2 Objective Review Criteria

The proposed activities for this award should reflect the goal to educate incumbent health care workers using updated training materials that can facilitate the implementation and support of an electronic health care system. The award activities should address the topics discussed in this funding announcement that have emerged since the time of the original awards that were objectively reviewed and approved FOA-OC-HIT-10-001. The description of such activities should include a plan to accomplish the project goals of the award within the timeframe proposed.

The following criteria will be used to evaluate applications:

5.2.1 Understanding of Project Purpose (25 points)

Extent to which the applicant presents a clear understanding of the purpose and scope of the proposal. This section must include:

• The applicant’s understanding of the health care system and the need to address the health IT training needs for health care professionals.

• The applicant’s understanding of the learning resources that will provide appropriate material for incumbent workers based on the four topic areas listed in the FOA.

5.2.2 Applicant Capabilities (35 points)

• Strength of evidence that the applicant brings the organizational and personnel capabilities needed for successful project implementation.

• Extent to which the applicant demonstrates support from key program partners and stakeholders, including providers.

• Degree to which the applicant can show evidence of working knowledge and use of existing training materials.

• High level of evidence that the applicant has the capacity and ability to update training materials, develop a training program for Health IT Professionals, and create a base curriculum per the guidance of this FOA.

• Degree of evidence that applicant can execute a plan to train minimum of 1000 (per award) Health IT professionals in one year.

5.2.3 Approach, Work Plan and Activities (20 points)

• Extent to which the applicant outlines a clear knowledge of the resources of the original workforce training materials developed.

• Clear strategy to update the four topic areas as identified: describing the knowledge skills and abilities to be developed, developing teaching strategies; addressing the following topics: Population Health, Transformation of Care, New Care and Delivery Payments Models, and Value Based Care. Competencies within the topics include Meaningful Use criteria, leveraging interoperable health IT, new value-based payment models, the Medical Home model, data analytics, tele-health, consumer engagement, care automation tools, patient safety and quality of care, population health, and accountable care organizations.

• Extent to which the proposed approach is feasible within the timeline and includes clear benchmarks for number of students trained, type of workers, and administration of standardized student assessment. The extent to which the application includes a project approach and specifies the technology that will be used to achieve the desired outcomes.

The plan must also include timelines, resources, partners, and major milestones and align with the budget.

5.2.4 Process for Dissemination of Learning Resources 10 points

• Extent to which the applicant plans to openly share and offer for re-use the technologies, best practices, and infrastructure developed through this program.

• Extent to which the applicant plans to use and participate in an open, transparent process to develop the program and share implementation experience as the program develops, including both successes and opportunities for improvement.

5.2.5 Budget Narrative/Justification (10 points)

• Extent to which the proposed levels of effort of the project director, key personnel, and consultants are adequate to advance the project in accordance with timelines.

• Extent to which the budget is justified with respect to the adequacy and reasonableness of resources requested, and the extent to which the amount of the budget allocated to administration is minimized, while still allowing coherent management of an integrated project.

• Adequate justification to support costs included in budget.

5.3 Review and Selection Process

An independent review panel of at least three individuals will evaluate applications that meet the initial screening criteria (i.e., are found to contain the required application elements). These reviewers will be experts in their field, and will be drawn from academic institutions, non-profit organizations, state and local government, and federal government agencies. These reviewers are selected with regard to both their specialized expertise and the absence of conflict-of-interest issues. The applicant, by submitting its proposal, consents to the use of non-federal reviewers/ administrators. Non-federal reviewers will be required to sign a conflict of interest agreement before proceeding to review any application. Federal reviewers will be required to submit a

criteria as outlined in this funding announcement, the reviewers will comment on and score the applications, focusing their comments and scoring decisions on the identified criteria.

The final award decision will be made by the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC). In making this award, the ONC will take into consideration: the merit of the proposed project as determined by merit review; compliance with programmatic and grants management requirements; the reasonableness of the estimated cost to the government considering the available funding and anticipated results; the relevance of the proposed project in relation to named program priorities; and the likelihood that the proposed project will result in the benefits expected.

6 Award Administration Information

funds associated with the award until the start date of the award as indicated in the notice. All applicants will receive a summary of the objective review panel’s assessment of the application’s merits and weaknesses.

The Notice of Grant Award (NGA) will include the amount of funds awarded, the terms and conditions of the cooperative agreement, the effective date of the award, the budget period for which support will be given, any required match to be provided, the total project period timeframe, and the total approved budget. The NGA is then signed by the ONC Grants

Administrative and National Policy Requirements The award is subject to 2 CFR Part 200, Subpart B through D, and the Standard Terms and Conditions implemented through the HHS Grants Policy Statement located at http://www.hhs.gov/asfr/ogapa/aboutog/ogpoe/grants_mgmt_policy_sources.html.

Post-Award Reporting Requirements All reporting requirements will be provided to the applicant of a successful application, adherence to which is a required condition of any award. In general, the successful applicant under this guidance must comply with the following reporting and review activities:

1. Evaluation Requirements

The recipient shall comply with requirements as outline in this FOA under section I. (D.)

Program Evaluation.

2. Audit Requirements http://www.hhs.gov/asfr/ogapa/aboutog/ogpoe/grants_mgmt_policy_sources.html

scope, frequency, and other aspects of the audits can be found at http://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/text-idx?SID=ed90f54836feb6a994f657188eb05e33&node =2:1.1.2.2.1&rgn=div5.

Financial Status and Cash Transaction Reports Semi-Annual expenditures must be submitted for each fiscal year during the period of performance (October 1 through September 30) using the SF-425, Federal Financial Report (FFR). Reports are due to HHS no later than April 30 of each year the award is active for funds expended between October and March, and no later than October 31 for funds expended between April and September. The semi-annual FFR will be submitted using the Online Data Collection (OLDC) system. ONC will not accept reports sent directly to the ONC Grants mailbox.

The FFR Cash Transaction Report is submitted via the Payment Management System (PMS) every calendar quarter for the life of the grant. The report must be submitted within 30 days after the end of the quarter (January 31, April 30, July 31, and October 31). Grantees are required to complete the FFR Cash Transaction Report via the Payment Management System each calendar quarter.

Performance Reports The awardee’s performance will be evaluated quarterly by ONC to ensure that the project is meeting program objectives.

The grantee shall submit semi-annual progress reports related to its projects and overall project

ONC will work closely with the grantee through planning and implementation progresses in a collaborative way.

6.2 Standard Terms and Conditions - ONC Grants

This award is issued under the authority of the Public Health Service Act, Sec. 3011, as added by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, 2009 (P.L. 111-5). By receiving funds under this award, the recipient assures that it will carry out the project/program as authorized and will comply with the terms and conditions and other requirements of this award.

This award is subject to the HHS-Approved Standard Terms and Conditions for the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. See:

http://healthit.hhs.gov/portal/server.pt?open=512&objID=144…