Laboratory Training, Evaluation, and Quality Assurance Programs

The Department of Health and Human Services Centers for Disease Control and Prevention funds laboratory testing quality assurance, laboratory medicine best practices, and clinical laboratory performance improvements through CFDA 93.064, with the most recent grant award dated September 1, 2016.

The program is no longer actively accepting applications. The portfolio shows 37 awards since 2006, with the last disbursement more than ten years ago. Award activity peaked in 2013 with eight awards and declined thereafter; no grant opportunities have been posted since 2017. The program funded laboratory quality assurance frameworks, evidence-based laboratory medicine guidelines, rapid diagnostic testing protocols, laboratory communication metrics, public health laboratory strengthening, and integration of clinical laboratories into public health systems. Recent awards included funding for hospital quality improvement via correlative visualization analysis ($376 thousand), waived laboratory testing performance improvement through partnerships ($569 thousand), and medical data warehouse assessment of laboratory quality outcomes ($670 thousand).

The portfolio is predominantly Cooperative Agreements (68 percent of 37 awards) with smaller shares of Project Grants (19 percent) and Block Grants (14 percent). CDC accounts for 34 awards and $15.2 million in federal obligations; a secondary funder obligated three awards but with $159 thousand in deobligations, resulting in combined federal dollars obligated of $15 million. Typical awards range from $200 thousand to $1 million, with outliers reaching up to $1.73 million.

The most recently posted opportunity, from February 2017, was a single-source Cooperative Agreement for public health laboratory strengthening restricted to the Association of Public Health Laboratories with a due date of April 28, 2017. An earlier opportunity from March 2011 solicited influenza rapid testing practice improvements, also restricted to eligible nonprofits. No current or recent solicitations are open. Organizations should verify current program status with CDC before pursuing, as active funding activity has not been documented since 2016.