Application Review Information

First, your application will be reviewed for completeness by the PGO staff and for responsiveness jointly by NCHHSTP and PGO. Incomplete applications and applications that are non-responsive to the eligibility criteria will not advance through the review process. You will be notified the application did not meet submission requirements.

Next, your application will advance through the review process in two steps.

Step One: In the first step of the evaluation process, a panel of reviewers will evaluate complete and responsive applications according to the criteria listed in the V.1. Criteria section above. The applications will be evaluated by an independent external review panel assigned by CDC, known as a Special Emphasis Panel (SEP). The panel will assign the application a score using evaluation criteria as specified in Section V. Application Review Information. The score will be based on the applicant’s responses to the questions in Section IV. Application and Submission Information starting with A. Justification of Need. For HIV Prevention Programs, applicants can receive a maximum of 1000 points. For the CBO Monitoring and Evaluation Project, applicants can receive a maximum of 100 points.

An applicant must score at least 600 of the 1000 possible points during the special emphasis panel review to receive a PDSV. To ensure that no application has an undue competitive advantage resulting from the selection of multiple categories and components, CDC has developed a mechanism that will appropriately adjust scores for each application. Applicants will be selected to receive a PDSV based on highest scores and application of the funding preferences included in this announcement.

Step Two: The second step of the review process is conducted via PDSV. For HIV Prevention Program proposals, applicants can receive a maximum PDSV score of 550 points. If the HIV Prevention Program proposal fails to score at least 415 points, the application will be not be considered for funding. If an applicant is requesting funding for the CBO Monitoring and Evaluation Project, additional criteria will be employed during the PDSV to produce a separate PDSV score; for the CBO Monitoring and Evaluation Project, applicants can receive a maximum PDSV score of 100 points. If the CBO Monitoring and Evaluation Project fails to score at least 75 points, the application for outcome monitoring will not be considered for funding; however, the HIV Prevention Program proposal may still be considered for funding if it received a PDSV score of at least 415 points.

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Criteria for Step One: Application Review

1. HIV Prevention Programs (maximum available points = 1000)

• Justification of Need (75 points)
• Applicant Infrastructure, Experience, and Capacity (255 points)
• Program Description
  1. General (50 points)
  2. Interventions and Services [500 points (average of intervention and service totals)]
     • Effective Behavioral Interventions (EBIs) (500 points per intervention)
     • Comprehensive Risk Counseling and Services (CRCS) (500 points)
     • Counseling, Testing, and Referral (CTR) Services (500 points)
  3. Referral Network and Tracking System (50 Points)
  4. Record Maintenance and Data Management (50 Points)
  5. Coordination and Collaboration with the State and Local Health Department and Community Planning Group(50 Points)
  6. Capacity Building (not scored)

2. CBO Monitoring and Evaluation Project (maximum available points = 100)

• Project Plan (60 points)
• Staffing Plan for this Project (20 points)
• Applicant History and Experience (20 points)

Criteria for Step Two: Pre-Decisional Site Visit (PDSV) (maximum available points = 550)

1. HIV Prevention Program
   • Proposed Program (100 points)
   • Programmatic Infrastructure (250 points)
   • Applicant Infrastructure (200 points)
2. CBO Monitoring and Evaluation Project
   • Agency Experience (25 points)
   • Agency Capacity: Staffing (25 points)
   • Agency Capacity: Recruitment (25 points)
   • Agency capacity; Client Records (25 points)

In conjunction with the Pre-Decisional Site Visit, CDC’s PGO will conduct a Recipient Capability Assessment (RCA). The purpose is to evaluate your Organization’s ability to manage CDC funds. Either PGO staff or another selected agency will conduct this assessment.

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Notice of Award (NoA)

Anticipated Award Date: July 1, 2010

Successful applicants will receive a Notice of Award (NoA) from the CDC Procurement and Grants Office. The NoA shall be the only binding, authorizing document between the recipient and CDC. The NoA will be signed by an authorized Grants Management Officer and emailed to the program director, and a hard copy mailed to the recipient fiscal officer identified in the application.

Unsuccessful applicants will receive notification of the results of the application review by mail.

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