Partners
The Deadline to Apply for CFA Funding is July 14, 2023.
CDC’s Center for Forecasting and Outbreak Analytics (CFA) is revolutionizing how we use data to prevent future disease outbreaks. CFA partners with both private and public organizations to innovate our nation’s response to infectious disease threats. We are committed to modernizing disease forecasts and analytics so that decision-makers, from local to national levels, can better respond to public health emergencies.
Our goal is to advance existing data tools, create new tools, and prepare the workforce to help stop the next outbreak before it becomes a national or global threat. We are equally dedicated to using data models and analytics to better protect underserved communities, and address issues of health equity directly. These efforts require a strong network of collaboration among academia, public health, health care, and the private sector. We are devoted to building this network of innovators to advance our national security. Submit the form below to connect with us!
“Disease forecasting is still in early stages. CFA is creating partnerships to accelerate our data and analytics tools for a better response to disease threats.”
– Dylan George, PhD, CFA Director
In collaboration with our partners, we can provide timely, effective decision-making and improve outbreak response using data, modeling, and analytics.
Our network of CFA collaborators work across public health, universities, private industry, health care, and the government. Below are some of the partner projects CFA funds in support of our mission:
- CFA partnered with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to enhance epidemiological modeling for COVID-19 and other biothreats by leveraging DOE’s advanced computing hardware, software, and expertise.o CFA is partnering with universities (including University of Utah, SUNY at Albany, and Johns Hopkins University) to develop and implement modeling hubs with broad expertise in infectious disease forecasting, modeling, and analytics to advance near real time response capabilities.
- CFA is partnering with the CDC Global Health Center Kid Risk Polio Special Project to model the risk of polio in the U.S., specifically in response to the New York State outbreak.
- CFA is working with academia to support technology advances that will improve CDC’s use of forecasting, modeling, and analytical approaches to inform public health policy development.
- CFA and Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Inc. are developing next generation nowcasting capability to guide surveillance for variants of pandemic and seasonal viral diseases.
- Johns Hopkins University and CFA are partnering to assess the drivers of inequity in public health and their impact on infectious disease. This work also investigates the impact and equitability of potential intervention strategies.
- CFA and NEEMA are working together to close gaps in health disparity indicators for priority populations as defined by the HIV, STI, and Viral Hepatitis National Strategic Plans
- CFA and Johns Hopkins University in collaboration with Coursera developed a training course for state and local level decision-makers who wish to use forecasts and models to inform outbreak response. Infectious Disease Transmission Models for Decision-Makers.
- A Public Health Workgroup on Disease Forecasting is being developed by CFA and ASTHO (The Association of State and Territorial Health Officials) to gather feedback from decision-makers on forecasting tools and resources they’ll need to respond to disease outbreaks.
- CFA works with the CDC Division of Healthcare Quality Promotion’s SHEPheRD Program to establish and implement the Coordinating Center for Nursing Home Public Health Response Network.
- CFA and our partners are studying how effective COVID-19 and influenza vaccines are at preventing illness in the U.S. population.
- CFA and NACCHO (National Association of County and City Health Officials) are developing trainings for health departments to improve their forecasting and analytics knowledge and skills.
CFA provides funding to our partners to support disease forecasting, analytics, and modeling to deliver improved outbreak response. Over $50 million dollars were awarded in 2021 and 2022 to 24 partners. In September of 2023, CFA awarded funds to 13 primary awardees to establish its first national network for outbreak analytics and disease modeling to support state and local decision-makers during public health emergencies.
Our investment is focused on three primary areas:
- Innovation: Develop new disease modeling analytical tools, methods, and platforms, which will ultimately be used by public health decision-makers.
- Integration: Take the most promising approaches from the innovation pipeline and pilot test with public health decision-makers in the real world (such as in a single county or city).
- Implementation: Take the pilot projects that have been tested and proven to work and bring them online and to scale (such as in an entire state). This includes a trained workforce that is self-sufficient using models and forecasts to help local authorities make the best decisions to protect public health.