Call Script for Expanding the National Approach for Chronic Disease Education and Awareness Funding | CDC

Informational Call Script:
Informational Conference Call for CDC-RFA-DP24-0021: Expanding the National Approach for Chronic Disease Education and Awareness

Monday, March 25, 2024
2:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. EST

Agenda:

Opening of the Call and Introductions: Marrielle Mayshack
General Overview of the NOFO: Dr. Kurt Greenlund and Marrielle Mayshack
NOFO Strategies and Performance Evaluation: Marrielle Mayshack
Application Overview: Stephanie Hinton
Budget Narrative Information: Jackie Avery
Grants Management System Registrations: Marrielle Mayshack
Summary and Reminders: Stephanie Hinton
Questions and Answers: Participants (moderated by Marrielle Mayshack)
Closing Remarks and Reminders: Dr. Kurt Greenlund and Stephanie Hinton

Opening of the Call [Marrielle Mayshack]

[Slide 1]
Good morning or afternoon depending upon where you are in the country. Thank you for joining the Informational Call for the DP24-0021 Notice of Funding Opportunity, which I will refer to from now on as the NOFO. My name is Marrielle Mayshack. I am a Project Officer in the CDC Division of Population Health, Epidemiology and Surveillance Branch. This call is being recorded; if you do not wish to participate, you may disconnect at this time.

The moderator has muted all phone lines. If you have any questions as we go through the call, please make a note of them and we’ll have a question-and-answer session toward the end of the call. Should you have any questions that do not get addressed on this call you can send them to us via email at cdawarenessgrant@cdc.gov.

[Slide 2] Agenda
Today’s agenda includes introductions of the Chronic Disease Education and Awareness (CDEA) Team and leadership, an overview of the notice of funding opportunity (NOFO) that highlights the NOFO strategies, performance evaluation plan, application content, and required registrations. We will close out our presentation with Q&A and provide closing remarks along with a reminder of upcoming due dates.

Introductions [Marrielle Mayshack]

[Slide 3]
In addition to myself, you will hear from the following presenters:

• Dr. Kurt Greenlund, Chief for the CDC Division of Population Health, Epidemiology and Surveillance Branch.
• Jackie Avery, Deputy Chief for the CDC Division of Population Health, Epidemiology and Surveillance Branch
• Stephanie Hinton, Public Health Advisor/Project Officer for the CDC Division of Population Health, Epidemiology and Surveillance Branch

[Slide 4]
Transition Slide – Overview

[Slide 5] Website
The script for this call will be posted on the CDC’s Division of Population Health Chronic Disease Awareness website in the coming days, where we also publish all questions and responses related to this NOFO. The page can be found by navigating to https://www.cdc.gov/populationhealth/chronicdiseaseawareness/funding-opportunities/expanding-education-approach-NOFO.htm. FAQs and responses will be routinely updated throughout the application process and posted here. Please check the FAQ section before you submit your question to see if your question has already been answered.

As previously mentioned, we will have time for questions and answers at the end of the call. Please hold your questions until that time. I am now going to turn it over to Dr. Kurt Greenlund.

General Overview of the NOFO [Kurt Greenlund]:

[Slide 6] Purpose
Thank you, Stephanie. Welcome to all who have joined the call to learn about this funding opportunity. We are excited to be expanding the national approach to chronic disease education and awareness.

The purpose of this funding opportunity is to expand and advance CDC’s work on education, outreach, and public awareness activities to strengthen the science base for prevention, education, and public health awareness for a variety of chronic diseases that do not currently have dedicated resources that would lead to meaningful patient outcomes.

[Slide 7] Overview
Expanding the National Approach to Chronic Disease Education and Awareness is a 3-year open competition, non-research (grant) funding opportunity being issued by the Department of Health and Human Services, CDC Division of Population Health. The Division of Population Health is in CDC’s National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion (NCCDPHP).

NCCDPHP helps people and communities prevent and manage chronic diseases and promotes health and wellness for all. For example, NCCDPHP funds about 30 separate disease and risk factor prevention programs that are delivered by states, territories, cities, tribes, and national organizations that address the prevention and treatment of chronic diseases. Expanding chronic disease activities beyond currently appropriated activities will allow CDC to further address diseases that impact patient and population health. This funding opportunity builds upon Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) CDC-RFA-DP21-2112, Expanding the National Approach to Chronic Disease Education and Awareness, which currently funds 6 recipients and CDC-RFA-DP23-0067, Building Capacity for Chronic Disease Education and Awareness, which currently funds 4 recipients.
CDC anticipates making up to 6 awards for this grant, with an average award of $325,000. No more than one award will be made per proposed chronic disease. The start date for grant awards will be September 30, 2024. The deadline for applications is May 10, 2024.

Marrielle, Stephanie, and Jackie will now highlight key information about the NOFO, and we will give you an opportunity to ask questions at the end of the call. Again, thank you for your interest in expanding our national approach to chronic disease education and awareness.

I am now going to turn it over to Marrielle Mayshack.

Overview of NOFO [Marrielle Mayshack]

[Slide 8] Overview (cont.)
Thank you, Kurt.

Applicants are expected to propose a single chronic disease to focus on during the life of the grant. The proposed chronic disease must meet the definition of a chronic disease. A chronic disease is defined broadly as a condition that lasts 1 year or more and requires ongoing medical attention or limits activities of daily living or both. The chronic disease proposed by the applicant must not be currently funded through a Fiscal Year (FY) 2024 Appropriations Act, as described on CDC’s FY 2024 Operating Budget Plan. The proposed chronic disease cannot be one of the following chronic diseases: arthritis, heart disease, cancer, stroke, Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias, diabetes, epilepsy, lupus, and chronic kidney disease, or any other chronic disease with a dedicated funding line in the FY 2024 Appropriations Act. CDC-RFA-DP23-0067 grantees are not eligible to apply.

Please note that Congress recently passed the FY 2024 operating budget for HHS that included CDC. When the FY 2024 CDC operating budget is available online, a link to CDC’s and the National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion’s operating budget will be shared on the DP-24-0021 funding opportunity website. At this time, only the FY 2023 operating budgets are linked on the DP-24-0021 funding opportunity website.

The applicant must describe the public health need for dedicated resources to strengthen the science base for prevention, education, and public health awareness for the proposed chronic disease to shape or promote evidence-based practices for prevention, education, and public health awareness. The applicant must describe that a focus on the proposed chronic disease has a high potential to complement or fill gaps in CDC’s National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion’s current work. Current work can be viewed by clicking the links in the Strategies and Activities section of the NOFO. The links are to the Center’s current website .

[Slide 9] Target Population
The target populations for this funding are:

• Public health professionals
• Health care professionals
• General public, including people with the proposed chronic disease and their caregivers

[Slide 10]
Transition Slide – NOFO Strategies and Performance Evaluation

[Slide 11] NOFO Strategies
Recipients will be expected to conduct the strategies and their related activities listed in the logic model included in the NOFO (found on pages 5-7) over the course of the 3-year period of performance. The four strategies in the logic model include:

Strategy 1: Data dissemination activities for the proposed chronic disease that support awareness for public health professionals;
Strategy 2: Develop survey tools to fill data gaps;
Strategy 3: Develop and disseminate educational activities that support public awareness; and
Strategy 4: Develop and disseminate educational activities that support health care professionals in screening, referral, and treatment and/or disease management

[Slide 12] Evaluation Plan and Performance Measurement
CDC requires applicants to develop and submit an evaluation and performance measurement plan to track progress made on implementing work plan activities and achieving NOFO outcomes. CDC’s strategy for evaluation and performance measurement is based on the logic model and the strategies, activities, and outcomes sections of the NOFO. CDC uses performance measures and evaluation findings for continuous program quality improvement and to improve future NOFOs.

Recipients will be required to report on all the performance measures listed on page 11 in the NOFO for the proposed chronic disease. Carefully review pages 11-14 of the NOFO to understand how you are to prepare your evaluation and performance measurement plan, which is a part of your application. CDC will work with recipients to finalize performance measures within the first 6 months of the project period. Recipients will be expected to submit a more detailed Evaluation and Performance Measurement plan within the first 6 months of the project period. A data management plan is not required for this NOFO.

And now, I will turn it over to my colleague, Stephanie, to discuss highlights of the application submission.

Application Submission [Stephanie Hinton]

[Slide 13]
Transition Slide – Application Highlights

[Slide 14] Application Overview
Thank you, Marrielle.

When deciding whether to apply, remember, this NOFO is only for chronic diseases that are not currently funded in CDC’s and the National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion’s FY 2024 appropriations. Applications with proposed chronic diseases that are currently funded will be considered nonresponsive and will receive no further review for funding. Potential applicants should carefully review the NOFO requirements and expectations and consider their organizational capacity to implement the activities and ability to achieve the outcomes identified in the logic model.

You can access the full application package on www.grants.gov. The required components of an application are detailed in the NOFO starting on page 24. The components include a table of contents, project abstract, project narrative, work plan, budget narrative, and the required certifications and financial forms. The project narrative is limited to 20 single-spaced, 12-point font with 1-inch margin pages, and this includes the work plan. Anything more than 20 pages will not be reviewed (this does not include the required attachments). Applicants should provide a detailed work plan for the first year of the project and describe in the project narrative a high-level work plan for subsequent years.

[Slide 15] Project Narrative
The project narrative is a maximum of 20 pages, single spaced, 12-point font, 1-inch margins, and all pages must be numbered. Content beyond the specified page number will not be reviewed.

In the project narrative, you will provide background information on your proposed chronic disease and describe how you will implement the strategies and activities of the NOFO, including collaborations, to achieve the required outcomes. Applicants must describe any strategic partnerships and collaborations with organizations that will have a role in implementing the strategies and activities for the proposed chronic disease across the target audiences. Applicants should include letters of commitment from key collaborators that must include specific details on the role they will assume on the project. This is limited to 10 letters.

In your project narrative, you must demonstrate how dedicating federal funds to your proposed chronic disease has a high potential for:

• Population-level impact (e.g., percentage of population impacted, disproportionate percentages of specific populations impacted, disease outcomes, or quality of life);
• Increasing awareness and shaping evidence-based practice to improve patient outcomes;
• Strengthening the science base for prevention, education, and public health awareness; and
• Complementing or filling gaps related to CDC’s National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion’s (NCCDPHP) current work, e.g., a leading cause of death or major co-occurring condition.

[Slide 16] Work Plan
(Included in the Project Narrative’s page limit)
Applicants must prepare a work plan consistent with the CDC Project Description Work Plan section. The work plan integrates and delineates more specifically how the recipient plans to carry out achieving the period of performance outcomes, strategies and activities, evaluation and performance measurement.

Applicants must provide a detailed work plan that covers the first year of the period of performance, and a high-level plan in narrative form for Years two through three. Minimally, the work plan must demonstrate how the strategies, activities, staffing, and partnerships work together to achieve program outcomes and NOFO requirements.

[Slide 17] Collaborations
Collaborations with CDC chronic disease programs or other organizations funded by CDC for chronic diseases is required of recipients. To achieve the expected outcomes, the recipient will be required to build and sustain strategic partnerships and collaborations with organizations that have a role in implementing these strategies and activities for the proposed chronic disease across the target audiences (public, health care professionals, and public health professionals). With organizations not funded by CDC, applicants should describe successful past and current collaborations related to the proposed chronic disease and how it supported national initiatives like Healthy People.

[Slide 18] Organizational Capacity
The applicant should describe their role as a recognized leader for the proposed chronic disease. Applicants must describe experience and expertise working on the national level for the proposed chronic disease. Applicants must adequately describe their organization’s capacity to successfully implement the strategies and activities and achieve the expected outcomes as outlined in this NOFO. Applicants must have adequate infrastructure (physical space, technology), financial management systems (budget management and administration), and qualified and competent staff with appropriate skills (data management, communications, education). Additional information on eligibility can be found on page 14 and 15 of the NOFO.

And now, I will turn the presentation over to Jackie Avery to discuss the Performance Measures and to highlight some key aspects associated with this NOFO.

Budget Narrative Information (Jackie Avery)

[Slide 19] Budget Narrative
Applicants must submit an itemized budget narrative justification as part of their application. When developing the budget narrative justification, applicants must consider whether the proposed budget is reasonable and consistent with the purpose, outcomes, and program strategies outlined in the project narrative. The budget must include salaries, fringe benefits, consultant costs, supplies, travel, other categories, contractual costs, total direct costs, and total indirect costs. Matching funds are not required for this NOFO; please do not include in-kind or matching funds on the SF-424A financial form.

We have provided links in the NOFO to CDC’s Budget Preparation Guidelines. It’s very important to follow these guidelines when preparing your budget justification. Failure to follow CDC’s budget preparation guidelines could result in delays to starting your project, if funded.

[Slide 20]
Other Application Requirements are the:

• Required Certifications
• Financial Forms

[Slide 21] CDC Monitoring and Accountability Approach
In a grant such as this, CDC staff are minimally involved in the program activities. CDC will provide guidance as needed of work plans, project progress, evaluation strategies, products, and services, and collaborative activities with other organizations. As CDC Project Officers, Marrielle and Stephanie will host quarterly calls with recipient staff to provide needed technical assistance.

[Slide 22] Review and Selection Process
I’d like to take a moment to talk about the Review and Selection Process. Please carefully read the Review Criteria published in the NOFO. This will help you understand how your application will be scored by CDC via a merit review by federal reviewers in the field. Use this information to check your application for completeness and alignment with NOFO requirements. Please also note the Phase III Review Criteria, which explains what factors may affect the rank order for funding decisions.

All applications will be initially reviewed for completeness by CDC Office of Grants Services. Complete applications will be reviewed for responsiveness by the Grants Management Officials and Program Officials. CDC will consider any application proposing a disease that does not meet the definition of a chronic disease or is currently funded through a direct CDC and/or NCCDPHP FY24 appropriations line as non-responsive and it will receive no further review. The award ceiling for this NOFO is $400,000, and any application requesting an award higher than this amount will be considered non-responsive and will receive no further review. The award floor for this NOFO is $300,000, and any application requesting an award lower than this amount will be considered non-responsive and will receive no further review.

Each responsive application will be independently reviewed and scored by a federal field reviewer against the criteria specified in the NOFO, then ranked by score. No more than one (1) award will be made per proposed chronic disease. If multiple applications are received for the proposed chronic disease and score high enough to be funded, the award will go to the applicant with the highest score.

And now I will turn it over to Pamela Render, Grants Management Officer, to review key submission requirements and budget information.
Grants Management System Registrations [Marrielle Mayshack]

[Slide 23]
Transition Slide – Grants Management

[Slide 24] Submitting an Application – UEI (Marrielle Mayshack)

Thank you, Jackie.

Please remember that an organization must be registered at three locations before you can apply for funding at www.grants.gov. The first is the Unique Entity Identifier (UEI). In April 2022, the unique entity identifier used across the federal government changed from the DUNS number to the Unique Entity ID. This is a 12-character ID assigned to an entity by SAM.gov. The DUNS number is no longer used and has been removed from SAM.gov. The UEI is generated as part of the SAM.gov registration. Current SAM.gov registrants have already been assigned their UEI and can view it in SAM.gov. If funds are awarded to an applicant organization that includes sub-recipients, those subrecipients must also provide their UEI numbers before accepting any funds. Instructions on how to obtain this new ID are on the SAM.gov website.

[Slide 25] System for Award Management (SAM) Registration
The second is the System for Award Management, or SAM: The SAM is the primary registrant database for the federal government and the repository into which an entity must submit information required to conduct business as an awardee. All applicant organizations must register with SAM and will be assigned a SAM number and a Unique Entity Identifier (UEI). All information relevant to the SAM number must be current at all times during which the applicant has an application under consideration for funding by CDC. If an award is made, the SAM information must be maintained until a final financial report is submitted or the final payment is received, whichever is later. The SAM registration process usually requires 10 or 11 more business days and registration must be renewed annually. Additional information about registration procedures may be found at www.SAM.gov.

[Slide 26] Grants.gov Registration
The last is Grants.gov: Once you have an active SAM account, you are ready to register your organization at www.grants.gov, the official HHS E-grant website. The first step in applying online is having access to Grants.gov. Registration information is located at the “Register” link on Grants.gov website. All applicant organizations must register at www.grants.gov. The one-time registration process usually takes not more than five days to complete. Applicants should start the registration process as early as possible.
The websites I mentioned can be found on pages 20 and 21 of the NOFO. You will want to register soon to ensure you have everything in place to apply by May 10, 2024, no later than 11:59 pm EDT deadline. If the application is not submitted by the deadline published in the NOFO, it will not be processed.

Now, I will turn it back over to Stephanie to provide a summary of today’s call and helpful reminders.

Summary and Reminders [Stephanie Hinton]

[Slide 27]
Transition Slide – Summary and Reminders

[Slide 28] Project Period
Thank you, Marrielle.

The total project period length will be three years, beginning in 2024 and ending in 2027, depending on funding availability. It is estimated that a total of up to 6 awards will be funded. The Budget Period or Budget Year refers to the duration of each individual funding period within the three-year project period. For this NOFO, budget periods are 12 months.

Throughout the period of performance, which is 3 years, CDC will continue to award based on the availability of funds, the evidence of satisfactory progress by the recipient as documented in required reports, and the determination that continued funding is in the best interest of the federal government.

[Slide 29] Notifications
Unsuccessful applicants will receive notification by mail. Successful applicants will receive a notice of award by August 29, 2024. The project start date is Sept 30, 2024.

[Slide 30] Summary
In summary:

1. We anticipate funding 6 recipients up to $400,000 each. Average award is $325,000.
2. The total award ceiling is $1,950,000 per budget period.
3. Applications are due May 10th and should be submitted through grants.gov. If the application is not submitted by the deadline date it will not be processed.
4. If you have questions, email cdawarenessgrant@cdc.gov.

Questions and Answers [Moderator/Marrielle Mayshack]:

[Slide 31] Questions and Answers:
We will now ask the moderator to facilitate your questions. (Marrielle Mayshack gives instructions and reviews questions received).

*Q&A Period for approx. 10 minutes*

As mentioned previously, if you have any other questions after this call, please e-mail them to cdawarenessgrant@cdc.gov.

Questions and answers from this call and ones answered via email will be posted publicly on the NOFO webpage at: https://www.cdc.gov/populationhealth/chronicdiseaseawareness/funding-opportunities/expanding-education-approach-NOFO.htm.

I will now turn it back over to Kurt Greenlund for closing remarks.

Closing Remarks and Reminders [Kurt Greenlund]:

[Slide 32] Closing Remarks and Reminders
Thank you, Stephanie.

A few final reminders:

• A letter of intent to apply for funding is requested, but not required.
• Important dates to remember:
  • Application Due Date: May 10, 2024, at 11:59 pm ET.
  • Anticipated Award Notification Date: August 29, 2024
  • Award Start Date: September 30, 2024

[Slide 33]
The call script, slides, and questions and answers from today will be posted at the website listed here: https://www.cdc.gov/populationhealth/chronicdiseaseawareness/funding-opportunities/expanding-education-approach-NOFO.htm.

On behalf of CDC’s Division of Population Health, thank you for your interest and participation in today’s call.