FAQ: Social Determinants of Health Accelerator Plans

Question: The apply button is greyed out on grants.gov when logged in. Can you direct me to who can assist with this issue?
Answer: You can contact the help desk by going to www.grants.gov and clicking the help button at the top of the web page.

Question: Is there access to our review from last year for those who were not awarded funds?
Answer: For any applicants that were not funded in the prior NOFO, they should have received a letter describing why they did not meet the requirements, a summary statement of the comments that were provided from the review panel related to their application and how their application scored along with the criteria for that particular NOFO. If for some reason you did not receive that letter, reach out to SDOHAccelerator@cdc.gov.

Question: Are the recording and slides from the information call on June 9, 2022 available?
Answer: Yes, the recording and materials from the information call is available on the funding opportunity website: https://www.cdc.gov/populationhealth/sdoh/funding/SocialDeterminantsOfHealth-NOFO-CDC-RFA-DP22-2210.htm

Question: What is the project period?
Answer: The estimated award date is September 29, 2022, with a 12-month project period.

Question: How many total awards will be made and/or what total amount of funding is available overall?
Answer: We anticipate about 40 awards funded at $125,000 each.

Question: Is it too late to submit a letter of intent?
Answer: Yes, letters of intent were due on June 8, 2022.

Question: We are preparing to request letters of support. To whom should these letters be addressed?
Answer: Letters of support should be addressed to Brigette Ulin and uploaded with the application on www.grants.gov.

Question: How do we apply for funding opportunity CDC- RFA-DP22-2210?
Answer: To learn more about applying for DP22-2210: Closing the Gap with Social Determinants of Health Accelerator Plans, including eligibility requirements and deadlines, please visit https://www.cdc.gov/populationhealth/sdoh/funding/SocialDeterminantsOfHealth-NOFO-CDC-RFA-DP22-2210.htm

Question: Can an applicant submit more than one application?
Answer: No, applicants may only submit one application.

Question: Are there any page limits for the project narrative?
Answer: Yes, please see page 29 of the NOFO: “10. Project Narrative (Unless specified in the “H. Other Information” section, maximum of 20 pages, single spaced, 12-point font, 1-inch margins, number all pages. This includes the work plan. Content beyond the specified page number will not be reviewed.)”

Question: Is the funding intended to primarily support staff time, given the focus is to create an accelerator plan?
Answer: Please see pages 31 and 32 of the NOFO for information regarding what is permissible for the budget. It is up to the applicant to determine how they want to structure their budget over the 12-month project period.

Question: Are there other options for a letter of support if there is not a CDC-funded chronic disease prevention program in our area?
Answer: If there is not a CDC-funded chronic disease prevention program in your area, you will need to specify in your application that there is no CDC-funded chronic disease prevention program in your area to provide a letter of support.

Question: If we propose to work with multiple partners should we submit ONE letter of support to be signed by all partners and the applicant?
Answer: For each partner that you want to partner with, you should have a separate letter of support that demonstrates that partner support and how they are going to support this work. But there is only a requirement of a minimum of one letter of support.

Question: Who should sign letters of support from a local CDC-funded program?
Answer: In the event CDC-funded state and/or local programs exist, applicants are required to submit at least one letter of support that describes how they collaborate with CDC-funded chronic disease prevention program(s) as appropriate. The letter(s) must be signed by the applicant and the local program director of the CDC-funded program.

Question: How will we know if there is a CDC-funded program in our area?
Answer: Applicants can go to cdc.gov to find the different programs and funding opportunities that are available. Applicants can also contact their health department to see if they have CDC funding.

Question: How many partners should we have?
Answer: There is no limit on the number of partners applicants can have.

Question: Could a governmental agency and an accompanying agency such as a hospital apply for this grant collectively?
Answer: Only one agency will be funded in an application. Among the agencies, they would need to determine which agency meets eligibility. The eligible agency may apply and provide letters of support from the other agency (or agencies) or demonstrate other partnerships and collaborations that will be supporting the work.

Question: What is a bona fide agent? How does one demonstrate that?
Answer: Bona fide agents (and fiscal intermediaries) are organizations designated by the health department as eligible to submit a grant application in lieu of the health department. These organizations may apply for the grant and funnel money to the health department, or undertake more of the grant activities, depending on the local situation. Applicants can demonstrate that they are bona fide agents with a letter of support indicating that they are working on behalf of the state, local, or jurisdiction on their behalf.

Question: Can a nonprofit or 501(c)(3) be a bona fide agent?
Answer: Applicants can demonstrate that they are bona fide agents with a letter of support indicating that they are working on behalf of the state, local, or jurisdiction on their behalf.

Question: Can a state/local jurisdiction identify an organization as a bona fide agent for the purposes of this award only or must they have identified the organization as a bona fide agent in general?
Answer: If applying as a bona fide agent, documentation of a legal, binding agreement from the state, tribal, territorial, or local government is required. This is a letter stating that the agent is given the authority to operate in the stead of the government entity for a specified purpose. If the state entity agrees to allow a bona fide agent to serve in that capacity for a specific project, that is solely determined by the agency and the proposed agent. There will have to be a written agreement that documents that relationship.

Question: What entities are eligible to apply?
Answer: Eligibility for this funding is limited to governments or their Bona Fide Agents. As such, for applicants that are not governments, the relevant governmental agency (i.e., health departments – which can be local, county, regional / district, state, tribal, or territorial) determines whether a given organization is eligible to serve as their Bona Fide Agent. Requirements specific to applications from Bona Fide Agents are provided on page 50 of the PDF available from the grants.gov announcement.

Question: If my county is a recipient of the DP21-2109 Community Health Workers for COVID Response & Resilient Communities, are we eligible to apply for this funding?
Answer: Receipt of DP21-2109 Community Health Workers for COVID Response & Resilient Communities has no bearing on eligibility for receipt of this funding.

Question: If a county is applying but another city within the county wants to apply too, is that allowable? As long as both applicants have a different focus in terms of priority areas and populations they want to focus on?
Answer: Each applicant is reviewed individually on their own merit for the eligibility and scored individually for the for the application. If each applicant meets the eligibility requirements and they clear the phase one criteria, then they would be moving on to the phase two criteria and objective review panel. If there are multiple applicants from a similar area or proximity area, they are competing for this funding, so these applicants may want to investigate partnering with each other.

Question: Why does the review criteria score “evaluation and performance measurement” if an evaluation plan is not required to be submitted as part of the application?
Answer: There is no requirement for an overall evaluation and performance measurement plan or data management plan. In the project narrative and work plan of the application, applicants should address the four items that are listed in the phase II review in the NOFO on pages 18 and 19. Information on scoring for evaluation and performance measurement is found on page 37 of the NOFO: “Applicants will be scored on the extent to which their project narrative and work plan:

• Describes an approach to ensure strategies and activities are implemented as planned
• Describes an approach to ensure strategy and activity progress is occurring
• Describes an approach to ensure performance measures are collected”

Question: If Evaluation Plan is not included in the application, how are points awarded in Phase II?
Answer: Up to fifteen (15) total points may be awarded for information the applicant provides in their project narrative and work plan related to evaluation and performance measures. Information on scoring for evaluation and performance measurement is found on page 37 of the NOFO: “Applicants will be scored on the extent to which their project narrative and work plan:

• Describes an approach to ensure strategies and activities are implemented as planned (5 points)
• Describes an approach to ensure strategy and activity progress is occurring (5 points)
• Describes an approach to ensure performance measures are collected” (5 points)

Question: Budget has zero points allocated in review – is the budget not scored?
Answer: The budget is not scored in the review.

Question: Is last year’s CDC-RFA-DP21-2111 a good reference for starting to plan/scope our project?
Answer: Yes, CDC-RFA-DP21-2111 is a good starting point for scoping out a project.

Question: Can we use one award to define multiple communities that would each create a leadership team and develop the SDOH Plans?
Answer: The intent is to develop one accelerator plan, focused on one community. The intent is not to have multiple plans across the state, but it is up to the applicant to decide and demonstrate if one plan would meet the needs in the state.

Question: Is there a minimum size for the community of focus?
Answer: We do not have a requirement on the size of the community.

Question: If we are a statewide organization and work with high need communities, can we work with multiple communities but provide one plan?
Answer: Yes, you just need to demonstrate why this is the appropriate approach for your area, what the make-up of your leadership team will be, and how you plan to address the multiple communities in your accelerator plan. Every state community is different so depending on what your focus is that may be the right approach.

Question: We provide a lot of virtual support to our more out of the area partners, so our letters of support cover several counites and our plan for outside areas we serve virtually.
Answer: It is up to the applicant to demonstrate that they can reach the populations that they say they will, especially if the work will be virtual.

Question: Can we provide more than the minimum two main SDOH priorities?
Answer: Yes, and we acknowledge that a lot of these priorities overlap. We require a minimum of two SDOH priorities and applicants’ plans to address them, but applicants can include more than two priorities.

Question: Is racism an acceptable risk factor?
Answer: Yes, as it is a contributing factor in the literature. It is up to the applicant to demonstrate how it is a risk factor in their community

Question: For many of these topics, the health department may have some ideas for future strategies but are interested in re/thinking this through with a broader range of stakeholders. How much detail about current thinking around future activities should be included?
Answer: It is up to the applicant to determine how much information about future strategies they want to include, and how they determine if it may or may not strengthen their application.

Question: Where potential activities may address chronic disease and overlap with other health department priorities, like violence prevention, is that detail of interest to the review panel?
Answer: It is up to the applicant to demonstrate the priorities, what is needed to address them, and the overlap, partnership, or collaboration. Be sure to tie it to one of the five priority areas because that is what the reviewers are looking for. Applicants should ensure they address two priority areas and then describe how their activities fall within those two priority areas, or across two or more.

Question: When we think about social connectedness and mental health, are we considering applications that directly address maternal depression, or bias and discrimination in the healthcare system, or behavioral health among young children after experiencing the pandemic, or adversities experienced by families with children with disabilities that are immigrants and refugees that struggle with resources in healthcare?
Answer: It is up to the applicant to describe their approach and what they think they need and the appropriate partners and collaborators to effectively develop that accelerator plan. We are looking to the applicant to tell us what they need. Our framework is broad enough for applicants to customize their approach to meet their local needs and their community’s needs within these five areas.

Question: What are some sample activities that an applicant may conduct using this grant funding?
Answer: Please see the priority area table and examples that are on pages 9-13 of the NOFO.

Question: Is there funding available after this grant to fund the implementation of this plan?
Answer: If implementation funding is allocated to CDC in the next Congressional budget, we may consider putting out additional notice of funding opportunities for implementation awards.

Question: Is the previous Addressing Conditions to Improve Population Health [ACTion] opportunity no longer available?
Answer: Correct, it is not available. There may have been announcements forecasted prior to the finalization of the federal budget, which then was not retained following the actual funding allocation to CDC.

Question: Does the newer Closing the Gap with Social Determinants of Health Accelerator Plans CDC- RFA-DP22-2210 opportunity replace Closing the Gap with Social Determinants of Health Accelerator Plans CDC-RFA-DP21-2111?
Answer: The scope of CDC- RFA-DP22-2210 is similar to CDC-RFA-DP21-2111 from last year of the same name. For more information on the CDC- RFA-DP22-2210, please visit the funding opportunity page.