A Cultural Approach to Good Health and Wellness in Indian Country FAQs

Question: If a tribal organization only provides services to a portion, but not all the Tribes/Villages/Urban Indian Organizations in their IHS Area, are they eligible under Component 2?
Answer: All tribal organizations are eligible to apply for Component 2, however, please see the other required qualifying factors on page 9 of the NOFO. Tribal organizations that support all Tribes/Villages/UIOs in their award area will be funded. Tribal organization applicants must provide official documents that identify the Tribes, Villages, or UIOs their organization serves. This might include the organization’s charter, resolution, bylaws, or letters on official letterhead.

Question: For urban Indian communities, is it only the Title V clinic that can apply for these funds?
Answer: The Urban Indian Organization that holds the current Title V Indian Health Care Improvement contract with the Indian Health Service would be the eligible applicant for Component 1.

Question: Do federally qualified health centers qualify for this NOFO?
Answer: CDC cannot determine eligibility through the FAQ process. Please see page 9 of the NOFO where eligible applicants are listed along with additional required qualifying factors.

Question: How should an applicant that does not lobby complete the Disclosure of Lobbying Activities?
Answer: The Disclosure of Lobbying Activities form should be filled out with “N/A” if not applicable.

Question: May an applicant send two applications for two different programs?
Answer: Tribal Organizations can submit a separate application for both Component 2 and Component 3. However, an applicant may not submit two applications for the same Component. If multiple applications are received from the same applicant for the same Component, only the application with the last on-time submission will be accepted.

Question: Is a letter of intent required?
Answer: No, a letter of intent is not required.

Question: Our tribe is interested in applying under Component 1. If we apply and don’t get funded, can we reapply under Component 2 as a subrecipient?
Answer: Subawards will be determined and made by Component 2 recipients in year one of their award. Applicants do not apply to be a subrecipient for Component 2 as part of this NOFO.

Question: Is there a page limit for the project narrative?
Answer: Yes, the narrative is limited to 20 pages, single space, 12-point font, with 1-inch margins. This includes the work plan. Project narrative content beyond 20 pages will not be reviewed. See required formatting beginning on page 46 of the NOFO.

Question: Are resumes included in the narrative page limit?
Answer: No. Attachments required by this NOFO are not included in the page limit. More information on “Attachments” begins on page 49 of the NOFO.

Question: If our Tribe is a current GHWIC recipient, how much information on previous experience and successes should we include in our application?
Answer: Please refer to the NOFO section on organization capacity, beginning on page 25. You can also refer to the component-specific scoring criteria under Merit Review, which starts on page 53 of the NOFO.

Question: We’re considering some activities that include sacred practices, and we’re hesitant to include many details in our work plan or narrative. How do we handle those situations?
Answer: Applicants are not expected to provide information concerning details of sacred tribal practices. However, the application must contain sufficient description of the activity so that it can be reviewed by CDC.

Question: Does the work plan include both the template and a narrative description or is the work plan template all that is needed?
Answer: You should provide a detailed description of the work you plan to do in Year 1, and a high-level overview of the work you will do in Years 2 through 5 in the Approach section of your application. Component-specific directions start on page 13 of the NOFO. You must also provide a work plan for your project. You may use the sample work plan template that is on page 37 of the NOFO. If you use another format, make sure to include all elements listed within the sample work plan.

Question: Should the work plan be included in the narrative or as an attachment?
Answer: The work plan is a part of the 20-page project narrative; however, the work plan can be a separate document.

Question: Is a work plan template available?
Answer: An example workplan can be found on page 37 of the NOFO. Page 36 states, “We’ve provided a sample work plan template at the end of this section. You may use a different format for your work plan, but you need to include all required elements listed here.”

Question: How will our application be reviewed?
Answer: CDC uses a 3-step merit review of all applications. First, applications are reviewed to see if they meet all responsiveness criteria (see page 53 of the NOFO). Applicants that are considered responsive will move to the second step, a merit review. During the merit review process, panelists review and score each application according to the Component-specific criteria in the NOFO, which starts on page 53. After the merit review, CDC develops separate rank order lists of the top scoring applications. The top-ranking applicants will be funded. CDC reserve the right to fund applications out of rank order depending on geographic distribution of the highest scoring applications. We may fund out of rank order to achieve geographic diversity, including distribution across all IHS Areas. See page 64 of the NOFO for more information about funding out of rank order.

Question: How many awards will be made?
Answer: CDC expects to make up to 30 awards. We anticipate making up to 16 Component 1 awards, up to 13 Component 2 awards, and up to one award for Component 3.

Question: How will we know if we are funded?
Answer: CDC will send a Notice of Award (NoA) to your authorized business official if you are funded. If you are not funded, CDC will email or write you a letter if your application is disqualified as nonresponsive or if it is approved by unfunded. Approved but unfunded means that the application was approved but CDC does not have sufficient funds to make additional awards beyond the estimated number stated in the NOFO.

Question: Can a tribal organization be funded for Component 1?
Answer: No. Component 1 awards will be made to Federally recognized American Indian Tribes, Alaska Native Villages, or Urban Indian Organizations. Component 2 and Component 3 awards will be made to tribal organizations.

Question: How much can Component 1 applicants apply for?
Answer: Component 1 applicants can apply for up to $400,000 per year.

Question: What’s the maximum amount a Component 2 applicant can apply for?
Answer: Tribal organizations that apply to support all 41 UIOs can apply for up to $1,250,000 per year. The amount tribal organizations can apply for to support all the Tribes/Villages/UIOs in their IHS Area ranges from $500,000 – $1,450,000 per year. Funding depends on the number of federally recognized Tribes/Villages in the IHS Area. Please see page 7 of the NOFO for the amounts for each IHS Area.

Question: How much can a Component 3 applicant apply for?
Answer: Component 3 applicants may apply for up to $600,000 per year.

Question: Is it possible to schedule a phone conversation to see if our proposal would be a good fit for this NOFO?
Answer: No, CDC is unable to speak to individual applicants about their applications. CDC will respond to questions sent to GHWIC0025@cdc.gov. Although CDC cannot answer questions about specific proposed activities, we will do our best to answer all other questions.

Question: Can a Component 2 applicant subaward to a tribe that is applying for Component 1?
Answer: Component 2 recipients may not offer subawards to Component 1 recipients. If a Component 2 applicant plans to subaward to a tribe that receives a Component 1 award, the Component 2 recipient would have to revise their plans after awards are announced.

Question: Is the Component 2 requirement to provide training and technical assistance to all Area tribes or can it be a subset of the Area tribes?
Answer: Component 2 recipients are expected to provide training, technical assistance, and resources available to all Tribes, Villages, UIOs, and other tribal entities within their award area.

Question: Is it possible to set up a call with someone at CDC to discuss our proposal ideas?
Answer: No. CDC cannot discuss applicants’ proposed activities or answer questions about proposed activities. Applicants can refer to the required, component-specific strategies and activities section of the NOFO and the GHWIC Implementation Guide to inform their proposed activities.

Question: Can applicants propose strategies and activities that are not listed in the NOFO?
Answer: Recipients will be required to implement all component-specific strategies and activities listed in the NOFO. If you propose strategies not listed in the NOFO, those would be in addition to those required and must align with the NOFO outcomes.

Question: Are recipients required to measure long-term outcomes?
Answer: No. Recipients are not required to measure long-term outcomes.

Question: Is IRB approval needed to use surveys? For example, activities that involve surveying our community members.
Answer: This funding opportunity is non-research only. Please see Guidelines for Defining Public Health Research and Public Health Non-Research (Revised October 4, 1999) (cdc.gov) for more information. All activities will have to be approved within the proposed work plan. Recipients will work with their CDC project officer and GHWIC evaluators to finalize their evaluation plans within the first 6 months of award. Evaluation plans cannot be finalized until work plans are approved and finalized.

Question: Do we need to use the outcomes exactly as written in the logic model provided in the NOFO, or do we create our own outcomes?
Answer: The logic model shows the required program strategies and the expected outcomes. We will require you to report on the asterisked (*) outcomes.

Question: Are we allowed to hire our own external evaluator with these funds?
Answer: Applicants may consider internal staff or external contractors for their evaluation efforts.

Question: Is the budget template, found in the CDC Budget Guidelines, an application requirement, strong recommendation, or just something to use if we find it helpful in preparing the budget?
Answer: Applicants should follow the format outlined in the CDC Budget Guidelines to ensure all required information is included in the budget and budget justification and avoid any delays in making awards.

Question: We do not have a federally negotiated indirect cost rate agreement. Is there guidance for organizations that do not have a negotiated rate?
Answer: If the applicant organization does not have an approved indirect cost rate agreement, costs normally identified as indirect costs (rent, telephone) can be budgeted and identified as direct costs OR if the applicant organization has never established an approved negotiated indirect cost rate agreement, the applicant may charge a de minimis rate of ten (10) percent of modified total direct costs (MTDC) as defined in 45 CFR 75.414(f).

Question: The NOFO says funding generally does not support the purchase of furniture or equipment. Is this specific to office furniture and equipment or does it refer to items such as refrigerators, stoves, and tables?
Answer: Anything with a unit cost of $5,000 or more is considered equipment. Applicants wishing to purchase equipment with GHWIC funding must be clearly justified in the budget narrative, including how the proposed equipment will help you achieve the NOFO outcomes. CDC must approve any equipment prior to purchase.

Question: Who do I ask if I have questions about this NOFO?
Answer: CDC will respond to questions sent to GHWIC0025@cdc.gov.

Question: How many years will this project be?
Answer: The period of performance is 5 years, subject to the availability of funds.

Question: What’s the approximate project start date?
Answer: The start date will be September 30, 2024.

Question: Will the webinar recording, or notes be available to those unable to attend the informational webinar?
Answer: The script from the webinar will be available on the NOFO webpage following the informational webinar. All questions and answers will also be posted on this Frequently Asked Questions page. We will make every attempt to include the webinar recording.

Question: Where can any updates to the NOFO be found?
Answer: On the NOFO webpage on www.grants.gov locate and click the “subscribe” button next to the “apply” button. By subscribing, alerts for any changes to the NOFO will be sent to you. CDC will also announce any updated versions on the NOFO webpage.