DP-23-0015: CDC's National Networks Driving Action: Preventing Tobacco- and Cancer-Related Health Disparities by Building Equitable Communities

Important dates

Applications

Applications are due Monday, April 1, 2024, at 11:59 P.M. ET.

Anticipated start date

Recipients can expect this budget period to start on September 30, 2024.

Background

CDC-RFA-DP-23-0015: CDC's National Networks Driving Action: Preventing Tobacco- and Cancer-Related Health Disparities by Building Equitable Communities supports a consortium of national organizations to advance commercial tobacco use prevention and cancer prevention in populations experiencing tobacco- and cancer-related health disparities.

CDC's Office on Smoking and Health and Division of Cancer Prevention and Control fund the consortium. The goal of the consortium is to enhance the quality and performance of the following, all of which focus on tobacco- and cancer-related health disparities among populations disproportionately impacted by tobacco industry marketing tactics and higher cancer incidence/death rates:

• Public health programs
• Data and information systems
• Practice and services
• Partnerships
• Resources

The Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) seeks to increase equitable delivery of tobacco prevention strategies and related interventions to advance health equity by addressing social determinants of health (SDOH).

This partnership provides leadership on and promotion of evidence-based approaches for preventing commercial tobacco use and cancer. Strategies and activities will focus on:

1. Network administration and management.
2. Establishing, administering, and managing a virtual/hybrid community of practice that focuses on SDOH.
3. Training and technical assistance in implementing evidence-based or promising practice-based policies, systems, and environmental change interventions focused on commercial tobacco- and cancer-related health disparities and upstream, cross-sector SDOH.
4. Supporting mass-reach communication efforts.

Eligibility

These funds will be awarded to the recipients currently funded under the National and State Tobacco Control Program, CDC-RFA-DP-23-0015.

Frequently asked questions

If an organization misses the letter of intent deadline, can they still apply for the grant?

Yes, an applicant can still apply for the NOFO if they missed the letter of intent deadline.

At the bottom of page 7 of the NOFO, it states the following: “Strategies and Activities: Recipients are expected to implement the following strategies and activities…” Should our proposal/application include ALL the strategies and activities listed in this section, or only those most appropriate?

Applicant should address all strategies and activities listed in this section. Strategies and Activities are those that will occur over the course of the 5 years of the NOFO. The applicant should provide a detailed work plan for the first year of the period of performance and a high-level work plan for subsequent years. The workplan should include strategies/activities that address the needs of the population of focus. The applicant should provide a detailed work plan for the first year of the period of performance and a high-level work plan for subsequent years. The workplan should include strategies/activities that address the needs of the population of focus.

For purposes of eligibility, will a regional tribal organization that has a department with a name with a “national” moniker in its title be considered eligible as a national organization?

Pages 23-24 of the NOFO list all Eligible applicant categories. If an organization fits into this category, they are considered an eligible applicant.

What are the organizational eligibility requirements for the AI/AN population?

Eligibility requirements don’t change based on the population of focus. Refer to pages 23-24 of the NOFO for all eligible applicant categories.

Among the activities listed on pages 7-10 of the NOFO, can you please clarify which activities are required for Year 1?

Strategies and Activities listed on pages 7-10 of the NOFO are those that will occur over the course of the 5 years of the NOFO. The applicant should provide a detailed work plan for the first year of the period of performance and a high-level work plan for subsequent years. The applicant should make the determination as to what strategies and activities to include in its year one (and subsequent years) workplan that would best address the needs of the population of focus and accomplish the purpose of the NOFO.

There are a few differences between the Outline on pg. 29 vs the scoring outline on pg. 37. For example, Purpose, Outcomes, Target Populations & Health Disparities are on the main outline, but not included in scoring outline. Which outline should we primarily focus on?

Pages 29-32 outline the key components of the application package. Page 37 is the criteria we will use at CDC to review applicant responsiveness to the NOFO. You should review pages 29-32 and include those key components in your application submission.

Page 10 to 12 of the FOA: “Collaborations”

1. The NOFO identifies that the applicant is required to provide CDC with three letters of support from CDC funded organizations and three letters of support from organizations not funded by CDC. Is there a limit to the number of letters of support that an applicant can submit? There is no limit to the number of letters of support that an applicant can submit. At a minimum, the applicant should include: three letters of support from CDC funded organizations and three letters of support from organizations not funded by CDC.
2. The NOFO states that applicants should describe how their partner organizations will support the development and implementation of workplan activities using a sample table format. If there are more than 6 letters of support submitted, do the partners beyond the original 6 have to be outlined within the sample table highlighted on page 11 and 12 of the NOFO? Yes.
3. The NOFO states that the letters of support must be dated within 30 days of the application. Is this 30 days from the application release date or 30 from the due date? The letters of support should be dated within 30 days of submission of the application.

Page 11 to 12 of the FOA: With organizations not funded by CDC:

1. Do you consider a non-CDC funded organization as an organization that wasn't a prime recipient of a CDC-funded initiative? Yes, if an organization wasn't the prime recipient of CDC funds (or a subcontractor/consultant of a CDC funded organization), they should be considered a non- CDC funded organization.
2. Does this include an organization that wasn't a prime recipient but a subcontractor to a CDC-funded initiative? If the subcontractor received funds via a CDC funded program, they can be considered as a CDC funded organization.
3. Are consultants/contractors eligible to be a non-CDC funded organization? Consultants/contractors would be considered a CDC funded organization.

Page 10 to 11 of the FOA: With other CDC projects and CDC-funded organizations:

1. Do you consider a CDC-funded organization as the prime recipient of a CDC-funded initiative? Yes, we consider a CDC funded organization (or a subcontractor/consultant of a CDC funded organization) as the prime recipient of CDC funds.
2. Are letters of support from a Subcontractor allowed to be included in the required number of CDC-funded and non-CDC-funded organizations? Yes, a letter of support from a subcontractor can be included as part of the required number of letters of support.

Can CDC funding be used to purchase promotional items such as: ink pens and pads displaying the name of the national network and its website?

Recipients may use funds only for reasonable program purposes, including personnel, travel, supplies, and services. If the applicant considers the cost related to the purchase of the promotional items a justifiable and reasonable program purpose, it can be included. If the applicant is awarded, the recipient would work with CDC for review and approval of the budget line item requested.

Performance Measures

1. Are the performance measures that we provide in the Work Plan (located under Outcome Measures in the Work Plan template) expected to be the same as the performance measures that we provide in the required Evaluation and Performance Measurement Plan? The workplan provided should clearly indicate how the elements in the work plan crosswalk to the strategies and activities, outcomes, and evaluation and performance measures presented in the logic model and the narrative sections of the NOFO. The Evaluation and Performance Measurement Plan (page 30-31) provides content that demonstrates how the recipient will fulfill the requirements described in the CDC Evaluation and Performance Measurement and Project Description sections of this NOFO. At a minimum, the plan must describe:
   1. How the applicant will collect the performance measures, respond to the evaluation questions, and use evaluation findings for continuous program quality improvement. The Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA): Applicants are advised that any activities involving information collections (e.g., surveys, questionnaires, applications, audits, data requests, reporting, recordkeeping, and disclosure requirements) from 10 or more individuals or non-Federal entities, including State and local governmental agencies, and funded or sponsored by the Federal Government are subject to review and approval by the Office of Management and Budget. For further information about CDC's requirements under PRA see http://www.hhs.gov/ ocio/policy/collection/.
   2. How key program partners will participate in the evaluation and performance measurement planning processes.
   3. Available data sources, feasibility of collecting appropriate evaluation and performance data, data management plan (DMP), and other relevant data information (e.g., performance measures proposed by the applicant).
2. If so, is there a way to consolidate the two sections to avoid repeating the same information and save page space for the application? The applicant should decide the best formatting for their Project Narrative that captures the content requested.

Could you describe exactly what is expected to be included in the Deliverable section of the Work Plan?

Key Deliverables are any outputs you expect to have at completion of the strategy/activity.

Among all the required components of the Project Narrative, are there are any specific sections that are anticipated to have more pages than others?

The applicant will determine the number of pages for each component of their project narrative. The project narrative section should be no more than 20 pages, single spaced, 12-point font, 1-inch margins, and all pages should be numbered.

Would it be possible to include the Work Plan oriented horizontally while the rest of the Project Narrative is oriented vertically?

The orientation of the pages is up to the applicant.

Will individual grantees be required to align their logic model with the logic model for the overall NOFO as outlined on pages 5-7 or are they able to customize it and use certain pieces of the logic model?

Recipients should align their workplan with the logic model on pages 5-7 of the NOFO. The recipient should not alter or customize the logic model provided.

Strategy: Administer and manage a National Network Activity: Award and monitor sub-recipient contracts and grants (page 8) Question(s): Does this activity include mini-grants awarded via an RFP process to non-profit organizations (NPOs) and community-based organizations (CBOs) interested or working with NTCPs or NCCPs to address cancer or tobacco-related disparities among a particular population of focus?

Yes, the proposed activity included in your question relates to the strategy/activity “Administer and manage a National Network/ Award and monitor sub-recipient contracts and grants.”

Could you please confirm if the 9 awardees will each have to represent different priority populations or if they would consider funding two similar populations working on different issues?

Each awardee will represent a different population of focus based on the nine populations identified in the NOFO on pages 12-13. CDC will only fund one population of focus from a single applicant and CDC will only fund one awardee per population of focus.

For section D. Application and Submission Information, what is the word limit for “9. Project Abstract Summary”?

There is no word limit for the Project Abstract Summary, but the summary should be a self-contained, brief summary of the proposed project including the purpose and outcomes.

Related to the populations of focus, Geographically Defined populations, is there is a preference for the geographic location of the proposed work plans?

The applicant should select regions of the United States with disproportionately higher rates of tobacco use.

We have preexisting partnerships with community and faith-based organizations that do not have CDC funding – are we expected to cultivate new partnerships that have CDC funded projects prior to applying?

No, the applicant is not expected to build new partnerships prior to applying for the funding opportunity.

Page 10: Please clarify whether “capacity” related to the activities on page 10 refers to the post-award period, or if knowledge of and partnership with CDC-funded institutions must already be in place before applying?

The applicant should describe their current capacity related to the activities listed.

Page 17 of the NOFO states that management and staffing plans must at minimum include a tobacco control program manager and a comprehensive cancer control program manager. Can our staffing plan include a Project Director or Manager that fulfills both roles?

Applicant must include two staff (a tobacco control program manager and a comprehensive cancer control program manager) to fulfil separate duties as described in the NOFO. The 1.0 FTE tobacco program manager will address the tobacco control specific strategies and the 1.0 FTE comprehensive cancer control program manager will address the cancer control specific strategies as described in detail in the NOFO.

Good morning, I have a clarifying question about one of the activities listed on page 8 of the NOFO. The last activity states,” Support interventions for commercial tobacco- and cancer-related health disparities which are 1) evidence-based or promising practices; 2) culturally responsive, 3) based in state, territorial, local, or community settings; and 4) when appropriate, align with key SDOH prioritized by CDC/NCCDPHP.” When you say "support interventions", what does that mean?

“Support interventions” means providing support for interventions focused on commercial tobacco- and cancer- related health disparities that encompass the 4 factors listed above. The National Network and the COP as an entity would be the ones providing the support mainly through technical assistance and training.

References and citations were listed as an optional attachment in the 2018 NOFO. However, it’s not listed as an optional attachment in the current NOFO. Is this an acceptable optional attachment?

Yes, this is an acceptable optional attachment.

“(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.)” pg 30 Are there any limitations on font size that we can use for other tables?

Anything included within the project narrative section of the application submitted should be a 12 point font. If the tables are outside the project narrative, there are no parameters for the font size.

Resources

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