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ARRA Facility Investment Program (FIP) (HRSA-10-029) FAQs

1) What was the ARRA Facility Investment Program (FIP)?

The ARRA Facility Investment Program (FIP) was a one-time, competitive grant opportunity run by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) and funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). It was designed as a short, two-year push to help existing federally supported health centers expand and modernize their physical space so they could serve more patients and improve access to primary and preventive care in medically underserved communities.

2) What was the purpose of this grant opportunity?

The purpose was to rapidly address urgent facility constraints that were limiting access to care, such as overcrowded sites, outdated layouts, and insufficient clinical space. The program also emphasized near-term job creation tied to construction activities and to jobs supported by expanded health center capacity.

3) Was this a recurring grant program or a one-time opportunity?

It was strictly a one-time ARRA investment. The opportunity was intentionally time-limited and structured as a two-year project and budget period.

4) What types of organizations were eligible to apply?

Eligibility was limited to existing Health Center Program grantees with an approved FY 2009 grant under Section 330 of the Public Health Service Act. This included the following Health Center Program types:

• Community Health Centers (CHC, 330(e))
• Migrant Health Centers (MHC, 330(g))
• Health Care for the Homeless (HCH, 330(h))
• Public Housing Primary Care (PHPC, 330(i))
• Native Hawaiian Health Care Systems (NHHCS)

5) Who was not eligible (or would be considered non-responsive)?

Applications were treated as non-responsive (and not reviewed for funding) if they failed to meet threshold requirements. Based on the opportunity description, this included applications that:

• Were not submitted by an eligible Section 330 FY 2009 Health Center Program grantee; and/or
• Did not request funding within the required range; and/or
• Did not propose facility construction or renovation that supported the Section 330 service mission.

6) What was the total funding available under this opportunity?

Estimated funding for this specific opportunity totaled approximately $525,000,000, drawn from the broader $1.5 billion in Recovery Act capital funding for health centers nationwide.

7) How many awards did HRSA expect to make?

HRSA expected to make about 100 awards through this competition.

8) What was the allowable award size (minimum and maximum request)?

Individual award requests had to fall between $750,000 (floor) and $12,000,000 (ceiling). Requests outside that range would not meet the responsiveness threshold described in the opportunity.

9) Was there a cost sharing or matching requirement?

No. There was no cost sharing or matching requirement, meaning applicants were not required to contribute non-federal funds to qualify.

10) What was the project period and budget period for these awards?

The program was designed as a short, two-year effort. The awards were one-time ARRA investments, and funded activities were limited to the two-year project and budget period described in the opportunity.

11) Could grantees expect ongoing federal support after the two-year period ended?

No. Because the awards were strictly one-time ARRA investments, grantees could not expect ongoing federal support for the funded activities after the two-year project and budget period ended.

12) What kinds of projects were these funds intended to support?

The funding was aimed at major facility improvement projects, including construction and renovation (alteration/renovation), to meet significant and pressing capital improvement needs at existing health centers.

13) What types of facility needs was the program trying to address?

The opportunity targeted urgent facility issues that were limiting access to care, such as:

• Overcrowded sites
• Outdated or inefficient layouts
• Insufficient clinical space
• Other significant and pressing capital improvement needs affecting service capacity

14) What did HRSA expect applicants to demonstrate about need and reasonableness?

Projects needed to be reasonable, clearly tied to documented need, and aligned with the Health Center Program mission. The application needed to connect the proposed facility work to real capacity limitations or urgent facility issues affecting access to care.

15) How did the proposal need to align with the Health Center Program mission?

The facility work needed to support the Section 330 service mission of providing comprehensive, culturally competent, quality primary health care services for underserved communities and vulnerable populations. In other words, the construction or renovation was expected to be integrated with health center operations rather than being a stand-alone facilities project.

16) What outcomes did applicants need to describe?

Applicants needed to explain how the facility investment would translate into measurable improvements in access to health services. They also needed to provide credible job creation impacts tied to both:

• The construction effort (near-term employment), and
• The expanded operational capacity of the health center (health center-related jobs)

17) What were the key compliance expectations for grantees?

Funded health centers were required to follow applicable Section 330 statutory requirements, implementing regulations, and HRSA Health Center Program Requirements. HRSA emphasized that facility investments were expected to support compliant service delivery, not stand-alone construction disconnected from health center operations.

18) What was the Funding Opportunity Number (FOA number)?

The Funding Opportunity Number listed for this competition was HRSA-10-029.

19) What CFDA number was associated with this opportunity?

The CFDA number associated with the program was 93.703 (ARRA Grants to Health Center Programs).

20) When was the opportunity posted and when did it close?

The opportunity was posted on June 23, 2009, and it closed on August 6, 2009. The archive date was September 5, 2009.

21) How were applications submitted?

Applications had to be submitted through HRSA's Electronic Handbooks (EHBs).

22) What did "non-responsive and not reviewed for funding" mean in this competition?

It meant the application would be screened out at the threshold stage if it did not meet the basic requirements described in the opportunity (such as eligibility, requesting an amount within the required range, and proposing qualifying construction or renovation tied to the Section 330 mission). Non-responsive applications were not advanced for funding review.