Opportunity Information: Apply for RFA FD 11 028
Apply for RFA FD 11 028
- The Food Drug Administration in the agriculture consumer protection disaster prevention and relief education environment food and nutrition health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Assisting the Integrated Food Safety Systems National Food/Feed Training Program (U54)" and is now available to receive applicants.
- Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 93.103 Food and Drug AdministrationResearch.
- This funding opportunity was created on Jul 12, 2011 and posted on Jul 12, 2011.
- Applicants must submit their applications by Jul 31, 2011. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
- The funding agency has allocated a total of $3,900,000.00 to eligible and selected applicants.
- Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $1,300,000.00 in funding.
- The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 3 candidate(s).
- Eligible applicants include: Small businesses County governments Native American tribal organizations (other than Federally recognized tribal governments) Nonprofits having a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education Public and State controlled institutions of higher education For profit organizations other than small businesses Private institutions of higher education State governments Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized) Independent school districts Nonprofits that do not have a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education.
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Opportunity Summary:
The FDA grant opportunity "Assisting the Integrated Food Safety Systems National Food/Feed Training Program (U54)" is a cooperative agreement designed to help build a truly integrated national food safety system by strengthening and standardizing how the food and animal feed regulatory workforce is trained. The bigger goal behind the program is the FDA's Integrated Food Safety System (IFSS) vision: federal, state, territorial, tribal, and local partners working together under shared standards so inspections, laboratory testing, and outbreak response efforts are consistent across the country. By aligning everyone to the same expectations and methods, the FDA is aiming for more consistent inspection coverage across the full supply chain, better surveillance through shared inspection and testing information, and faster, more coordinated responses when multi-state outbreaks occur. Prevention is a central theme throughout, with emphasis on uniform adoption of model regulatory programs such as the Manufactured Food Regulatory Program Standards and the Retail Food Regulatory Program Standards, along with other relevant program standards.
The awardee's role is essentially to help the FDA and its regulatory and public health partners create and operate a national food/feed training and certification system that can support multiple career tracks and competency levels. That includes helping define what people need to know and be able to do across roles like investigator/inspector, compliance officer, and manager, and then ensuring training is available and consistent for each track. The intent is that regulators performing comparable work at different levels of government are trained to comparable standards, using common protocols and procedures approved by the FDA. In practice, this means the awardee is expected to collaborate closely with FDA and partners to design, develop, deliver, and maintain training that supports uniform inspection, investigation, and testing approaches, while also supporting broader program integrity through quality controls, oversight mechanisms, and accountability.
A major deliverable is pursuing and obtaining ANSI/IACET accreditation, which is used in this program as a quality benchmark for training design and delivery, especially for courses that issue CEUs (continuing education units). Through the accreditation effort, the awardee establishes formal quality standards that apply to both courses and instructors. Those standards are then used to identify high-quality training providers, described as Centers of Excellence, capable of delivering courses that satisfy core curricula. Alongside accreditation, the awardee must produce an implementation plan that lays out how it will support national training system goals, including practical operational details like budgeting, staffing, record retention and storage, and administrative workflows such as student registration and training record maintenance. The plan also needs to describe the learning management system (LMS) approach and the security and integrity measures necessary to run the system nationwide in a credible and reliable way.
Another key piece is building and maintaining an organized inventory of available food/feed training courses, with clear course objectives and mapping to recognized competencies and job tasks. Courses in the inventory must align to an existing core curriculum or national standard, and each course must be labeled by both the curriculum/standard it supports and the proficiency level it targets (Entry, Journeyman, Specialist/Expert). The awardee is also expected to create an application and review process to qualify courses against the established quality standards, allowing the program to identify and promote "Best Training Programs" and maintain a list of approved courses that meet the standard. The subject areas called out for coverage include food GMPs, food security, food sanitation, manufactured food standards, retail food standards, and specialized manufacturing topics such as low-acid canned foods, acidified foods, and Seafood HACCP. In parallel, the awardee is expected to maintain a registry of qualified instructors by subject area, based on instructor qualification requirements tied directly to course objectives and technical competency expectations, and to publish or otherwise make available lists of approved courses and instructors to federal, state, local, and tribal food safety personnel upon request.
Distance learning is treated as a strategic component rather than an add-on. The awardee must identify which courses in the inventory can be offered via distance learning, including opportunities to reduce face-to-face time through blended approaches. The distance learning plan is expected to address nationwide marketing and delivery methods, along with estimated resource costs, and it must align with the blended learning approach described in the FDA's Visionary Plan for Food Safety Training and Certification. Just as important, the awardee must help partners define core competencies and job tasks for food safety inspection work at the basic, journeyman, and specialty/expert levels, use those competency definitions to validate whether approved training actually matches workforce needs, and then identify gaps where no adequate training exists. Where gaps appear, the awardee works with the FDA to identify and/or develop new courses to close them, keeping everything aligned with the national curriculum and third-party accreditation expectations.
Structurally, this opportunity is set up as a cooperative agreement, which signals heavy collaboration with the FDA rather than a hands-off grant. The program anticipates continued coordination, defined projects, quarterly updates, and ongoing partnerships with academia and trade organizations to keep the national training program functional and current. The training emphasis spans both technical skills and management/leadership development, reflecting the program's goal of creating a standardized national curriculum accessible to every level of government involved in food protection. The work is also intended to align, where possible, with the training-related requirements of section 209(a) of the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act, reinforcing that this is not only a workforce-development effort but also part of a broader modernization and preventive public health strategy.
From the funding standpoint, the opportunity (Funding Opportunity Number RFA-FD-11-028) was posted July 12, 2011, with an original and final closing date of July 31, 2011, and an archive date of August 30, 2011. The FDA expected to make 3 awards, with an estimated total funding amount of $3.9 million. Individual awards were projected to fall between $1.0 million (floor) and $1.3 million (ceiling). There was no cost-sharing or matching requirement. Eligibility was broad and included state governments, county governments, tribal governments and certain tribal organizations, public and private institutions of higher education, nonprofit organizations (including both 501(c)(3) and non-501(c)(3) entities), independent school districts, small businesses, and other for-profit organizations that are not classified as small businesses. The CFDA number listed is 93.103 under the Food and Drug Administration.
FAQs: Assisting the Integrated Food Safety Systems National Food/Feed Training Program (U54)
What is this FDA funding opportunity?
This opportunity is an FDA cooperative agreement titled "Assisting the Integrated Food Safety Systems National Food/Feed Training Program (U54)" (Funding Opportunity Number RFA-FD-11-028). It is designed to strengthen and standardize training for the food and animal feed regulatory workforce as part of building an integrated national food safety system.
What is the larger goal behind the program?
The program supports the FDA's Integrated Food Safety System (IFSS) vision, where federal, state, territorial, tribal, and local partners work under shared standards so that inspections, laboratory testing, and outbreak response are consistent across the country. The intended outcomes include more consistent inspection coverage across the supply chain, improved surveillance through shared inspection and testing information, and faster, better-coordinated responses to multi-state outbreaks.
What does "cooperative agreement" mean in this context?
This opportunity is structured as a cooperative agreement, which signals substantial collaboration with the FDA rather than a hands-off grant. The work anticipates continued coordination, defined projects, quarterly updates, and ongoing partnerships to keep the national training program functional and current.
Who is expected to benefit from the national training program?
The intended beneficiaries are food/feed regulatory and public health personnel across all levels of government, including federal, state, territorial, tribal, and local partners. The program aims to ensure that regulators performing comparable work at different levels of government are trained to comparable standards.
What is the awardee expected to do overall?
The awardee is expected to help the FDA and its partners create and operate a national food/feed training and certification system that supports multiple career tracks and competency levels. This includes collaborating to design, develop, deliver, and maintain training that supports uniform inspection, investigation, and testing approaches, along with quality controls, oversight mechanisms, and accountability.
What career tracks and roles are specifically mentioned?
The opportunity calls out roles such as investigator/inspector, compliance officer, and manager, with training expected to support multiple career tracks and competency levels.
How does the program promote consistency across jurisdictions?
It promotes consistency by aligning training and expectations to common protocols and procedures approved by the FDA. The goal is that comparable work is performed using comparable standards, which helps make inspections, investigations, and testing approaches more uniform nationwide.
What is the emphasis on prevention and model regulatory programs?
Prevention is a central theme, with emphasis on uniform adoption of model regulatory programs such as the Manufactured Food Regulatory Program Standards and the Retail Food Regulatory Program Standards, along with other relevant program standards.
What is ANSI/IACET accreditation and why is it a major deliverable?
The awardee is expected to pursue and obtain ANSI/IACET accreditation as a quality benchmark for training design and delivery, particularly for courses that issue CEUs (continuing education units). The accreditation effort is meant to establish formal quality standards for courses and instructors.
How are "Centers of Excellence" used in this program?
Using the quality standards established through accreditation, the program identifies high-quality training providers described as Centers of Excellence. These Centers are capable of delivering courses that satisfy core curricula.
What is required in the implementation plan?
The awardee must produce an implementation plan explaining how national training system goals will be supported. The plan is expected to include practical operational details such as budgeting, staffing, record retention and storage, and administrative workflows (for example, student registration and training record maintenance).
What does the opportunity say about a Learning Management System (LMS)?
The implementation plan must describe the LMS approach and the security and integrity measures needed to run the system nationwide in a credible and reliable way.
What is the required course inventory and what must it include?
The awardee is expected to build and maintain an organized inventory of available food/feed training courses. The inventory must include clear course objectives and mapping to recognized competencies and job tasks.
Do courses in the inventory have to align to a specific curriculum or standard?
Yes. Courses in the inventory must align to an existing core curriculum or national standard. Each course must be labeled by the curriculum/standard it supports and by the proficiency level it targets.
What proficiency levels must be used to label courses?
Courses must be labeled by proficiency level: Entry, Journeyman, and Specialist/Expert.
Is there a process for qualifying or approving courses?
Yes. The awardee is expected to create an application and review process to qualify courses against established quality standards. This process supports identifying and promoting "Best Training Programs" and maintaining a list of approved courses that meet the standard.
What subject areas are specifically called out for training coverage?
Subject areas mentioned include food GMPs, food security, food sanitation, manufactured food standards, retail food standards, and specialized manufacturing topics such as low-acid canned foods, acidified foods, and Seafood HACCP.
What are the expectations for instructors?
The awardee is expected to maintain a registry of qualified instructors by subject area. Instructor qualification requirements are tied directly to course objectives and technical competency expectations.
Who can access the lists of approved courses and instructors?
The awardee is expected to publish or otherwise make available lists of approved courses and instructors to federal, state, local, and tribal food safety personnel upon request.
How does distance learning fit into the program?
Distance learning is treated as a strategic component. The awardee must identify which inventory courses can be offered via distance learning and consider blended approaches that reduce face-to-face time.
What must the distance learning plan address?
The plan is expected to address nationwide marketing and delivery methods, include estimated resource costs, and align with the blended learning approach described in the FDA's Visionary Plan for Food Safety Training and Certification.
What does the awardee need to do about competencies and job tasks?
The awardee must help partners define core competencies and job tasks for food safety inspection work at the basic, journeyman, and specialty/expert levels. Those definitions are then used to validate whether approved training matches workforce needs.
How are training gaps identified and addressed?
Using the competency and job task definitions, the awardee is expected to identify gaps where no adequate training exists. Where gaps are found, the awardee works with the FDA to identify and/or develop new courses to close them, while keeping alignment with the national curriculum and third-party accreditation expectations.
What kinds of partnerships are anticipated to keep the program current?
The opportunity anticipates ongoing partnerships with academia and trade organizations, along with continued coordination and quarterly updates, to keep the national training program functional and current.
Does the training emphasis include management and leadership?
Yes. The training emphasis spans both technical skills and management/leadership development, consistent with the goal of creating a standardized national curriculum accessible to every level of government involved in food protection.
How does this relate to the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA)?
The work is intended to align, where possible, with training-related requirements of section 209(a) of FSMA, reinforcing that the effort supports broader modernization and preventive public health strategy.
What is the funding opportunity number and CFDA number?
The Funding Opportunity Number is RFA-FD-11-028. The CFDA number listed is 93.103 (Food and Drug Administration).
When was the opportunity posted and when did it close?
The opportunity was posted on July 12, 2011. The original and final closing date was July 31, 2011. The archive date was August 30, 2011.
How many awards were expected and what was the total estimated funding?
The FDA expected to make 3 awards, with an estimated total funding amount of $3.9 million.
What was the expected award size per recipient?
Individual awards were projected to range from $1.0 million (floor) to $1.3 million (ceiling).
Was cost sharing or matching required?
No. There was no cost-sharing or matching requirement.
Who was eligible to apply?
Eligibility included state governments, county governments, tribal governments and certain tribal organizations, public and private institutions of higher education, nonprofit organizations (including both 501(c)(3) and non-501(c)(3) entities), independent school districts, small businesses, and other for-profit organizations that are not classified as small businesses.
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