Children’s Healthy Weight Collaborative Improvement and Innovation Network (CoIIN) | Apply Online

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs): Children’s Healthy Weight Collaborative Improvement and Innovation Network (CoIIN) (HRSA-16-180)

What is the Children’s Healthy Weight CoIIN grant opportunity (HRSA-16-180)?

HRSA-16-180 is a discretionary cooperative agreement offered by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) through the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA). The award is intended to stand up and run a national Children’s Healthy Weight Collaborative Improvement and Innovation Network (CoIIN) to help states increase the share of infants, children, adolescents, and young adults (birth through age 21) who are in a healthy weight range.

What is the primary goal of this funding opportunity?

The primary goal is to support states in adopting and scaling evidence-based or evidence-informed policies and practices that influence healthy weight. The approach emphasizes prevention and focuses on nutrition, physical activity, and breastfeeding as foundational levers.

Who is the intended population for the CoIIN’s work?

The work is focused on infants, children, adolescents, and young adults from birth through age 21.

How does the CoIIN model differ from funding individual projects?

Instead of funding isolated projects, the CoIIN model is designed to accelerate improvement through structured, multi-state collaborative learning, shared measurement, and rapid-cycle quality improvement. In practice, states learn from each other, test changes, use data to assess results, and spread successful approaches more quickly than they could independently.

What strategies does the opportunity prioritize to improve healthy weight outcomes?

The opportunity prioritizes adoption and scaling of evidence-based or evidence-informed policies and practices, with a clear emphasis on nutrition, physical activity, and breastfeeding supports. The grant frames progress as coming from broad implementation of better policies and practices rather than relying solely on education campaigns.

How is this opportunity connected to Title V Maternal and Child Health (MCH) programs?

A central purpose of the award is to support Title V MCH Block Grant transformation. The CoIIN is intended to help state Title V programs make progress on newer National Performance Measures tied to physical activity and breastfeeding.

What national outcome measure is explicitly linked to this funding announcement?

The opportunity is explicitly linked to National Outcome Measure (NOM) #20, which tracks the percent of children and adolescents who are overweight or obese, defined as having a body mass index (BMI) at or above the 85th percentile.

How is success expected to be demonstrated under the CoIIN?

The grant highlights an expectation of measurable improvement in children’s health as states adopt and scale effective policies and practices. The CoIIN’s work is intended to contribute over time to reducing the proportion of children and adolescents who are overweight or obese by increasing uptake and effectiveness of proven or promising interventions across states.

What are the major components of work described for the funded recipient?

The funding announcement organizes the work into three main activity components:

1. National MCHB Children’s Healthy Weight Initiative (resource center function): Establish a national initiative that gathers and curates best practices and practical tools and makes them usable for Title V programs and partners.
2. Core Children’s Healthy Weight CoIIN activities: Convene states into a structured improvement network, support peer learning, spread effective strategies, and apply quality improvement methods to accelerate results.
3. Capacity building: Strengthen states’ abilities to implement evidence-based or evidence-informed strategies, use data and measurement effectively, and sustain improvements in nutrition, physical activity, and breastfeeding supports.

What does it mean that this is a cooperative agreement?

The opportunity is described as a discretionary cooperative agreement. Based on the information provided, it indicates a federal assistance mechanism used by HHS/HRSA for this national effort (the specific operational implications beyond that are not detailed in the summary provided).

What is meant by creating a "national backbone organization" through this grant?

In this context, the award is best understood as funding a national coordinating entity responsible for organizing and running a multi-state, Title V-aligned improvement network. The recipient would coordinate collaborative improvement work across states, compile and translate evidence into practice-ready resources, and build lasting state capacity.

What is the role of data and measurement in this CoIIN?

Shared measurement and data use are core elements of the CoIIN model described. States are expected to use data to determine what is working, support rapid-cycle quality improvement, and accelerate the spread of successful approaches.

Does the opportunity focus only on education and awareness activities?

No. The grant description emphasizes that progress is expected to come from broad implementation of improved policies and practices, not simply from education campaigns.

When was this opportunity posted and what was the application deadline?

The listing was posted on March 11, 2016, and the application deadline was May 17, 2016.

How many awards did HRSA anticipate making?

HRSA anticipated making one award.

What is known about the funding amount or award ceiling?

The listing notes an award ceiling of 0. In the summary provided, this is interpreted as typically signaling that the ceiling was not specified in the summary field (not necessarily that funding is zero) and that the full funding opportunity announcement (FOA) would need to be checked for exact budget expectations.

Who is eligible to apply for HRSA-16-180?

Eligible applicants are described broadly as "Others." Additional eligibility details are referenced as being in the full FOA text.

Is the CoIIN intended to work with a single state or multiple states?

The CoIIN model described is multi-state by design. The recipient would convene states into a structured improvement network to support peer learning and spread effective strategies across states.

What is expected from the resource center function of the national initiative?

The funded recipient is expected to gather and curate best practices and practical tools and make them usable for Title V programs and partners, functioning as a national resource center under the National MCHB Children’s Healthy Weight Initiative.

What capacity-building outcomes are expected for states?

The recipient is expected to strengthen states’ abilities to implement evidence-based or evidence-informed strategies, use data and measurement effectively, and sustain improvements related to nutrition, physical activity, and breastfeeding supports.

How does the grant expect to reduce overweight and obesity rates over time?

The grant positions reduction as a population-level outcome supported by broader, multi-state implementation of effective interventions. By helping states adopt, test, improve, and scale proven or promising policies and practices, the CoIIN aims to increase uptake and effectiveness of interventions that contribute to lowering the percent of children and adolescents who are overweight or obese (as tracked by NOM #20).