Opportunity Information: Apply for CNCS 7 15 2016
Apply for CNCS 7 15 2016
- The Corporation for National and Community Service in the community development, education, employment, labor and training, health, housing, information and statistics, regional development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "FY 2016 Social Innovation Fund Pay for Success Administrative Data Pilot" and is now available to receive applicants.
- Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 94.024.
- This funding opportunity was created on Jul 15, 2016.
- Applicants must submit their applications by Aug 16, 2016 Optional Notifications of Intent to Apply due on July 25, 2016.. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
- Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $4,500,000.00 in funding.
- The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 3 candidate(s).
- Eligible applicants include: State governments, County governments, City or township governments, Public and State controlled institutions of higher education, Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized), 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, Nonprofits that do not have a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Private institutions of higher education.
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Opportunity Summary:
The FY 2016 Social Innovation Fund (SIF) Pay for Success (PFS) Administrative Data Pilot was a discretionary grant opportunity released by the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS) to strengthen the national Pay for Success field by making administrative data easier to access and use. The core idea behind the competition was that many PFS efforts struggle not because the intervention is unclear, but because the data needed to design outcomes, measure impact, and verify results is difficult to obtain, inconsistently formatted, or locked behind agency processes and legal requirements. This pilot competition aimed to tackle that bottleneck directly by funding specialized entities that could help PFS projects navigate, obtain, and apply administrative data in a reliable, scalable way.
The opportunity focused specifically on funding activities related to administrative data that support the development of high-quality PFS projects, including projects already underway as well as those still in the pipeline. CNCS intended to fund up to three awardees that would effectively serve as shared infrastructure for the field. Rather than each PFS initiative independently trying to negotiate data-sharing arrangements, interpret agency datasets, and build compliant processes, the selected Recipient(s) were expected to operate as a conduit and technical assistance provider that any PFS project could work through to access data. In practice, this implies creating repeatable approaches for data acquisition and use, helping projects understand what data exists, how to request it, how to structure agreements, and how to use administrative records to support outcome definition, evaluation design, performance management, and payment verification.
The grant was framed as supporting the Recipient(s) so they, in turn, could support Service Recipients whose work advances specific PFS projects. In other words, CNCS was not simply funding one-off data work for a single local project; it was funding intermediaries capable of enabling broad access to multiple administrative data sources relevant to PFS efforts. Since PFS models typically rely on measurable outcomes, third-party evaluation, and sometimes outcomes-based payments, the ability to securely link and analyze administrative data (for example, education, workforce, health, housing, or justice system records) can be decisive for whether a project is feasible, how outcomes are defined, and how quickly results can be verified.
Key administrative details of the opportunity include the funding opportunity title "FY 2016 Social Innovation Fund Pay for Success Administrative Data Pilot" and the funding opportunity number CNCS 7 15 2016. The program was listed under CFDA 94.024. The agency categorized it as a discretionary grant, and the funding activity categories were broad and cross-sector, covering community development, education, employment and labor, health, housing, information and statistics, and regional development, which reflects how PFS projects often intersect multiple public systems and data environments. The maximum award amount (ceiling) was $4,500,000, with an expectation of three total awards, signaling an intent to fund a small number of national or multi-jurisdictional entities capable of providing field-wide value rather than a large number of localized recipients.
Eligibility was wide, consistent with the need for applicants that could combine technical data expertise, cross-sector relationships, and operational capacity. Eligible applicants included state, county, and city or township governments; public and state-controlled institutions of higher education; private institutions of higher education; federally recognized Native American tribal governments and other Native American tribal organizations; and nonprofits both with and without 501(c)(3) status (excluding higher education institutions where specified). This broad eligibility allowed for applications from governments with direct access to administrative datasets, universities with strong data governance and research capabilities, and nonprofit intermediaries experienced in supporting PFS deals and cross-agency coordination.
The timeline in the notice indicates a creation date of July 15, 2016, with an optional notification of intent to apply due July 25, 2016, and an original application closing date of August 16, 2016. Overall, the competition was designed to accelerate the readiness and quality of Pay for Success projects by solving a practical, recurring problem: establishing dependable, compliant, and efficient pathways for accessing and using administrative data to support project design, monitoring, evaluation, and outcomes-based contracting.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
What is the FY 2016 Social Innovation Fund (SIF) Pay for Success (PFS) Administrative Data Pilot?
It was a discretionary grant opportunity released by the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS) to strengthen the national Pay for Success (PFS) field by making administrative data easier to access and use. The pilot targeted a common bottleneck in PFS work: the practical difficulty of obtaining, standardizing, and using government-held administrative records needed to design outcomes, measure impact, and verify results.
What problem was this pilot designed to address?
The pilot focused on the reality that many PFS initiatives stall not because the intervention concept is unclear, but because the data required for outcome definition, evaluation design, performance tracking, and payment verification can be hard to obtain, inconsistently formatted, or restricted by agency processes and legal requirements. The grant aimed to reduce that friction by supporting entities that could help projects navigate those challenges in a repeatable way.
Who issued this funding opportunity?
The funding opportunity was issued by the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS).
What was the overall goal of the competition?
The goal was to strengthen the national PFS field by funding specialized entities that could help PFS projects access and apply administrative data reliably and at scale. The intent was to improve the readiness and quality of PFS projects by creating dependable, compliant pathways for administrative data use.
What types of activities were intended to be funded?
The opportunity focused on activities related to administrative data that support the development of high-quality PFS projects, including those already underway and those still in development. Examples described in the notice include helping projects understand what data exists, how to request it, how to structure agreements, and how to use administrative records for outcome definition, evaluation design, performance management, and payment verification.
Was this funding meant for a single Pay for Success project or for broader support?
Broader support. CNCS was not simply funding one-off data work for a single local project. The design described funding intermediaries (Recipients) that could enable broad access to multiple administrative data sources relevant to many PFS efforts.
How was the Recipient expected to operate within the Pay for Success field?
The selected Recipient(s) were expected to function as shared infrastructure for the field. Instead of each PFS initiative separately negotiating data-sharing agreements and figuring out compliance and dataset interpretation on its own, the Recipient(s) would act as a conduit and technical assistance provider that PFS projects could work through to access administrative data.
What is the relationship between Recipients and Service Recipients in this opportunity?
The grant was framed as supporting the Recipient(s) so they, in turn, could support Service Recipients whose work advances specific PFS projects. In other words, CNCS funded organizations that could provide administrative data support services to entities working on PFS projects.
What kinds of administrative data are relevant to this pilot?
The notice indicates that administrative data may include records from systems such as education, workforce, health, housing, or the justice system. These are examples of public-system datasets that can be linked and analyzed to define and measure outcomes and to verify results for outcomes-based contracting.
Why is administrative data especially important for Pay for Success models?
PFS models typically depend on measurable outcomes, third-party evaluation, and sometimes outcomes-based payments. Administrative data can be decisive in determining whether a project is feasible, how outcomes are defined, and how quickly results can be verified, particularly when secure data linkage and compliant data use are required.
How many awards did CNCS intend to make under this pilot?
CNCS intended to fund up to three awardees.
What was the maximum award amount (ceiling)?
The maximum award amount listed (the ceiling) was $4,500,000.
What does the small number of awards suggest about the intended role of awardees?
With an expectation of about three total awards and a relatively high award ceiling, the design signals an intent to fund a small number of national or multi-jurisdictional entities capable of delivering field-wide value, rather than a large number of localized recipients.
What is the official funding opportunity title?
The title was "FY 2016 Social Innovation Fund Pay for Success Administrative Data Pilot."
What is the funding opportunity number?
The funding opportunity number was CNCS 7 15 2016.
What CFDA number was associated with this program?
The program was listed under CFDA 94.024.
What type of grant was this categorized as?
It was categorized as a discretionary grant.
Which funding activity categories were associated with this opportunity?
The funding activity categories were broad and cross-sector, including community development, education, employment and labor, health, housing, information and statistics, and regional development. This reflects that PFS projects often touch multiple public systems and data environments.
Who was eligible to apply?
Eligibility was broad. Eligible applicants included state, county, and city or township governments; public and state-controlled institutions of higher education; private institutions of higher education; federally recognized Native American tribal governments and other Native American tribal organizations; and nonprofits both with and without 501(c)(3) status (excluding higher education institutions where specified).
Why was eligibility so broad for this pilot?
The notice frames the need for applicants that can combine technical data expertise, cross-sector relationships, and operational capacity. That opens the door to governments that may control administrative datasets, universities with data governance and research strengths, and nonprofit intermediaries experienced in PFS deals and cross-agency coordination.
When was the notice created?
The creation date listed was July 15, 2016.
Was there a notification of intent to apply, and was it required?
An optional notification of intent to apply was due July 25, 2016. The notice describes it as optional.
What was the original application closing date?
The original application closing date was August 16, 2016.
Did the pilot focus only on new PFS projects, or also existing ones?
It targeted administrative data activities that support the development of high-quality PFS projects, including projects already underway as well as those still in the pipeline.
What kinds of support were Recipients expected to provide to PFS efforts?
The notice describes support such as creating repeatable approaches for data acquisition and use; helping projects determine what administrative data exists; guiding how to request it; helping structure agreements; and supporting the use of administrative records for outcome definition, evaluation design, performance management, and payment verification.
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