Health Promotion and Disease Prevention Centers: Special Interest Project Competitive Supplements (SIPS) | Apply Online

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

What is this funding opportunity?

This opportunity is the Health Promotion and Disease Prevention Centers: Special Interest Project Competitive Supplements (SIPS) under RFA DP 16 006. It is a CDC cooperative agreement intended to provide supplemental funding to existing Prevention Research Centers (PRCs).

Who is offering the funding?

The opportunity was posted by HHS/CDC (HHS-CDC-HHSCDCERA).

What is the main purpose of these competitive supplements?

The purpose is to strengthen applied public health prevention research by helping PRCs design, test, and disseminate practical strategies that prevent disease and reduce disability. The emphasis is on approaches that can be implemented in real-world settings and adopted and scaled by partners such as communities, workplaces, and health systems.

Is this a new standalone grant or an add-on to an existing award?

It is a competitive supplement, meaning it is intended to add targeted Special Interest Project capacity onto ongoing PRC infrastructure rather than function as a standalone award for new, unrelated organizations.

What funding mechanism is used?

The funding instrument is a cooperative agreement.

What does it mean that the mechanism is a cooperative agreement?

A cooperative agreement generally indicates substantial CDC involvement in the funded project compared to a standard grant. Based on the summary description, this can include technical assistance, collaboration related to project direction, and involvement in dissemination expectations.

What kinds of projects does the program want to support?

The program focuses on prevention strategies intended to reduce major contributors to disease and disability, and to generate evidence that is immediately useful for public health practice. The work is expected to move beyond theory into practical approaches partners can adopt and scale.

What types of prevention strategies are specifically mentioned?

The opportunity references several categories of strategies, including:

• Behavioral interventions (for example, programs aimed at improving health behaviors)
• Environmental approaches (such as changes to physical or social environments that make healthy choices easier)
• System-wide solutions (including policy, organizational, or service-delivery changes)

What does "real-world settings" mean in the context of this opportunity?

The description emphasizes solutions that can be implemented outside of purely theoretical or controlled contexts, with a focus on strategies that communities, workplaces, health systems, or other partners can actually adopt and scale.

What is meant by "design, test, and disseminate" in this program?

From the opportunity description, funded PRCs are expected to (1) create or refine practical prevention strategies, (2) evaluate or test them in applied settings, and (3) disseminate findings and approaches so they can be used by partners in public health practice.

What national priorities does the program align with?

The work is framed around national public health priorities and aligns with Healthy People 2020 topic areas.

Which Healthy People 2020 topic areas are specifically named?

The summary highlights topic areas including Cancer, Oral Health, and Workplace Health as examples of priority domains applicants are expected to address.

How many awards were anticipated?

The opportunity anticipated making about 8 awards.

When was this opportunity posted?

It was posted on December 23, 2015.

What was the closing date for applications?

The closing date listed is February 22, 2016.

Who is eligible to apply?

Eligibility is limited. The listing shows "Others (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification)," and the description indicates these are competitive supplements specifically for Prevention Research Centers (PRCs). As described, existing PRC awardees (or organizations meeting PRC-related eligibility conditions described in the full RFA) would generally be positioned to apply.

Are organizations outside the PRC program eligible?

Based on the summary provided, the supplements are intended for Prevention Research Centers. Any clarification for edge cases would be found in the full RFA eligibility text referenced by the listing.

What does "competitive supplement" imply about how awards are made?

It implies that supplemental funds are not automatically provided; instead, eligible PRCs compete for additional support for Special Interest Projects aligned with CDC and national priorities.

What is the award ceiling (maximum award amount)?

The award ceiling is listed as 0 in the summary fields. In this context, that typically indicates a specific maximum amount was not stated in the summary and would need to be confirmed in the full announcement or related budget guidance.

What is the core expected outcome of funded projects?

The core expectation is to produce evidence and strategies that are practical and immediately useful for public health practice, with an emphasis on approaches that can be implemented and scaled in real-world settings.

How does this opportunity relate to ongoing PRC work?

The summary indicates the supplements are meant to add targeted, special-interest project capacity onto ongoing PRC infrastructure, helping accelerate the development and spread of prevention research strategies aligned with CDC and national health priorities.

What kinds of partners or settings are implied as end users of the strategies?

The description explicitly points to communities, workplaces, health systems, and other partners as settings where strategies should be adoptable and scalable.