Maternal Child Health Epidemiology: National and State Coalition Capacity Building to Improve Outcomes | Apply Online

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

What is the title of this grant opportunity?

The opportunity is titled "Maternal Child Health Epidemiology: National and State Coalition Capacity Building to Improve Outcomes."

Which federal agency is offering this opportunity?

This is administered by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (HHS-CDC).

What type of funding mechanism is this?

This is a cooperative agreement. In a cooperative agreement, CDC is expected to have substantial involvement in the work, often through technical assistance, collaboration on evaluation and performance measures, coordination across partners, and participation in planning or dissemination activities.

Is this a new funding opportunity or a continuation?

It is a continuation cooperative agreement. The continuation designation generally means the opportunity is intended to extend or maintain previously funded work rather than start an entirely new program from scratch, and it typically aligns with established CDC priorities and performance expectations tied to earlier awards.

What is the main purpose of the opportunity?

The central purpose is to strengthen maternal and child health (MCH) epidemiology capacity through coordinated work at both national and state coalition levels, ultimately improving health outcomes for mothers, infants, children, and families.

What kinds of activities does this opportunity support?

Based on the description, supported efforts typically focus on improving how MCH data are collected, analyzed, shared, and used to guide decisions. This often includes strengthening workforce skills, improving the quality and timeliness of surveillance and analytic products, supporting collaboration among agencies and partners, and ensuring epidemiologic findings are used to shape programs and policies affecting maternal and child health.

What does "capacity building" mean in this context?

In this context, capacity building refers to strengthening the people, processes, partnerships, and analytic infrastructure needed to produce and use high-quality maternal and child health epidemiology. The aim is to translate stronger data and analytic capability into better decision-making and improved outcomes.

What does it mean that the work is coordinated at national and state coalition levels?

It means the opportunity is designed to support coordinated efforts that involve both national-level collaboration and state coalition participation, which can be important for aligning methods, sharing best practices, improving comparability of data and analyses, and scaling effective approaches across jurisdictions.

What is the opportunity number?

The opportunity number is CDC RFA DP15-150702CONT16.

What is the CFDA number associated with this opportunity?

The listing is under CFDA 93.946, which is commonly associated with public health and epidemiology-focused cooperative agreement activities.

What activity category does this opportunity fall under?

It falls under the health activity category.

When was the opportunity posted?

The posting date is February 14, 2016. The creation date is also February 14, 2016.

What is the application deadline?

The application closing date is March 31, 2016. The original and current closing dates are the same.

How many awards are expected?

The listing indicates an expected number of awards of 50, suggesting a relatively broad portfolio of recipients or participating entities.

What is the maximum award amount (award ceiling)?

The award ceiling is shown as 0. This typically indicates that a fixed maximum was not specified in the public synopsis, funding levels may vary by recipient or scope, or budget specifics may have been handled through continuation guidance rather than a single publicly stated cap.

Who is eligible to apply?

Eligibility is described as "Others (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification)." That indicates eligible applicants are not limited to a single standard category in the synopsis provided, and eligibility depends on additional language not included here.

Does the continuation designation affect who can realistically apply?

Yes. Because this is a continuation opportunity, it is often intended for current awardees or specific partner organizations already engaged in the funded program. The synopsis suggests that the continuation status is an important clue about eligibility, even though the detailed eligibility text is not included.

What does CDC's "substantial involvement" typically look like for this cooperative agreement?

CDC involvement often includes technical assistance, collaboration on evaluation and performance measures, coordination across partners, and participation in planning or dissemination activities, which can be especially important for multi-jurisdictional or coalition-based capacity-building work.

What is the ultimate goal of the funded work?

The end goal is to improve health outcomes for mothers, infants, children, and families by strengthening maternal and child health epidemiology and ensuring better data and analysis are used to guide decisions.

Is the focus more on data systems and analytics, or on direct services?

The description emphasizes improving collection, analysis, sharing, and use of maternal and child health data, along with workforce skills and analytic products, indicating a strong focus on epidemiology capacity and decision support rather than direct service delivery.

What kinds of partners or collaborations are implied by the opportunity?

The opportunity emphasizes coordinated coalition work across national and state levels, implying collaboration among agencies and partners involved in maternal and child health data, surveillance, analysis, and the application of findings to programs and policies.