Opportunity Information: Apply for RFA HS 15 001
Apply for RFA HS 15 001
- The Agency for Health Care Research and Quality in the health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Patient Safety Learning Laboratories Innovative Design and Development to Improve Healthcare Delivery Systems (P30)" and is now available to receive applicants.
- Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 93.226 Research on Healthcare Costs, Quality and Outcomes.
- This funding opportunity was created on Feb 5, 2015 and posted on Feb 5, 2015.
- Applicants must submit their applications by Apr 27, 2015. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
- The funding agency has allocated a total of $5,000,000.00 to eligible and selected applicants.
- Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $1,000,000.00 in funding.
- The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 5 candidate(s).
- Eligible applicants include: City or township 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 For profit organizations other than small businesses Independent school districts Others (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification) County governments Public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities Small businesses Special district governments State governments Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized) Nonprofits that do not have a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education Private institutions of higher education Public and State controlled institutions of higher education.
- Other Eligible Applicants include the following Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian Serving Institutions Asian American Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institutions (AANAPISISs) Eligible Agencies of the Federal Government Faith based or Community based Organizations Hispanic serving Institutions Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) Indian/Native American Tribal Governments (Other than Federally Recognized) Non domestic (non U.S.) Entities (Foreign Organizations) Regional Organizations Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities (TCCUs) U.S. Territory or Possession Non domestic (non U.S.) Entities (Foreign Institutions) are not eligible to apply.
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Opportunity Summary:
The Patient Safety Learning Laboratories: Innovative Design and Development to Improve Healthcare Delivery Systems (P30) grant opportunity (Funding Opportunity Number RFA-HS-15-001) was offered by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) to support research and development aimed at reducing patient safety harms across healthcare settings. The core idea behind the program is that many patient safety problems are deeply rooted in how care is designed and delivered as a system, yet there has historically been too little sustained, programmatic work that applies real design, systems engineering, and iterative development methods to those problems in a coordinated way. Rather than funding isolated studies on a single issue, this opportunity emphasized building capacity to identify clusters of related safety threats and then design, prototype, integrate, and evaluate solutions as a working system.
A central requirement of the program was the creation and use of Patient Safety Learning Laboratories. These laboratories are described less as a single physical space and more as a combined environment and professional network where multidisciplinary teams can work together over time. The intent is to bring the right mix of expertise into one coordinated effort, including clinicians, human factors and systems engineers, researchers, organizational leaders, and other relevant stakeholders. Within the learning laboratory model, teams are expected to generate new ways of thinking about persistent safety threats, use brainstorming and rapid prototyping techniques, and create conditions that support multiple build-test-revise cycles. This approach mirrors how complex engineering projects are developed in other fields: teams develop components and subsystems, test them, refine them, and then integrate them into a coherent overall solution.
Applicants were expected to choose two to four closely related projects (or subsystems) that address well-known, high-cost patient safety harms within a specific clinical area. The program intentionally allowed applicants to select the clinical focus area they believed was most significant, as long as the chosen harms were important and the proposed work clearly required innovative design approaches rather than minor tweaks to existing practices. The emphasis on "closely related" projects is important because the goal was to build integrated solutions that address connected safety problems within a delivery system, rather than assembling a set of unrelated pilot projects.
The funded work was structured around a flexible but clearly defined development pathway that parallels a full system development process over a four-year period. In practical terms, this means moving from problem analysis (understanding the safety threats and how the system currently produces them), to design (creating new concepts and approaches), to development (building and refining prototypes), to implementation (integrating solutions into real workflows and contexts), and finally to evaluation. AHRQ highlighted that the ultimate function of a learning laboratory is to evaluate the integrated system in a realistic simulated or clinical setting, taking into account the full complement of real-world factors that influence safety. That includes facility design, equipment and technology, the people involved (patients, family members, and providers), new procedures and workflow, and the organizational context where care is delivered. This reflects an understanding that patient safety outcomes are often driven by interactions among these elements, not by any single tool or policy in isolation.
From an administrative and funding standpoint, this was a discretionary grant mechanism using the P30 activity code, with an estimated total program funding level of $5,000,000 and an expectation of about five awards. The award ceiling was listed as $1,000,000, and there was no cost-sharing or matching requirement. The opportunity was posted on February 5, 2015, with an original and current closing date of April 27, 2015, and an archive date of May 28, 2015. The CFDA number associated with the program was 93.226 (Research on Healthcare Costs, Quality and Outcomes).
Eligibility was broad and included many types of domestic organizations: state, county, city/township, and special district governments; tribal governments (federally recognized and other than federally recognized) and tribal organizations; public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities; independent school districts; nonprofits with and without 501(c)(3) status; for-profit organizations (including small businesses); and public and private institutions of higher education. The eligibility language also explicitly included various minority-serving institutions and community-based or faith-based organizations, as well as eligible federal government agencies and U.S. territories or possessions. Non-U.S. (foreign) entities were explicitly not eligible to apply.
Overall, the opportunity was designed to push the field beyond describing safety problems and toward building, integrating, and testing engineered solutions that reflect how healthcare actually functions as a complex system. The learning laboratory framework is essentially a funded platform for sustained collaboration, rapid experimentation, and rigorous evaluation, with the expectation that integrated designs can meaningfully reduce costly, persistent patient safety harms in real clinical environments.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
What is the name of this grant opportunity?
The opportunity is titled "Patient Safety Learning Laboratories: Innovative Design and Development to Improve Healthcare Delivery Systems (P30)."
What agency offered this funding opportunity?
The funding opportunity was offered by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ).
What is the Funding Opportunity Number (FOA)?
The Funding Opportunity Number is RFA-HS-15-001.
What is the primary goal of this program?
The program aimed to support research and development that reduces patient safety harms across healthcare settings by improving how care is designed and delivered as a system.
Why does the program focus on system design and engineering approaches?
The program is based on the idea that many patient safety problems are rooted in healthcare delivery system design, and that there has historically been too little sustained, programmatic work applying design, systems engineering, and iterative development methods to these problems in a coordinated way.
What is meant by "Patient Safety Learning Laboratories" in this program?
Patient Safety Learning Laboratories are described less as a single physical space and more as a combined environment and professional network where multidisciplinary teams collaborate over time to design, prototype, integrate, and evaluate solutions.
Is a learning laboratory required for an application under this opportunity?
Yes. A central requirement was the creation and use of Patient Safety Learning Laboratories as the organizing structure for the work.
What kinds of expertise were expected to be involved in a learning laboratory?
The model emphasized multidisciplinary teams that could include clinicians, human factors and systems engineers, researchers, organizational leaders, and other relevant stakeholders.
What types of activities were learning laboratory teams expected to do?
Teams were expected to generate new ways of thinking about persistent safety threats, use brainstorming and rapid prototyping techniques, and conduct multiple build-test-revise cycles leading toward integrated solutions.
How is this program different from funding isolated patient safety studies?
Rather than supporting isolated studies focused on a single issue, this opportunity emphasized building capacity to identify clusters of related safety threats and then design, prototype, integrate, and evaluate solutions as a working system.
How many projects were applicants expected to propose?
Applicants were expected to choose two to four closely related projects (or subsystems) that address well-known, high-cost patient safety harms within a specific clinical area.
Why does the FOA emphasize "closely related" projects?
The emphasis on closely related projects reflects the goal of building integrated solutions that address connected safety problems within a delivery system, rather than assembling unrelated pilot projects.
Did applicants have to focus on a specific clinical area defined by AHRQ?
No. The program allowed applicants to select the clinical focus area they believed was most significant, provided the chosen harms were important and the proposed work clearly required innovative design approaches rather than minor tweaks to existing practices.
What is the expected development pathway for funded work?
The funded work was structured around a flexible but clearly defined pathway that parallels a full system development process over four years: problem analysis, design, development, implementation, and evaluation.
What does "problem analysis" mean in the context of this program?
Problem analysis refers to understanding the safety threats and how the existing healthcare delivery system currently produces or contributes to those harms.
What does AHRQ mean by evaluation in a learning laboratory?
AHRQ highlighted that the learning laboratory should evaluate the integrated system in a realistic simulated or clinical setting, accounting for real-world factors that influence safety.
What real-world factors were expected to be considered during evaluation?
Evaluation was expected to consider the full complement of factors that influence safety, including facility design, equipment and technology, people involved (patients, family members, and providers), procedures and workflow, and the organizational context where care is delivered.
What activity code/mechanism was used for this grant?
This was a discretionary grant mechanism using the P30 activity code.
What was the estimated total program funding level?
The estimated total program funding level was $5,000,000.
How many awards were expected under this opportunity?
AHRQ expected about five awards.
What was the maximum award amount (award ceiling)?
The award ceiling was listed as $1,000,000.
Was cost sharing or matching required?
No. There was no cost-sharing or matching requirement.
When was this funding opportunity posted?
The opportunity was posted on February 5, 2015.
What was the application closing date?
The original and current closing date was April 27, 2015.
When was the opportunity archived?
The archive date was May 28, 2015.
What is the CFDA number associated with this program?
The CFDA number was 93.226 (Research on Healthcare Costs, Quality and Outcomes).
Who was eligible to apply?
Eligibility was broad and included many types of domestic organizations, such as state, county, city/township, and special district governments; tribal governments (federally recognized and other than federally recognized) and tribal organizations; public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities; independent school districts; nonprofits with and without 501(c)(3) status; for-profit organizations (including small businesses); and public and private institutions of higher education.
Were minority-serving institutions and community-based organizations included in eligibility?
Yes. The eligibility language explicitly included various minority-serving institutions as well as community-based and faith-based organizations.
Could federal agencies apply?
Yes. Eligible federal government agencies were explicitly included.
Were U.S. territories or possessions eligible?
Yes. U.S. territories or possessions were included in the eligibility description.
Are non-U.S. (foreign) entities eligible to apply?
No. Non-U.S. (foreign) entities were explicitly not eligible to apply.
What kinds of patient safety problems were targeted?
The FOA emphasized well-known, high-cost patient safety harms and encouraged applicants to address clusters of related safety threats within a chosen clinical area.
What is the overarching intent of the learning laboratory framework?
The framework was intended as a funded platform for sustained collaboration, rapid experimentation, and rigorous evaluation, with the expectation that integrated designs can meaningfully reduce persistent patient safety harms in real clinical environments.
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