Opportunity Information: Apply for RFA FD 16 019
Apply for RFA FD 16 019
- The HHS-FDA in the consumer protection, food and nutrition sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Strengthen and Promote the Role of Local Health Departments in Retail Food Safety Regulation (U50)" and is now available to receive applicants.
- Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 93.103.
- This funding opportunity was created on Apr 05, 2016 and posted on Apr 05, 2016.
- Applicants must submit their applications by Jun 13, 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 $800,000.00 in funding.
- The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 1 candidate(s).
- Eligible applicants include: Others (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification).
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Opportunity Summary:
The Strengthen and Promote the Role of Local Health Departments in Retail Food Safety Regulation (U50) opportunity is an FDA cooperative agreement run through HHS-FDA, Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (CFSAN), Office of Food Safety. It was offered as a limited competition, meaning only one national association or organization would be chosen for funding. The overall purpose is to deepen FDA's collaboration with local health departments and the state health and agriculture agencies that work closely with city and county programs, with a practical focus on improving retail and food service food safety oversight. The work is framed around expanding use of two core FDA tools: the FDA Food Code (a model code for retail and food service) and the Voluntary National Retail Food Regulatory Program Standards (Retail Program Standards), which are intended to strengthen and standardize regulatory program performance. The bigger public health goal behind all of this is reducing foodborne illness risk factors in restaurants, retail food stores, and other food service settings that are typically regulated day-to-day by state, local, and tribal agencies rather than directly by FDA.
A central theme of the award is building capacity at the local level by identifying what works, documenting it, and making it easier for other jurisdictions to adopt. The selected organization is expected to have strong capabilities across research, complex project management, and translation of findings into actionable guidance that multiple agencies can use. It also needs the ability to package best practices into accessible media such as recorded webinars, podcasts or vodcasts, and infographics so that retail food regulatory programs can quickly learn from peers and apply improvements in their own jurisdictions. In addition, the organization must be able to run a peer mentorship program and respond to questions from regulatory programs about how the Retail Program Standards relate to Public Health Accreditation, reflecting an emphasis on helping agencies connect food safety program improvement with broader public health performance frameworks.
The project is organized around five major objectives. First, FDA wants to enhance and expand an existing peer mentoring program that matches local health department officials who have successfully implemented the Retail Program Standards with jurisdictions that are struggling or just starting. This includes exploring additional mentorship models, such as state-to-state mentoring, mentoring specific to state health or state agriculture retail programs, and structured mentoring relationships between state and local programs. The mentorship component is not just networking; it is intended to produce insights about barriers and successful strategies, which can then drive targeted training and broader sharing of proven approaches.
Second, the award calls for research on how regulatory authority is actually exercised at the local level. That includes mapping whether local programs hold authority directly, operate under delegated authority, or rely on contracts and other arrangements. The point is to clarify governance and operational realities that shape how retail food safety regulation happens in practice, since those structures can affect everything from inspection consistency to the ability to adopt program standards.
Third, the cooperative agreement supports research into how retail food regulatory programs classify establishments by risk and how that connects to inspection approaches and inspection frequency. FDA is looking to learn how jurisdictions are making risk-based decisions, what models are being used, and what appears to work best so those methods can be shared. This objective targets a common challenge in retail food safety: aligning limited inspection resources with the places and practices most likely to drive foodborne illness.
Fourth, FDA wants research on how the Retail Program Standards are being used as a continuous improvement tool in interactions between local health departments and state agencies. This is about understanding how the standards function in the real world: whether they are used to set shared expectations, guide program assessments, support corrective actions, and create lasting performance improvements. The deliverable is not only analysis but also identification and dissemination of best practices that help agencies use the standards more effectively.
Fifth, the opportunity extends beyond inspections and standards into the broader set of policy issues local health departments increasingly face, such as menu labeling, food defense, food donation systems, food banks, and cottage foods. The intent is to document how local agencies are engaging with these issues and how food safety considerations are integrated, then extract best practices that can help other jurisdictions manage the same policy pressures without weakening core food safety protections.
Because this is a cooperative agreement rather than a typical grant, FDA expects close involvement and ongoing coordination. The funded organization is expected to support and manage the mentorship program, conduct research projects involving local and state agencies, participate in meetings with participating health departments, analyze data, and produce reports with findings and recommendations. Just as important, it must actively disseminate those findings so that information does not stay in a report but becomes usable guidance across the retail food regulatory community. Regular communication is built in as a requirement, including at least bi-weekly calls with the FDA project officer to maintain alignment, get feedback, and adjust work as needed.
The funding details reflect a single, sizable national award. The opportunity number is RFA-FD-16-019 under CFDA 93.103, categorized under consumer protection, food and nutrition. It planned one award with an award ceiling of $800,000. The posting and creation dates were April 5, 2016, with a closing date of June 13, 2016.
Finally, the opportunity is grounded in the reality that FDA oversees a massive portion of the food system, but retail food safety on the ground is largely carried out by nearly 3,000 state, local, and tribal agencies. CFSAN describes its broader regulatory scope in terms of hundreds of billions of dollars in domestic and imported foods and a large universe of registered food facilities, while noting that restaurants, grocery stores, and many retail outlets are traditionally regulated primarily by non-federal agencies. By partnering with a single national organization capable of convening, mentoring, researching, and broadcasting best practices at scale, FDA aims to strengthen the effectiveness and consistency of retail food safety regulation nationwide, increase enrollment and implementation of the Retail Program Standards, and encourage broader adoption of the FDA Food Code in ways that measurably reduce foodborne illness risk factors.
FAQs: Strengthen and Promote the Role of Local Health Departments in Retail Food Safety Regulation (U50)
What is this grant opportunity?
This opportunity, titled "Strengthen and Promote the Role of Local Health Departments in Retail Food Safety Regulation (U50)," is an FDA cooperative agreement administered through HHS-FDA, Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (CFSAN), Office of Food Safety.
Is this a grant or a cooperative agreement, and why does that matter?
It is a cooperative agreement, which means FDA expects close involvement in the work. The funded organization is expected to coordinate regularly with FDA, including at least bi-weekly calls with the FDA project officer, and to align on activities, feedback, and adjustments over the course of the project.
What is the overall purpose of the award?
The purpose is to deepen FDA collaboration with local health departments and the state health and agriculture agencies that work closely with city and county programs, with a practical focus on improving retail and food service food safety oversight and reducing foodborne illness risk factors.
What is the public health goal behind this project?
The larger public health goal is to reduce foodborne illness risk factors in restaurants, retail food stores, and other food service settings that are typically regulated day-to-day by state, local, and tribal agencies rather than directly by FDA.
What FDA tools does the program emphasize?
The work is framed around expanding the use of two core FDA tools: the FDA Food Code and the Voluntary National Retail Food Regulatory Program Standards (Retail Program Standards).
What is the FDA Food Code in the context of this opportunity?
The FDA Food Code is described as a model code for retail and food service. This opportunity seeks to expand its use across retail food regulatory programs.
What are the Retail Program Standards?
The Voluntary National Retail Food Regulatory Program Standards are intended to strengthen and standardize regulatory program performance. The project seeks to increase enrollment and implementation of these standards and share effective approaches for using them.
Who was eligible to receive funding?
The competition was limited, meaning only one national association or organization would be chosen for funding.
How many awards were planned?
One award was planned.
What was the maximum funding amount (award ceiling)?
The award ceiling was $800,000.
What is the opportunity number and CFDA number?
The opportunity number is RFA-FD-16-019, and the CFDA number is 93.103.
How is this opportunity categorized?
It is categorized under consumer protection, food and nutrition.
When was the opportunity posted, and when did it close?
The posting and creation dates were April 5, 2016, and the closing date was June 13, 2016.
Why does FDA focus on local and state agencies for retail food safety?
The opportunity is grounded in the reality that retail food safety is largely carried out by nearly 3,000 state, local, and tribal agencies, even though FDA oversees a massive portion of the broader food system.
What is the central theme of the award?
A central theme is building capacity at the local level by identifying what works, documenting it, and making it easier for other jurisdictions to adopt proven approaches.
What kinds of organizational capabilities were expected of the selected organization?
The selected organization was expected to have strong capabilities in research, complex project management, and translating findings into actionable guidance usable by multiple agencies.
What types of training and communication products were expected?
The organization was expected to package best practices into accessible media such as recorded webinars, podcasts or vodcasts, and infographics so retail food regulatory programs could quickly learn from peers and apply improvements.
Was a peer mentorship program required?
Yes. A major component was enhancing and expanding an existing peer mentoring program that matches local health department officials who have successfully implemented the Retail Program Standards with jurisdictions that are struggling or just starting.
What mentorship models were specifically mentioned as areas to explore?
The project includes exploring additional mentorship models such as state-to-state mentoring, mentoring specific to state health or state agriculture retail programs, and structured mentoring relationships between state and local programs.
Is the mentorship component mainly networking?
No. The mentorship is intended to produce insights about barriers and successful strategies that can drive targeted training and broader sharing of proven approaches.
What research is required on regulatory authority at the local level?
The award calls for research mapping how regulatory authority is exercised locally, including whether programs hold authority directly, operate under delegated authority, or rely on contracts and other arrangements, to clarify governance and operational realities.
Why does mapping regulatory authority matter for retail food safety oversight?
The opportunity notes that governance structures can affect inspection consistency and the ability to adopt program standards, so understanding those structures helps explain how regulation happens in practice.
What research is required regarding risk-based inspections?
The project supports research into how retail food regulatory programs classify establishments by risk and how that ties to inspection approaches and inspection frequency, including what models jurisdictions use and what appears to work best.
What is the problem the risk-based research is trying to address?
It targets the challenge of aligning limited inspection resources with the places and practices most likely to drive foodborne illness.
What research is required on using the Retail Program Standards for continuous improvement?
FDA wants research on how the Retail Program Standards are used as a continuous improvement tool between local health departments and state agencies, including whether they set shared expectations, guide assessments, support corrective actions, and produce lasting performance improvements.
What deliverables are expected from the continuous improvement objective?
The work is expected to produce analysis and identify and disseminate best practices that help agencies use the standards more effectively.
What additional policy issues beyond inspections are included in the scope?
The opportunity includes documenting how local health departments engage with policy issues such as menu labeling, food defense, food donation systems, food banks, and cottage foods, and how food safety considerations are integrated.
What is the expected output for the broader policy issues objective?
The goal is to extract and share best practices that help other jurisdictions manage similar policy pressures without weakening core food safety protections.
What kinds of activities was the funded organization expected to perform?
The organization was expected to support and manage the mentorship program, conduct research projects involving local and state agencies, participate in meetings with participating health departments, analyze data, and produce reports with findings and recommendations.
How important is dissemination in this project?
Dissemination is described as essential. The organization must actively disseminate findings so information does not remain only in reports but becomes usable guidance across the retail food regulatory community.
Was support related to Public Health Accreditation included?
Yes. The organization was expected to respond to questions from regulatory programs about how the Retail Program Standards relate to Public Health Accreditation, reflecting an emphasis on connecting food safety program improvement with broader public health performance frameworks.
Which FDA office is associated with this opportunity?
It is associated with CFSAN (Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition), Office of Food Safety.
How does this award aim to improve consistency nationwide?
By partnering with a single national organization capable of convening, mentoring, researching, and broadcasting best practices at scale, FDA aims to strengthen effectiveness and consistency, increase enrollment and implementation of the Retail Program Standards, and encourage broader adoption of the FDA Food Code.
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