Strengthen Evidence Base for Maternal and Child Health Programs | Apply Online

Opportunity Summary:

The Strengthen Evidence Base for Maternal and Child Health Programs opportunity (HRSA-15-035) is a Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) cooperative agreement designed to help State Title V Maternal and Child Health (MCH) programs strengthen how they choose, justify, and implement strategies in their State Action Plans. At its core, the grant focuses on building practical, usable evidence for the Title V Block Grant transformation work, especially as states plan and report against the National Outcome Measures (NOMs), National Performance Measures (NPMs), State Performance Measures (SPMs), and state-defined Structural/Process Measures. The federal intent is to move states toward more consistent, evidence-based or evidence-informed decision-making, backed by credible literature and shared learning across jurisdictions.

The program is structured around six major goals that the awardee is expected to carry out as an ongoing support resource for states. First, the recipient must convene and maintain a Team of Experts with deep subject-matter experience aligned to Title V performance measure topic areas (examples noted include medical home and children with special health care needs). This team is expected to have access to peer-reviewed research, published reports, and research databases/portals, and to operate with a clear plan for how it will function. A key responsibility of the expert team is to design and implement a rigorous literature review process that protects the integrity of the strategies that will be recommended to states. The team must also be able to respond to state requests for targeted consultation and analysis tied to measures selection and the development or refinement of State Action Plans, with the understanding that states are expected to demonstrate continued progress toward desired health and performance outcomes.

Second, the awardee must produce evidence products that states can use directly: reports that critically review the effectiveness of potential strategies for addressing the NOMs, NPMs, SPMs, and Structural/Process Measures. These reports are expected to draw from both traditional and nontraditional sources, including peer-reviewed journal articles as well as “grey literature” such as grantee reports and white papers. The announcement emphasizes that the evidence base should be narrowed and organized using a defined approach so the material remains relevant to the measure topic being addressed. Each final report should follow a consistent structure that includes a literature review section, an analysis section (including meta-analysis where available), recommendations that translate evidence into actionable implementation and measurement guidance (including clarity on what appears to work and what does not), and a bibliography with citations and links back to original sources.

Third, beyond written products, the recipient must provide ongoing consultation to State Title V MCH programs through the Team of Experts. This consultation is meant to be continuous and tailored, meeting states where they are as they interpret measures, prioritize needs, and build or update State Action Plans. The grant expects clear communication mechanisms so states receive thorough, responsive support rather than one-off technical assistance. In practice, this means the awardee functions as a national resource states can repeatedly engage for measure-related problem-solving, strategy selection, and evidence interpretation.

Fourth, the cooperative agreement requires the development of web-based supports and resources that are publicly available and designed specifically for State Title V MCH program use. The website must serve as a central home for the evidence-based/evidence-informed reports and also host (or integrate) the Community of Practice described in the next goal. The announcement highlights usability expectations: the site should be organized, user-friendly, searchable, and connected to key topics with clear navigation. It should also include embedded sharing functionality so resources can be distributed easily through email and social media, supporting wider dissemination across the MCH workforce.

Fifth, the awardee must establish and operate an interactive online Community of Practice focused on sharing best practices and helping Title V state and discretionary grantees address emerging implementation needs tied to the Block Grant transformation. The platform is expected to support two-way engagement, not just passive posting. Users should be able to provide feedback on evidence reports, participate in dialogue with peers, share comments and resources through mechanisms like social media and listservs, post collaboration and professional development opportunities, and access “tickler” news feeds that keep the community current on relevant media coverage. The opportunity also signals that the platform should evolve over time, adding new interactive activities as technology changes.

Sixth, the awardee is responsible for maintaining and enhancing an MCH Digital Library that improves access to both historical and current documents relevant to maternal and child health. The digital library is framed as a long-arc resource, reaching back to foundational milestones like the creation of the Children’s Bureau in 1912 and the establishment of Title V in the Social Security Act in 1935, while also incorporating significant documents published after that. Required activities include preparing bibliographies and subject-matter reference lists, researching and writing historical compilations (particularly tied to major developments in maternal health), cataloging resources using library science methods, and ensuring the public (including families as well as professionals) can easily access materials along with links to other relevant data sources. The awardee must maintain the collection through an online library science database and keep catalogs current, including managing hard-copy reports and other media as part of the overall preservation and access strategy.

In terms of basic grant mechanics, this was a discretionary HRSA funding opportunity using a cooperative agreement instrument, meaning HRSA would typically have substantial involvement during project implementation compared with a standard grant. The opportunity anticipated a single award, with an estimated total funding amount of $550,000 and a stated ceiling of $550,000 (no cost sharing or matching requirement). Eligible applicants were broadly defined under 42 C.F.R. 51a.3(a) to include public or private entities, including Indian tribes and tribal organizations, and it explicitly allowed faith-based and community-based organizations if otherwise eligible. The program was posted September 11, 2014, with an original and final closing date of November 10, 2014, and an archive date of December 26, 2014.

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