Opportunity Information: Apply for CDC RFA DD15 1506
Apply for CDC RFA DD15 1506
- The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Surveillance of Congenital Heart Defects Across the Lifespan" and is now available to receive applicants.
- Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 93.073 Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities Prevention and Surveillance.
- This funding opportunity was created on Mar 24, 2015 and posted on Mar 24, 2015.
- Applicants must submit their applications by Jun 1, 2015 Electronically submitted applications must be submitted no later than 1159 p.m., ET, on the listed application due date.. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
- The funding agency has allocated a total of $9,600,000.00 to eligible and selected applicants.
- Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $500,000.00 in funding.
- The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 6 candidate(s).
- Eligible applicants include: Unrestricted (i.e., open to any type of entity above), subject to any clarification in text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility Others (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification) Native American tribal organizations (other than Federally recognized tribal governments) Public and State controlled institutions of higher education Private institutions of higher education County governments Small businesses Nonprofits that do not have a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education For profit organizations other than small businesses Public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities City or township governments Special district governments State governments Nonprofits having a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized) Independent school districts.
- Only 1 application per organization as determined by the organizations Dun Bradstreet number will be accepted. A Bona Fide Agent is an agency/organization identified by the state or local government as eligible to submit an application in lieu of a state or local government application. If you are applying as a bona fide agent of a state or local government, you must provide a letter from the state or local government as documentation of your status. Attach this documentation behind the first page of your application form or for electronic applications, use a PDF file and attach as Other Documents and label as appropriate.
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Opportunity Summary:
The Surveillance of Congenital Heart Defects Across the Lifespan funding opportunity (CDC RFA DD15-1506) is a CDC cooperative agreement designed to strengthen and expand population-based surveillance of congenital heart defects (CHDs) beyond infancy and early childhood. The core idea is to help public health programs and partners build a clearer, more reliable picture of how many people in the United States are living with CHDs, what their health needs look like over time, what services they use, what other conditions (comorbidities) they develop, and how outcomes like survival and longer-term functioning change as patients move from pediatric to adult care. CDC is positioning this work as a direct response to long-standing gaps in national data: while CHDs affect about 1 percent of U.S. births and drive major infant mortality, morbidity, and costs, surveillance has historically centered on newborns, leaving relatively little population-level information about adolescents and adults. This gap has grown more serious as treatment advances have improved survival, with estimates cited in the announcement suggesting more than 2 million people in the U.S. live with CHDs, including more than 1 million adults, and a meaningful subset with severe disease requiring specialized lifelong care.
The opportunity is run through the National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities (NCBDDD), within the Division of Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities (DBDDD), and it funds collaborative projects under two categories. Category A supports applicants that already have infrastructure for population-based CHD surveillance and want to extend and deepen it. The main expectations in Category A include longitudinal follow-up of adolescents and adults who have already been identified with CHDs, identifying factors linked to better care and outcomes, analyzing barriers to appropriate care and especially the transition from pediatric to adult-centered systems, expanding surveillance activities to cover more of the lifespan when feasible, and creating pilot projects that translate public health best practices into real-world action. In practical terms, Category A is about taking an existing surveillance platform and making it more life-course oriented, more outcomes-focused, and more actionable for health systems and public health interventions.
Category B is aimed at entities that may not have the same established CHD surveillance infrastructure but can develop and implement innovative population-based approaches to identify and track CHDs in adolescents and adults by linking existing data sources. The emphasis here is on methodological innovation and data integration, such as combining administrative claims, hospital discharge data, clinical registries, vital records, or other datasets to produce usable population-based estimates and insights. Across both categories, CDC describes intended uses of the surveillance data that go beyond counting cases: descriptive epidemiology (how prevalence and characteristics vary by person, place, and time), identification of comorbidities, evaluation of healthcare utilization patterns, and assessment of referral to timely and appropriate services. A major thematic thread is the transition-of-care problem, where patients moving from pediatric cardiology to adult congenital heart disease care can experience delays, discontinuity, inappropriate timing of transfer, emotional and financial stress, and in some cases total loss to follow-up. The surveillance work supported by this FOA is meant to generate the evidence needed to understand where and why those breakdowns occur and what factors support successful transitions.
CDC ties the rationale for the program to federal direction and appropriations language, including the Affordable Care Act (Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, PL 111-148, Section 10411), which authorized CDC to enhance and expand infrastructure to track CHD epidemiology and organize information into a nationally representative, population-based surveillance system. Congressional report language cited in the announcement highlights the desire for rigorous epidemiologic and longitudinal data for individuals of all ages, with particular interest in prevalence, barriers to effective care, survival outcomes, and neurocognitive outcomes, and it underscores that even successfully treated CHD patients often require lifelong, costly, specialized cardiac care. The FOA also builds on earlier CDC investments: in FY12, CDC funded three grantees under FOA DD12-1207 to pilot innovative methods for adolescent and adult CHD surveillance through data linkage. Products from that earlier work, including a common case definition, a core variable set, and an Access database for transmission to CDC, are treated here as minimum surveillance requirements for applicants in both Category A and Category B, meaning the new projects are expected to align with established standards to support comparability and broader national utility.
Administratively, this was posted March 24, 2015, with applications due June 1, 2015 (11:59 p.m. ET), and it was archived July 1, 2015. The funding instrument is a cooperative agreement, which typically signals substantial CDC involvement in technical guidance, coordination, and expectations for collaboration and standardization. CDC anticipated up to six awards, with an estimated total funding level of $9.6 million, and award amounts ranging from $250,000 to $500,000. There is no cost-sharing or matching requirement. Eligibility is broadly “unrestricted†across many entity types (including state and local governments, tribal governments and organizations, universities, nonprofits, for-profits, and small businesses), but the FOA limits submissions to one application per organization based on the organization’s DUNS identifier. It also allows for a “bona fide agent†to apply on behalf of a state or local government, provided documentation is included. The overall bottom line is that CDC is funding projects that can produce standardized, population-based, lifespan-relevant CHD surveillance data that public health agencies and partners can use to estimate burden, track outcomes, understand comorbidities and service needs, and pinpoint where systems fail patients, especially during the shift from pediatric to adult care.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
What is the "Surveillance of Congenital Heart Defects Across the Lifespan" funding opportunity?
It is a CDC cooperative agreement funding opportunity (CDC RFA DD15-1506) intended to strengthen and expand population-based surveillance of congenital heart defects (CHDs) beyond infancy and early childhood, with a stronger focus on adolescents and adults.
What problem is CDC trying to solve with this cooperative agreement?
CDC is addressing long-standing national data gaps. CHD surveillance has historically focused on newborns, leaving limited population-level information about adolescents and adults. This gap is more serious now that treatment advances have improved survival, meaning many more people are living longer with CHDs and may have lifelong health and service needs.
What does "across the lifespan" mean in this FOA?
It means surveillance that extends beyond infancy and early childhood to include adolescents and adults, tracking outcomes and needs over time, including the shift from pediatric-centered care to adult-centered care.
Why is CDC emphasizing adolescents and adults with CHDs?
The announcement notes that CHDs affect about 1 percent of U.S. births and are a major driver of infant mortality, morbidity, and costs. At the same time, survival has improved, with estimates cited suggesting more than 2 million people in the U.S. are living with CHDs, including more than 1 million adults. Surveillance focused mainly on newborns does not adequately describe these older populations.
What kinds of questions is the surveillance data meant to answer?
CDC describes uses beyond counting cases, including: estimating prevalence and characteristics by person, place, and time; identifying comorbidities; evaluating healthcare utilization patterns; assessing referrals to timely and appropriate services; and understanding outcomes such as survival and longer-term functioning as people move through different stages of care.
What is the main focus on the transition from pediatric to adult care?
A major theme is the transition-of-care problem. The FOA highlights that moving from pediatric cardiology to adult congenital heart disease care can involve delays, discontinuity, inappropriate timing of transfer, emotional and financial stress, and even total loss to follow-up. The surveillance work is intended to generate evidence about where and why these breakdowns occur and what supports successful transitions.
Which CDC organizational units are running this opportunity?
The opportunity is run through the National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities (NCBDDD), within the Division of Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities (DBDDD).
What type of funding instrument is used?
The funding instrument is a cooperative agreement, which typically indicates substantial CDC involvement in technical guidance, coordination, collaboration, and standardization expectations.
How many awards did CDC anticipate making and what was the total funding level?
CDC anticipated up to six awards with an estimated total funding level of $9.6 million.
What was the expected award size?
Award amounts were expected to range from $250,000 to $500,000.
Is there a cost-sharing or matching requirement?
No. The FOA states there is no cost-sharing or matching requirement.
Who is eligible to apply?
Eligibility is described as broadly unrestricted across many entity types, including state and local governments, tribal governments and organizations, universities, nonprofits, for-profits, and small businesses.
Is an organization allowed to submit more than one application?
No. The FOA limits submissions to one application per organization based on the organization’s DUNS identifier.
Can a "bona fide agent" apply on behalf of a state or local government?
Yes. The FOA allows a bona fide agent to apply on behalf of a state or local government, provided that the required documentation is included.
What are the two funding categories described in the FOA?
The FOA funds collaborative projects under two categories: Category A and Category B.
What is Category A intended for?
Category A supports applicants that already have infrastructure for population-based CHD surveillance and want to extend and deepen it, particularly by adding longitudinal follow-up and expanding attention to adolescents and adults.
What activities and outcomes are emphasized in Category A?
Category A expectations include: longitudinal follow-up of adolescents and adults already identified with CHDs; identifying factors linked to better care and outcomes; analyzing barriers to appropriate care (especially around transition to adult care); expanding surveillance to cover more of the lifespan when feasible; and creating pilot projects that translate public health best practices into real-world action.
What is Category B intended for?
Category B is aimed at entities without the same established CHD surveillance infrastructure but that can develop and implement innovative population-based approaches to identify and track CHDs in adolescents and adults by linking existing data sources.
What does "innovative population-based approaches" mean in Category B?
Based on the FOA description, it refers to methodological innovation and data integration, such as linking administrative claims, hospital discharge data, clinical registries, vital records, or other datasets to generate population-based estimates and insights for adolescents and adults with CHDs.
Are applicants expected to follow any existing standards or minimum surveillance requirements?
Yes. The FOA builds on earlier CDC investments and treats products from the FY12 pilot work (FOA DD12-1207) as minimum surveillance requirements for applicants in both Category A and Category B. These include a common case definition, a core variable set, and an Access database for transmission to CDC.
Why is CDC requiring alignment with the earlier pilot products?
The FOA indicates these standards are meant to support comparability and broader national utility, helping data from multiple projects fit together in a more consistent, population-based picture.
What is meant by "population-based surveillance" in this opportunity?
As described in the FOA summary, it refers to surveillance designed to produce usable population-level estimates and insights (not just single-clinic or convenience samples), supporting descriptive epidemiology and tracking outcomes and service needs across defined populations.
What kinds of outcomes does CDC highlight as important to understand over time?
The opportunity emphasizes outcomes such as survival and longer-term functioning, along with the development of comorbidities and patterns of healthcare and service use as individuals move from pediatric to adult care.
How does this FOA connect to federal laws or congressional direction?
CDC ties the rationale to federal direction and appropriations language, including the Affordable Care Act (Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, PL 111-148, Section 10411), which authorized CDC to enhance and expand infrastructure to track CHD epidemiology and organize information into a nationally representative, population-based surveillance system. The FOA also cites congressional interest in rigorous epidemiologic and longitudinal data across all ages, including prevalence, barriers to effective care, survival outcomes, and neurocognitive outcomes.
What timeline details are provided for this opportunity?
The FOA was posted March 24, 2015. Applications were due June 1, 2015 (11:59 p.m. ET). The opportunity was archived July 1, 2015.
What is the overall goal or "bottom line" of the program?
The FOA’s bottom line is to fund projects that produce standardized, population-based, lifespan-relevant CHD surveillance data that public health agencies and partners can use to estimate burden, track outcomes, understand comorbidities and service needs, and identify where systems fail patients, especially during the transition from pediatric to adult care.
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