The National Syndromic Surveillance Program: Enhancing Syndromic Surveillance Capacity and Practice | Apply Online

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

1) What is the name of this funding opportunity?

The opportunity is titled The National Syndromic Surveillance Program: Enhancing Syndromic Surveillance Capacity and Practice.

2) What is the Funding Opportunity Number (FON)?

The Funding Opportunity Number is CDC RFA OE15 150202CONT16.

3) Who is offering this grant opportunity?

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

4) What type of award is this?

It is offered as a cooperative agreement. This generally means CDC expects to have substantial involvement in the funded work, rather than acting only as a pass-through funder.

5) What is the CFDA number for this program?

The CFDA (Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance) number listed is 93.283.

6) What is the main purpose of the opportunity?

The stated purpose is to strengthen syndromic surveillance capacity and improve day-to-day surveillance practice through the National Syndromic Surveillance Program (NSSP).

7) What is syndromic surveillance in the context of this notice?

Based on the description provided, syndromic surveillance focuses on the timely collection, analysis, and sharing of near-real-time health-related data (often from emergency department visits and similar sources) to help detect and monitor public health threats.

8) Is this a new competitive opportunity for first-time applicants?

This posting is categorized as a continuation, meaning it is intended to extend or continue support for an existing project or recipient(s), rather than launch a brand-new competition aimed broadly at first-time applicants.

9) What does it mean that this is a continuation funding opportunity?

A continuation posting typically functions as a formal mechanism to sustain and extend an ongoing project. It usually implies the work is already underway and the funding supports continued progress and enhancements aligned with the program's goals.

10) Who is eligible to apply?

The eligible applicant category is listed as "Others", with a note to consult additional eligibility text (not included in the excerpt). Based on the continuation nature of the announcement, eligibility likely may be restricted to current awardees, specific jurisdictions, or organizations already participating in NSSP-related implementation efforts.

11) Where can applicants find the full eligibility requirements?

The notice indicates that eligibility details are in additional eligibility text, but that text is not included in the provided excerpt. Applicants would need to consult the full announcement or associated eligibility documentation to confirm whether they can apply.

12) What kinds of activities might this funding support?

Based on the description of NSSP and syndromic surveillance, supported activities would typically include work such as:

• Improving data quality and data completeness
• Increasing connectivity and coverage of participating healthcare facilities
• Strengthening analytical workflows and signal detection
• Enhancing interoperability and secure data exchange
• Promoting consistent, actionable use of syndromic surveillance for routine monitoring and emergency response

13) How involved will CDC be in the funded work?

Because this is a cooperative agreement, CDC is expected to have substantial involvement. In this space, that often includes collaboration on technical standards, shared platforms, and best practices, along with ongoing coordination on program goals.

14) What category does this opportunity fall under?

The posting sits in the health activity category.

15) What is the application deadline?

The original and current closing date listed is April 4, 2016.

16) When was this opportunity posted?

The creation and posting date listed is February 3, 2016.

17) What is the award ceiling for this opportunity?

The award ceiling is listed as 0 in the notice excerpt provided.

18) Why might the award ceiling be listed as 0?

In continuation listings, funding levels may be determined by prior-year agreements, appropriations, or negotiated continuation amounts, rather than a fixed maximum advertised to a broad applicant pool. The listing format described is consistent with a continuation mechanism rather than an open competition with a published ceiling.

19) How many awards does CDC expect to make?

The expected number of awards is not provided in the excerpt.

20) What is the National Syndromic Surveillance Program (NSSP) generally focused on?

NSSP generally focuses on enabling the timely collection, analysis, and sharing of near-real-time health-related data to support detection and monitoring of public health threats.

21) What does "enhancing capacity and practice" imply for recipients?

Based on the description, it implies both strengthening the underlying ability to perform syndromic surveillance (capacity) and improving how surveillance is performed in day-to-day operations (practice), including how data are made actionable for routine public health monitoring and emergency response.

22) Does the excerpt specify exact funding amounts or budgets?

No. The excerpt notes an award ceiling of 0 and does not provide a specific expected number of awards, which suggests the details may be handled through continuation processes tied to existing awards.

23) Is this opportunity primarily meant to start new projects or continue existing work?

It is primarily meant to continue existing work and extend support for ongoing NSSP-related efforts, rather than initiate entirely new, unrelated projects.

24) What is the practical takeaway for organizations reviewing this listing?

The practical interpretation described is that this announcement functions as a formal continuation mechanism for ongoing NSSP-supported work, focused on sustaining and enhancing syndromic surveillance capacity and practice aligned with CDC program goals.