Frequently Asked Questions: HRSA-21-064 Capacity Building for Sustainable HIV Services Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO)

I wanted to double-check does this application accept Tribal Nations (Fed recognized)?

Please refer to page 6 of the NOFO, to determine if your organization fits into the following categories. “Eligible applicants include domestic or foreign public or non-profit private entities, including schools of medicine, nursing, public health, management and public administration, and academic health centers, community-based organizations, faith-based organizations, and consortia consisting of such eligible organizations.”

Can you clarify the scope of changes subject to this clause on page 11 of the NOFO: “any proposed changes to the delivery of clinical resources for HIV/AIDS providers”?

Please refer to pages 11- 12 of the NOFO for context on the following: Describe the key activities proposed for accomplishing project goals and objectives including, but not limited to, any proposed changes to the delivery of clinical resources for HIV/AIDS providers. Describe how the project aligns with the related activities in the Background section under “focus areas” (page 3).

Do we need to include separate budget justifications for named sub-award partners?

Per the NOFO, please refer to the SF424A application guide for detailed instructions on how to complete your budget justification for proposed subaward recipients. Below are instructions from the SF424 Application guide:

Contractual/Subawards/Consortium/Consultant: Provide a clear explanation as to the purpose of each contract/subaward, how the costs were estimated, and the specific contract/subaward deliverables. You should not provide line item details on proposed contracts, rather you should provide the basis for your cost estimate for the contract.

We will be submitting our application as a competing continuation and as such will include our progress report for the current cooperative agreement. Recognizing all that is required to be included in the proposal, will the progress report count against our 80 page limit?

Per the NOFO, unless otherwise noted, attachments count toward the application page limit. Please refer to page 26 of the NOFO that indicates, “The entire proposal will be considered during objective review, except for the progress report submitted with a competing continuation application, which will be reviewed by HRSA program staff after the objective review process.”

Can Interprofessional education (IPE) related projects from Indian investigators for Allied health science future professionals in hospital setting / simulation mock practices are acceptable by foundation for funding? What all Eligibility conditions for HRSA grant. I am working on Radiation Emergency and disaster management with reference to IPE team approach. Kindly provide details of eligibility.

Please refer to page 6 of NOFO, to determine if your organization fits into the following categories: “Eligible applicants include domestic or foreign public or non-profit private entities, including schools of medicine, nursing, public health, management and public administration, and academic health centers, community-based organizations, faith-based organizations, and consortia consisting of such eligible organizations.”

I have noted that both this NOFO and the QISSEC NOFO include elements focusing on quality improvement. How does HRSA distinguish between the quality improvement activities being requested in these two different NOFOS?

Quality Improvement (QI) is just one of the areas of focus/components for this NOFO. QI is mentioned in various sections of the NOFO. Please refer to page 9, for the description of quality improvement as it pertains to this NOFO.

Would you kindly define "Skills Sharing" which is briefly referenced in the NOFO?

Please refer to pages 9 and 10, under QI description to see Skills Sharing listed and the context. There is no specific definition for this term.

I am wondering if there is a formal definition of the term you might refer us to, although I understand the reference back to the NOFO.

There is no specific definition for this term.

Our team has worked in Ukraine continuously since 2004. One thing that would be helpful as we continue to meet with stakeholders is the language for the amount of funding. The NOFO says that it will fund “up to two” awards for $50 million per year. Of course, we could easily spend $50M per year in Ukraine with the severity of the epidemic there, but I assume it is realistic that budgets should come in at about $25M per year or should we just propose the work that we believe necessary and then cost it (even if more than $25M). We have had many HRSA awards, including SPNS initiatives, but this is the first we’ve been involved with on international work.

You may apply for a ceiling amount of up to $50,000,000 total cost (includes both direct and indirect, facilities and administrative costs) per year. Please refer to Page 5 of NOFO.