[Federal Register: October 30, 2003 (Volume 68, Number 210)]
[Notices]
[Page 61814-61817]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr30oc03-73]
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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
Health Resources and Services Administration
[CFDA 93-145, HRSA 04-076]
Cooperative Agreement for a Twinning Center (CATC)
AGENCIES: Health Resources and Services Administration, Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention, and National Institutes of Health,
Department of Health and Human Services; United States Agency for
International Development.
ACTION: Notice of availability of funds.
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SUMMARY: This notice announces the availability of funds for a
Cooperative Agreement for the establishment of a Twinning Center (TC)
to support twinning and volunteer activities as part of the
implementation of the President's International Mother and Child HIV
Prevention Initiative (Initiative). The Cooperative Agreement will be
awarded for a 5-year project period.
Program Purpose: The purpose of this funding is to support the
President's Initiative, focusing on the reduction/prevention of mother-
to-child transmission (PMTCT) of HIV/AIDS. This 5-year Initiative,
through a combination of improving care, prophylaxis of HIV-positive
mothers, and building healthcare delivery capacity is expected to reach
up to one million women annually and reduce mother-to-child HIV
transmission by 40 percent within those 5 years in 14 targeted
countries in Africa and the Caribbean. This is a unified government
initiative, coordinated and implemented by a PMTCT Interagency Steering
Committee, led by the Office of the Global AIDS Coordinator in the
Department of State, that include as members the Offices of National
AIDS Policy (ONAP) and Management and Budget in the White House, the
United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the
Department of State, and the Department of Health and Human Services
(HHS) and its component agencies, the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention (CDC), the Health Resources and Services Administration
(HRSA), and the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
Fourteen countries and one regional office in the Caribbean were
initially selected to be part of the Initiative, based on high HIV
burden, limited country resources, and host government and civil
society commitment to fighting the HIV epidemic and scaling up PMTCT
programs. The President's Initiative is intended to complement other
bilateral and international support efforts, including support through
the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria. In addition,
the Initiative represents specific U.S. Government assistance to help
the Initiative countries reach the United Nations General Assembly
Special Session on AIDS' goals for reducing mother-to-child HIV
transmission.
A long term goal of the President's Initiative is capacity building
in clinics and communities to deliver PMTCT. Two of the strategies
outlined by the President for human and institutional capacity building
are twinning and volunteer activities, which will be implemented
through a TC and a Volunteer Health-Care Corps (VHC), although other
strategies, including other forms of training, will be employed. The
volunteer activities under this program will exist within the twinning
partnerships, although the TC will also coordinate with the activities
of target country volunteers outside of the twinning activities. The
goal of the TC is to strengthen human and organizational capacity
through twinning and healthcare volunteers to rapidly expand the pool
of trained providers, managers, and allied health staff delivering
quality HIV/AIDS services to HIV-infected pregnant women and HIV-
exposed infants in 14 target countries in Africa and the Caribbean. The
TC will work collaboratively with HRSA's HIV/AIDS Bureau, CDC, USAID,
and ONAP to assist in the implementation of the President's Initiative
at the country level. The guiding principle for the TC and VHC is that
the implementation of this program will be based on the needs of the
targeted country as identified by the USAID/CDC field offices' human
resources plan.
The definition of ``twinning'' for the purposes of this Notice of
Availability of Funds (NOAF)for a Cooperative Agreement for a Twinning
Center (CATC) is the definition developed by the Canadian Interagency
Coalition on AIDS and Development in its publication Beyond Our
Borders: A Guide to Twinning for HIV/AIDS Organizations: A formal,
substantive collaboration between two similar organizations. ``Formal''
means there is an agreement or contract, verbal or
[[Page 61815]]
written. ``Substantive'' means the interaction between the twinning
partners is significant and lasts for a period of time.
``Collaboration'' means that the partner organizations work together on
a specific project or exchange information and skills.
A centrally-funded TC will broker and facilitate relationships
between twinning partners, plan and fund logistics for the VHC, and
fund in-country twinning partners. The twinning plan will build upon
existing relationships between U.S. and target country institutions as
well as initiate new twinning partnerships.
Eligible Applicants: Public or nonprofit private entities,
including schools and academic health sciences centers, community-based
organizations, and faith-based organizations are eligible to apply for
the CATC. Eligible organizations for twinning funding assistance at the
in-country level will depend on the specific twinning activity, but may
include hospitals, health clinics, training/educational institutions,
and non-government organizations, including community- and faith-based
organizations. Applicants for the TC must have domestic and
international experience providing technical assistance to HIV/AIDS
service organizations.
Authorizing Legislation: Department of Health and Human Services:
Section 307 of the Public Health Service (PHS) Act, 42 U.S.C. 242l.
United States Agency for International Development: Foreign Assistance
Act of 1961, as amended, and Executive Order 11223.
Availability of Funds: Funds are available under the appropriation
included in Pub. L. 107-116 for International HIV/AIDS activities. It
is estimated that up to $150,000,000 for up to 5 years may be available
to support the TC and twinning activities in the 14 target countries,
with $2,000,000 for the TC and up to $2,000,000 for twinning activities
in the 14 countries during the first year. There will be 2 separate
awards to the same recipient for these activities: funding for target
country twinning activities will be awarded by USAID, and funding for
the provision of technical assistance activities by the TC will be
awarded by HRSA/DHHS. Funding awards will be made during the first or
early second quarter of the Federal fiscal year 2004 (calendar year
October 1, 2003 to March 31, 2004). The TC will be funded for a 12-
month budget period, with a project period of up to 5 years.
Continuation awards for the TC after the first year will be made based
upon satisfactory performance and the availability of Federal funds.
Funding for in-country twinning activities funded by USAID will be made
on a specific project basis, with funding for 1 year and a project
period of up to 5 years. Continuation funding for specific twinning
activities will be based upon satisfactory performance of existing
twinning partnerships, initiation of new twinning partnerships, and
availability of Federal funds.
Application Deadline: Applications for this cooperative agreement
must be received in the HRSA Grants Application Center (GAC) by close
of business December 29, 2003. Applications shall be considered as
meeting the deadline if they are either (1) received on or before the
deadline date or (2) postmarked on or before the deadline date, and
received in time for submission to the objective review panel. One
original and two copies of an application will be required. A legible
dated receipt from a commercial carrier or the U.S. Postal Service will
be accepted instead of a postmark. Private metered postmarks will not
be accepted as proof of timely mailing. Grant applications postmarked
after the deadline will be returned.
Late applications: Applications which do not meet the criteria
above are considered late applications. Health Resources and Services
Administration (HRSA) shall notify each late applicant that its
application will not be considered in the current competition.
The Chief Grants Management Officer (CGMO) or a higher level
designee may authorize an extension of published deadlines when
justified by circumstances such as acts of God (e.g., floods or
hurricanes), widespread disruptions of mail service, or other
disruptions of services, such as a prolonged blackout. The authorizing
official will determine the affected geographical area(s).
Electronic Submission: HRSA encourages applicants to submit
applications on-line. To register and/or log-in to prepare your
application, go to https://grants.hrsa.gov/webexternal/login.asp. For
assistance in using the on-line application system, call 877-GO4-HRSA
(877-464-4772) between 8:30 am to 5:30 pm ET or e-mail callcenter@hrsa.gov.
Application narratives and spreadsheets will need to be created
separately and submitted as attachments to the application. You will be
prompted to ``upload'' your attachments at strategic points within the
application interface. The following document types will be accepted as
attachments: WordPerfect (.wpd), Microsoft Word (.doc), Microsoft Excel
(.xls), Rich Text Format (.rtf), Portable Document Format (.pdf).
To look for funding opportunities, go to http://www.hrsa.gov/grants
and follow the links.
DUNS Number: Beginning October 1, 2003, applicants will be required
to have a Dun and Bradstreet (DUNS) number to apply for a grant or
cooperative agreement from the Federal Government. If applicants are
submitting an application on or after October 1, 2003 a DUNS number is
required. To obtain a DUNS number, access http://www.dunandbradstreet.com or
call 1-866-705-5711. Please include DUNS number next to OMB Approval
Number on the application face page. Applications will not be reviewed
without a DUNS number.
Additionally, the applicant organization will be required to
register with the Federal Government's Central Contractor Registry
(CCR) in order to do business with the Federal Government, including
electronic. Information about registering with the CCR can be found at
http://www.hrsa.gov/grants.htm.
Where to Request and Send an Application: To prepare and submit an
application, organizations must obtain: (1) the CATC Program Guidance
and (2) the official Federal grant application kit required for these
cooperative agreements, PHS Form 5161-1, along with 2 separate budgets
(one budget for the HRSA-funded activities and one budget for the
USAID-funded activities) using Standard Form (SF) 424. The Program
Guidance is available on the HIV/AIDS Bureau Web site at the following
Internet address: http://www.hab.hrsa.gov/grant.htm The PHS Form 5161-1 is available at the following Internet address: http://forms.psc.gov/.
addresses: http://forms99.psc.gov/Forms/sf-424_2.htm (instructions for HRSA budget) and http://www.usaid.gov/procurement_bus_opp/
nt_bus_opp/
organizations who do not have access to the Internet, hard copies of
the Program Guidance, PHS Form 5161-1 and SF 424 may be obtained from
the HRSA GAC. You can reach the HRSA GAC toll-free at (877) 477-2123, fax (877) 477-2345, or e-mail: hrsagac@hrsa.gov. Please request the
Office of Management and Budget Catalogue of Federal Domestic
Assistance Number 93-145, HRSA 04-076 and Program Code CATC.
Notification of Letter of Intent: Letters of intent will be used by
the Funding Agencies to estimate the number of applications which will
be submitted.
[[Page 61816]]
This will help determine the number and types of reviewers which will
be required for the objective review. Therefore applicants must submit
a one-page letter of intent. This letter must identify the applicant
organization, its intent to apply, and briefly describe the proposal to
be submitted.
ADDRESSES: All Cooperative Agreement applications should be mailed or
delivered to: HRSA Grant Application Center, 901 Russell Avenue, Suite
450, Gaithersburg, Maryland 20879. Applications sent to any other
address will be returned.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Additional information on the TC and
the HRSA/DHHS technical assistance portion of the Cooperative Agreement
may be obtained from Thurma Goldman, MD, MPH, HIV/AIDS Bureau, at (301) 443-1993; fax (301) 443-9645; e-mail: tgoldman@hrsa.gov; mail HIV/AIDS
Bureau, HRSA 5600 Fishers Lane, Parklawn Building, Room 7-13,
Rockville, Maryland 20857.
Additional information on the twinning activity funding portion of
the Cooperative Agreement may be obtained from Mr. Eduardo G. Elia,
USAID, Contracts Specialist, M/OP/GH/POP, at (202) 712-0901; fax (202) 216-3132; e-mail eelia@usaid.gov; mail USAID, M/OP/GH/POP, Ronald
Reagan Building, 1300 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, RRB 7.09-133,
Washington, DC 20523-7100.
Pre-Application Technical Assistance Conference Call: There will be
a pre-application technical assistance conference call with potential
applicants approximately 3 weeks after publication of the Notice of
Availability of Funds (NOAF) for the CATC. The conference call will be
with HRSA and USAID officials familiar with the NOAF requirements. The
purpose of the call will be to answer questions which potential
applicants may have about the application guidance or questions about
completing the application. All questions to be discussed at the
conference call must be submitted in advance of the call to HRSA, by
fax, e-mail, or regular mail. Questions should be submitted to: Thurma
Goldman, M.D., M.P.H., Program Director, Global HIV/AIDS, HIV/AIDS
Bureau, HRSA, 5600 Fishers Lane, Room 7-13, Rockville, MD 20857, at (301-443-1993; fax: 301/443-9645; e-mail: TGoldman@hrsa.gov. To find
out the exact date and time of the technical assistance conference
call, and timeframe for submission of questions, please call the HRSA's
HIV/AIDS Bureau main office on (301) 443-1993.
Technical Oversight of the Cooperative Agreements: The TC
Cooperative Agreement will be managed by two Project Officers. The
USAID Project Officer will provide oversight and technical management
of the Cooperative Agreement activities associated with the award and
monitoring of funds for the actual expenses of the in-country twinning
partners and volunteer activities. The HRSA Project Officer will
provide oversight and technical management of the activities associated
with the operation and management of the TC and VHC and the provision
of technical assistance to the twinning partners (including the
identification of organizations and partnerships and proposed
activities) and VHC.
Guidance for the CATC will be provided by a Technical Assistance
Group, which will be subordinate to the PMTCT Interagency Steering
Committee, comprised of members of the Presidential Initiative Human
Resources Workstream. Guidance will be provided to the TC via the USAID
and HRSA Project Officers. The Guidance will provide overall direction
for the TC's goals and objectives in the development and implementation
of partnerships.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Cooperative Agreements are a type of Federal
assistance that involves a substantial level of government
participation in funded activities. Under the cooperative agreement,
HRSA and USAID require that certain activities be planned jointly and
include approval from HRSA, USAID, and the TC Technical Assistance
Group. HRSA and USAID responsibilities will be in the following areas:
(a) Provide consultation and technical assistance in planning,
operation, and evaluation activities, including the identification and
selection of in-country partners;
(b) facilitate the coordination and collaboration among program
partners, such as USAID, CDC and their field offices or missions, and
the TAG and TC;
(c) facilitate efforts in the provision of technical assistance and
training in twinning to specified individuals and organizations;
(d) participate, as appropriate, in the planning and implementation
of any meetings, training activities, or workgroups conducted during
the period of the cooperative agreement;
(e) provide technical assistance to the TC to increase its capacity
to succeed in this international collaboration;
(f) maintain an ongoing dialogue with the TC concerning program
plans, policies, and other issues which have major implications for any
activities undertaken by the applicants under the cooperative
agreement;
(g) review, provide comments, recommendations, and approvals for
documents, curricula, program plans, budgets, work to be contracted
out, key personnel (including consultants and contractors), workplan
revisions, etc. prior to printing, dissemination or implementation;
(h) provide feedback to the TC on quarterly and other reports; and
(i) serve as the official interface between the TAG and the TC.
Detailed information on grantee responsibilities is provided in the
application guidance.
The applicant receiving the award will be required to submit
quarterly reports, a mid-term report during the 30th month of the
project, and a final report at the end of the project.
The applicant receiving the award will not be required to match or
share in project costs. Any matching or cost sharing will not be
considered as part of the selection decision.
This program is subject to the provisions of Executive Order 12372,
as implemented by 45 CFR part 100. Executive Order 12372 allows States
the option of setting up a system for reviewing applications from
within their States for assistance under certain Federal programs.
Application packages made available under this Guidance will contain a
listing of States which have chosen to set up such a review system and
will provide a Single Point of Contact (SPOC) for the state's review.
Information on states affected by this program and State Points of
Contact may also be obtained from the Grants Management Specialist
cited in the application guidance, as well as at http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/grants/spoc.html.
All applicants other than
federally recognized American Indian tribes should contact their SPOCs
as early as possible to alert them to prospective applications and
receive any necessary instruction on the State process used under this
Executive Order.
The activities proposed to be implemented through this award are
not considered to be research activities.
Non-Federal reviewers will participate in the review of submitted
applications. Applicants have the option of omitting from the
application copies (but not from the original) specific salary rates or
amounts for individuals specified in the application budget and Social
Security Numbers, if otherwise required for individuals. The copies may
include summary salary information.
[[Page 61817]]
Review Process: Applications submitted in response to this NOAF
will be reviewed for threshold criteria and technical merit by an
Objective Review Committee. Each application must address and apply for
both aspects of the TC: (A) Brokering, facilitation, and management of
twinning partners; and (B) funding of in-country twinning and volunteer
activity. The threshold criteria are: (1) Program Approach and
Implementation Plan for Building Human and Organizational Capacity (30
points), (2) Institutional Capability and Past Performance (20 points),
(3) Personnel Capability and Experience (20 points), (4) Program
Evaluation and Quality Improvement (15 points), and (5) Clarity and
Justification of the Budget (15 points). Technical Merit criteria are
more completely defined in the Application Kit.
Dated: October 20, 2003.
Elizabeth M. Duke,
Administrator, Health Resources and Services Administration.
[FR Doc. 03-27335 Filed 10-29-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4165-15-P