WIC Special Project Grants

Fiscal Year 2008

Background

FNS awards WIC Special Project Grants to be used for "special State projects of regional or national significance to improve the services of the program." In order to meet the statutory objectives, Special Projects need to address issues of critical and timely importance to the WIC program. Furthermore, it is important that projects do not operate in isolation and that the results of the projects are widely disseminated to other State Agencies.

Full Grants

There is one focus area for the FY 2008 WIC Special Project Grant solicitation within the overarching theme of "Revitalizing Quality Nutrition Services in WIC (RQNS)". State WIC agencies may submit a grant proposal for the following area:

Revitalizing Quality Nutrition Services in WIC through a Focus on Impacts of Whole Grain Foods in WIC Food Packages.

Note that proposals developed from funding under the FY 2007 WIC Special Project Grant Concept Paper Development Grant awards automatically meet the focus area criterion for submission.

Grants will be awarded to successful offerors as cooperative agreements. Extensive dissemination of the results of successful projects is expected so that other State agencies will have the opportunity to replicate projects and/or learn from the results. The most appropriate grant proposals will be those that: (1) can be replicated in a variety of WIC settings (without changes or with minor changes for the purpose of regional preferences and cultural needs); (2) include a clear implementation plan and appropriate procedures for assessing and describing the "lessons learned" during implementation; and (3) have a rigorous evaluation component.

Concept Paper Grants

In addition to the full grant awards for FY 2008, concept paper funding, also begun in FY 1999, will continue to be available in FY 2008. Concept paper funding for FY 2008 will be used to develop a concept paper into a full grant proposal for the FY 2009 solicitation cycle. For the FY 2008 Concept Paper Development Grants, the designated focus areas are:

1. Revitalizing Quality Nutrition Services in WIC Through a Focus on the Impacts of Upcoming Changes in WIC Food Packages, and
2. Revitalizing Quality Nutrition Services in WIC Through a Process Evaluation for a Breastfeeding Training Model.

Timeline

Critical dates for the FY 2008 WIC Special Project Grants are as follows:

FY 2008 WIC Special Project Grant Application Package

• Application Package Cover Letter

• Request for Applications for Full Grants (Application A)

• Request for Applications for Concept Paper Development Grants (Application B)

Application For Federal Assistance Forms:

• SF 424

• SF 424a

• SF 424b

Certification Forms:

• Certification Regarding Lobbying - Certification for Contracts, Grants, and Cooperative Agreements

• Disclosure of Lobbying Activities (SF-LLL) and Instructions

WIC Special Project Grant Evaluation Resources

The following guides are provided to assist WIC State Agencies in developing the evaluation component of their proposals:

WIC Special Project Grants Evaluation Technical Assistance Guide: This guide was developed by KRA corporation in 1996 to assist WIC develop evaluation plans for their WIC Special Project Grant applications. The guide was designed to supplement the WIC Evaluation Resource Guide.

WIC Evaluation Resource Guide: This guide was developed by FNS staff in 1991 and is a more general WIC evaluation guide.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Veronica Ferrell, Grants Management Division, via email at veronica.ferrell@fns.usda.gov.

Last modified: 12/04/2008