Definitions & Explanations
Application Deadlines
Applications will be considered on time if they are
received on or before the deadline listed in the application
guidance. Applications sent to any address other than
that specified in the application guidance are subject
to being returned.
Authorization
The citation of the law authorizing the various grant
programs is provided immediately following the title
of the programs.
CFDA Number
The Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA)
is a Government wide compendium of Federal programs,
projects, services and activities that provide assistance.
Programs listed therein are given a CFDA Number.
Cooperative Agreement
A financial assistance mechanism (grant) used when
substantial Federal programmatic involvement with
the recipient is anticipated by the funding agency
during performance of the project. The nature of that
involvement will always be specified in the offering
or application guidance materials.
DUNS Number
All applicants are now required to have a Dun and
Bradstreet (DUNS) number to apply for a grant or cooperative
agreement from the Federal Government. The DUNS number
is a nine-digit identification number which uniquely
identifies business entities. Obtaining a DUNS number
is easy and there is no charge. To obtain a DUNS number,
go to the Dun and
Bradstreet Web site or phone 1-866-705-5711.
Eligibility
The status an entity must possess to be considered
for an award, as specified by authorizing legislation
and programmatic regulations. Generally, eligible
entities are public and nonprofit private organizations
and institutions, including faith-based and community-based
organizations, State/local governments and their agencies,
Federally-recognized Indian Tribes or tribal organizations,
and occasionally individuals. For profit organizations
are eligible to receive awards under financial assistance
programs specifically when authorized by legislation.
Estimated Amount of Competition
The funding level listed is provided only as an estimate
and is subject to the availability of funds, Congressional
action, and changing program priorities.
Funding Priorities and/or Preferences
Funding preferences, priorities, and special considerations
may come from legislation, regulations, or HRSA program
leadership decisions. They are not the same as review
criteria.
Funding preferences are any objective factors that
would be used to place a grant application ahead of
others without the preference on a list of applicants
recommended for funding by a review committee. Some
programs give preference to organizations that have
specific capabilities such as telemedicine networking,
or have established relationships with managed care
organizations.
Funding priorities are factors that cause a grant
application to receive a fixed amount of extra rating
points - which may similarly affect the order of applicants
on a funding list.
Special considerations are other factors considered
in making funding decisions that are neither review
criteria, preferences, nor priorities, e.g., ensuring
that there is an equitable geographic distribution
of grant recipients, or meeting requirements for urban
and rural proportions.
Letter of Intent
To help in planning the application review process,
many HRSA programs request a letter of intent from
the applicant in advance of the application deadline.
Letters of intent are neither binding nor mandatory.
Details on where to send letters can be found in the
guidance materials contained in the application kit.
Matching Requirements
Several HRSA programs require an awardee to provide
matching funds or share in the costs of a project
based on the program’s authorizing statute or
program regulations. The requirement and the specific
percentage or amount of matching or cost sharing are
set forth in the program announcement and application
materials.
Program Announcement Code
The program announcement code is a unique identifier
for each program funded by HRSA. The multiple-character
acronyms are located in parentheses immediately at
the end of each program title and must be used to
request application materials either from the HRSA
Grants Application Center at hrsagac@hrsa.gov.
Program Announcement Number
A unique program announcement (HRSA) number is located
at the beginning of each program announcement in the
HRSA Preview, Mini-Preview and Federal Register notices
and includes the Fiscal Year and sequence number for
announcement; for example, HRSA 06-001. This number
is used with the program title and program announcement
code to order application materials.
Project Period
The project period is the total time for which support
of a discretionary project has been programmatically
approved. The project period usually consists of a
series of budget periods of one-year duration. Once
approved through initial review, continuation of each
successive budget period is subject to satisfactory
performance, availability of funds, and program priorities.
Review Criteria
General review criteria for all HRSA programs include:
- Need: The extent to which the application describes
the problem and associated contributing factors
to the problem.
- Response: The extent to which the proposed project
responds to the “Purpose” included in
the program description. The clarity of the proposed
goals and objectives and their relationship to the
identified project. The extent to which the activities
(scientific or other) described in the application
are capable of addressing the problem and attaining
the project objectives.
- Evaluative Measures: The effectiveness of the
method proposed to monitor and evaluate the project
results. Evaluative measures must be able to assess
1) to what extent the program objectives have been
met and 2) to what extent these can be attributed
to the project.
- Impact: The extent and effectiveness of plans
for dissemination of project results, and/or the
extent to which project results may be national
in scope and/or the degree to which a community
is impacted by delivery of health services, and/or
the degree to which the project activities are replicable,
and/or the sustainability of the program beyond
Federal funding.
- Resources/Capabilities: The extent to which project
personnel are qualified by training and/or experience
to implement and carry out the project. The capabilities
of the applicant organization, and quality and availability
of facilities and personnel to fulfill the needs
and requirements of the proposed project. For competing
continuations, past performance will also be considered.
- Support Requested: The reasonableness of the proposed
budget in relation to the objectives, the complexity
of the activities, and the anticipated results.
- Specific Program Criteria: Additional specific
program criteria, if any, are included in the program
description and in the individual guidance material
provided with the application kit. The specific
review criteria used to review and rank applications
are included in the individual guidance material
provided with the application kits. Applicants should
pay strict attention to addressing these criteria,
as they are the basis upon which the reviewers will
judge their applications.
Technical Assistance
A contact person is listed for each program and his/her
e-mail address and telephone number provided. Some
programs may have also scheduled workshops and conference
calls. If you have questions concerning individual
programs or the availability of technical assistance,
please contact the person listed.
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