Cooperative Agreement for Emergency Response: Public Health Crisis Response | CDC RFA TP18 1802

Opportunity Information: Apply for CDC RFA TP18 1802

The Cooperative Agreement for Emergency Response: Public Health Crisis Response (CDC RFA TP18-1802) is a CDC funding mechanism designed to make emergency money available faster when a major public health event hits. The core idea is that the earliest days of an outbreak or other crisis are often when quick action prevents the most harm, but jurisdictions may not yet have the resources to surge staff, stand up operations, or expand surveillance. To close that gap, CDC set up a system where health departments can be reviewed and approved in advance, remain "approved but unfunded" during normal times, and then be activated for rapid funding when an emergency occurs. The program is meant to support responses to HHS Secretarially declared emergencies as well as certain nondeclared emergencies or other events CDC determines align with the purpose of the notice. Award timing and project periods are explicitly tied to the occurrence of a qualifying crisis and the availability of funds, so the dates can shift depending on what happens and when.

This opportunity complements, rather than replaces, CDC's standing preparedness and response investments such as the Public Health Emergency Preparedness (PHEP) and Epidemiology and Laboratory Capacity (ELC) cooperative agreements. Those programs build ongoing readiness and baseline capacity; this NOFO is a rapid-response "bridge" that can quickly inject targeted funding for immediate, time-sensitive needs that exceed routine jurisdictional resources. CDC also notes it will consider pre-award costs, signaling flexibility to reimburse certain necessary expenses that occur at the front end of an activation, when agencies may need to move before formal awards are fully processed.

The NOFO is structured around two components that CDC can fund sequentially or at the same time, depending on the nature and timeline of the emergency. Component A focuses on initial activation and stand-up tasks that almost every large response requires. Applicants are expected to describe how they would quickly strengthen incident management and operational readiness, including activities such as activating an Emergency Operations Center (EOC), rapidly scaling staffing through contracts or temporary hires, conducting needs assessments, accelerating planning cycles, activating or expanding call centers, and taking early steps that support recovery operations. In practice, this component is about getting the response "machine" running: putting structure in place, organizing the workforce, establishing workflows, and building the initial operating picture so the jurisdiction can move from routine operations into full incident management.

Component B is aimed at the crisis-specific work needed to actually tackle the event once operations are up and running. The NOFO points applicants to a logic model and highlights four main domains for Component B activities: information management, countermeasures and mitigation, surge management, and biosurveillance. Applicants develop proposals using a scenario provided in the work plan section; the scenario is intentionally broad and uses an emerging infectious disease example because that type of event commonly requires federal support. At the same time, CDC emphasizes the mechanism is not intended to be limited to infectious disease only. When a real emergency occurs, CDC can issue supplemental, event-specific guidance to clarify the goals, allowable activities, and expectations for that particular situation, and then rapidly fund approved jurisdictions for the specific interventions and mitigation steps that best match the needs on the ground.

Eligible applicants are governmental public health jurisdictions, specifically state governments, county governments, city or township governments, and federally recognized Native American tribal governments. The administering agency is the Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, under OPHPR (Office of Public Health Preparedness and Response). The funding instrument is a cooperative agreement, which generally means CDC expects substantial involvement in coordinating, guiding, or supporting the work during an activation rather than simply issuing a hands-off grant.

The notice outlines a wide range of functional areas that could be supported during activation and response, reflecting the reality that major emergencies stress every part of a health department. These areas include rapid staffing and surge hiring across key roles (for example epidemiologists, laboratorians, health communication specialists, planners, logisticians, and public health nurses), equipment needs, laboratory support, risk communication, surveillance expansion, technical assistance, emergency operations and incident management, mass dispensing activities, information technology improvements, vector control when relevant, and data entry, management, and analysis. Overall, the scope is designed to let jurisdictions quickly scale the people, systems, and field operations required to detect threats early, communicate clearly, manage resources, and implement interventions at speed.

From the source details, the opportunity was created October 11, 2017, with an original closing date of December 11, 2017 (applications due by 5:00 p.m. ET). CDC projected up to 69 awards, with an award ceiling of $5,000,000, though actual funding and timing depend on emergency occurrence and appropriations. The CFDA listing is 93.354, and the opportunity category is discretionary. The overall intent is straightforward: set up a pre-approved roster of jurisdictions that can be funded quickly, so the country can move faster and more effectively when the next public health crisis exceeds local capacity.

• The Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control - OPHPR in the health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Cooperative Agreement for Emergency Response: Public Health Crisis Response" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 93.354.
• This funding opportunity was created on Oct 11, 2017.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Dec 11, 2017 Electronically submitted applications must be submitted no later than 500 p.m., ET, on the listed application due date.. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $5,000,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 69 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: State governments, County governments, City or township governments, Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized).

Apply for CDC RFA TP18 1802

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