Community Health Peer Learning Program

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Updated on April 6, 2015

1. Q: If I have any difficulty submitting my application today is there a phone number and email address of someone I could contact? Are they available after hours?

   A: Applications for all Funding Opportunity Announcements must be submitted electronically through http://www.grants.gov by 11:59pm Eastern Time today, April 6, 2015. If you have any difficulty submitting your application, please remember to contact the Grants.gov Contact Center 24 hours a day, 7 days a week at #1-800-518-4726 (local toll free). For International callers, please call #606-545-5035 to speak with a Contact Center representative. You may also reach a Contact Center representative via email at support@grants.gov.

   For additional information, please also see the Top 10 requested help topics (FAQs) located here on the iPortal.

Updated on March 11, 2015

1. Q: Section 4.2.2 of the Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) describes the contents and page limit for the Project Narrative as 15 pages, is it permissible to include a Front Cover Page and a Table of Contents? Does inclusion of a Cover Page and Table of Contents count toward the 15-page limit?

   A: Yes, inclusion of a Front Cover Page and Table of Contents is allowable and neither will be counted towards the over-all page limit of 15 pages for the Project Narrative. Contents contained or information provided with or as part of either of these inclusions, Front Cover Page or Table of Contents, will not be reviewed nor included toward completion of proposal application requirements. A Front Cover may be included and should be no more than one page (<1 page) in length. A Table of Contents may be included and should be no more than two (<2 pages) in length.

2. Q: Is there a difference between the Project Narrative Section 4.2.2., on pages 14 and 16 of the Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) titled “Collaborator Involvement and Partnerships” and section 5.4 located on page 22 titled “Communications and Facilitation Plan”. If so, how should these sections be treated for application and proposal development purposes?

   A: The section titled “4.2.2 Project Narrative, Section 5: Collaborator Involvement and Partnerships” and the section titled “5.4 Section 5-Communications and Facilitation Plan” should be treated for application and proposal development purposes as the same.

3. Q: Is the main goal of this grant to create or utilize technology, or to define a workflow that utilizes technology?

   A: The purpose of the Community Health Peer Learning Program (CHP) FOA is to select a single awardee to work in partnership with ONC to bring up to ten (10) Communities together through a collaborative peer-learning program. The Community Health Peer Learning Program supports HHS efforts to promote the development of a nationwide health information infrastructure built on the sustainable efforts of local providers and communities. The Community Health Peer Learning Program awardee will facilitate this work and provide funding to communities experiencing population health challenges in order to demonstrate a vision of the future where hospitals, clinicians, and patients can achieve measurable improvements in health care delivery, safety, and efficiency through the improved use of information, such as data aggregation, data portability, or data analysis to improve the overall population health within the community.

4. Q: Can the communities all be located within one state?

   A: Communities within the FOA are defined as Participating Communities and Subject Matter Expert (SME) Communities. Selection of up to ten (10) Communities from across these two groups will be made through a national call for application managed by the single CHP FOA awardee. There are no structural geographic barriers to defining a Community as defined within the FOA.

5. Q: At the conclusion of the 2 years, is it expected these communities will have implemented technology from this program, or just have the knowledge to do so?

   A: The Community Health Peer Learning Program awardee will facilitate work and provide funding to communities experiencing population health challenges to demonstrate a vision of the future where hospitals, clinicians, and patients can achieve measurable improvements in health care delivery, safety, and efficiency through the improved use of information, such as data aggregation, data portability, or data analysis to improve the overall population health within the community. Funding levels associated with this FOA are not anticipated to cover community enabled health information technology (IT) infrastructure costs but instead to galvanize community-level systems serving as impetus for the coordination of health IT data portability, sharing, and analytic infrastructure.

6. Q: Does ONC anticipate that the up to ten (10) Participating and SME Communities and their partners will be selected from a single state or from across the nation?

   A: For the purpose of this FOA, the definition of community may include, but is not limited to the following: a unified body of individuals living in a particular area with geographic boundaries; people with common characteristics or persons having common clinical and/or health interests. There are no structural geographic barriers to defining a Community as defined within the FOA. The scope and nature of the CHP program should be considered when defining participating community geographies and the population health topic to be addressed. It is not assumed the up to ten (10) participating communities will “all be from one state” as community selection will be shaped by submissions to the National Call for Application.

7. Q: Who will be the public contact for the Community Health Peer Learning Program?

   A: There will be two prime contacts working in partnership supporting the Community Health Peer Learning Program. The CHP Program Manager will be selected through the FOA and will work in partnership with the ONC CHP Program Lead. All communication prior to the award of the single CHP FOA awardee should be directed to CommunityHealthFOA@hhs.gov until award of the CHP FOA has been publically announced.

8. Q: How can academics doing research in HIT innovation contribute to this effort?

   A: ONC anticipates that communities responding to the CHP National Call for Application will engage with a variety of stakeholders that may include, but are not limited to, primary care providers (PCPs), practicing clinicians, hospitals, public and private payers, consumers, local and state public health departments, safety net providers, community- and non-government-based organizations, long term care and support services, employers, academic institutions, charitable foundations, industry, laboratories, pharmacies, employers, quality improvement organizations, hospital associations, government entities, and medical societies.

9. Q: Will the February 26, 2015 Community Health Peer Learning Program Informational Webinar slides be posted online? If so, where will it be available?

   A: Yes, slides are available on HealthIT.gov at the following link for the Community Health Peer Learning Program Information Webinar presented on February 26, 2015.

10. Q: Are organizations restricted from applying to both the Community Health Peer Learning Program FOA and the Workforce Training Curriculum FOA?

    A: There are no application restrictions associated with applying to one or more Funding Opportunity Announcements (FOAs).

11. Q: Are organizations restricted from receiving more than one award across FOAs?

    A: There are no award restrictions associated with receipt of award to one or more Funding Opportunity Announcements (FOAs).

12. Q: Are CHP FOA applicants required to identify IT software to be used during the facilitation of the program in the application?

    A: Identification of Health IT software within the application is not a required element. Applicants are not restricted from describing enabled Health IT software and community-level health data systems as a component within the Project Narrative.

Updated on March 5, 2015

1. Q: What is the limit to the number of applications or proposals a single organization can submit for consideration?

   A: Organizations are limited to a number of proposal submissions equaling the number of DUNS numbers (Dun & Bradstreet #s) the organization holds in response to this FOA.
   NOTE: Many organizations hold only one Duns & Bradstreet number (DUNS#) and so may submit a single application or proposal in response to this Funding Opportunity Announcement.

Updated in February 2015

1. Q: What is the title of the new Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA)?

   A: The new Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) is the Community Health Peer Learning Program (long title), with a short title of Community Learning Program and referenced through abbreviation as CHP.

2. Q: What Federal Agency is releasing the Community Health Peer Learning Program (CHP)?
   A: The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC), within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS or HHS), is the Federal Agency releasing the Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) titled, Community Health Peer Learning Program (CHP).

3. Q: Under what authority is HHS releasing the Community Health Peer Learning Program (CHP) Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA)?

   A: The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS or HHS) under the statutory authority of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, Division A, Title XIII - Health Information Technology, Subtitle C—Public Health Service Act (PHSA), Title XXX, Subtitle B, Section 3011, is releasing funds in support of the Community Health Peer Learning Program (CHP).

4. Q: What is the source of the Community Health Peer Learning Program (CHP) Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA)?

   A: Previously, the Beacon Community Cooperative Agreement Program Funding Opportunity Announcement of 2009, HHS-2010-ONC-BC-004, worked to demonstrate how health IT investments and meaningful use of electronic health records (EHR) advanced the vision of patient-centered care, while achieving the three-part aim of better health, better care, and at lower cost. ONC provided $250 million over three years to 17 selected communities throughout the United States that had made inroads in the development of secure, private, and accurate systems of EHR adoption and health information exchange. CHP program funding is a reobligation of remaining HHS-2010-ONC-BC-004 unobligated funds in the amount up to $1,700,000.00.

5. Q: Why is the Community Health Peer Learning Program Funding Opportunity Announcement not posted on HealthIt.gov?

   A: Grants.gov (http://www.grants.gov/web/grants/home.html) is the federally designated website for announcing federally funded award programs, such as the Community Health Peer Learning Program (CHP) Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) and is held to Grant Public Law 106-107 as issued under guidance from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) (http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/memoranda_fy04_m04-01) and (http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/grants_reform). The Grants.gov program management office was established, in 2002, as a part of the President's Management Agenda. Managed by the Department of Health and Human Services, Grants.gov is an E-Government initiative operating under the governance of the Office of Management and Budget. Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) for Grant Public Law 106-107 can be found at (http://www.grants.gov/web/grants/about/grant-regulations.html).

6. Q: What type of award is the Community Health Peer Learning Program?

   A: The Community Health Peer Learning Program (CHP) is a new award and will be made through a cost reimbursable Cooperative Agreement.

7. Q: How many awards will be made under the new FOA?

   A: A single initial award will be made through cost reimbursable cooperative agreement to one United States-based organization through the Community Health Peer Learning Program (CHP) Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA).

8. Q: How much funding is available to the single awardee of the Community Health Peer Learning Program?

   A: Initial funding made available to the single United States-based organization will be in an amount up to $1,700,000 with ONC reserving the right to make additional awards under this announcement, consistent with Agency policy, if additional funding becomes available after the original selection is made. Any additional selections for awards will be made no later than 12 months after the original selection decision.

9. What are important dates associated with this FOA?

   A: Important dates associated with the Community Health Peer Learning Program FOA are associated with the opening of the FOA for public application; public informational webinar; due date for Notice of Intent to Apply deadline; FOA Application submission due date; Estimated Award announcement date; and Anticipated Award beginning date, which can be referenced with in the FOA under the Opportunity Overview section and in the following table*:

   Public FOA release	February 3, 2015 at 8:00 A.M. EST**
   Informational Webinar	February 26, 2015 at 3:00 P.M. EST
   Notice of Intent to Apply Due (not mandatory)	March 2, 2015 at 11:59 P.M., EST
   Applications Due	April 6, 2015 at 11:59 P.M. EST
   Estimated Award Announcements	May 1, 2015
   Anticipated Project Start Date	June 1, 2015

   * All dates subject to change without notification based on convenience of the Federal Government.
   ** All times are Eastern Standard Time stated as such or as Eastern Time or EST.

10. Q: How long is the Community Health Peer Learning Program?
    A: The Community Health Peer Learning Program (CHP) period of performance is 2 years or 24 months.

11. Q: How do Participating and SME Communities differ?

    A: A single award will be made in which the awardee will select communities from a national call for applications. The call for applications will share how the awardee will act in partnership with community and stakeholders interested in establishing strategies to move forward with an impactful, measureable, and actionable plan around data aggregation, portability and analysis supporting a community identified population health management challenge.

    Participating Communities will focus on advancing population health management approaches through the improved use of health IT within and across local, regional, and state settings. Subject Matter Expert (SME) Communities, share substantive evidence and practices about their experiences addressing a population health management challenge where measureable success was achieved through improved use of information.

12. Q: How is the Community Health Peer Learning Program (CHP) Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) defining a community-level population health management challenge?

    A: A population health management challenge is defined as addressing community health inequities or disparities on health status and improving overall quality of care. Identified population health management challenges should be able to be evaluated and addressed through improved use of information, such as data aggregation, data portability and data analysis to improve the overall population health in a community.

13. Q: What anticipated benefits are there to Participating and SME Communities for participating in the Community Health Peer Learning Program (CHP)?

    A: For Participating Communities, participation will allow the opportunity to work with the awardee, SME communities, stakeholders and ONC in development of an impactful and actionable plan to work through a self-identified population health management challenge. Participating communities will participate in two (2) national meetings with SME communities, ONC and other stakeholders. For SME Communities, participation will allow the awardee and ONC to conduct an in-depth assessment of key strategies leading to successful population health outcomes and to document the processes, infrastructure and systems in place around data specific to their success. See FOA for additional descriptions of Participating and SME communities.

14. Q: Where will the two (2) national Community Health Peer Learning Program (CHP) convenings be held?

    A: Locations for the two (2) national Community Health Peer Learning Program convenings have not been determined at this time. Convening location(s) selection will take place post CHP FOA award and selection of CHP Participating and SME Communities.

15. Q: How many Participating and SME Communities are anticipated to be selected for participation in the Community Health Peer Learning Program (CHP)?

    A: An estimated total of ten (10) Participating and SME Communities will be selected for participation in the Community Health Peer Learning Program (CHP).

    NOTE: The estimated total of ten (10) contains an estimated range of Participating Communities from six to nine (6 to 9) and an estimated range of SME Communities from one to four (1 to 4).
    NOTE: Estimated numbers of CHP communities are intended to assist FOA applicants in designing programmatic support and financial elements associated with FOA application development and submission.

16. Q: Is the single awardee responsible for making subrecipient awards to Participating and SME Communities?

    A: Yes, the single Funding Opportunity Announcement awardee will be responsible for partnering and managing subrecipient agreements with Participating and SME Communities selected as members of the Community Health Peer Learning Program (CHP).
    NOTE: An estimated ten (10) subrecipient agreements in the range of $50,000 to $125,000 should be financially allocated by FOA applicants in support of selected Participating and SME Communities over the duration of participation in the Community Health Peer Learning Program (CHP). Subrecipient agreements are anticipated to supplement program activities and active participation of selected CHP communities over the course of program.

17. Q: How will successful applicants be selected as the single CHP awardee?

    A: The Community Health Peer Learning Program (CHP) Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) will use objective review of all applications meeting minimum review criteria as described under FOA section Application Instructions. Objective review will utilize criteria described under FOA Section Application Evaluation as the basis for scoring applications passing initial screening, responsiveness, and completeness review.

18. Q: Where should Community Peer Learning Program (CHP) Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) questions be forwarded?

    A: Questions not addressed within the Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) and this Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) should be sent by way of email with a Subject Line indicating Community Health Peer Learning Program or CHP addressed to CommunityHealthFOA@hhs.gov. Questions posed through this email address with be evaluated and added as appropriate to the FAQ.
    NOTE: Responses from CommunityHealthFOA@hhs.gov will be limited to receipt notification of the inquiry or initiating email and will not provide nor offer individual responses to such inquiries.

19. Q: Can Beacon Communities apply for the CHP award?

    A: This FOA is open to the general public, which does not preclude former grantees from applying. Please note the new FOA is only for a single Community Health Program Manager, who will work with communities via a sub-award. For the sub-award, the definition of communities may include, but is not limited to the following: a unified body of individuals living in a particular area with geographic boundaries; people with common characteristics or persons having common clinical and/or health interests.