[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 139 (Friday, July 19, 2002)]
[Notices]
[Pages 47558-47561]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-18105]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

[Program Announcement 02211]


Outcome Assessment Through Systems of Integrated Surveillance 
(OASIS); Notice of Availability of Funds

A. Purpose

    The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announces the 
availability of fiscal year (FY) 2002 funds for a competitive grant 
program to develop and identify integrated and innovative uses of 
surveillance data by demonstration projects at the state and local 
level, utilizing surveillance data on Sexually Transmitted Diseases 
(STDs), Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) infection, Tuberculosis 
(TB), reproductive health outcomes, risk behaviors, and health 
services. This program addresses the ``Healthy People 2010'' focus 
areas of education and community-based programs, family planning, 
health communications, HIV infection, immunization and infectious 
diseases, public health infrastructure and STD.
    The primary purpose of these awards is to expand on the initial 
activities of the Reinventing Surveillance System for Communicable 
Disease Prevention: Linking Morbidity, Risk Behaviors, and Reproductive 
Health Outcomes grant, Announcement Number 707, by demonstrating how 
such systems can result in improved programs, enhanced surveillance, 
and disease prevention activities. It is expected that sites funded as 
a part of this award will demonstrate how their programs are improved 
as a result of integrating data sources, utilizing new technology, and 
by involving community members in the interpretation and analyses of 
surveillance data. It should be noted that ``community members'' refers 
not only to those who are infected and affected by the various 
diseases, but also the components of the program's authorizing 
environment that develops, implements, and would be needed to otherwise 
support policies pertaining to STDs and related public health issues.
    Additional goals for these awards are to enhance surveillance 
relevant for gonorrhea (GC) prevention programs by promoting: (1) 
Enhanced GC data collection, (2) the interpretation and use of existing 
state and local surveillance data to better describe persons who 
contract GC, (3) the collection of behavioral data to further assist in 
defining the characteristics of this population, (4) use of these data 
to improve GC prevention planning and strengthen evaluation of public 
health programs addressing this disease, and (5) an increased 
understanding of associated adverse reproductive health outcomes 
relative to this infection.
    Measurable outcomes of the program will be in alignment with one or 
more of the following performance goals for the National Center for 
HIV, STD, and TB Prevention (NCHSTP):
    (1) Reduce STD rates by providing chlamydia and gonorrhea 
screening, treatment, and partner treatment of fifty percent of women 
in publicly funded family planning and STD clinics nationally.
    (2) Reduce the incidence of primary and secondary syphilis.
    (3) Reduce the incidence of congenital syphilis.
    (4) Improve the ability of the nation's HIV/AIDS surveillance 
system to determine the incidence and prevalence of HIV infection.
    (5) Improve the ability to measure access to care, adherence to 
treatment, and impact of therapy on long-term survival of persons with 
HIV/AIDS.
    (6) Through the implementation of HIV prevention programs, reduce 
the number of cases of HIV infection and AIDS: (1) Acquired 
heterosexually, (2) related to injecting drug use, (3) associated with 
male-to-male homosexual contact, and (4) acquired perinatally.
    (7) Eliminate tuberculosis in the United States.

B. Authority and Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Number

    This program is authorized under section 318 of the Public Health 
Service Act, [42 U.S.C.A. section 247c]. The Catalog of Federal 
Domestic Assistance number is 93.977.

C. Eligible Applicants

Limited Competition

    Assistance will be provided only to state and local health 
departments that were previously funded under the Reinventing 
Surveillance System for Communicable Disease Prevention: Linking 
Morbidity, Risk Behaviors, and Reproductive Health Outcomes grant, 
Announcement Number 707, specifically: Baltimore, California, Florida, 
Indiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, New York City, New York 
State, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, San Francisco, Texas, Virginia and 
Washington.
    Competition is limited to these states and local health departments 
to build on the experiences and integrated surveillance approaches and 
expertise these sites gained under Announcement Number 707.

D. Availability of Funds

    Approximately $1,200,000 is available in FY 2002 to fund 
approximately eight to ten awards. It is expected that the average 
award will be $150,000, ranging from $125,000 to $175,000. It is 
expected that the awards will begin on or about September 30, 2002, and 
will be made for a 12-month budget period within a project period of up 
to three years. Funding estimates may change.
    Continuation awards within an approved project period will be made 
on the basis of satisfactory progress as evidenced by required reports 
and the availability of funds.

Use of Funds

    Funds may not be used to support laboratory testing, laboratory 
personnel, medical personnel to perform clinical evaluations, or to 
purchase pharmaceuticals. These funds may not be used to duplicate 
existing

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surveillance activities funded under other program announcements.
    Matching funds is not a requirement for this program announcement.

E. Program Requirements

    In conducting activities to achieve the purpose of this program, 
the recipient will be responsible for the following activities:
    1. Convene at CDC during the first quarter of year one to present-
funded proposals and to discuss: (a) Proposed project activities, (b) 
plans for implementation of enhanced GC surveillance activities, and 
(c) plans for development of a document that will describe project 
achievements and could facilitate replication of project activities by 
others.
    2. Demonstrate how local programs have already been improved as a 
result of the innovative uses of the data and information possible 
because of Announcement Number 707 funding. (This should include 
examples of specific changes, such as the way the program: (a) Conducts 
public health surveillance, (b) distributes resources, (c) collects 
data, (d) interacts with community members, (e) works across programs 
within and outside the local health unit, (f) targets prevention 
activities. Applicants should include a description of how findings and 
experiences have been translated into ongoing program efforts and how 
local findings from analyses have been disseminated and used by the 
local STD program.
    3. Identify, develop, and implement new and innovative approaches 
for enhancing STD, TB, and HIV prevention programs using data and 
information generated under Announcement #707. Identify and implement 
ways to evaluate the approaches, considering the specific program 
activities, such as those cited in program requirement number two.
    4. Collaborate on the development of a report to CDC that clearly 
describes the activities funded under Announcement Number 707 
throughout its various stages, summarize project activities, findings, 
time lines, costs, evaluations, etc. A clear description of how these 
activities altered program resources, activities, and effectiveness, 
how the projects were implemented, and the expectations for sustaining 
such functionality after funding expires, should be included.
    5. Use existing data, to develop a comprehensive descriptive 
analysis of the persons infected with gonorrhea (which could include 
but not be limited to demographic characteristics, behavioral factors, 
extent of co-morbidity with other STDs, antimicrobial susceptibility 
patterns, disease intervention initiatives, geo-coding and mapping of 
disease areas, intervention efforts that work, collaborations, etc.).
    6. Develop methods for obtaining behavioral data and other enhanced 
surveillance data in persons diagnosed and reported with (GC).
    7. Meet at CDC early in the second year of the project to discuss 
progress and develop a more common approach based on findings from year 
one experiences, to address GC surveillance objectives.

F. Content

Letter of Intent (LOI)

    An LOI is required for this program. The program announcement title 
and number must appear in the LOI. The narrative should be no more than 
one page, single spaced, and printed on one side with one inch margins, 
and unreduced fonts. Your LOI will be used to enable CDC to determine 
level of interest in the announcement and prepare for the review 
process. Applications will only be accepted from those sites submitting 
an LOI. The LOI should include, at a minimum, your intent to apply for 
this application and the contact person(s).

Applications

    The program announcement title and number must appear in the 
application. Use the information in the Program Requirements, Other 
Requirements, and Evaluation Criteria sections to develop the 
application content. Your application will be evaluated on the criteria 
listed, so it is important to follow them in laying out your program 
plan. The narrative should be no more than fifteen pages, double-
spaced, printed on one side, with one-inch margins and unreduced fonts, 
and with a number on each page.
    The narrative should consist of, at a minimum, a plan, objectives, 
methods, evaluation, and line-item budget with justifications.

G. Submission and Deadline

Letter of Intent (LOI)

    On or before July 29, 2002, submit the requested LOI to the Grants 
Management Specialist identified in the ``Where to Obtain Additional 
Information'' section of this Announcement.

Application

    Submit the original and two copies of the application Form PHS 
5161-1 (OMB Number 0920-0428), and one copy of the programmatic 
narrative content, in electronic format, on a three and a half-inch 
double-sided, high density diskette, in WordPerfect 5.1 or ASCII. Forms 
are available at the following Internet address: http://www.cdc.gov/od/pgo/forminfo.htm. Forms may also be obtained by contacting the Grants 
Management Specialist in the ``Where to Obtain Additional Information'' 
section of this announcement.
    Forms may not be submitted electronically.
    Application forms must be submitted in the following order:

Cover Letter
Table of Contents
Application
Budget Information Form
Budget Justification
Checklist
Assurances
Certifications
Disclosure Form
HIV Assurance Form (if applicable)
Human Subjects Certification (if applicable)
Indirect Cost Rate Agreement (if applicable)
Narrative

    The application must be received by 5 p.m. Eastern Time August 19, 
2002. Submit the application to: Technical Information Management 
Section, Program Announcement 02211, 2920 Brandywine Road, Suite 3000, 
Atlanta, Georgia 30341.
    Deadline: Letters of intent and applications will be considered as 
meeting the deadline if they are received before 5 p.m. Eastern Time on 
the deadline date. Applicants sending applications by the United States 
Postal Service or commercial delivery services must ensure that the 
carrier will be able to guarantee delivery of the application by the 
closing date and time. If an application is received after closing due 
to: (1) Carrier error, when the carrier accepted the package with a 
guarantee for delivery by the closing date and time, or (2) significant 
weather delays or natural disasters, CDC will upon receipt of proper 
documentation, consider the application as having been received by the 
deadline.
    Applications which do not meet the above criteria will not be 
eligible for competition and will be discarded. Applicants will be 
notified of their failure to meet the submission requirements.

H. Evaluation Criteria

Letter of Intent (LOI)

    The letter of intent, though required, will not be evaluated.

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Application

    Applicants are required to provide Measures of Effectiveness that 
will demonstrate the accomplishment of the various identified 
objectives of the grant or cooperative agreement. Measures of 
Effectiveness must relate to the performance goal (or goals) as stated 
in section ``A. Purpose'' of this announcement. Measures must be 
objective and quantitative and must measure the intended outcome. These 
Measures of Effectiveness shall be submitted with the application and 
shall be an element of evaluation.
    Each application will be evaluated individually against the 
following criteria by an independent review group appointed by CDC.
1. Enhance GC Case Surveillance (20 points)
    Quality of a proposed plan to enhance GC case surveillance with 
behavioral and other data elements. The extent to which methods are 
sound and analyses will describe a representative sample of all persons 
reported to have gonorrhea. Extent to which methods are sustainable and 
can be incorporated into routine GC case surveillance.
2. Collaboration (15 points)
    The extent to which applicant demonstrates that it has access to a 
wide range of data and data sources that could be useful for improving 
STD, TB, or HIV/AIDS prevention programs. This could include data from 
disease case reports, from prevalence monitoring activities, from vital 
statistics records, behavioral surveys, data regarding the availability 
of prevention, outreach, and health care services, and other data 
related to socio-economic conditions that may have a bearing on 
morbidity. Letters of support from collaborators should be included 
when appropriate.
3. Plans To Strengthen Prevention Programs (15 points)
    The extent to which applicant is able to identify and develop 
innovative approaches for using data and information already generated 
through Announcement Number 707 to strengthen STD/HIV/TB prevention 
programs. Consider quality of the plan, including clarity of 
objectives, soundness of the applicant's approach, achievable timeline, 
and documentation of the applicant's ability to complete proposed plan 
within the project period.
4. Evaluation Plans (15 points)
    The extent to which applicant is able to identify and develop new 
and innovative ways to evaluate efforts to enhance programs. Soundness 
of the evaluation plans, along with concrete examples of how evaluation 
efforts will be undertaken, achievable timeline, and documentation of 
the applicant's ability to complete proposed plans within the project 
period.
5. Capacity (15 points)
    Staff capacity to conduct enhanced surveillance, data management, 
proposed analyses, and evaluation plans. Project staff should have 
appropriate background and experience record to perform proposed work.
6. Sustain-ability (10 points)
    Sustain-ability of the project, as determined by the extent to 
which project activities have continued to be carried out as a 
collaboration among health department units. Continued health 
department collaborations and community involvement should be 
documented by letters of support.
7. Goals (5 points)
    The extent to which the applicant has set forth performance goals 
and measures of outcomes as they relate to the Measures of 
Effectiveness (Section A).
8. Inclusion of Women and Minorities (5 points)
    The degree to which the applicant has met the CDC Policy 
requirements regarding the inclusion of women, ethnic, and racial 
groups in the proposed activities. This includes:
    1. The proposed plan for the inclusion of both sexes and racial and 
ethnic minority populations for appropriate representation.
    2. The proposed justification when representation is limited or 
absent.
    3. A statement as to whether the design of the study is adequate to 
measure differences when warranted.
    4. A statement as to whether the plans include the process of 
establishing partnerships with communities and recognition of mutual 
benefits.
9. Protection of Human Subjects
    Does the application adequately address the requirements of Title 
45 CFR part 46 for the protection of human subjects? (Not scored; 
however, an application can be disapproved if the research risks are 
sufficiently serious and protection against risks is so inadequate as 
to make the entire application unacceptable).

I. Other Requirements

Technical Reporting Requirements

    Provide CDC with original plus two copies of:
    1. Semiannual progress reports (The progress report will include a 
data requirement that demonstrates measures of effectiveness).
    2. Financial status report, no more than 90 days after the end of 
the budget period.
    3. Final financial and performance report, no more than 90 days 
after the end of the project period.
    Send all reports to the Grants Management Specialist identified in 
the ``Where to Obtain Additional Information'' section of this 
announcement.

Other Requirements

    The following additional requirements are applicable to this 
program. For a complete description of each, see Attachment I of the 
application kit.

AR-1  Human Subjects Requirements Before a grant or a cooperative 
agreement can be awarded, an Institutional Review Board must certify a 
review (described in 45 CFR Part 46). Continuing review is also 
required.
AR-2  Requirements for Inclusion of Women and Racial and Ethnic 
Minorities in Research
AR-4  HIV/AIDS Confidentiality Provisions
AR-9  Paperwork Reduction Act Requirements
AR-10  Smoke-Free Workplace Requirements
AR-11  Healthy People 2010
AR-12  Lobbying Restrictions

J. Where To Obtain Additional Information

    This and other CDC announcements, the necessary applications, and 
associated forms can be found on the CDC home page Internet address--
http://www.cdc.gov. Click on ``Funding'' then ``Grants and Cooperative 
Agreements.''
    For business management assistance, contact: Gladys Gissentanna, 
Grants Management Specialist, Procurement and Grants Office, Centers 
for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 2920 Brandywine Road, Room 
3000, Atlanta, Georgia 30341-4146, Telephone number: (770) 488-2753, 
Email Address: [email protected].
    For program technical assistance, contact: Dorotha Thomas, Project 
Consultant, National Center for HIV, STD, TB Prevention (NCHSTP), 
Division of STD Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 
(CDC), 1600 Clifton Road, NE., MS E-02, Atlanta, GA, 30333, Telephone 
number: 404-639-8425, Email Address: [email protected]; or Hillard 
Weinstock, National Center for HIV, STD, TB Prevention (NCHSTP),

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Division of STD Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 
(CDC), 1600 Clifton Road, NE., MS E-02, Atlanta, GA, 30333, Telephone 
number: 404-639-2059, Email Address: [email protected].

    Dated: July 12, 2002.
Sandra R. Manning,
Director, Procurement and Grants Office, Centers for Disease Control 
and Prevention.
[FR Doc. 02-18105 Filed 7-18-02; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4163-18-P