Coordinating Center for Research to Promote the Health of Children with Birth Defects and People with Developmental and Other Disabilities | RFA DD 17 001

Opportunity Information: Apply for RFA DD 17 001

This funding opportunity (RFA DD 17-001) is a CDC cooperative agreement under the Department of Health and Human Services focused on building a single, centralized Coordinating Center that supports the National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities (NCBDDD). The core idea is to strengthen the United States' public health research capacity by creating a hub that can actively connect, organize, and accelerate research efforts across multiple related areas: understanding and preventing birth defects, improving outcomes for children with developmental disabilities, reducing complications from hereditary blood disorders, and improving health and quality of life for people living with disabilities across the lifespan. Rather than funding many separate projects, the opportunity is designed to fund one awardee to serve as the coordinating backbone for research collaboration, translation, and communication aligned with NCBDDD priorities.

The Coordinating Center is expected to do more than administrative coordination. A central requirement is proactive outreach and the creation of innovative partnerships, especially with academic researchers and other research organizations, to expand scientific knowledge and turn that knowledge into practical public health impact. The Center is meant to act as a connector and catalyst, bringing together researchers, practitioners, stakeholders, and communities to address major questions about causes, prevention strategies, effective interventions, and systems-level approaches that help babies, children, and adults live healthier lives. Because the award is structured as a cooperative agreement, the CDC is likely to have substantial involvement in shaping activities and ensuring the work remains tightly aligned with federal priorities and public health needs, rather than operating as a fully independent research grant.

Across the performance period, the specific activities may change depending on funding levels and evolving priorities, but the opportunity lays out several consistent objectives. First, the awardee must establish and operate the research coordinating center itself, meaning the organizational infrastructure, processes, and partnerships needed to support multi-stakeholder research activity. Second, the Center is expected to advance evidence-based practices and policies. That emphasis signals that the work is not just about generating new findings, but also about helping ensure that credible research informs real-world decisions in healthcare, education, public health programs, and disability-related supports. Third, the awardee must conduct research that directly supports NCBDDD priorities, indicating that the Center is expected to contribute original research and/or facilitate research projects that fill key gaps identified by NCBDDD.

Another major expectation is communication and dissemination. The Center must share information with stakeholders and other audiences, which typically includes researchers, clinicians, public health departments, policymakers, advocacy groups, people with disabilities and their families, and other community partners. In practice, this means translating findings into usable formats, supporting knowledge exchange, and ensuring that what is learned reaches the people and systems that can apply it. Finally, the Center must evaluate and report progress and findings. That includes tracking outputs and outcomes, documenting what is working, and providing credible reporting that can guide improvements over time. Evaluation is positioned as an ongoing function, not a one-time task, reinforcing that the Center should continuously measure its effectiveness as a national coordinating resource.

In terms of eligibility and administrative details, the opportunity was open broadly to governmental entities (state, county, city/township, special districts), tribal governments and tribal organizations, public housing authorities, institutions of higher education (public and private), nonprofits (including those with and without 501(c)(3) status), and for-profit organizations including small businesses. The funding instrument is a discretionary cooperative agreement within a health-related activity category (CFDA 93.073). The expected number of awards was one, with an award ceiling of $675,000. The opportunity was posted December 21, 2016, with an original closing date of February 22, 2017, and electronic submissions due by 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time on the deadline date.

Overall, this grant opportunity is best understood as a national-level capacity-building award. The CDC sought one organization to serve as a central coordinating engine that expands research partnerships, supports and conducts priority research, promotes evidence-based practice and policy, communicates findings broadly, and evaluates results, all in service of improving health and well-being for people affected by birth defects, developmental disabilities, hereditary blood disorder complications, and disability-related health challenges across the lifespan.

• The Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention - ERA in the health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Coordinating Center for Research to Promote the Health of Children with Birth Defects and People with Developmental and Other Disabilities" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 93.073.
• This funding opportunity was created on Dec 21, 2016.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Feb 22, 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 $675,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 1 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: State governments, County governments, City or township governments, Special district governments, Public and State controlled institutions of higher education, Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized), Public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities, Native American tribal organizations (other than Federally recognized tribal governments), Nonprofits having a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Nonprofits that do not have a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Private institutions of higher education, For profit organizations other than small businesses, Small businesses.

Apply for RFA DD 17 001

[Watch] Creating a grant proposal using the step-by-step wizard inside the applicant portal: