Funding Opportunity Announcement Number: HRSA-23-049
Programmatic questions
What is the funding priority for the RMOMS program?
(NOFO pages 13, 35-36)
A funding priority is when an application receives more points when specified criteria are met. The scores are adjusted by a pre-determined number of points.
The RMOMS Program has a funding priority for proposed networks that serve rural communities located in one or more of the states with the top 10 highest average Maternity Care Health Professional Target Area (MCTA) scores. In your application, you should clearly explain the applicable location(s) if your rural service area is in a different state from your applicant organization's primary address. If you are requesting a funding priority, please indicate this in the Project Abstract.
Applications will be adjusted by five points, if the funding priority criteria are met.
For more details on the funding priority, see NOFO pages 35-36.
Are the Focus Areas and associated prompts required to be included in applications?
Yes (NOFO pages 1-2, 10-11).
You must address all three RMOMS Focus Areas in your proposed strategies. The Focus Areas are broad enough to allow you to develop innovative approaches to addressing maternal health care. The bulleted information under each Focus Area in the NOFO on pages 10-11 is intended to guide/generate ideas and innovative solutions.
What are the staffing recommendations?
(NOFO pages 23-24)
HRSA strongly encourages you to have a minimum total equal to 2.0 FTE allocated for implementation of project activities, met across two or more staffing positions, including the project director position.
- HRSA recommends at least 0.5 FTE be allocated for staff at the network level to coordinate data collection and reporting across all network partner clinical sites. In addition to data collection, reporting, and coordination, this staff will be responsible for ensuring the quality and accuracy of the data reported to HRSA and must have the capacity to travel to all network clinical sites. Applicants should strongly consider network size when determining additional FTE allocation for data collection and reporting. Resources from the HRSA award may be allocated for this purpose, if necessary.
- HRSA strongly encourages you to devote at least 0.25 FTE to the Project Director position. You should detail how the Project Director will facilitate collaborative input across network members to fulfill the proposed project activities in the work plan and HRSA-required reporting requirements. If the Project Director serves as a Project Director for other federal awards, please list the federal awards as well as the percent FTE for each respective federal award. Project staff cannot bill more than 1.0 FTE across federal awards.
What are the definitions of a rural hospital and a Critical Access Hospital (CAH)? Can clinic sites that provide obstetrics services be substituted for the hospital requirement?
The definition of a CAH can be found on pages 4 and 5 of the Medical Learning Network (MLN) Booklet: Information for Critical Access Hospitals (PDF - 1 MB) which includes stipulations around proximity. For the purposes of this program, a rural hospital is any hospital that is located in a rural area as per the HRSA Rural Health Grants Eligibility designation.
Clinics cannot count towards or be a substitute for the three rural hospitals or Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs)requirement.
Do the Biographical Sketches of Key Personnel need to include staffing from each of the participating clinics/hospitals?
Key personnel does not encompass your entire project team but rather those with significant roles in the project. For example, the Project Director, Clinical Coordinator, Lead Data Analyst, Finance Director, etc. would be considered key personnel (NOFO page 23-24).
Is the target population exclusive to Medicaid beneficiaries?
No, networks can work with all rural women of a reproductive age and the associated health insurance payers.
My organization is located in a metropolitan area but we serve rural communities. Are we eligible to apply as the lead applicant?
Yes (NOFO page 10).
At least one network member must be located in a HRSA-designated rural county or rural census tract in an urban county; however, the applicant organization may be located in an urban area.
All services supported by this program must exclusively be provided in, and must target populations residing in, HRSA-designated rural counties or rural census tracts in urban counties.
To ascertain whether a particular county or census tract is rural, please refer to the Rural Health Grants Eligibility Analyzer Tool.
If our network targets rural populations, is it okay that urban populations also happen to benefit?
Yes, that's okay. However, all services supported by this program must exclusively be provided in, and must target populations residing in, HRSA-designated rural counties or rural census tracts in urban counties. (NOFO page 10)
Note: To ascertain whether a particular county or census tract is rural, please refer to the Rural Health Grants Eligibility Analyzer Tool.
Do we need to have signed MOA/Us among all network members prior to the cooperative agreement starting?
Yes, except state Medicaid agencies
You should submit a copy of your network's signed MOA/U for network partner types 1-2 (required), and the Letter of Commitment or MOA/U from the state Medicaid agency (if available). The Medicaid letter of commitment should describe the extent of the anticipated partnership for the purposes of the RMOMS program. (NOFO page 25)
If awarded, you are required to obtain at least a letter of commitment from the state Medicaid agency within 90 days of the project period start date and a signed Memorandum of Agreement or Understanding (MOA/U) with the state Medicaid agency by the end of the planning year (September 29, 2024). (NOFO page 9)
What is the cost report data and hospital-specific information on page 32 of the NOFO referring to?
A prior version of the HRSA-23-049 NOFO had a requirement to submit cost report data and hospital-specific information, which has been removed. HRSA has removed the review criteria associated with cost report data and hospital-specific information to align with the project narrative requirements. You do not need to submit these data with your application. A modified version of the NOFO was released on June 7, 2023 with the cost report data and hospital-specific information review criteria removed.
Application/process questions
I have a question about the NOFO. Who should I contact?
Please reach out to Victoria (Vicky) Tsai at RMOMS@hrsa.gov with any questions. Please note that HRSA may not be able to answer questions outside of what is written in the guidance or FAQs.
Is my project proposal acceptable?
HRSA is unable to provide specific guidance on whether or not a project is acceptable. Each application will be reviewed by an objective review committee made up of a panel of external reviewers who will make recommendations on which projects receive funding.
We are planning to do XYZ; is this in line with the goals/objectives of this funding announcement?
HRSA is limited in the type of feedback we can provide regarding your proposals. Please refer to the guidance and/or confer with your State Office of Rural Health about how your project aligns with the RMOMS Program.
My organization has received prior FORHP grant funding. Are we eligible to apply for this funding opportunity?
(NOFO page 8)
The applicant organization may not have previously received federal funding for the same project. However, you are eligible to apply for funding under this announcement if the original period of performance for your previous award has ended by the start date for this funding opportunity (September 30, 2023) and if your newly proposed project:
- seeks to expand services or expand your service areas;
- includes new or additional network member organizations; or
- targets a new population or new focus area.
Additionally, if the applicant organization has received any HRSA funds within the last 5 years, the grant number and the abstract from the previous award should be included in Attachment 11. (NOFO page 26-27)
I am a current RMOMS awardee from the FY2019 cohort. My original period of performance for this project is coming to an end but I will be requesting a no-cost extension. Am I able to apply for this funding opportunity?
Yes, as long as your newly proposed project:
- seeks to expand services or expand your service areas;
- includes new or additional network member organizations; or
- targets a new population or new focus area.
Please see NOFO pages 26-27 for additional information.
Are there any resources for HRSA application preparation and writing tips?
Yes.
What is the application deadline?
All applications are due July 7, 2023 at 11:59pm EST.
HRSA highly recommends you submit your application to Grants.gov at least 3 calendar days before the deadline to allow for any unforeseen circumstances. (NOFO page 28)
How can I apply for HRSA-23-049 funding?
To apply for funding for this program, interested applicants must complete the application package for the funding opportunity posted on the Grants.gov website and submit their applications electronically on the Grants.gov website under the associated Grants.gov funding opportunity posting.
A step-by-step guide explaining the process for applying, completing and submitting a grant application for Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) funding is available on the HRSA grant resource website.
How do I submit an application?
HRSA requires all applicants responding to an NOFO to apply electronically through Grants.gov. Please use the HRSA-SF-424 Application Guide (PDF - 622 KB) for additional guidance.
When will successful applicants be notified?
Generally, successful applicants are notified via email about two weeks prior to the project period start date.