FAQ: Alliance for Innovation on Maternal Health (AIM) Capacity Program

Funding Opportunity Number: HRSA-23-066

Estimated Number and Type of Award(s): HRSA expects to fund twenty-nine awards in the form of grants.

Estimated Annual Award Amount? Each award will be funded up to $200,000 per year during the four-year project period.

When is the application due? Tuesday, May 9, 2023 at 11:59 p.m. ET.

Program requirements and expectations
Staffing
Work plan
Data sharing agreements
Application page limit
Other questions

Program requirements and expectations

Do states that are currently participating in AIM and working on AIM bundles need to propose working on new AIM bundles for the HRSA-23-066 funding opportunity?

No, the NOFO does not state you must propose working on a new AIM bundle. Funded recipients will be expected to meet the program requirements and expectations outlined in the funding opportunity. Specifically, funding is available to provide greater support for increasing the number of states, regions, hospitals, and other birthing facility settings implementing patient safety bundles; for increasing the number of bundles being implemented and/or sustained by birthing facilities; for supporting the fidelity of bundle delivery; and for promoting effective data collection and reporting. Please see pages 8-9 of the NOFO for a list of potential areas this funding could support.

May AIM Capacity grant funds be used to implement the AIM Community Care Initiative’s (AIM CCI) Community Care for Postpartum Safety and Wellness bundle?

AIM Capacity grant funding should only be used to implement the core patient safety bundles of the AIM Program, which can be found here: Patient Safety Bundles For Safer Birth | AIM. AIM CCI is looking for new implementation sites for their non-hospital safety bundles, and if interested in these bundles, please contact the program directly at Contact Us - Alliance for Innovation on Maternal Health Community Care Initiative (aimcci.org).

Could you provide examples of activities that would not constitute duplication of funding if we already receive the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Perinatal Quality Collaborative (PQC) funding and HRSA’s State Maternal Health Innovation Program funds?

An example of activities you can use HRSA AIM Capacity funds that is not duplicative of activities funded by CDC’s PQC funding would be participation in AIM technical assistance from the AIM TA Center or implementation of a safety bundle not currently being implemented using other funds. This could include attending the annual meeting and trainings on the bundle hosted by the TA Center and related travel expenses, participation in TA Center hosted events and/or meetings that support the AIM program, participation in AIM related learning opportunities hosted by TA providers, etc. See pages 8-9 of the NOFO for more examples such as provider trainings/education related to your AIM projects that your current CDC funding does not cover; implementation of new patient safety bundles; etc.

If my organization is a PQC funded by the CDC, can I apply for AIM Capacity funding?

Yes, you can apply for an AIM Capacity grant award if you meet eligibility requirements. See page 12 of the NOFO. You will need to describe any current initiatives in your state to improve maternal health, including receipt of federal funding from the CDC to support a Statewide Perinatal Quality Collaborative. You will need to explain how you will ensure there is no duplication of funding for the AIM activities you are proposing to fund within your application nor an attempt to replace existing funding sources.

If you receive an AIM Capacity grant, and your state is funded during the period of performance under any of the programs listed on page 10 of the NOFO (e.g., CDC funded statewide Perinatal Quality Collaboratives) you will be expected to work closely with us and with these entities and ensure there is no duplication of funding for the AIM activities you are proposing (or attempting to replace).

We are the AIM lead/Perinatal Quality Collaborative for two states. Since we cover two states, can we submit one application covering both states? Or should my application only focus on our home state where my organization is located?

It is recommended that you consider the needs and capacity of both states, and whether the annual funding amount of $200,000 is sufficient to support both states. Please also note that only one project will be funded per state under this notice (see page 5 of the NOFO). HRSA will also accept only the last validated submission from each organization. Multiple applications are not allowable. If you determine that two separate applications are needed to provide support to the two states in your purview, you will need to have another organization submit the second application.

Staffing

Can a Staffing Plan be included as an attachment? It is not listed in the attachment list on page 16 of the NOFO. Is it excluded from the 20-page limit?: A Staffing Plan is not required. If you would like to include one, it can be included in Attachments 5-15: Other Relevant Documents. See page 16 of the NOFO for more information. Unless otherwise noted, attachments count toward the application page limit.
Do the biographical sketches of key personnel in Attachment 2 need to be in the National Institutes of Health (NIH) format? Or can they simply be a paragraph describing the person’s role on the project and their qualifications and experience for that role?: No, the biographical sketches in Attachment 2 do not have to be in the NIH format. They can be brief and should not exceed one page in length per person-see page 16 of the NOFO. You are permitted to have several biographical sketches on a single page.
How does the information in Attachment 2: Biographical Sketches of Key Personnel differ from what is included in the budget justification for key project personnel?: Biographical sketches describe a person’s role on the project and their qualifications and experience for that role. It does not need to contain their annual salary and the total amount that will be paid for under the grant. That information would be included in the budget justification. The budget justification typically lists personnel by name and position title, may briefly describe their role in the grant but does not discuss their qualifications and experience. It may also have the amount of time or effort on the grant.
Do we need to include an Attachment which contains relevant staff biosketches? Or can we include paragraphs in the application narrative describing each individual’s qualifications?: Yes, you must include Attachment 2: Biographical Sketches of Key Personnel in your application. See pages 15-16 for more information. Attachment 2 includes biographical sketches for persons occupying key positions that are to be funded under this NOFO (e.g., personnel who support AIM data collection, reporting, and analysis).
Is there a required minimum amount of time that the Principle Investigator (PI) or Project Director (PD) needs to have on the budget?: No, there is not a minimum required amount of time for any positions.
In the NOFO it states, “HRSA recommends consideration of a 1.0 full-time equivalent (FTE) at the state level to support AIM participation”. Is that one person? Or could it be a total of 1.0 FTEs with several people supported?: It does not have to be one person; it can be multiple people whose time totals 1.0 full-time equivalent (1.0 FTE).
Is it ok to list one of the key personnel as “to be announced (TBA)”?: Yes. If a biographical sketch is included for an identified individual not yet hired, include a letter of commitment from that person with the biographical sketch.

Work plan

Our state has some AIM bundles that are being funded through other means and some we want to be funded through this AIM Capacity grant. Since our AIM coordinator will be funded by the AIM Capacity grant, would we mention all activities for all bundles within our work plan or just the bundles specifically funded under the AIM Capacity grant?: In your work plan, please only describe the activities related to the bundles specifically being funded under the AIM Capacity grant.
Does HRSA have a preferred work plan template?: You must submit a work plan in table format as Attachment 1. HRSA does not have a preferred work plan template and will not be providing a template. See page 14 of the NOFO for details on what your work plan should include. The work plan should not be a narrative, but instead refer to the narrative sections to explain the relationship between needs, activities, objectives, and goals.
Do you want a four-year workplan included with the application submission?: Yes. The work plan should provide a succinct overview of your planned activities or steps you will use to achieve each of the objectives proposed during the entire period of performance in the Methodology section and the associated goals, objectives, and timelines. If you have activities that are going to encompass the four-year project period or repeat year after year, you can state in the work plan that the timeline for those activities is years one to four, so that you can save space and not have to repeat them in each year of the work plan. See page 14 of the NOFO for details on what your work plan should include.

Data sharing agreements

If our state PQC is an independent nonprofit, do we need a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the State Department of Health stating agreement on data sharing, or does a letter of agreement suffice?: A letter of agreement would suffice. You could mention in your application that you have a data sharing agreement with your State Department of Health, but you are not required to submit a copy of the actual agreement in your application.
Do we need to include our AIM data sharing agreement in our application?: No, that is not required.

Application page limit

Can resumes of key personnel be reduced to 2 pages per resume?: Resumes are not required for this application. Please see pages 11-16 of the NOFO for application package requirements. Biographical Sketches of Key Personnel are required as Attachment 2. These can be brief and more than one biographical sketch is allowed on each page of the Attachment.
Is the budget narrative included in the 20 pages?: Yes, the budget narrative is included in the application narrative and counts toward the 20 page limit.
Do Letters of Support count towards the 20-page limit?: Yes, letters of support count toward the 20-page limit. They can be included in Attachments 5-15: Other Relevant Documents. See page 16 of the NOFO for more information. Unless otherwise noted, attachments count toward the application page limit.

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