Public Health

The California Environmental Protection Agency (CalEPA) is administering the
Environmental Justice Action Grants Program (Program) to provide grant funding to
a wide variety of projects. The Legislature has directed CalEPA to use that money
for grants to support tribes, community-based organizations, and residents to
engage in:

1. emergency preparedness,
2. public health protection,
3. environmental and climate decision-making, and
4. coordinated enforcement efforts affecting their communities.

In addition, the Legislature has set specific deadlines for encumbrance and
liquidation. CalEPA administers this program as part of its overall mission to restore,
protect and enhance the environment, to ensure public health, environmental quality,
and economic vitality

The Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) grant program makes federal funds available to states, U.S. territories, federally recognized tribal governments , and local governments for hazard mitigation activities. It does so recognizing the growing hazards associated with climate change , and the need for natural hazard risk mitigation activities that promote climate adaptation and resilience with respect to those hazards. These include both acute extreme weather events and chronic stressors which have been observed and are expected to increase in intensity and frequency in the future. The BRIC program’s guiding principles include supporting communities through capability and capacity-building; encouraging and enabling innovation, including multi-hazard resilience or nature-based solutions including the use of native plants; promoting partnerships; enabling large, systems-based projects; maintaining flexibility; and providing consistency. Through these efforts communities are able to better understand disaster risk and vulnerabilities, conduct community-driven resilience, hazard mitigation planning, and design transformational projects and programs.

Awards made under this funding opportunity are funded, in whole or in part, by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, more commonly known as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL). The BIL is a once-in-a-generation investment in infrastructure, which will grow a more sustainable, resilient, and equitable economy by enhancing U.S. competitiveness. The BIL appropriates billions of dollars to FEMA to promote resilient infrastructure, respond to the impacts of climate change, and equip our nation with the resources to combat its most pressing threats. In doing so, FEMA encourages investmen of these funds toward projects that are implemented using Good Jobs Principles to expand the availability of good, family-sustaining jobs with the free and fair opportunity to join a union for all Americans. FEMA recommends applicants design projects that are aligned with The Good Jobs Prinicples, a description of the elements of a Good Job that has informed the investment of billions of dollars through the Biden-Harris Administration's Invest in America Agenda.

FEMA will provide financial assistance to eligible BRIC applicants for the following activities:

• Capability and Capacity-Building activities – activities that enhance the knowledge, skills, and expertise of the current workforce to expand or improve the administration of mitigation assistance. This includes activities in the following sub-categories: building codes, partnerships, project scoping, hazard mitigation planning and planning-related activities, and other activities;

• Hazard Mitigation Projects – cost-effective mitigation projects designed to increase resilience and public safety; reduce injuries and loss of life; and reduce damage and destruction to property, critical services, facilities, and infrastructure (including natural systems) from a multitude of natural hazards, including drought, wildfire, earthquakes, extreme heat, and the effects of climate change; and

• Management Costs – financial assistance to reimburse the recipient and subrecipient for eligible and reasonable indirect costs, direct administrative costs, and other administrative expenses associated with a specific mitigation measure or project.

The Rural Health Network Development Planning Program supports the planning and development of rural integrated health care networks with specific focus on collaboration of entities to establish or improve local capacity and care coordination in underserved communities. Specifically, the program uses the concept of developing networks as a strategy for linking rural health care network participants together to achieve greater collective capacity to overcome local challenges, expand access and improve the quality of care in the rural communities these organizations serve. The program helps network participants work together on three legislative aims:
• Achieve efficiencies.
• Expand access to, coordinate, and improve the quality of basic health care services and associated health outcomes.
• Strengthen the rural health care system as a whole.

The intent is that rural health networks will do the following:
• Expand access to care.
• Increase the use of health information technology.
• Explore alternative health care delivery models.
• Continue to achieve quality health care across the continuum of care.

A NARCH Planning Grant supports Tribal entities who do not currently have a NARCH award to conduct preparatory work for the development of a competitive NARCH application. An applicant organization may partner with other eligible AI/AN Tribal entities as well as additional non-AI/AN organizations. When in partnership with non-AI/AN organizations, 75% or more of requested funds must be allocated to the eligible AI/AN Tribal entities. See Section III. Eligibility Information for details.

The NARCH Planning Grant application should include:

A plan to formulate overall goals for a future NARCH application, including, but not limited to:
Assessment of administrative capacity needs to support a future NARCH award, and
Determining the types of allowable components (Research Project, Pilot Project Program, Career Enhancement Projects, or Research Infrastructure Enhancement Projects) that will be appropriate for a future NARCH application.
Activities to lay the groundwork for potential components of the future NARCH application and strategies to address needs, including but not limited to: defining research questions; assessing research workforce and infrastructure needs for required and optional components.
Efforts to identify collaborators, consultants, and advisors to strengthen the application, if necessary.
All activities to be supported in the NARCH Planning Grant must contribute coherently and synergistically to the goal of developing a competitive NARCH application.

The recipient organization(s) is expected to submit a NARCH S06 application within one year of the end date of the NARCH Planning Grant award. A NARCH Planning Grant is not renewable.

This community-based grant program aims to support organizations to promote rural health care services outreach by improving and expanding the delivery of health care services to include new and enhanced services in rural areas. To achieve this purpose, the program also aims to strengthen local resources and capacity in rural communities. Through collaborative consortiums that include three or more health care providers, each community can develop innovative approaches to solve their own unique challenges and factors underlying rural health disparities.

The Arizona Department of Health Services (ADHS) Bureau of Nutrition and Physical Activity (BNPA), in partnership with the Arizona Department of Economic Security (ADES) provides a program called the AZ Health Zone. The AZ Health Zone is funded by the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program – Education (SNAP-Ed) program through the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA).

1. Awardees funded by this program will implement community-level interventions that address health inequity among those with limited access to nutrition, physical activity, and/or other resources. This is done through Policy, System, and Environmental (PSE) changes with complementary direct nutrition education (DE) to youth and/or adults and
supportive marketing approaches.

1.1.1. The AZ Health Zone is a community health program that supports greater access to physical activity, nutritious food, and nutrition education to improve health equity among those with limited access to these resources.
1.1.2. The ADHS will contract with local public and non-profit organizations to implement community-level initiatives that build resilient communities and increase health equity with an emphasis on the program’s foundational principles:
1.1.2.1. Engagement with residents in SNAP-Ed communities to consult, involve, collaborate, and empower on program planning and implementation in order to meet their needs and desires.
1.1.2.2. Implementation of trauma-aware approaches at each level of the program to ensure that interventions are meeting participants where they are at (i.e. interventions are relatable, relevant, created with community for community) and avoiding harm.

2.2. Awardees will use the above-mentioned approaches to meet one or more of the following statewide program
objectives:

2.2.1. September 30, 2030, reduce household food insecurity and hunger through policy, system, and environmental changes in Arizona SNAP-eligible communities.
2.2.2. By September 30, 2030, increase neighborhood facilitators for physical activity in underserved populations through policy, system, and environmental changes in Arizona SNAP-eligible communities.
2.2.3. By September 30, 2030, improve outreach and engagement efforts to underserved populations to ensure demographics for participants reached aligns with the demographics of SNAP participants in that county.
2.2.4. By September 30, 2030, statewide professional development in equity and trauma-informed approaches will be offered annually and integrated into organizational systems to support staff and administer the program to and from diverse communities.
2.2.5. By September 30, 2030, community residents in SNAP-eligible communities will be involved in planning and collaborating in local policy, system, and environmental change projects.
2.3. The AZ Health Zone program interventions are called strategies and projects, which are topically organized by focus areas, including Active Living, Early Care and Education (ECE) Systems, Food Systems, and Youth and Adolescent Systems.

What is the TAG Program?
The Technical Assistance Grant (TAG) program provides funds ranging from $40,000 to $150,000 to eligible communities to hire independent Technical Advisors with the goal to effectively communicate technical information to communities so they can become more involved and informed about Response Actions (cleanup sites). Response actions include activities performed to address a release or potential release of contamination at a property under DTSC oversight.

What is a Technical Advisor?
A Technical Advisor (TA) is a person who will provide the grantee with an unbiased, independent review of Cleanup Site-related information. Technical Advisors should be qualified in areas related to the type of contamination and specific issues relevant to the Cleanup Site. Please review Appendix A in the TAG Guidelines 2.0 for a list of key qualifications.

The Department of Toxic Substances Control TAG Program is building a vendor list of interested and available independent TAs to support the recipients of the TAG awarded by the TAG program. The list is available as a resource to TAG applicants who are looking to identify and hire TAs to support their proposed TAG projects.

The information provided will be directly transferred to DTSC’s TAG website to allow community organizations to contact a TA of their choice to assist them in the implementation of their TAG award. The inclusion of a TA on the list generated as a result of this informal request does not mean that the Statement of Interest and Qualifications (SOIQ) application has been prequalified or otherwise approved for the participation of the TAG program. TAG applicants will remain responsible for investigating TA qualifications prior to entering into a contract with any TA whose submission is provided in response to this request.

To be included on the vendor list, please review the TAG SOIQ Information and submit the Statement of Interest and Qualifications for Technical Advisors form.

To view the current vendor list, please visit TAG’s New Applicant Resources webpage.

Funds may be used to pay expenses associated with providing technical assistance and/or training (TAT) to: Identify and evaluate solutions to water problems relating to source, storage, treatment, or distribution; identify and evaluate solutions to waste problems relating to collection, treatment, or disposal: assist applicants, that have filed a pre-application with RUS, in the preparation of water and/or waste loan and/or grant applications; and/or provide technical assistance and/or training to water/wastewater system personnel that will improve the management, operation and maintenance of water and waste disposal facilities. Grant funds may not be used to duplicate current services, such as those performed by an association’s consultant in developing a project; fund political or lobbying activities; pay for capital assets; purchase real estate or vehicles; improve or renovate office space, or repair and maintain privately owned property; pay the costs for construction, improvement, rehabilitation, modification or operation and maintenance of water, wastewater, and solid waste disposal facilities; and pay costs incurred prior to effective date of grant.

The Center for Collaborative Heat Monitoring will support community science observations and data collection on extreme heat so communities can observe, monitor and evaluate factors influencing heat risk at a local scale. The center will be based at the Museum of Life and Science in Durham, N.C. with additional technical support from CAPA Strategies, Utah State University, and AQUEHS Corp. The center will also include three additional geographically dispersed sites, each serving a different region of the U.S. This will enable work to engage regional communities and connect with existing networks for public education and engagement. In addition to the Museum of Life and Science, these hubs include the Arizona Science Center, the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry and the Museum of Science in Boston. The center will build on eight years of NIHHIS efforts to map urban heat islands in over 80 U.S. and international communities.

The goals of the Center for Collaborative Heat Monitoring include:

A novel applied participatory action research approach to equitably support communities in co-creating new knowledge about extreme heat
Delivery and integration of decision-support data, information, and knowledge through comprehensive models to quantitatively evaluate heat distribution and exposure across heat-imperiled communities to community members, policymakers, and the Center for Heat Resilient Communities
Supporting communities by enhancing expertise, agency, and self-determination to make decisions on how to prepare for and mitigate heat
Increasing literacy and community support for ongoing on-the-ground work about the hazards posed by extreme heat and climate change to meaningfully reduce the amount of heat mortality in the U.S.
It is important to note that the Center for Collaborative Monitoring will be accepting applications from all types of U.S. communities- not just urban communities. Rural communities, Tribal Nations, U.S. territories, and states that have not previously undergone heat mapping are especially encouraged to apply.

Principal investigators for the project include:

Mr. Max Cawley, Director of Climate Research and Engagement, North Carolina Museum of Life and Science (Lead Principal Investigator)

Dr. David Sittenfeld, Director of the Center for the Environment, Museum of Science, Boston (Principal Investigator)

Dr. Vivek Shandas, Founder and Advisor, Climate Adaptation Planning and Analytics (CAPA) Strategies (Principal Investigator)

Dr. Wei Zhang, Assistant Professor of Climate Science, Utah State University (Principal Investigator)

Dr. Daniel Mendoza, Founder and CEO, AQUEHS, Corp (Principal Investigator)

Questions regarding the application can be sent to info@collaborativeheatmonitoring.org and nihhis@noaa.gov.

This Notice of Funding Opportunity Announcement (NOFO) solicits resource grant applications for projects that will provide accurate, useful, usable, and understandable health information to populations that experience health disparities and their health care providers. This NOFO supports the development of resources that can be used to improve health and well-being and that lead to reductions in health disparities. Access to accurate, useful, usable, and understandable health information is an important factor when managing health and health care. Proposed projects should harness the capabilities of information technology and medical or health libraries to disseminate clear, evidence-based health-related information in formats used by individuals and their health care providers. Proposed projects should emphasize the development and deployment of new information resources or services, or expand and improve an existing resource or service, to meet the needs of populations experiencing health disparities and to promote health equity.

Resource Project Objectives
The G08 program supports resource projects that use information technology to improve the organization and management of health-related information, with a broad range of usability, user and personal access factors considered. Strategies proposed to achieve NLM’s G08 programmatic goals should be scalable, sustainable, generalizable and have the potential to provide useful information to communities that experience health disparities and those who provide health care for these communities, including doctors, nurse practitioners, midwives, hospitals, health centers, and clinics.

Applications submitted to this notice of funding opportunity must provide evidence that the intended audience is a population with health disparities or a health care provider for one of these populations. A population that experiences health disparities must have a significant disparity in the overall disease incidence, prevalence, morbidity, mortality, or survival rates in the population compared to the health status of the general population. Proposals that do not address a health disparity will be withdrawn for non-responsiveness.

In planning, applicants must include evidence of a collaboration with a medical or health library to ensure that materials developed have generalizability and are capable of being disseminated through medical or health libraries and their instrumentalities. Applicants are expected to present evidence of their demonstrated commitment to the needs of communities that experience health disparities. This NOFO requires the inclusion of a resource evaluation plan and evidence of resource sustainability. An evaluation plan that measures the value of the resource, usability, and user experience, should be provided in the application. Evaluations that meet the definition of a clinical trial are not allowed under this funding mechanism and will be withdrawn for non-responsiveness.

Topics that are responsive to this grant program include, but are not limited to:
Developing or upgrading health information resources or services to meet the information needs of groups that experience health disparities.
Providing health information resources or services to community organizations who serve populations that experience health disparities.
Developing novel information strategies to facilitate the implementation of innovative patient-centered care and precision medicine for diverse communities.
Developing information resources that enable persons from populations that experience health disparities to make informed decisions regarding research participation, such as providing culturally tailored clinical trial education materials.
Facilitating the use of library resources to identify population needs related to types and forms of information, including information visualizations, displays and interfaces to access information, to assist in making health-related decisions.
Applications Not Responsive to the NOFO
The following types of projects are non-responsive to the scope of NLM's Information Resource Grants to Reduce Health Disparities and Promote Health Equity program:

Projects that do not address a population that experiences health disparities.
Projects that do not include a medical or health library.
Evaluations that meet the NIH definition of a clinical trial.
Installation of online library catalogs.
Electronic health record systems, single-purpose or closed clinical information systems such as a stand-alone laboratory system or picture archiving system (PACS).
Digitization of print materials.
Projects that duplicate NLM products and databases such as biomedical literature indexing projects.
Non-responsive applications will not be reviewed.

Consult with the scientific contact to discuss responsiveness of your project.

See Section VIII. Other Information for award authorities and regulations.