Using Evidence Informed Interventions to Improve Health Outcomes among People Living with HIV –Technical Assistance | HRSA 17 044

Opportunity Information: Apply for HRSA 17 044

The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, released this FY 2017 discretionary funding opportunity (HRSA-17-044; CFDA 93.928) to fund one organization to operate a national Evidence-Informed Interventions Coordinating Center for Technical Assistance (E2i CCTA). The award mechanism is a four-year cooperative agreement, meaning HRSA would expect to be an active partner in guiding and coordinating the work rather than simply issuing funds with minimal involvement. The central purpose of the initiative is to strengthen how HIV service systems select, implement, and sustain interventions that are supported by evidence and are responsive to the real-world needs of people living with HIV (PLWH).

At its core, the opportunity is about improving health outcomes and reducing HIV-related disparities by helping programs put evidence-informed interventions into practice effectively and consistently. The notice emphasizes key HIV care outcomes that drive both individual health and public health impact: keeping people engaged and retained in HIV medical care, improving adherence to antiretroviral therapy, and increasing viral suppression. These outcomes are closely linked: retention supports regular monitoring and timely treatment adjustments, adherence helps people maintain durable viral suppression, and viral suppression improves long-term health while also reducing the likelihood of HIV transmission. By targeting these outcomes, the project aims to address persistent gaps that often fall hardest on communities experiencing structural barriers, stigma, poverty, unstable housing, limited access to culturally competent care, and other drivers of inequity.

The funded organization would function as a coordinating center specifically focused on technical assistance, which typically includes helping recipient sites or partner programs choose appropriate interventions, plan implementation, build staff capacity, troubleshoot operational challenges, and evaluate progress. The coordinating center role also implies a responsibility to standardize approaches where useful, create practical tools and guidance, support training and peer learning, and help ensure that interventions are implemented with fidelity while still being adapted sensibly for local context. Because this is framed as an evidence-informed initiative, the work is not limited to simply disseminating best practices; it is geared toward helping providers and systems actually integrate those practices into routine operations.

A major feature of the announcement is its explicit use of implementation science as the organizing framework. That signals an emphasis on the practical realities of adoption, scaling, and sustainability: understanding barriers and facilitators in different settings; using data to inform iterative improvements; and focusing on how interventions are delivered, by whom, for which populations, and under what conditions. The description also highlights the expectation that interventions will be assessed and adapted at interim points during the project period, which suggests a continuous quality improvement mindset. Rather than treating implementation as a one-time rollout, the program is designed for learning cycles where performance data and on-the-ground feedback lead to refinements, with the goal of maintaining effectiveness while improving fit for specific communities and service environments.

The interventions supported under this initiative are expected to be both effective and culturally appropriate. That is an important requirement because many evidence-based or evidence-informed models need thoughtful tailoring to work well across diverse populations, especially where language, culture, stigma, health literacy, and trust in institutions affect engagement in care. In practice, cultural appropriateness can include adapting communication styles and materials, partnering with community-based organizations, using peer navigation models when appropriate, ensuring services are trauma-informed, and addressing social and structural needs that interfere with care engagement. The program’s emphasis on reducing disparities indicates that the technical assistance provided by the coordinating center should help sites address inequities deliberately, not as an afterthought.

The notice states that evidence-informed interventions will fall into four focus areas, although the provided excerpt does not list what those four areas are. Even without the enumerated list, the summary makes clear that the focus areas are tied to improving HIV care continuum outcomes and reducing disparities among PLWH, and that the coordinating center would help implement and refine interventions within those defined domains. Because HRSA expected to make a single award, this coordinating center would likely serve as the central hub for organizing the initiative’s technical assistance strategy across participating programs, helping align methods, tracking progress, and supporting consistent learning across sites.

Administratively, the opportunity was created December 15, 2016, with an original application closing date of March 1, 2017, and anticipated one award. The award ceiling is shown as 0 in the source data, which generally indicates the ceiling was not specified in that particular listing or would be defined in the full funding announcement rather than the summary fields. Eligibility is listed broadly as “Others,” with additional eligibility details referenced as being in the full announcement’s eligibility section. Overall, the funding opportunity is best understood as a national coordination and capacity-building effort intended to move proven or promising HIV interventions into routine practice in a way that is measurable, adaptable, culturally responsive, and explicitly aimed at improving retention, adherence, and viral suppression outcomes for people living with HIV.

• The Department of Health and Human Services, Health Resources and Services Administration in the health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Using Evidence Informed Interventions to Improve Health Outcomes among People Living with HIV –Technical Assistance" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 93.928.
• This funding opportunity was created on Dec 15, 2016.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Mar 01, 2017. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 1 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Others (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification).

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