Funding Opportunity Number: HRSA-23-129
- Eligibility and application submission
- Application requirements
- Program requirements
- Budget and grants management
- Funding factors
Eligibility and application submission
- Is application eligibility limited to programs with national accreditation or is approval from our state Board of Nursing sufficient?
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Schools of nursing must be accredited by a recognized body or by a state agency approved by the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Education.
- Are two-year associate degree nursing programs and diploma programs eligible?
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Eligible applicants include:
- Accredited schools of nursing
- Health care facilities, including federally qualified health centers or nurse managed health centers
- A partnership of such a school and facility
In addition:
- Domestic community-based organizations, tribes, and tribal organizations are also eligible to apply if otherwise eligible.
- Diploma school of nursing affiliated with a hospital or university, or an independent school, which provides primarily or exclusively a program of education in professional nursing and allied subjects leading to a diploma or to equivalent are eligible, only if such program, or such affiliated school or such hospital or university or such independent school is accredited.
- For profit entities are not eligible.
- Can current SET grantees apply to this Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO)?
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Yes. Current NEPQR-SET grantees may apply. However, note the changes and requirements of the current NOFO. Your application must reflect the noted goals, objectives, and requirements.
- Our RN-BSN program is accredited by the Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing, but our associate degree in nursing program is not accredited. Instead, it operates under the umbrella of the university's accreditation. Would our associate degree program be eligible for funding?
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All nursing programs supported with NEPQR-SET program funding must be accredited by a recognized body or bodies, or by a state agency approved by the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Education.
- Can a newly established nursing program with regional accreditation qualify for this funding opportunity?
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A new nursing program that is not eligible at the time of application submission shall be deemed accredited (for the purpose of this title) if the Secretary of Education finds that there is reasonable assurance that the program will meet accreditation standards prior to the beginning of the academic year following the normal graduation date of students first entering the program.
You must submit a Letter of Reasonable Assurance from the U.S. Department of Education with your application. For more information about the Letter of Reasonable Assurance, contact the Department of Education:
U.S. Department of Education
Accreditation Group
Herman.Bounds@ed.gov
202-453-6128 - Can a student who has an F-1 Visa attend this program?
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A trainee receiving support from grant funds under this program must be a citizen, non-citizen national of the United States, an individual lawfully admitted for permanent residence to the United States, or any other "qualified alien" under section 431(b) of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996, Pub. L. 104-193, as amended.
Application requirements
- Are sub-recipients required to have active System for Award Management (SAM) and Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) numbers at the time of submission?
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The lead applicant must have an active SAM and UEI. Sub-awardees are negotiated and contracted between the grantee and sub-awardee.
- What is the page limit for the application narrative section?
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There is no page limit for the narrative section of the application. However, the total number of pages shall be no more than 60 pages when we print them. HRSA will not review any pages that exceed the page limit.
Program requirements
- Do interprofessional collaborative agreements have to be currently established or can they be established as part of this project?
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Any academic, practice, and community partnerships may be established or enhanced with the funding of this program. The applicant should provide any documents that describe working relationships via a letter of commitment/letter of support between the applicant organization and other entities and programs cited in the proposal.
- Are we required to facilitate clinical placements for students? Or is simulation training sufficient to fulfill the "experiential training " objective?
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HRSA defines experiential training as the process of instruction between a designated faculty and a person or group of people that includes a component of direct work experience. One objective of the NEPQR-SET program is to implement or expand academic-clinical partnerships to create experiential learning opportunities that prepare nursing students to efficiently address health equity for rural and underserved populations.
- Do our goals in the work plan need to be the same as the program goal stated in the NOFO and do we have to use the two objectives from page 1 of the NOFO for the Standardized Work Plan (SWP)?
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The SWP form must include all activities and deliverables for each objective and program goal. The program goals for this NOFO must be entered in the Program Goals section of the SWP form. Objectives and sub-objectives can be tailored to your project needs. Objectives may be tagged with organizational priorities by selecting applicable priorities on the SWP form.
- Can students from other disciplines (PT, OT, PA, MD etc.) participate in the simulation activities funded by this grant if it is in an interprofessional setting with nursing students?
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Yes. Simulation based training must include collaborative interprofessional team-based care.
- May we address more than one of the clinical priorities?
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Yes. The simulation-based training must include the integration of health equity as it relates to at least two of the clinical priority areas listed on page 7 of the NOFO.
Project personnel
- What is the education requirement for the clinical nursing faculty/coordinator position?
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The clinical nursing faculty/coordinator must be a licensed registered nurse.
- Does the full-time academic nursing faculty/coordinator have to be a faculty member, or can the individual be a staff member?
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The academic nursing faculty/coordinator can either be a faculty member or a staff member.
- Does the full-time academic nursing faculty/coordinator role have to be designated to one individual or can the position be divided between two individuals working part-time to equal full-time?
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There is no specified number of FTEs or level of effort required for the nursing faculty/coordinator position. There can be more than one nursing faculty/coordinator as long as the role is designated.
Budget and grants management
Direct and indirect costs
- Our organization has an active Indirect Cost Rate Agreement. Should we include a copy of the agreement in Attachment: Other Relevant Documents?
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Indirect costs under training awards to organizations other than state, local or Indian tribal governments will be budgeted and reimbursed at 8 percent of modified total direct costs rather than based on a negotiated rate agreement and are not subject to upward or downward adjustment.
Note: Direct cost amounts for equipment, tuition and fees, and sub-awards and subcontracts in excess of $25,000 are excluded from the direct cost base, over the total years of the project, for purposes of this calculation.
Allowable costs
- Is the allocation of funds to support standardized patients allowable?
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Yes. Allocating funds to support standardized patients is an allowable cost under this program.
- Can the proposed grant budget include salary and benefits for the full-time academic nursing faculty/coordinator?
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Yes. Salary and fringe can be included in the personnel budget and articulated in the budget justification narrative.
- Is there a cap on the budget amount for audiovisual equipment used in simulation?
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There is no cap on funds allocated for equipment. However, costs must be reasonable and purchased for the best comparative price available.
- If simulation development requires help from an outside entity, is this considered a subcontract that cannot exceed $25,000?
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There is no limit on the contractual value for a contract or sub-award needed within your budget. The $25,000 cap applies to the indirect cost only.
- Is construction of a non-load bearing wall an allowable Alteration and Renovation?
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This program allows for the budgeting of equipment in support of project simulation activities, including related minor Alteration and Renovation (A&R).
Minor A&R may not include a structural change (e.g., to the foundation, roof, floor, or exterior or load-bearing walls of a facility, or extension of an existing facility). Please refer to the NOFO for details.
- Can preceptors receive support from this opportunity as part of the retention expectation?
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Preceptors may receive compensation provided they are working on the grant project (not just for retention purpose), are included in Section-B of the budget and their role and responsibility is described in the narrative.
Funding factors
- If an applicant meets eligibility for the funding priority and the funding preference, is it possible to receive both?
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Applicants may request to receive any of the funding priorities or preferences noted in the NOFO. Applicants must submit supporting documentation as required by the NOFO in Attachment 5.
- Can I apply for more than one funding preference?
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Applicants may request more than one funding preference, however applicants will only be awarded ONE funding preference. Please refer to pages 27-28 in the NOFO.