Participant Research Innovation Laboratory for Enhancing WIC Services
Program Funding
Annual program obligations reported to SAM.gov.
Funded Projects
Examples of what this program has supported.
Program Objective
The objective of this opportunity was to announce the availability of funds to establish the Participant Research Innovation Laboratory for Enhancing WIC Services. The role of the PRIL is to support and evaluate local efforts to develop interactive tools, technical resources, or innovative solutions that improve customer service in WIC clinics and/or WIC retailers (referred to hereafter as WIC vendors) and ultimately encourage and improve retention of eligible children in WIC. Research projects build on and improve our understanding of the diverse personal experiences, perceptions, and attitudes of those eligible for WIC services. Implemented strategies/solutions will be evaluated for their impact on participant satisfaction and retention, and other relevant measures, within the local agency setting. In addition, the Grantee will provide evaluation-related technical assistance to State and local WIC agencies carrying out similar interventions through WIC Special Project Grants or other awards.
Eligibility
Eligible Applicants
- Nonprofit Organization
- Other
Beneficiaries
- Infant and Toddler (0–3)
- University Higher Education
- U.S. Citizen
- Resident/Citizen of U.S. Territory
All Accredited Colleges/Universities were eligible to apply to this opportunity. The awardee may benefit from this assistance as well as the WIC local agencies and WIC participants that benefit from the work conducted by the awardee and the products developed from the sub-grant awards.
How to Apply
Award Procedure
FNS pre-screened all applications to ensure that they contained the required documents and information, including but not limited to: all supporting documentation, the narrative proposal, Letters of Commitment from established partners specified in the application, and Agreement to Cooperate with FNS. Complete applications needed to be submitted by eligible applicants, meet all other eligibility requirements stated in this RFA, submitted on or before the required deadlines, and had to be in the required format. If an application did not include all appropriate information, FNS considered the application to be non-responsive and eliminated it from further evaluation.
Following the initial screening process, FNS assembled an evaluation panel to review and determine the technical merits of each application. The evaluation criteria discussed below was applied by a panel and used to score proposals. The proposals were ranked by score starting with the highest score. The panel presented their recommendation to the selecting official based on this ranking. Awards were considered based on rank order; however, the selection official reserved the right to make an award out of rank order to meet agency priorities, program balance, geographical representation, or project diversity. FNS reserves the right to use this solicitation and competition to award additional grants in the next fiscal year should additional funds be made available through future appropriations.
FNS also reserves the right to fund successful applications at an amount less than requested if it is judged that an application can be implemented at a lower funding level. At the completion of the review and awards process, FNS provided funding for the approved applicant upon receipt of a properly executed agreement.
Decision Timeline
- Approval: From 15 to 30 days
- Appeal: From 30 to 60 days
Program details & compliance
Description
The Recognizing & Addressing Maternal Warning Signs for Morbidity & Mortality During Pregnancy & the Postpartum Period grant opportunity provided $5,000,000 in funding, through a one-time cooperative agreement, to an external entity to administer a competitive subgrant program for WIC State and local agencies. Eligible external entities include accredited public and private institutions of higher education (colleges/universities), non-profit research entities, and other non-profit organizations. By the end of the cooperative agreement period of performance, the successful recipient of this RFA will accomplish four objectives:
1) Develop and share broadly a clear and concise analysis of evidence-based interventions, communications campaigns, and promising models for recognizing and addressing early warning signs of maternal morbidity and mortality that can be evaluated in diverse WIC settings and program delivery approaches. (“Review Evidence”);
2) Competitively select WIC State agencies (SAs) and/or Local agencies (LAs) to evaluate the implementation of evidence-based and promising well-designed interventions intended to identify and address early warning signs of maternal morbidity and mortality in a WIC setting. (“Subgrants”);
3) Provide technical assistance to subgrantees as they rigorously evaluate the interventions implemented by subgrantees, including a process evaluation and cost estimate. (“TA and Evaluation”); and
4) Develop and implement a framework to synthesize findings across subgrant studies and broadly disseminate findings. (“Dissemination”)
Mission Categories
Primary: Food and Nutrition for Individual and Families
Other categories:
Food and Nutrition for Children
Use of Funds
Allowed Uses
Among other allowable costs, budgets may include expenses related to personnel, contractors, and, whether in-person or virtual, FNS-approved meeting, conference, and training travel expenses.
Restrictions
All costs proposed in the budget and detailed in the budget narrative must be allowable, reasonable, necessary, and allocable.
Reporting & Compliance
Applicable 2 CFR 200 Subparts
- Subpart B — General Provisions
- Subpart C — Pre-Federal Award Requirements
- Subpart D — Post-Federal Award Requirements
- Subpart E — Cost Principles
- Subpart F — Audit Requirements