Funding for Secure Deduplication Tool for HIV Surveillance

Funding overview

CDC monitors trends in HIV infection, evidence of HIV medical care, and viral suppression through the National HIV Surveillance System (NHSS). Due to migration, people living with diagnosed HIV (PLWDH) may be reported to CDC by multiple states. Because NHSS compiles reports from multiple sources, deduplication of cases is a crucial activity to ensure accurate case counts. This notice of funding opportunity (NOFO) supports a more efficient method for HIV surveillance jurisdictions to identify potential interstate duplicates.

The recipient will deliver a secure, encrypted, ongoing data-sharing tool that identifies potential duplicates across jurisdictions. Developing this tool includes:

• Implementing necessary data security, confidentiality, and privacy protections according to CDC standards.
• Obtaining participation agreements with 59 state and local health department HIV surveillance programs.
• Reporting back to jurisdictions on matching levels in formats that are importable into state/local HIV surveillance data systems.

Timely resolution of duplicates is important because HIV surveillance data is used to connect people to HIV medical care. Delays in identification and resolution of duplicates can help CDC support state and local health departments to collect the surveillance data. These health departments use the Enhanced HIV/AIDS Reporting System (eHARS) to submit de-identified surveillance data to CDC.

Routine Interstate Duplicate Review

Routine Interstate Duplicate Review (RIDR) is a routine, jurisdiction-to-jurisdiction deduplication process based on a list of cases CDC provides. Each jurisdiction conducts case-by-case reviews by phone with other jurisdictions. Information for confirmed duplicates is entered in the case records. Duplicate pairs are identified for merging during NHSS national data processing.

Depending on the number of potential duplicates, the RIDR process can take months to complete. If a jurisdiction does not know that a PLWDH has relocated, efforts to connect people with care may be wasted. Because high-quality and timely HIV case surveillance data is critical, CDC seeks efficient electronic tools to enhance the deduplication process.

Important dates

Submission dates and times

Applications submitted after the deadline will not be processed. Office of Grants Services (OGS) personnel will notify applicants that their applications did not meet the deadline. Applicants must receive preapproval to submit a paper application (see Technical Difficulties in the Resources section). If the applicant is authorized to submit a paper application, it must be received by the deadline.

Letter of intent

A letter of intent is not required for this NOFO.

Application deadline

Applications were due May 1, 2024. Include the date and time (United States Eastern Standard Time) and submit the entire application at Grants.gov by 11:59 pm ET. Applicants must have at least 60 days to submit the application after the NOFO is published, unless a deviation is approved.

If Grants.gov cannot receive applications and there is no extension, applications are due the first business day that operations resume.

Funding by category

Bold indicates period of performance outcome.

Initiative priorities

This work expands on a 2015 pilot project with health departments in three jurisdictions to develop a proof of concept for a secure, automated tool to match HIV surveillance records. This tool used HIV surveillance data and a person-matching algorithm to determine the level of matching for a case-pair. The case-pair included a record from one jurisdiction paired with a record from another jurisdiction. The algorithm determined if each case-pair was an exact, high, medium, or low match.

Based on the matching report, the pairs identified as exact and high matches could be resolved quickly. For the three jurisdictions, the algorithm identified over 80% of the potential duplicates in less than 30 minutes. The tool also identified duplicates across jurisdictions that had not been previously identified through the RIDR process. In 2016, eight jurisdictions participated in a second pilot to prove scalability of the tool. CDC has continued to support the work for the last five years through PS18-1805.

NOFO PS24-0121 continues the successes of PS18-1805 to:

• Improve HIV surveillance data quality.
• Support access to a secure, ongoing, automated data-sharing tool that identifies duplicate HIV cases across HIV surveillance jurisdictions.
• Develop proof of concept for a secure, server-to-server data sharing method to approximate data sharing between HIV surveillance data servers.

Applying

Application package

Applicants must download the SF-424 Application for Federal Assistance package associated with this NOFO at Grants.gov. See Pre-Award Activities for Applicants for additional information about applying for CDC grants and cooperative agreements.

How to apply

An organization must be registered at the three following locations before it can submit an application for funding.

System for Award Management

The System for Award Management (SAM) is the primary registrant database for the federal government. It is also the repository an entity must use to submit information required to conduct business as a recipient. All applicant organizations must register with SAM. They will be assigned a SAM number and a unique entity identifier (UEI). All information associated with the SAM number must be current the entire time an application is being considered for funding.

If an award is made, the SAM information must be maintained until a final financial report is submitted or the final payment is received, whichever is later.

The SAM registration process may take 10 or more business days. Registration must be renewed annually. Additional information about registration procedures is available at SAM.gov and the SAM.gov Knowledge Base.

Grants.gov

Register your organization at Grants.gov, the official Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) e-grant website. You can find registration information under the Applicants tab in the Applicant Registration section. The one-time registration process usually takes less than 5 days to complete. Applicants should start the registration process as early as possible.

Unique entity identifier

Applicants must obtain a UEI number for the organization's physical location before submitting an application. A UEI number is a unique 12-digit identification number assigned through SAM.gov registration. Some organizations may have multiple UEI numbers. Use the UEI number associated with the location of the organization receiving the federal funds.

Please note: Effective April 4, 2022, applicants must have a UEI when they submit their applications (SF-424, field 8c). Current SAM.gov registrants were already assigned their UEIs and can view them at SAM.gov and Grants.gov. Additional information is available on the GSA website, SAM.gov, and Grants.gov-Finding the UEI.

Recipients

Eligibility for this NOFO is unrestricted.

Common questions

1. Are we allowed to submit letters of support?

Additional documents will not increase your score and will likely not be reviewed.

2. Can there be more than one principal investigator?

Yes, there can be a co-principal investigator if necessary.

3. What is CDC's recommendation for teaming? Specifically, can a performer consist of a team of organizations? Can you collaborate across multiple organizations?

Collaboration across multiple organizations is allowed. The applicant should assure that the roles and responsibilities of each participating organization are described in the application.

4. Is there a specific format for the curriculum vitae (CV) beyond the 2-page criteria?

No, there is no specific format for CVs.

5. Is there more information about the memorandum of agreement (MOA) or memorandum of understanding (MOU)? How do they pertain to Component B?

A MOA/MOU is only needed if a particular health department requires one for participation in the secure data-sharing tool. We do not expect Component B to use state or county health department data. Because this component is a proof-of-concept project, no live data are required. A MOA/MOU would not be expected for Component B.

6. Who is collaborating with the health departments on our project? Do we need to coordinate with the health care department to resolve any data use agreement (DUA) issues related to data requests?

The recipient of the grant will be expected to collaborate with health departments conducting HIV surveillance, including all issues related to DUAs.

7. During the course of performance, will CDC facilitate and provide contact information for partners within the 59 jurisdictions that conduct HIV surveillance activities?

CDC will provide the contact information for all surveillance coordinators in the jurisdictions. CDC will announce to the jurisdictions that this grant has been awarded and that the grantee may reach out to them. The recipient will need to reach out to discuss each jurisdiction's participation.

8. If we are not doing Component B with the state or county data and it's a proof of concept, are there sample datasets, or should we assume the structure of the datasets?

It is possible that the technology could be delivered with a dataset agnostic approach. The communication between the servers may not rely on the content of a sample dataset that approximates the health departments' setup for the eHARS application that is currently in use. If applicants would like to see a sample dataset that approximates the eHARS application, it can be provided.

9. Does CDC require an architecture diagram to demonstrate how the applicant will develop a system to accomplish required program activities?

No, CDC does not require an architecture diagram. CDC does, however, allow applicants to include any information they choose to describe how the required activities will be accomplished (subject to the posted page limits).

10. It says equipment is not allowed in the budget. If a specific server needs to be purchased, is that allowed?

Page 30, Funding Restrictions, states, "Generally, recipients may not use funds to purchase furniture or equipment. Any such proposed spending must be clearly identified in the budget." If a specific server is needed, ensure that the expenditure and justification for the purchase are included in the application budget.

11. Should I include a detailed work plan for Component B, or is that supposed to just be a high-level overview plan?

Component B would fall into a subsequent year, so it would be high-level work plan. It should be included in your plan for Year 2.

12. What are the chief concerns when it comes to security and privacy? Specifically, what are the adversarial scenarios that might inform the solution?

There is a link in the NOFO to the NCHHSTP Security and Confidentiality Guidelines for use of our data. We advise following those guidelines and keeping in mind the highly sensitive nature of HIV data.

13. For the server-to-server component, are there any data requirements for what is demonstrated between the servers, such as a CVS file or copying into the databases?

There are no distinct parameters. The NOFO asks for responses that are demonstrations of your program's ability to allow server-to-server communication/sharing of data between servers that approximate what would be used by HIV surveillance programs in participating health departments. Most health department servers are behind a firewall with limited access. In Component B, we would like to see approaches that allow for servers to communicate with each other to share information between those servers (in real time or near real time). CDC would like to know if it is possible to do so, and if it is possible, how one would execute that. CDC would also like to learn how feasible it is for CDC to ramp up those activities to deploy a solution to state/local/territorial and other health departments to share the information securely.

14. The NOFO specifies in a very detailed table the capabilities that could be developed for Component A and Component B. Is information available on the metrics related to time of operation and the amount of time the process takes? Is there a real-time requirement, or is that an open question that can be addressed in the work plan?

The tool must be available on a regular, ongoing basis. The possibility of real-time availability may be discussed in your work plan.

15. Can you clarify the data submission process? Should we develop a website for data submission, or should we share specific locations where data can be uploaded?

The main objective of the NOFO is to provide a solution for data to be shared securely to identify duplicate cases between health departments conducting HIV surveillance. The applicant should describe how the organization will accomplish this objective in the application.

16. Based on my understanding, the deduplication and matching logic have already been developed. Can you confirm if this is accurate?

The objective of the NOFO is to provide an efficient method of identifying duplicate cases between health department HIV surveillance systems. This method does not need to be based on what has been done in previous funding opportunities. The applicant should describe the proposed method of deduplication in the application.

17. What HIV surveillance variables are used to determine the level of matching?

Upon request, CDC can send a sample HIV surveillance dataset to the applicant. In general, the HIV surveillance system includes variables on demographic characteristics, HIV-related laboratory results, HIV testing and treatment history, vital statistics, and previous duplicate review resolution.

18. Regarding the directive to "provide feedback reports to jurisdictions on the matching levels of case pairs," are we matching person data with other adjudicators and delivering reports in the form of dashboards?

One of the required activities of the NOFO is to provide a report to participating health departments on the matching level of identified potential duplicates. The applicant should describe how this report will be delivered in the application.

Contacts

Programmatic technical assistance

Kristen Hess, Project Officer
Department of Health and Human Services
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
1600 Clifton Rd., N.E., MS H24-5
Atlanta, GA 30329-4027
Telephone: 404-639-1555
Email: khess1@cdc.gov

Financial, awards management, or budget

Edna Green, Grants Management Specialist (GMS)
Department of Health and Human Services
Office of Grants Services (OGS)
Chamblee Building, 102, MS S102-1
Atlanta, GA 30341
OGS, Branch 1
Telephone: 770-488-2858
Email: egreen@cdc.gov

Submission difficulties

For assistance with submission difficulties on Grants.gov, contact the Contact Center at 1-800-518-4726. Hours of operation are 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, except on federal holidays.

CDC Telecommunications for persons with hearing loss is available at: TTY 1-888-232-6348

Resources

Applicant informational call

Because of technical difficulties during the first informational conference call, a second call occurred on April 10, 2024.

NOFO PS24-0121 Applicant Informational Call
April 10, 2024, 3:00 pm, ET (US and Canada)
Join Zoom Gov Meeting (link retired)
Meeting ID: 160 168 1106
Passcode: hsb2024!

Technical support and paper submission

For technical difficulties at Grants.gov, contact Customer Service at the Contact Center. The Contact Center is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, except on federal holidays:

• By phone at 1-800-518-4726.
• By email at support@grants.gov.

Application submissions sent by email or fax or on CDs or thumb drives will not be accepted. Please note that Grants.gov is managed by HHS.

Paper submission

If the issue is not resolved after working with the Contact Center, and electronic submission is not possible:

Email the Grants Management Office (GMO) before the deadline to request permission to submit a paper application. These requests are handled on a case-by-case basis.

An applicant's request for permission to submit a paper application must:

• Include the Grants.gov case number assigned to the inquiry.
• Describe the:
  • Difficulties that prevent electronic submission.
  • Efforts taken with the Grants.gov Contact Center to submit electronically.
• Be received by email to the GMS/GMO at least three calendar days before the application deadline.

Paper applications submitted without prior approval will not be considered. If a paper application is authorized, OGS will tell the applicant how to submit the application by email.