Enhancing US Clinical Laboratory Workforce Capacity

This Notice of Funding Opportunity Announcement (NOFO) is to announce the availability of funding for a three-year cooperative agreement help CDC reach a larger proportion of clinical laboratory professionals and bridge, train, and sustain the laboratory community to support rapid, large-scale responses to the COVID-19 pandemic and other public health emergencies. This NOFO aims to support the following three categories of strategies to help build the laboratory-preparedness competency of clinical laboratory professionals: Bridge - strengthen essential links between clinical and public health laboratory training professionals and CDC; Train - develop and evaluate education and training resources for clinical laboratory professionals to be ready, respond, and lead others; and Sustain - expand the reach of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC's) training and workforce development resources among the clinical laboratory community, including those who perform point-of-care testing, and promote awareness of the laboratory profession to broader audiences. This NOFO will be implemented through a cooperative agreement (CoAg). The three strategies will be implemented using a data-driven approach to enhance the clinical laboratory community's ability to combat emerging threats, learn evolving practices, and stay current with the newest standards and technologies. The goals of the NOFO are in accordance with the Healthy People 2030 goals. The overall CDC Evaluation and Performance Measurement Strategy will focus on both process and outcome evaluation. Strategies and activities that will lead to intended outcomes will be outlined in the Logic Model. Post-award, CDC will work with each recipient to develop and finalize a detailed Evaluation and Performance Management Plan (EPMP) which includes a Data Management Plan (DMP), in accordance with CDC program guidance. Monitoring activities will include but are not limited to discussions on work plans, progress reports, performance measures, financial data, conference calls and site visits. Data collection requirements during the project period will be subject to review and approval by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB).