Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (CAHPS) VI (U18) | RFA HS 22 007

Opportunity Information: Apply for RFA HS 22 007

The Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (CAHPS) VI (U18) funding opportunity (RFA HS 22 007) is a discretionary grant competition run by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) to continue and expand the long-standing CAHPS Cooperative Agreement program that began in 1995. CAHPS is widely known as a set of standardized patient and consumer experience surveys and related resources that help measure and report how people experience care from providers, health plans, and health systems. Through this NOFO, AHRQ is seeking cooperative agreement applications, meaning the awardee would carry out the work with substantial federal involvement from AHRQ (more hands-on collaboration than a typical grant), consistent with the goal of maintaining and advancing national infrastructure for consumer experience measurement and reporting.

The opportunity is categorized under the health funding activity area and is associated with CFDA number 93.226. The funding instrument is a cooperative agreement (U18), which typically supports complex, multi-year efforts that require ongoing coordination, methodological stewardship, stakeholder engagement, and active program management. The listed award ceiling is $7,500,000, indicating a potentially large-scale award intended to support major program functions rather than a small, limited pilot. The original application closing date for this specific posting was June 6, 2022, and the record creation date is March 29, 2022.

Eligibility is broad and includes many types of domestic entities that could credibly operate at a national or multi-regional level. Eligible applicants include state, county, and city or township governments; special district governments; independent school districts; public and state-controlled institutions of higher education; private institutions of higher education; federally recognized Native American tribal governments; Native American tribal organizations other than federally recognized tribal governments; public housing authorities and Indian housing authorities; nonprofit organizations with and without 501(c)(3) status (other than institutions of higher education); for-profit organizations other than small businesses; and small businesses. The NOFO also calls out additional eligible applicant types, such as Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian Serving Institutions, Asian American Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institutions (AANAPISI), Hispanic-serving Institutions, Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities (TCCUs), faith-based or community-based organizations, regional organizations, eligible federal agencies, and U.S. territories or possessions. Taken together, this indicates AHRQ is open to applications from organizations with strong survey science, health services research, quality measurement, or large-scale program administration capacity, including entities positioned to ensure CAHPS tools remain relevant across diverse communities and care settings.

Foreign eligibility is restricted. Non-domestic (non-U.S.) entities (foreign institutions) are not eligible to apply directly, and non-domestic components of U.S. organizations are also not eligible to apply. However, foreign components as defined in the HHS Grants Policy Statement may participate as part of a consortium or as subcontractors, which allows specialized international expertise to be included when it supports the project, while keeping the prime award and core accountability within an eligible U.S.-based applicant organization.

In practical terms, this NOFO is about sustaining and moving forward a nationally recognized program that produces standardized, comparable measures of patient experience. While the posted text does not enumerate specific tasks in detail, the stated intent to "continue the work" of the CAHPS Cooperative Agreement program signals support for ongoing development, maintenance, and dissemination of CAHPS surveys and related tools, as well as the kinds of methodological updates, implementation guidance, and stakeholder coordination typically needed to keep such measures valid, usable, and aligned with changes in healthcare delivery. The cooperative agreement structure also suggests that AHRQ expects close coordination on priorities, timelines, and deliverables to ensure CAHPS remains a trusted public resource for patients, purchasers, providers, policymakers, and researchers.

• The Agency for Health Care Research and Quality in the health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (CAHPS) VI (U18)" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 93.226.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2022-03-29.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2022-06-06. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $7,500,000.00 in funding.
• Eligible applicants include: State governments, County governments, City or township governments, Special district governments, Independent school districts, Public and State controlled institutions of higher education, Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized), Public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities, Native American tribal organizations (other than Federally recognized tribal governments), Nonprofits having a 501 (c) (3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Nonprofits that do not have a 501 (c) (3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Private institutions of higher education, For-profit organizations other than small businesses, Small businesses, Others.

Apply for RFA HS 22 007

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