Opportunity Information: Apply for COVID C3 20 002
The grant opportunity titled "Strengthening the Technical Advancement and Readiness of Public Health via Health Information Exchange Program" (Funding Opportunity Number: COVID C3 20 002) was issued by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services through the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC). It was offered as a discretionary cooperative agreement under the health activity category (CFDA 93.462), with the original posting dated August 12, 2020 and an original application deadline of September 1, 2020. The program anticipated making about five awards, with each award capped at $500,000, indicating a small number of relatively focused projects rather than broad formula-style funding.
At its core, the opportunity aimed to strengthen and expand the capacity of health information exchanges (HIEs) to better support public health agencies at the community and state level. The emphasis was on improving the technical readiness of public health data infrastructure by using HIEs as key partners in moving, organizing, and operationalizing health data. The announcement highlights a recognized gap in public health: traditional systems and workflows often lack timely access to complete, high-quality data, and they may not be designed to take advantage of newer methods made possible by modern computing. In practice, the funding was meant to help HIEs and their public health partners modernize how information is shared and used, so agencies can respond faster and more effectively to public health threats.
The description specifically points to the need for new data sources and new approaches in public health programs. One example called out is case investigation and contact tracing, where improved data feeds and more advanced analytic approaches can help identify potential sources of disease, map transmission patterns more accurately, and reduce the likelihood of additional outbreaks. The underlying idea is that when HIEs can deliver more timely and actionable information to public health agencies, those agencies can make better decisions, prioritize interventions, and coordinate response activities with healthcare providers and other stakeholders. This is especially relevant in fast-moving situations where delays in reporting or incomplete data can materially impact containment and mitigation.
Because the funding mechanism is a cooperative agreement, recipients would typically be expected to work closely with the federal agency during the project period rather than operating with minimal oversight. Cooperative agreements often involve substantial federal involvement, such as collaboration on project direction, technical assistance, and coordination to ensure the work aligns with national priorities for health IT and public health interoperability. Eligibility was listed as "Others" with additional clarification referenced in the full announcement, which usually signals that the applicant pool may include specific types of entities such as HIE organizations or related nonprofit/consortia groups, depending on how ONC defined eligible applicants in the complete eligibility language.
Overall, this opportunity was designed to leverage HIE infrastructure and expertise to improve public health data exchange and readiness, supporting more modern, data-driven public health operations. The relatively modest award ceiling and limited number of expected awards suggest pilot or targeted capacity-building projects intended to demonstrate scalable approaches for improving public health reporting, situational awareness, and response activities through better health information exchange.Apply for COVID C3 20 002
- The Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the National Coordinator in the health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Strengthening the Technical Advancement & Readiness of Public Health via Health Information Exchange Program" and is now available to receive applicants.
- Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 93.462.
- This funding opportunity was created on Aug 12, 2020.
- Applicants must submit their applications by Sep 01, 2020. (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 $500,000.00 in funding.
- The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 5 candidate(s).
- Eligible applicants include: Others (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification).
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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
What is the official title of this grant opportunity?
The opportunity is titled "Strengthening the Technical Advancement and Readiness of Public Health via Health Information Exchange Program."
What is the Funding Opportunity Number (FON)?
The Funding Opportunity Number is COVID C3 20 002.
Which federal agency issued this opportunity?
This opportunity was issued by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) through the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC).
What type of funding mechanism is this?
This funding was offered as a discretionary cooperative agreement.
What does it mean that this is a cooperative agreement?
Because it is a cooperative agreement, recipients would generally be expected to work closely with the federal agency during the project period rather than operating with minimal oversight. This commonly includes substantial federal involvement such as collaboration on project direction, technical assistance, and coordination to keep the work aligned with national priorities for health IT and public health interoperability.
What is the activity category and CFDA number associated with this program?
The activity category is health, and the CFDA number referenced is 93.462.
When was the opportunity originally posted?
The original posting date was August 12, 2020.
What was the original application deadline?
The original application deadline was September 1, 2020.
How many awards were anticipated?
The program anticipated making about five awards.
What was the maximum award amount?
Each award was capped at $500,000.
What does the limited number of awards and the $500,000 cap suggest about the project scope?
The modest award ceiling and the small number of expected awards suggest a limited set of relatively focused projects, such as pilot or targeted capacity-building efforts, rather than broad formula-style funding.
What was the core purpose of the program?
The core purpose was to strengthen and expand the capacity of health information exchanges (HIEs) to better support public health agencies at the community and state level, with an emphasis on improving technical readiness and modernizing public health data infrastructure.
Why are health information exchanges (HIEs) central to this opportunity?
The opportunity was designed to leverage HIEs as key partners in moving, organizing, and operationalizing health data so public health agencies can gain more timely access to complete, high-quality information and use it more effectively during public health threats.
What problem or gap in public health is this funding trying to address?
The announcement highlights that traditional public health systems and workflows often lack timely access to complete, high-quality data and may not be designed to take advantage of newer methods made possible by modern computing. The funding aimed to help modernize how information is shared and used.
How would stronger HIE-to-public-health connections improve public health response?
When HIEs can deliver more timely and actionable information to public health agencies, those agencies can make better decisions, prioritize interventions, and coordinate response activities with healthcare providers and other stakeholders. This can be especially important in fast-moving situations where delays or incomplete data can affect containment and mitigation.
What kinds of public health work were specifically mentioned as an example?
The description specifically points to case investigation and contact tracing as an example area where improved data feeds and more advanced analytic approaches could help identify potential sources of disease, map transmission patterns more accurately, and reduce the likelihood of additional outbreaks.
What kinds of improvements did the opportunity emphasize (at a high level)?
At a high level, the emphasis was on strengthening public health data exchange and technical readiness by expanding HIE capacity, improving data sharing workflows, enabling more timely and actionable public health information, and supporting more modern, data-driven public health operations.
Who was eligible to apply?
Eligibility was listed as "Others," with additional clarification referenced in the full announcement. This usually signals that the applicant pool may include specific types of entities such as HIE organizations or related nonprofit/consortia groups, depending on how ONC defined eligible applicants in the complete eligibility language.
Does the description indicate whether the focus is local, state, or both?
Yes. The stated intent was to support public health agencies at both the community and state level.
What kinds of outcomes were these projects intended to demonstrate?
The opportunity was framed around demonstrating scalable approaches to improve public health reporting, situational awareness, and response activities through better health information exchange and more modern data use.
Is this opportunity more oriented toward technology infrastructure, public health operations, or both?
Both. The program emphasized technical readiness and modernization of data infrastructure (often through HIE capabilities), with the goal of improving real-world public health operations such as faster decision-making, prioritization of interventions, and coordinated response.
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