ACHIEVE Application FAQ
PROGRAMMATIC QUESTIONS
1. Q. What is the ultimate goal of the ACHIEVE Initiative?
A. The purpose of ACHIEVE is to bring together local leaders and stakeholders to build healthier communities by promoting policy and environmental change strategies with a focus on obesity, diabetes, heart disease, healthy eating, physical activity, and preventing tobacco use. The focus of this initiative is to build collaborative partnerships between State Departments of Health (DOH), local health departments (LHDs) and YMCAs. ACHIEVE recognizes the roles of both institutions as trusted community conveners and aims to combine the public health expertise from the state and local levels with the deep and rich experience of the YMCA in community support and outreach.
2. Q. The application says that this is based on the Pioneering Healthier Communities Initiative. What are some examples of PHC projects?
A. Some communities are working with their local hospitals to institute systems that help diagnose individuals who are obese or overweight and are then referred to their local YMCA for nutrition education and physical activity. Other communities have influenced healthy meal policies, nutrition education, and policies requiring daily physical activity programs in their local schools and after school programs to ensure there are healthy food options for kids. Other communities have successfully advocated for improvements to the structural environment to allow for additional opportunities for residents to engage in physical activity (e.g., enhance existing or build new trails or paths, securing open space). The goal of each project is to lead long-lasting change that often involves modifying the social, political and physical environments in which we live, work, and play.
3. Q. Is there a document you can share with us to provide to potential team members that describes the ACHIEVE Initiative?
A. Yes. We will be happy to provide you with a one-page document that describes the ACHIEVE Initiative.
4. Q. What types of organizations would you recommend that we contact to formulate our Community Health Action and Response Team (CHART)?
A. City and county organizations, schools, businesses, health-focused foundations, faith-based organizations, public health agencies, health care purchasers, plans or providers, academic institutions, urban planning and transportation groups, and others.
5. Q. What are some examples of “leaders of the highest levels”?
A. These are leaders that have the most considerable influence in your community. For example, if you are planning on getting representation from the schools, try to get the school superintendent on your coalition. If you are contacting a city or county official, try to get the mayor on your coalition. If not the mayor, then the highest level official in that office.
6. Q. What is the difference between the Coaches meeting and the Action Institute?
A. The Coaches Meeting is a pre-meeting where a designated representative from the state Chronic Disease Program, a designated representative from the LHD, a designated representative from the YMCA, and one community leader will attend to learn about the goals and objectives of the initiative, learn some tips about coalition building and the community change process, and engage in discussions about undertaking a community assessment. The Action Institute is attended by the entire coalition (no more than ten members), or CHART (including the state representative) where communities will learn about different tools and strategies related to policy and environmental change and will have time to develop an action plan that they will develop in their communities.
7. Q. Who is ultimately responsible for the activities of the local health department – is the state responsible for their performance? If NACCD contracts/grants with the individual health departments, how will the authority of the state health department to direct (suggest) performance be handled?
A. The state will be responsible for providing technical assistance and assisting with evaluation, but the ultimate responsibility rests with the local health department/local YMCA collaboration in the community.
8. Q. What is the role of the DOH once the grant has been awarded to a local health department – is it solely a technical advisory role? It appears that the role of the state health department is as an administrator up to grant/contract award and then as a technical advisor thereafter. Is that correct?
A. The role of the state will be as part of the technical assistance team and assisting with evaluation. The grant/contract award to the local health department or the local YMCA will not go through the state health department.
9. Q. Why do the State Chronic Disease Director and the Director of the Local Health Department need to participate on an orientation phone call?
A. We would like to ensure that this initiative is supported at the highest level of your institution and at the LHD. We will also be requesting that the YMCA Association Chief Executive Officer/President participate on the phone call as well.
10. Q. What exactly are the responsibilities of the state health department Chronic Disease Program in this project? What are we committing to by submitting an application?
A. By submitting an application, the State Department of Health, Chronic Disease Program is agreeing to:
1. disseminate the Local Health Department Application to appropriate LHDs across the state.
2. collect and review, then rank the LHD applications
3. complete the state application and forward that along with the local applications to NACDD and have it postmarked by October 26
4. if selected, the CD Director agrees to participate in an orientation call
5. if selected, send one representative to the Coaches meeting and the Action Institute
6. provide Technical Assistance to a funded community in collaboration with NACDD, the YMCA of the USA, and CDC for up to three years
APPLICATION PROCESS QUESTIONS
11. Q. Who is eligible to apply?
A. Local health departments are eligible to apply if they meet the following criteria: they have a relationship (or signify the ability to establish a relationship) with their local YMCA, they agree to the terms laid out on the local health department checklist, and they are not receiving funds from the Steps Program.
12. Q. Why are Steps communities and PHC Communities ineligible to apply?
A. We would like to spread the lessons learned related to Steps and other programs to additional communities that have the desire to confront their chronic disease burden, but have not had the opportunity to receive funding. However, there may be exceptions to this rule on a case by case basis. For example, if a Steps community or a PHC site identifies a different catchment area from the one that they are currently working in, NACDD and the YMCA of the USA would be willing to consider that application. Furthermore, through this year’s REACH and PHC application processes, there are over a hundred applications that will not be selected, expressing a desire and interest in communities to participate in CDC-supported community based efforts and we would like to allow those communities to participate.
13. Q. Do we have to send out the local health department application as is?
A. Yes. NACDD prefers that the application be sent as is instead of trying to modify the existing application because we would like to create a level playing field for all applicants. You’ll see several places highlighted in yellow where you’ll need to add information about the DOH.
14. Q. How do you suggest we distribute this application to our local health departments?
A. Depending on your state, there are probably a number of different ways that DOHs can distribute this application throughout their state.
15. Q. How many local health department applications can we send with our application?
A. You can send up to 6 applications. Make sure to list them in rank order. If more than 6 health departments apply to the RFA and you would like to send them to NACDD, please contact Chuck Gollmar.
16. Q. If there is only one local health department in my state that is interested in applying, can I still apply for the ACHIEVE Initiative?
A. Yes.
17. Q. If selected, how will the local health department receive the funding? When will they receive it?
A. Each selected local health department will receive two different one-time mini-grants from NACDD. All teams will receive a $10,000 mini-grant, which will be used to pay for the travel and hotel expenses associated with the Coaches Meeting and with the Action Institute, attended by the entire CHART Team. Following the Action Institute, the second mini-grant – the bulk of the funding - will support the implementation of the action plan. Please keep in mind that the local YMCA will also be receiving the same amount of funding at approximately the same period of time. YMCAs will be collaborative partners in this initiative and as such they will receive funds to fully participate in the local ACHIEVE Initiative.
18. Q. Why are the State Departments of Health not receiving any funds for this initiative?
A. We felt it was important to involve State Departments of Health, but we wanted to keep the work load as light as possible. One way we hoped to keep the cost to the state to a minimum was to require that the local health department/YMCA collaboration select policy interventions that fit within existing state health department programs while also answering to the requirements of the RFA.
19. Q. How do you expect the representative from the state to travel to the Coaches Meeting and the Action Institute when they are not receiving any funding?
A. The funding for this travel will not be taken out of the grants provided to the local health departments, instead, NACDD will provide funds for the state representative to travel to the Coaches Meeting and Action Institute.
20. Q. How much time do the LHDs have to spend the money?
A. The LHDs will have one year to spend the money from the time they receive the implementation funds. However, the overall period for the ACHIEVE Initiative will be for up to three years.
21. Q. What are the allowable and unallowable uses of the funds?
A. The following items are allowable and unallowable uses of funds:
Allowable:
· advertising/media (e.g., communicating with the public specific activities related to your project),
· communications (e.g., telephones),
· salaries and fringe benefits,
· project related materials and supplies, and
· project related meetings and conferences.
Unallowable:
· lobbying of federal or state legislative bodies,
· fundraising,
· contributions or donations,
· alcoholic beverages,
· debt relief,
· entertainment, and
· goods or services for personal use
· building/enhancing facilities
22. Q. How do you see the role of the state health department contractually with NACCD and with the local health departments? Will the state health department act as a “prime contractor” with responsibility to contract with the local health departments?
A. Currently, to keep the state role as un-demanding as possible--to keep your cost (financial and human) as low as possible, NACDD plans to write the "contacts" directly with the local health departments and the YMCA of the USA will do their contracts with the local YMCAs.
23. Q. Alternatively, does NACCD plan to enter into grants/contracts with the DOH and with each of the local health departments that are participating in the project?
A. Since this Initiative does not provide any funding for DOHs, there are no plans to have contractual arrangements with the DOH. By submitting the application (with the accompanying local health department/YMCA applications, the state Chronic Disease Program is agreeing to provide technical assistance (as part of the technical assistance team consisting of YMCA of the USA, NACDD, and CDC) to the community for up to three years.
24. Q. Where should I mail my application?
A. Mail your application to the following address:
NACDD
Attn: Charles W. Gollmar
2872 Woodcock Blvd
Suite 220
Atlanta, GA 30341
25. Q. When is the application due?
A. Applications need to be postmarked by Friday, October 26.
26. Q. If I have additional questions about the ACHIEVE Initiative, who can I call?
A. At NACDD: Chuck Gollmar at 770-458-7400. At YMCA of the USA: Tracy Wiedt at 1-800-932-9622
27. Q. How many communities will be selected as part of the ACHIEVE Initiative?
A. A total of ten communities will be selected for the ACHIEVE Initiative in 5 states across the country.
28. Q. When will I be notified if my application has been selected?
A. December 17, 2007
