Infertility Training Center – PA-FPT-26-002: QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

The goal of this funding opportunity is to establish and operate an Infertility Training Center to support Title X-funded organizations in expanding and enhancing the root cause infertility treatments and referrals available to patients at Title X-funded clinics. Although the training and technical assistance developed by the Infertility Training Center are developed for Title X funded organizations, the materials may also be useful to others who, though not funded by Title X, aim to deliver high quality infertility services. The primary audience for this training center is Title X-funded organizations, providers, and patients. Many Title X-funded organizations rely on sub-recipients and partners to deliver services. Therefore, OPA expects the funded training center to provide training and technical assistance at the grant recipient, sub-recipient, and service site levels to support organization efforts and service delivery networks. More information about the Title X service delivery project is available on the OPA website.

The award type will be a cooperative agreement. A cooperative agreement allows for substantial federal involvement during the project period, including OPA review and input on training and technical assistance plans, products, priorities, and coordination with other OPA-funded organizations.

One organization will be awarded for this funding opportunity.

The estimated total funding and estimated award ceiling are $4,000,000.

States that are not listed on this page have chosen not to participate in the intergovernmental review process and therefore do not have a SPOC. If you are located within a State that does not have a SPOC, you may send application materials directly to a federal awarding agency.

The basic information table lists an anticipated project start date of September 30, 2026.

Any public or private nonprofit entity is eligible to apply. Examples include state governments, county governments, city or township governments, special district governments, independent school districts, public and state-controlled institutions of higher education, federally recognized Native American tribal governments, public housing authorities, Native American tribal organizations, and nonprofit organizations with or without 501(c)(3) status.

No. This NOFO states that eligible applicants are public or private nonprofit entities.

No. The NOFO does not require applicants to be current Title X recipients. A funding priority has been included with this NOFO. A funding priority adds points to merit review scores if we determine that the application meets the listed criteria. Qualifying for a funding priority does not guarantee that your application will be successful.

• Priority 1: Not currently funded by the Title X Family Planning Program (2 Points) We will give you a funding priority if: Your organization does not hold an active award under the Title X Family Planning Program at the time you apply.
• Priority 2: Never funded by the Title X Family Planning Program (2 Points) We will give you a funding priority if: Your organization has never received an award under the Title X Family Planning Program.

All activities funded under this announcement must follow the Title X statute, as well as the program regulations and legislative mandates, as applicable.

For any given project, we will only make an award to a single eligible entity. More than one entity may choose to work together on a project under this opportunity, but only one entity may submit the application. If awarded, that entity will be the award recipient and will be responsible for conducting the project. The other entities may participate in the project, if awarded, and would be responsible to the recipient for their respective roles, typically as subrecipients.

Groups may form a consortium, partnership, or other legally recognized entity for the purpose of applying for this opportunity and carrying out any awarded project. The resulting entity must exist and be legally recognized when it applies and must have an active registration in SAM.gov. We will conduct a risk assessment of the applying entity (Section G.4) prior to making any award.

You may submit more than one application, but each application must be for a distinctly different project. If you submit multiple applications for the same project, we will accept only the last application submitted via Grants.gov timestamp that is before the due date and time. We will disqualify all other versions of the application. See Section G.1.b for all disqualification factors.

There is no restriction on an individual’s eligibility to be Project Director (PD)/Principal Investigator (PI) on an application. However, we will not make an award with a PD/PI who has an active government-wide exclusion, suspension, or debarment recorded in SAM.gov.

We expect that throughout the period of performance the PD/PI will be involved in, and have substantial knowledge about, all aspects of the project. Although your organization may recognize co-PD/PIs on team-managed projects, we recognize only a single PD/PI who will be responsible for the programmatic aspects of the project.

We do not require you to submit documentation of your eligibility (e.g., proof of 501(c)(3) status as determined by the Internal Revenue Service or an authorizing tribal resolution) when you submit your application. It is important that your organization is correctly classified in your SAM registration (Section F.2.a).

During our review of your application, we might request additional documentation to support your eligibility. This request means only that your application is under review and not that you will receive an award. More specific information on the type of documentation that we might request specific to this opportunity appears in Section F.4.b.

The primary audience for this training center is Title X-funded organizations, providers, and patients. Many Title X-funded organizations rely on sub-recipients and partners to deliver services. Therefore, OPA expects the funded training center to provide training and technical assistance at the grant recipient, sub-recipient, and service site levels to support organization efforts and service delivery networks. More information about the Title X service delivery project is available on the OPA website.

Yes. Although the training and technical assistance developed by the Infertility Training Center are to be developed for Title X funded organizations, the materials may also be useful to others who, though not funded by Title X, aim to deliver high quality infertility services.

Possible Training and Technical Assistance (TTA) topics include body literacy education and fertility awareness-based methods (FABMs), addressing root causes and prevention of infertility, such as endometriosis, polyendocrine metabolic ovarian syndrome (PMOS), thyroid conditions, other chronic health conditions, and male-factor infertility.

No. The primary audience for this training center is Title X-funded organizations, providers, and patients. Many Title X-funded organizations rely on sub-recipients and partners to deliver services. Therefore, OPA expects the funded training center to provide training and technical assistance at the grant recipient, sub-recipient, and service site levels to support organization efforts and service delivery networks. More information about the Title X service delivery project is available on the OPA website.

TTA is expected to be provided at varying levels of intensity (i.e., universal, selected, and individualized) using diverse modalities (e.g., in-person or online training and follow-up support, training of trainers, individual or group technical assistance, coaching, mentoring, peer-to-peer support, interviews and podcasts, videos, syntheses of available research and best practices, development of resources and tools, and virtual skills building, etc.).

Determining the best modality to use should be based on which modality (e.g., in-person or online training and follow-up support, training of trainers, individual or group technical assistance, coaching, mentoring, peer-to-peer support, interviews and podcasts, videos, syntheses of available research and best practices, development of resources and tools, and virtual skills building, etc.) is most likely to meet the intended outcomes of each TTA activity. The plan should include modalities that do not rely exclusively upon in-person meetings; however, in-person meetings are also allowable as needed and appropriate.

Yes. The Infertility Training Center should build and maintain a user-friendly online presence that allows Title X grant recipients, OPA, and the public to freely access, easily find, and immediately use the training and technical assistance resources available to them.

The Infertility Training Center should ensure that their TTA content is not duplicative of other OPA-funded organizations. Where topics and content may be similar, we encourage the recipient to collaborate with other OPA-funded organizations for alignment and recognition of each organization’s contribution.

Applicants should plan to engage grant recipients, OPA project officers, other OPA-funded TTA centers, faith-based audiences and organizations, and any other stakeholder needed for your project. Stakeholders should be engaged in identifying Training and Technical Assistance (TTA) needs, designing TTA, implementing TTA, and setting priorities.

Yes. The Infertility Training Center should develop and implement an evaluation plan to identify successes and gaps, and to assess if the TTA provided results in: 

a. Education on the root causes of infertility and the broad range of holistic infertility treatments and referrals available to patients at Title X-funded clinics.

b. Improved access to robust body literacy education and fertility awareness-based methods to address root causes of infertility, such as chronic health conditions, including endometriosis, polyendocrine metabolic ovarian syndrome (PMOS), and thyroid conditions, and male-factor infertility before patients may be aware that they will experience challenges with fertility.

c. Expanded and enhanced root cause infertility testing, treatments, and referrals available within Title X-funded clinics to enable patients to receive as many personalized and comprehensive infertility services needed as possible within the Title X-funded clinic for fertility restoration.

d. Enhanced referrals between Title X-funded clinics and root cause infertility specialists, including fertility awareness-based methods trained professionals and minimally invasive surgeons, to ensure patient-centered care.

The evaluation plan should be reviewed annually and updated as needed. We expect the Infertility Training Center to include opportunities in the evaluation plan for Title X grant recipients to regularly provide feedback on TTA they have received. Information collected should be used by the Infertility Training Center to adjust the content, delivery mechanisms, quality, and/or dosage of the TTA to better meet the needs of Title X grant recipients and in alignment with OASH Priorities. 

Results of assessments conducted should be shared with OPA and other federal staff, including a senior appointee or senior appointee’s designee, during monitoring calls and semi-annual progress reports. We expect results from these evaluations to feed into an iterative process that informs the TTA plan and personnel needs over the period of performance.

Applications, excluding required standard forms, must be submitted as three (3) files. Any additional files submitted as part of the Grants.gov application will not be accepted for processing and will be excluded from the application during the review process. Merit reviewers are not permitted to follow embedded links to materials outside of the application. Your content must fit within the page limits of the application.

1. The complete Project Narrative
2. All documents that make up the Appendices described in Section E.2.b
3. The entire Budget Package including supporting documentation described in the Budget Narrative content section

You must prepare your application using the forms and information described in the NOFO. The official online application package on Grants.gov contains all necessary forms and guidance for preparing an application.

• SF-424 Application for Federal Assistance
• SF-424A Budget Information for Non-Construction Programs
• SF-LLL Disclosure of Lobbying Activities
• Project Abstract Summary

Acceptable formats include Adobe PDF (.pdf), Microsoft Word (.doc or .docx), and image files (.jpg, .gif, .tif, .bmp). Excel files, compressed files (e.g., .zip, .rar), and password-protected files are not acceptable. OPA strongly recommends converting all files to PDF before submission.

Your project narrative and appendices must adhere to these page limits:

• Project Narrative: 40 pages
• Project Narrative plus Appendices: 70 pages

If your application exceeds the specified page limits when printed on 8.5” X 11” page, we will not review your application further. We encourage you to print out your application before submitting it to ensure that it is within limits and is easy to read.

Do not reduce pages to fit multiple pages on a single sheet to avoid exceeding the page limitation.

Do not hyperlink documents or sites outside of your application to augment your application. Reviewers will not be permitted to follow links to external content during their assessment of your application.

• The one exception to this is a link to your internal controls as part of your budget package (Section E.2.c.3).

No. The NOFO states that the page limits do not include the budget package or required forms, including SF-424, SF-424A, SF-LLL, and the Project Abstract Summary.

No. Do not number pages or include a table of contents. Our grants management system will generate page numbers once your application is complete.

Your application should include the following appendices:

1. Work Plan: Include a detailed work plan that is consistent with your project narrative and budget narrative. Your work plan should cover all years of the estimated period of performance.
2. Title X Assurances Required by 42 CFR part 59, subpart C (§59.205). Include assurance that:
   1. No portion of the Federal funds will be used to train personnel for programs where abortion is a method of family planning.
   2. No portion of the Federal funds will be used to provide professional training to any student as part of his/her education in pursuit of an academic degree.
   3. No project personnel or trainees shall on the grounds of race, color, national origin, religion, sex, disability, age, or another protected characteristic be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under the project.
3. Signed Memorandum of Understandings (MOUs). If possible, include MOUs for organizations and entities that have been specifically named as a subrecipient or partner to carry out any aspect of the project. Note: Signed MOUs will be required prior to issuance of any award under this announcement.
4. Letters of Support. The application should include Letters of Support that help to demonstrate capacity or otherwise strengthen the application.
5. Curriculum Vitae/Resume for Key Project Personnel and Job Descriptions for Positions to be Hired. You must submit with your application curriculum vitae and/or resumes for Key Personnel who will be responsible for day-to-day management and oversight of the project, as well as the lead evaluator for the project. Also, include with your application, position descriptions for key personnel positions that will need to be filled if funds are awarded.
6. Organizational Chart. Include an organizational chart that reflects the management structure for the project and demonstrates where the project resides within the greater organization.

Yes. Applications must include the Title X Assurances Required by 42 CFR part 59, subpart C (§59.205) in the Appendices.

The Title X Assurances required by 42 CFR part 59, subpart C (§ 59.205) must include assurance that:

1. No portion of the Federal funds will be used to train personnel for programs where abortion is a method of family planning;
2. No portion of the Federal funds will be used to provide professional training to any student as part of their education in pursuit of an academic degree; and
3. No project personnel or trainees shall, on the grounds of race, color, national origin, religion, sex, disability, age, or another protected characteristic, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under the project.

If possible, include MOUs for organizations and entities that have been specifically named as a subrecipient or partner to carry out any aspect of the project. Note: Signed MOUs will be required prior to issuance of any award under this announcement. The signed MOUs should detail the specific role and resources that will be provided, or activities that will be undertaken, in support of the applicant; demonstrate current commitment from the partners to the project being proposed in the application; and describe the organization’s expertise, experience, and access to the selected population(s). 

MOUs are not the same as letters of support. Letters of support are letters that are general in nature that speak to the writer’s belief in the capability of an applicant to accomplish a goal/task. Letters of support also may indicate an intent or interest to work together in the future, but they lack specificity.

Yes. Include a detailed work plan that is consistent with your project narrative and budget narrative. Your work plan should cover all years of the estimated period of performance.

No. You are not required to provide cost sharing or matching in your proposed budget.

A complete budget package consists of the following required components:

• SF-424A “Budget Information Non-Construction Programs”
• Budget narrative with detailed justification by cost category/object class
• Plan for oversight of federal funds

You should include supporting documentation for your budget (e.g., a copy of your approved indirect cost rate) as part of the budget package, not as part of your appendices to the project narrative. There is no page limit for the budget package contents. 

Yes. Your budget narrative must describe the first budget period in detail. For each proposed cost for the first budget period, provide a justification that includes explanatory text and line-item detail. You should describe how you derived your categorical costs. Your justification should show the necessity and reasonableness of the proposed costs for the project. For subsequent budget years in an anticipated multi-year period of performance, provide a summary narrative and line-item budget for each year beyond the first. For categories or items that differ significantly from the first budget period, provide a detailed justification explaining these changes.

You must enter the project budget according to the directions provided with the standard form.

You must provide costs by object class category for the first 12 months (i.e., first budget period) of the proposed project using Section B, box 6 of SF-424A. If the estimated period of performance is 12 months or less, this will be your total budget request for the entire project.

"Federal resources" refers only to the funds for which you are applying under this NOFO. "Nonfederal resources" are all other resources (federal and non-federal).

Do not include costs beyond the first budget period in the object class budget in box 6 of SF 424A or box 18 of SF-424. The amounts entered in these sections should only reflect the first budget period.

If there is a discrepancy between your SF-424A and budget narrative and justification, we will rely on the narrative and justification to determine the final amounts.

No. Pre-award costs are NOT allowed. Pre-award costs (2 C.F.R. § 200.458) are those incurred prior to the effective date of the Federal award directly pursuant to the negotiation and in anticipation of the Federal award where such costs are necessary for efficient and timely performance of the scope of work.

No. We will not approve construction costs. This includes major improvements to or significant renovations of facilities.

No. We will not approve a vehicle purchase at the time of award even when included in your application. You must obtain prior approval before the purchase of a mobile health unit or any other vehicle with award funds. A request for prior approval must include a detailed justification of the need for the vehicle that includes an analysis of comparing purchase, lease, and other alternatives. Equipment purchases are subject to be transferred to another federal project or sale at the end of the period of performance (2 C.F.R. § 200.313(e)).

Calculate your indirect costs based on a percentage of your modified total direct costs (MTDC) (2 C.F.R. § 200.1).

There are two methods. You must clearly identify the rate you used in your submitted budget.

1. Negotiated Indirect Cost Rate: If you have an approved negotiated indirect cost rate from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) or another cognizant federal agency, you should apply that negotiated rate. You should enclose a copy of the current approved rate agreement in your Budget package file. If you request a rate that is less than allowed, your authorized representative must submit a signed acknowledgement that you are accepting a lower rate than allowed. This should be an explicit statement that you accept a lower rate than is allowed and specify what the lower rate is.
2. De minimis Rate (2 C.F.R. § 200.414(f)): If you do not have a current Federal negotiated indirect cost rate (including provisional rate) you “may elect to charge a de minimis rate of up to 15 percent of modified total direct costs (MTDC).” (2 C.F.R. § 200.414(f).) You may “determine the appropriate rate up to this limit. When applying the de minimis rate, costs must be consistently charged as either direct or indirect costs and may not be double charged or inconsistently charged as both.” (2 C.F.R. § 200.414(f).) If you elect to use the de minimis rate, you must use the de minimis rate for all Federal awards until you choose to receive a negotiated rate.

Indirect costs for training are limited to a fixed rate of eight percent of MTDC exclusive of tuition and related fees, direct expenditure on equipment, and subawards more than $50,000 (45 C.F.R. § 75.414 (c)(1)(i)).

Modified Total Direct Cost (MTDC) means all direct salaries and wages, applicable fringe benefits, materials and supplies, services, travel, and up to the first $50,000 of each subaward (regardless of the period of performance of the subawards under the award). MTDC excludes equipment, capital expenditures, charges for patient care, rental costs, tuition remission, scholarships and fellowships, participant support costs, and the portion of each subaward more than $50,000. Other items may only be excluded when necessary to avoid a serious inequity in the distribution of indirect costs, and with the approval of the cognizant agency for indirect costs (2 C.F.R. § 200.1).

Your application will undergo a series of reviews designed to ensure compliance with statutory and regulatory requirements, alignment with agency priorities, and responsible stewardship of Federal funds, consistent with Executive Order 14332, “Improving Oversight of Federal Grantmaking,” which aims to “strengthen oversight and coordination of, and to streamline, agency grantmaking to address […] problems, prevent them from recurring, and ensure greater accountability for use of public funds more broadly.”

Federal staff and an independent merit review panel will assess all qualified eligible applications according to the following criteria:

• Organizational Capacity and Expertise with Root Causes of Infertility (15 points)
• Organizational Capacity and Expertise in Providing TTA (15 points)
• Technical Approach for Providing TTA (25 points)
• Understanding Project Significance (25 points)
• Collaboration and Stakeholder Engagement (5 points)
• Project Monitoring and Evaluation Plan (10 points)
• Budget (5 points)

No. Because this is a competitive funding announcement, OPA is unable to provide input on individual grant applications.

We encourage you to carefully review the Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) and to submit the strongest proposal your organization can develop based on the application and evaluation criteria outlined in the announcement.

No. You should not interpret a request for information as an indication that we will make an award to you. A request only means that we continue to review your application.

Before issuing any award, GAM evaluates each recommended application for risks in accordance with 2 C.F.R. § 200.206. This evaluation may incorporate results of the evaluation for eligibility or of the quality of an application.

We will use a risk-based approach and may consider any items such as the following:

a. Your financial stability

b. Quality of management systems and ability to meet the management standards prescribed in 2 C.F.R. part 200

c. History of performance. Your record in managing Federal awards, if you are a prior recipient of Federal awards, including timeliness of compliance with applicable reporting requirements, conformance to the terms and conditions of previous Federal awards, and if applicable, the extent to which any previously awarded amounts will be expended prior to future awards

d. Reports and findings from audits performed

e. Your ability to effectively implement statutory, regulatory, or other requirements imposed on non-Federal entities.

Also, prior to making a Federal award with a total Federal share greater than the simplified acquisition threshold (currently $250,000), GAM must review and consider any information about you that is in the designated integrity and performance system accessible through the System for Award Management (SAM) (formerly the Federal Awardee Performance and Integrity Information System (FAPIIS)).

If you are a prior Federal award recipient, the information in the system must, at a minimum, “demonstrate a satisfactory record of executing programs or activities under Federal grants, cooperative agreements, or procurement awards; and integrity and business ethics.” 2 C.F.R. § 300; see also 2 C.F.R. §200.206. You have the option to review information in SAM and comment on any information about your organization that a federal awarding agency previously entered and is currently available through SAM.

GAM will consider any comments by you, in addition to the other information in the designated system, in making a judgment about your integrity, business ethics, and record of performance under Federal awards.

Recipients must report on project progress (2 C.F.R. § 200.329) and financial status (2 C.F.R. § 200.328) during the project. At the end of the project, acceptable final progress and financial reports are a requirement of the award closeout process. Failure to provide final progress or financial reports on any HHS award may affect decisions on future new or continuation funding.

No. We will award continuation funding based on availability of funds, satisfactory progress of the project, grants management compliance, including timely reporting, and continued best interests of the government. Progress is assessed relative to meeting the goals, objectives, and outcomes in the approved, funded project as described in the approved application and other supporting documents.

Yes. Cooperative agreements are a form of assistance that allows for substantial involvement between federal program office and the recipient during the project period. In addition to the usual monitoring and technical assistance provided under the cooperative agreement (e.g., assistance from assigned Federal project officer, frequent monitoring calls, site visits, ongoing review of plans and progress, participation in relevant meetings, provision of training and technical assistance), substantial programmatic involvement from OPA may include:

a. Facilitating communication with OPA-funded Title X grant recipients and other OPA funded organizations.

b. Keeping the funded training center abreast of important Federal initiatives that could potentially influence the direction or implementation of a given strategy.

c. Translation and dissemination of lessons learned through publications, meetings, and other means.