Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children Workforce - Evaluation and Technical Assistance Center | USDA NIFA WICWD 010773

Opportunity Information: Apply for USDA NIFA WICWD 010773

The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children Workforce - Evaluation and Technical Assistance Center opportunity is a discretionary funding announcement from the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) that supports the WIC National Workforce Strategy, a joint initiative between USDA's Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) and NIFA. The larger effort is meant to build practical, long-lasting solutions to WIC workforce challenges across the country. At its core, the strategy is focused on strengthening the diversity and cultural competency of the WIC workforce so programs can better connect with communities that are eligible for WIC but not currently enrolled, and so current participants are more likely to fully use WIC benefits and services, including nutrition education and breastfeeding support. This particular award is designed to create a centralized Evaluation and Technical Assistance Center that will help guide, support, and assess the implementation projects funded under the broader WIC National Workforce Strategy.

Functionally, the Center is expected to play two major roles: technical assistance and evaluation oversight. On the technical assistance side, the awardee would help implementation projects translate the national workforce strategy into on-the-ground approaches, troubleshoot challenges, share tools and promising practices, and improve consistency and quality across sites. On the evaluation side, the Center would provide the structure for measuring results in a comparable way across multiple projects, helping ensure that the initiative can show credible outcomes tied to workforce improvements and, ultimately, WIC program goals such as increased participation among eligible but unenrolled populations and stronger participant engagement with services like nutrition counseling and breastfeeding support. Because the funding instrument is a cooperative agreement, applicants should expect substantial federal involvement during the project period, meaning NIFA is likely to be engaged in ongoing coordination, performance monitoring, and alignment with federal priorities rather than operating as a hands-off funder.

This opportunity is listed under Funding Opportunity Number USDA NIFA WICWD 010773 and CFDA 10.244, with NIFA as the issuing agency and "Agriculture" as the funding activity category. The application closing date provided is July 1, 2024. NIFA expects to make one award, and the award ceiling is $10,000,000, indicating the intent to fund a single, national-scale Center rather than multiple smaller awards. Given the scope, an applicant would typically need the capacity to manage a complex national effort, support multiple implementation sites or projects, and run an evaluation framework that can produce defensible findings useful to both program operators and federal decision-makers.

Eligibility is broad and intentionally inclusive to encourage strong applicants from many sectors. Eligible applicants include State Agricultural Experiment Stations; colleges and universities (including junior colleges offering associate degrees or higher, Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Tribal Colleges and 1994 Land-Grant Institutions, and Hispanic-serving agricultural colleges and universities); university research foundations; other research institutions and organizations; non-profit organizations; federal agencies; governmental agencies; national laboratories; private organizations or corporations; and individuals who are U.S. citizens, nationals, or permanent residents. Partnerships are also permitted, since any group made up of two or more eligible entities may apply. The main restriction is that foreign or international organizations are not eligible. NIFA also emphasizes that applicants must meet all requirements described in the Request for Applications (RFA) by the deadline, since missing eligibility criteria can lead to an application being excluded or prevent NIFA from making an award.

• The National Institute of Food and Agriculture in the agriculture sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children Workforce - Evaluation and Technical Assistance Center" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 10.244.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2024-05-21.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2024-07-01. (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 $10,000,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 1 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Others.

Apply for USDA NIFA WICWD 010773

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