Below are common questions and corresponding answers regarding Accelerating Cancer Screening (AxCS) funding. Instructions and other supporting technical assistance information can be found on the AxCS technical assistance webpage.
On this page:
Partnerships
- Does my application have to include partnership documentation from an NCI-designated Cancer Center (Cancer Center)?
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Yes. Your application must include documentation of the required partnership as Attachment 2. The partnership documentation must:
- Define the nature of the relationship;
- Describe specific collaboration and/or coordinated activities in support of your project;
- Document a commitment to deploy Cancer Center-trained and supervised outreach specialists and patient navigators in your service area; and
- Be current and include a signature from the Cancer Center’s CEO or other appropriate key management staff member.
There is no requirement for the type of documentation. For example, it could take the form of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) or letter of commitment, but it must include all four of the above requirements.
Added: 5/4/2022
- Is the partnering NCI-designated Cancer Center required to be located within my service area?
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No, but the Cancer Center must commit to deploying Cancer Center-trained and supervised outreach specialists and patient navigators to improve cancer screening and referral for care and treatment within your service area.
Added: 5/4/2022
- Is there a minimum number of partners that I must engage through my AxCS project?
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Yes. You are required to partner with an NCI-designated Cancer Center to improve cancer screening and referral for care and treatment in your service area. You may also partner with other health centers, state/local health departments, Native American Tribal organizations, and/or community and faith-based organizations to leverage community outreach, education, and engagement resources to increase cancer screening and referral for care and treatment.
Added: 5/4/2022
- Are letters of support required if my application proposes a partnership with only the NCI-designated Cancer Center?
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No. If you plan to partner with only the Cancer Center, and not collaborate with any other providers/organizations to implement your project, you do not need to provide letters of support. You should include Attachment 3 with the statement, “This attachment is not required. We plan to partner with only the Cancer Center.”
Added: 5/4/2022
- What does my partnering NCI-designated Cancer Center have to contribute to the AxCS project?
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Your partnering Cancer Center must deploy its outreach specialists and patient navigators in the health center’s service area to increase cancer screening and referral for care and treatment.
Added: 5/4/2022
- Can I contract with an NCI-designated Cancer Center to provide training and technical assistance to build and/or enhance cancer screening capacity in my health center?
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Yes. You may use AxCS funds to purchase training and/or technical assistance from partnering Cancer Centers and other partner organizations.
Added: 5/4/2022
- What does “deployment of Cancer Center staff” require?
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Deployment of Cancer Center staff requires the physical deployment of Cancer Center staff to the health center’s service area to conduct community outreach and patient navigation to increase cancer screening and referral for care and treatment.
Added: 5/4/2022
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Can my health center use its outreach specialists and patient navigators to increase cancer screenings?
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Yes. Your health center may use its outreach specialists and patient navigators to increase screenings. However, you may not use health center staff to conduct outreach and patient navigation in lieu of the Cancer Center staff that are required to be deployed to provide outreach and patient navigation in your service area.
Added: 05/23/2022
Budget Requirements and Project Planning
- How should I present my AxCS budget request on the SF-424A and in other budget documents?
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The information below outlines where to include your two-year AxCS budget information.
- SF-424A Section A: Total two-year request by subprogram (i.e., CHC, HCH, MHC, PHPC)
- Federal: $500,000 maximum (the total amount to be spent across two years)
- Non-federal: As applicable
- SF-424A Section B: Two-year break out by cost category (totals align with Section A totals)
- Federal: $500,000 maximum (the total amount to be spent across two years)
- Non-federal: As applicable
- SF-424A Section C: Two-year non-federal funds sources
- SF-424A Sections D&E: Leave blank
- Budget Narrative: Two-year totals (federal and non-federal aligned with Section B), plus:
- Year 1 break out by cost category (federal and non-federal)
- Year 2 break out by cost category (federal and non-federal)
- Personnel Justification Table, if AxCS funding will support staff, contractors, or consultants
- You do not need to spend federal funds equally across the two years. See the sample Budget Narrative on the AxCS TA webpage.
- Equipment List (if applicable): Equipment purchases (must not exceed $250,000)
- Items costing less than $5,000 should be listed as supplies.
Added: 5/4/2022
- SF-424A Section A: Total two-year request by subprogram (i.e., CHC, HCH, MHC, PHPC)
- Why will AxCS funding be issued through a new grant number?
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AxCS funding will be issued under a new grant number separate from current Health Center Program operational (H80) grant awards to support health centers receiving AxCS awards to separately track and account for their activities supported through the AxCS (H8I) funding.
Added: 5/4/2022
- Will I be required to complete a non-competing continuation report to receive Year 2 funds?
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No. AxCS funding will be awarded to support the full two-year period of performance. You do not need to spend federal funds equally across the two years.
Added: 5/4/2022
- What is considered non-federal funding?
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The non-federal share of the project budget includes all anticipated program income sources, such as fees, premiums, third party reimbursements, and payments that are generated from delivering services. Program income also includes “other revenue sources,” such as state, local, or other federal grants or contracts; and private support or income generated from fundraising or contributions. Non-federal costs also include any in-kind donations in support of the AxCS project.
Added: 5/4/2022
- What is considered equipment?
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Equipment includes moveable items that are non-expendable, tangible personal property (including information technology systems) having a useful life of more than one year and a per-unit acquisition cost that equals or exceeds the lesser of the capitalization level established by the applicant for its financial statement purposes, or $5,000. Items costing less than $5,000 per unit are considered supplies.
Added: 5/4/2022
- Are there any formatting guidelines for the Budget Narrative?
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Yes. Use single line spacing and an easily readable font, such as Times New Roman, Arial, or Courier. The font should be size 10-point or larger. You may submit a Microsoft Excel file, but limit the Excel workbook to one tab (i.e., spreadsheet) and ensure that the print area is set to the information HRSA needs to review, minimizing blank cells where possible. See the AxCS technical assistance webpage for an example Budget Narrative.
Added: 5/4/2022
- If I use AxCS funds to purchase a mobile unit, can I use the mobile unit for other purposes?
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The primary purpose of mobile units purchased with AxCS funds must be to increase equitable access to cancer screening and referral for care and treatment in support of your AxCS project.
Added: 5/4/2022
- Will AxCS funding continue beyond the two-year period of performance?
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Additional funding to support cancer screening may be made available beyond the 2 years of funding under this NOFO. If additional funding for this purpose is available in future fiscal years, funding beyond the two-year period of performance may be made available dependent upon your performance on the AxCS objectives:
- Increase the number and percentage of patients screened for at least one of the following cancer types: cervical, breast, and/or colorectal; and
- Increase the number of patients assisted with accessing appropriate follow-up care within 30 days of receiving an abnormal screening test result.
If available, HRSA will base future funding on your Year 2 funding level as presented in your budget narrative.
Added: 5/4/2022
Staffing
- Can I use AxCS funds to hire a driver to transport patients from a location in the community to one of my health center sites for cancer screening?
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Yes. Transportation is an allowed enabling service if it moves health center patients to or from a location where they are receiving a service on your currently approved Form 5A (i.e., the service is within the scope of your Health Center Program project). AxCS funds cannot be used to purchase or lease a vehicle to transport patients.
Added: 5/4/2022
- If I plan to contract FTEs, must I include them in the personnel justification table?
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Yes. You must include on the personnel justification table all direct hire and contract personnel FTEs that you propose to support with AxCS funding. If you are proposing to increase the hours of a current FTE, include only the increased FTE amount when listing the current staff member on the personnel justification table and provide an explanation in the narrative.
Added: 5/4/2022
- Is there a requirement to add certain types or a certain amount of personnel as part of my AxCS project?
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No. You may use AxCS funds to add a variety of personnel (e.g., patient navigator, physician, patient education staff, outreach staff) and/or leverage existing personnel to support achieving the AxCS purpose and objectives. Personnel supported with AxCS funds must not already be supported in full by H80 operational grant or related supplemental funding (e.g., H8F).
Added: 5/4/2022
Other
- How do I complete the fields in the SF-424?
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See the Application for Federal Assistance (SF-424) form items description.
The table below includes information on how to respond to specific sections.
Box Number Field Response 1 Type of Submission Application 2 Type of Application New 3 Date Received Leave blank (completed automatically in Grants.gov) 4 Applicant Identifier The Grants.gov identification number will populate here 5a, 5b Federal Entity Identifier, Federal Award Identifier Enter your H80 number 12 Funding Opportunity Number HRSA-22-154 14 Areas Affected by Project List the primary service site where you will implement you AxCS project 15 Descriptive Title of Applicant’s project Accelerating Cancer Screening 16 Congressional Districts Include the congressional district for the primary service site where you will implement your AxCS project, in alignment with the site listed in box 14. The attachment is not required. 17 Proposed Project The period of performance is September 1, 2022 to August 31, 2024 18 Estimated Funding ($) Enter amount of AxCS funding requested for the two-year period of performance for A) Federal (up to $500,000) 19 Is Application Subject to Review Under Executive Order 12372 Process? Select A if your state is included in the SPOC list (PDF - 125 KB).
If not, select B) Program is subject to E.O. 12372 but has not been selected by the State for review.Added: 5/4/2022
- If I have multiple sites that I plan to include in my AxCS project, do I list them all on the Project/Performance Site locations form?
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No. Include only the primary service site where your AxCS project will be implemented on the Project/Performance Site Location form in Grants.gov.
Added: 5/4/2022
- Can I propose activities at a service site that I plan to bring into scope later?
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Proposed activities must be proposed at sites (including mobile units) in your approved scope of project, as indicated on Form 5B. If a new site is added to scope, AxCS funding may be used to support approved AxCS activities at that site. For additional information, see the Scope of Project resource webpage.
Added: 5/4/2022
- Am I required to address all three cancer types—breast, cervical, and colorectal—in my AxCS project?
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No. While your project may address more than one cancer type, that is not required. You must propose to increase the number and percentage of patients screened and referred for care and treatment for at least one of the three identified cancer types.
Added: 5/4/2022
- Can I use AxCS funds to support screening for cancer types other than breast, cervical, and/or colorectal?
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Yes. But, at a minimum, your AxCS project must address breast, cervical, and/or colorectal cancer screening.
Added: 5/4/2022
- Will I be required to follow up on referrals made for abnormal cancer screenings?
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Yes. You will be required to report in select biannual progress reports the percentage of patients with referrals for care and treatment for which you receive a report from the provider to whom the patient was referred. For more information on this measure, see CMS50v9.
Added: 5/4/2022