Get answers to common questions about the fiscal year 2026 (FY 26) National Technical Assistance Programs (NTAP) cooperative agreements.
On this page:
Application development
How does the FY 2026 NTAP NOFO differ from the FY 2023 NOFO?
- The period of performance changed from three years to four years to align with period of performance changes for Health Center Program award recipients.
- The number of awards and funding amounts changed. The awards consolidate technical assistance (TA) into three key areas to align with achieving Make America Healthy Again priorities and Health Center Program statute. Awards will focus on clinical and operational improvement, including chronic disease prevention and management, mental health services, nutrition, and other vital patient support services.
- Outcomes-focused cohorts are now a required activity type to support health centers in improving their performance in priority areas.
(Added: 12/23/2025)
Can I apply for more than one NTAP category?
No, you can only apply for one NTAP category.
(Added: 12/23/2025)
Will the NTAP application have a HRSA Electronic Handbooks (EHBs) component?
No, you will complete your NTAP application in Grants.gov only.
(Added: 12/23/2025)
Can multiple organizations collaborate on a single NTAP application?
Yes, applicants are expected to partner with other organizations. An applicant may propose contracts or agreements with other organizations and subject matter experts to best meet the needs of health centers. Your application must include details about collaborations in the Project Work Plan, Project Narrative, Budget Narrative, and Attachment 7: Summary of Contracts and Agreements.
(Added: 12/23/2025)
How is Attachment 3: Staffing Plan different from Attachment 4: Position Descriptions for Key Personnel and Attachment 5: Biographical Sketches of Key Personnel?
- Attachment 3 provides a summary of all staff that will support your NTAP project.
- Attachment 4 provides position descriptions for key personnel.
- Attachment 5 describes the skills and experience of key personnel listed in Attachment 4.
Together these documents provide a comprehensive overview of your proposed staff. See the Attachments section of the NOFO for details.
(Added: 12/23/2025)
What experience should I emphasize in my NTAP application?
Your NTAP application should:
- Document your clear understanding of national needs.
- Demonstrate your experience with and ability for conducting learning opportunities for health centers.
- Demonstrate your capacity to carry out your proposed project work plan.
- Identify other organizations that you will partner with to ensure you have the necessary subject matter expertise to support health centers.
(Added: 12/23/2025)
Budget
Do I include contract FTEs in the staff justification table?
Yes, you must include all direct hire and contract FTEs that you will support with NTAP funding on the staff justification table. For part-time staff, include only the percent FTE that you will support with NTAP funding.
(Added: 12/23/2025)
Do I include activities in my application that I will only partially support with NTAP funding?
Yes, you must include all activities that you will support – in full or in part – with NTAP funding in your Project Work Plan, Project Narrative, and Budget Narrative. In your Project Work Plan, explain what portions of the activities NTAP funding will support. Contact the Grants Management Specialist listed in the NOFO for additional guidance.
(Added: 12/23/2025)
How can I use NTAP funding to offset costs of health center participation in outcomes-focused cohorts?
You may use NTAP funding to help health centers participate in two in-person outcomes-focused cohort meetings within the three years you are working with the cohort. Allowable costs include transportation, lodging, and per diem (which covers meals and incidental costs). For location-specific lodging and meals and incidental expenses rates, see https://www.gsa.gov/travel/plan-book/per-diem-rates.
(Added: 12/23/2025)
Project work plan (PWP)
How do I incorporate the Health Center Performance Improvement Framework into my NTAP project?
The framework consists of seven domains to support performance improvement. Your Project Work Plan will identify the performance domains each proposed activity will address and explain how each activity will strengthen health center performance. See the Health Center Performance Improvement Toolkit for more information.
(Added: 12/23/2025)
Am I required to maintain the same health center participants for the entire length of the outcomes-focused cohort?
Yes, because affecting outcomes takes time. You will commit to a three-year period of working together, and you must maintain at least 90 percent of health center cohort members from year to year. Your application should outline the strategies you will use to maintain health center engagement.
(Added: 12/23/2025)
Can I select the same measure for more than one outcomes-focused cohort?
Yes, for each outcomes-focused cohort objective, there are two measures that require two cohorts each. There is also a list of measures that you may select from for the two additional cohorts. See Objective 6 in Tables 4 and 5 in the NOFO for details.
(Added: 12/23/2025)
Can I select more than one measure for a single outcomes-focused cohort?
Yes, you may select more than one measure if the measures are related.
(Added: 12/23/2025)
If an objective requires me address multiple topics, does a health center need to receive TA on all of the selected topics to be counted toward achieving the objective target?
Any health center that receives TA under an objective may be counted once towards that objective target, regardless of whether it receives TA on one topic or multiple topics. For example, if you offer a webinar series and address four different topics across four different webinars, you can count all health centers that attend each webinar as receiving TA under that objective.
(Added: 12/23/2025)
Should health centers that improve their outcomes continue to be part of my cohorts?
Yes, if a health center improves on the selected measure before the end of the cohort, you should support the health center’s continued success. You should also encourage the sharing of experiences, lessons learned, and best practices to support improvement for other health centers across the cohort.
(Added: 12/23/2025)
Do all proposed activities need to begin within 60 days of award?
No. You must deliver TA for one or more activities within 60 days of award. You may specify in your PWP that some activities will start later in your first year of funding. We will work with you to establish your outcomes-focused cohorts over the first six months of your project.
(Added: 12/23/2025)
Will HRSA provide a template to help me develop my PWP?
No specific format is required for your PWP. However, you must ensure that the plan includes all required information and is easily readable by reviewers. Any format that keeps information from breaking awkwardly across pages is acceptable. We can email you a Microsoft Excel template to support your PWP development upon request.
(Added: 12/23/2025)
Objectives
Am I required to use all three TA formats for a single objective?
No, you should choose the formats that best fit each objective. If you propose multiple activities for a single objective, you may select different TA formats for each activity.
(Added: 12/23/2025)
Is there a required minimum number of activities for each TA format?
Yes, each TA format has a minimum number of activities based on your selected NTAP category. See Tables 2 and 3 in the NOFO for details.
(Added: 12/23/2025)
Are health centers required to advance to the next highest quartile by the end of the outcomes-focused cohort?
No, health centers are required to make progress on the selected measure by the end of the cohort.
(Added: 12/23/2025)
Health center performance quartiles change every year. How do we know what goal we should work toward for each outcomes-focused cohort?
Health centers should improve the outcome on each selected measure over the cohort period. If you want to set a numeric goal for all cohort members to work toward, you can use the quartile cut-offs at the time that you form your cohorts. This will be based on the 2025 UDS data.
(Added: 12/23/2025)
Miscellaneous
What are ways that I can coordinate with Primary Care Associations (PCAs) and Health Center Controlled Networks (HCCNs)?
- Implement a schedule and a digital tool to share planned TA efforts.
- Share needs assessment data and emerging issues insights.
- Engage them in your TA planning process to identify opportunities to work together.
- Collaborate on TA resource products to use each other’s strengths.
- Share evaluation data to increase the impact of TA.
(Added: 12/23/2025)
Can I contract with PCAs and HCCNs to support my project?
Yes, you can use NTAP funds to contract with PCAs and HCCNs for discrete work that is not part of their U58 (for PCAs) or U86 (for HCCNs) scope of work. You must include relevant details about the collaboration in the Project Work Plan, Project Narrative, Budget Narrative, and Attachment 7: Summary of Contracts and Agreements.
You cannot use NTAP funds to pay PCAs and HCCNs for activities they are already conducting for HRSA. You should develop and coordinate your TA resources with these programs to maximize the impact of all HRSA-supported TA.
(Added: 12/23/2025)