Interventional Cooperative Agreement Program

I. Program DescriptionProgram PurposeThis funding opportunity is for the Interventional Cooperative Agreement Program (ICAP). Through the ICAP, SSA collaborates with States, private foundations, and other non-federal groups and organizations who have the interest and ability to identify, operate, and partially fund interventional research. The research and interventions under this program will target the increased employment and self-sufficiency of individuals with disabilities, including people of color and underserved communities (whether beneficiaries, applicants, or potential applicants of the Disability Insurance (DI) or Supplemental Security Income (SSI) programs); coordinating planning between private and public human services agencies to improve the administration and effectiveness the DI, SSI, and related programs; assisting claimants in underserved communities apply for or appeal decisions on claims for DI and SSI benefits; and conducting outreach to children with disabilities who are potentially eligible to receive SSI.SSA intends the projects to have a project period of up to 5 years, with the first year used to put any necessary data agreements into place, recruit additional partners (including any collaborators including sub-contractors or sub-awardees), and conduct any other implementation planning activities. If the project is able to meet these milestones in the first year, funding will be continued to field and evaluate the project for up to four years.Priority Topics of interestProposals must address goals under at least one of the following priority topics. Proposals should identify the priority topic(s) the proposed intervention(s) will address and explain how the intervention would address the priority topic(s).• Eliminating the structural barriers in the labor market for people with disabilities and other underserved communities. • Promoting self-sufficiency by helping people enter, stay in, or return to the labor force, including transition-age youth. • Coordinating planning between private and public human services agencies to improve the administration and effectiveness the DI, SSI, and related programs. • Assisting claimants in underserved communities apply for or appeal decisions on claims for DI and SSI benefits; and • Conducting outreach to children with disabilities who are potentially eligible to receive SSI.II. Award InformationType of AwardSSA expects to award at least two awards totaling up to $3 million (each) in cooperative agreements under this request for applications (RFA). The total amount awarded and the number of awards will be determined based on the strength of the applications received and programmatic and budgetary considerations. SSA reserves the right to determine the number of awards, make no awards, or to make awards for amounts less than the amounts requested by the applicants.Cooperative agreements require close cooperation and coordination between SSA and the awardees. SSA will have substantial involvement in the administration of the cooperative agreement, and SSA’s input and approval is required before conducting most activities.Award Amount and Period of PerformanceSSA will determine a proposal’s funding eligibility and level of funding based upon the evidence rating that currently exists for the proposed intervention or would likely be attained for the proposed intervention. SSA will also consider the efficacy (strength) of the proposed intervention. The determination of will be based on the level of causal evidence the chosen study design is likely to produce, as well as any existing causal evidence for the proposed intervention.An intervention for which there is a high level of causal evidence or a high likelihood of generating causal evidence, as identified using the criteria mentioned above, for up to 5 years with a total of up to $3 million from SSA. Feasibility studies, i.e., interventions with no causal evidence or a weak causal design as identified using the criteria mentioned above, may be funded up to $1.5 million. Base year spending (i.e., the spending for the first year of the award) for either study type should be no more than $250,000 or 10% of the total budget, whichever is greater.Applications with budgets including expectations of funding from SSA exceeding the ceiling will be deemed non-responsive and will not be considered. SSA will only consider one application per lead organization. The agreements will have one base year with the option to fund up to four (minimum two) additional years of the project. The one-year base period of each cooperative agreement will support the development of data sharing agreements, project planning, evaluation design, and other administrative aspects of the agreement. If, at the end of the first year, or sooner if the necessary agreements and other planning and administrative aspects are in place, the planning process results in an evaluable project, as determined by SSA, cooperative agreements may be extended for up to four additional years during which the awardee will implement and evaluate the intervention. Proposals must include a discussion of the level of causal evidence the chosen study design is likely to produce, as well as any existing causal evidence for the proposed intervention. We will use the criteria from the Department of Labor’s Clearinghouse for Labor Evaluation and Research (CLEAR) (https://clear.dol.gov/), the Department of Education’s What Works Clearinghouse (WWC) ( https://ies.ed.gov/ncee/wwc/), the Administration for Children and Families’ Pathways to Work Evidence Clearinghouse ( https://pathwaystowork.acf.hhs.gov/), and other similar clearinghouses to determine the level of each proposal’s claims of, and likelihood of producing, causal evidence. If the proposed project builds on any prior research that has been previously reviewed and rated by a clearinghouse, such information should be included in the project narrative. More information can be found in reference documents for the CLEAR, WWC, and Pathways to Work Evidence Clearinghouse review process.
Categories: Income Security and Social Services.