Input into USAID/OFDA’s Infectious Disease (with Epidemic or Pandemic potential) Standby Capacity for Humanitarian Emergency Annual Program Statement (APS) | 720FDA18RFI01

Opportunity Information: Apply for 720FDA18RFI01

This opportunity is a Request for Information (RFI) issued by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), specifically through the Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance (OFDA), to gather feedback from the public and private sectors about how to structure and resource infectious disease standby and surge capacity for humanitarian emergencies, particularly events with epidemic or pandemic potential. In practical terms, USAID is trying to learn what capabilities exist, what gaps remain, and what approaches organizations think would work best if USAID later sets up an Annual Program Statement (APS) or similar mechanism to quickly access technical support during outbreaks and other crisis settings.

It is important to treat this strictly as an information-gathering exercise rather than a funding opportunity you can apply to right now. USAID explicitly states that this is not a call for concept notes, proposals, or applications, and anything submitted as an application will not be reviewed. Submitting a response also does not create any obligation on the government to make an award, issue a future solicitation, or reimburse respondents for the time or cost of preparing input. The purpose is to inform USAID planning and market research, and to help shape what a future Request for Applications (RFA) or APS might look like, if USAID decides to release one later on Grants.gov.

The request is labeled as discretionary and categorized under Disaster Prevention and Relief, with CFDA number 98.001. Eligibility is listed as unrestricted, which is a signal that USAID is open to input from a wide range of entities, including non-profits, for-profits, academic institutions, and other relevant organizations or individuals with expertise in outbreak response, humanitarian operations, public health preparedness, and related fields. However, because this is an RFI and not an award solicitation, the key point is not who is eligible to apply for funding, but who has relevant information to contribute to USAID decision-making.

USAID asks respondents to answer specific questions contained in the full RFI document. Responses are optional on a question-by-question basis, meaning an organization can choose to respond only to the questions where it has the most relevant experience or evidence. Even so, USAID emphasizes that answers should be succinct, specific, and clearly written in English, and that each response should directly address the corresponding question rather than offering broad, generic statements. There is also an option to provide general comments at the end, which is typically where respondents can add cross-cutting observations, risks, or recommendations that do not fit neatly into a single prompt.

Administrative instructions are straightforward but strict. Only one submission is allowed per individual or organization, which usually means organizations should internally coordinate their input and send a consolidated response rather than multiple separate emails from different departments. Responses must be emailed to IDAPOFDA@ofda.gov. The original closing date listed for responses is November 21, 2017, and the posting was created on November 15, 2017. No award ceiling is specified (listed as 0) and expected awards are not indicated, which is consistent with an RFI since it is not announcing funding.

Overall, the opportunity is best understood as USAID/OFDA testing assumptions and collecting field-informed recommendations about how to maintain or contract for rapid, high-quality infectious disease response capacity during humanitarian emergencies. Organizations that would have been well-positioned to respond are those with demonstrated outbreak readiness and deployment capability, such as epidemiology and surveillance support, infection prevention and control, laboratory and diagnostics coordination, risk communication and community engagement, case management support, logistics for emergency health commodities, and experience operating in fragile or crisis-affected environments. Any future APS or RFA, if released, would be posted later on Grants.gov, and the RFI is meant to shape that potential future funding instrument rather than award funds immediately.

• The Agency for International Development in the disaster prevention and relief sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Input into USAID/OFDA’s Infectious Disease (with Epidemic or Pandemic potential) Standby Capacity for Humanitarian Emergency Annual Program Statement (APS)" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 98.001.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2017-11-15.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2017-11-21. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Eligible applicants include: Unrestricted.

Apply for 720FDA18RFI01

[Watch] Creating a grant proposal using the step-by-step wizard inside the applicant portal: