Applications are due on May 8th.
The goal of the Workforce Acceleration Initiative (WAI) is to strengthen public health agencies' (PHA) capacity to deliver information system improvements that are of top priority to each PHA by adding technology and data experts to their teams. The WAI's support of diverse PHAs in improving their information systems is anticipated to also accelerate progress toward CDC's Public Health Data Strategy (PHDS) goals. This initiative aims to increase the ability of PHAs serving state, tribal, local or territorial jurisdictions to leverage modern technology and interoperable data for public health action.
Through this initiative, the CDC Foundation plans to focus its efforts on a select number of PHAs that exhibit a strong willingness to both participate in the work and maximize the impact of receiving additional staff. WAI will place these technology and data staff members in approximately 40 PHAs. Our first cohort will include fewer than 10 PHAs, as we establish project processes.
The application for the first cohort will be posted on the CDC Foundation Requests for Proposals web page on Thursday, April 25, 2024, with responses due within two weeks (11:59 pm PST, Wednesday, May 8). We will also share frequently asked questions and host an information session on Monday, April 29 (2 to 3 PM EST) to support applicants. We are sending this message to provide extra time to prepare you and other PHAs for the application process.
Below are additional details:
· Overall, WAI aims to place approximately 130 WAI team members in 40 PHAs serving state, tribal, local or territorial jurisdictions. The initiative is being developed in coordination with public health associations and national agencies to ensure our actions complement other national systems development and data modernization efforts.
· CDC Foundation seeks to place WAI team members within selected PHAs as soon as May 2024.WAI Cohort 1 aims to partner with up to 10 PHAs to support the placement of 1-5 full-time WAI team members such as Data Scientists/Analysts, Project Managers, Software Developers/Engineers, Cloud Architects/Engineers and beyond within each selected PHA based on need.
· The CDC Foundation will provide salary and support WAI team members through June 30, 2025. To maximize success, we will coordinate with selected PHAs to ensure the skills of team members match the needs of PHA systems improvement strategies and teams.
· WAI Cohort 1 seeks a diverse, national cohort of PHAs across jurisdiction types that will benefit most from rapid placement of WAI team members (for example, PHAs with an information systems improvement plan/strategy but insufficient workforce to implement critical components).
· Due to the formative nature of the first cohort for developing future WAI cohorts, we will require that selected applicants:
o Have systems improvement project(s) that need staff to execute and are consistent with PHDS goals;
o Have an individual in place to lead information systems improvement for the PHA;
o Have sufficient budget to support non-personnel project costs;
o Already have or can quickly establish any approvals or agreements required for proposed project(s), such as budget approval, legal agreements (e.g., data use agreements), contracts or resource approvals (e.g., IT staff time); and
o Can support fully remote WAI team members.
View RFA
RFA Frequently Asked Questions
RFA Submission Form
Registration for Information Session
Due Date: May 8, 2024 at 11:59pm PST
Contact: WAI@cdcfoundation.org
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Meghan Shea MPH
Senior Program Analyst - Informatics
National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO)
Washington DC
(202)938-3119
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