National Organizations of State and Local Officials: Health Policy Innovation

This notice announces the opportunity to apply for funding under the National Organizations of State and Local Officials (NOSLO) Program: Health Policy Innovation to fund a national level organization with an in-depth understanding of, and experience with, providing technical assistance and support to state policy officials and organizations relevant to HRSA programs. The purpose of the NOSLO program is to assist state and local authorities in a) improving public health, health care and health care delivery, b) building capacity to address public health issues and support and enforce regulations intended to improve the public’s health, and c) promoting health equity to preserve and improve public health. To fulfill the purpose, the NOSLO program has the following objectives: 1) facilitate communication and data/information-sharing between HRSA and state, territorial, and/or local officials, 2) improve understanding of state, territorial, and/or local needs, priorities, and perspectives, and 3) support capacity-building activities at the state, territorial, and/or local levels that strengthen the health care safety net and advance public health goals. The term “capacity-building” includes actions that build, strengthen, and maintain the necessary competencies and resources to improve health services delivery to people who are geographically isolated and/or economically or medically vulnerable. The NOSLO: Health Policy Innovation cooperative agreement identifies health policy changes in the health care landscape and shares effective strategies to address emerging national, state, territorial, and local issues, with a special emphasis on the health care workforce, maternal health, behavioral health, telehealth strategies, including intrastate licensure, under and uninsured populations, homeless and public housing populations, and other vulnerable people. The successful recipient is expected to provide tailored technical assistance to state policy officials and organizations relevant to HRSA programs to address HRSA’s priorities through: • Communication and information sharing between HRSA and state policy officials and organizations relevant to HRSA programs, and • Training; data collection, sharing, and analysis; publication development; convenings, (e.g., learning exchanges on priority topics); and other activities that enable state policy officials and organizations relevant to HRSA programs to operate in a responsive, coordinated, and effective manner. Program Objectives • Engage multiple states and their state policy officials and organizations relevant to HRSA programs to develop detailed implementation plans for policy initiatives that will improve access to quality health care for their highest-need populations that intersect with HRSA programs. Where feasible, these initiatives can be shared across multiple states to achieve a nationwide impact. • Implement technical assistance activities and tools on health policies and effective strategies that will improve access to quality health care to address the following:the health care workforce, maternal health, behavioral health, telehealth strategies, including intrastate licensure, under and uninsured populations, homeless and public housing populations, and other vulnerable people.. For more details, see Program Requirements and Expectations.