Minnesota Innovations in Perinatal and Infant Health

This Request for Proposals (RFP) is focused on improving infant and perinatal health outcomes for communities of color and American Indian communities. This RFP aligns with two key programs within the Maternal and Child Health Section leading perinatal health innovation within communities most impacted along with investment in community-based programs addressing improved infant health.

This funding opportunity will support two separate categories:

• Category 1: Perinatal Health Innovations | Innovative activities in community engagement and communications focused on improving perinatal health and supporting the Perinatal Health Strategic Plan.
• Category 2: Infant Health Innovations | Community-based programs that focus on the 4 risk factors of infant health: reducing preterm birth, sleep-related infant deaths, congenital malformations, and address social and environmental determinants of health.

Funding details and application instructions can be found in Minnesota Innovations in Perinatal and Infant Health (PDF).

Proposal Documents

• Appendix D: Work Plan Template (Word)
• Appendix E: Budget Details and Justification (Excel)
• Appendix G: Conflict of Interest Form (PDF)
• Appendix H: Due Diligence Form (PDF)
• Appendix I: Indirect Cost Questionnaire (PDF)
• Appendix J: Glossary of Terms (PDF)
• Appendix K: Selected Resources (PDF)
• Appendix L: Background Information on Infant and Perinatal Health (PDF)

Timeline

RFP released: March 1
Information session: March 11
Letter of Intent (LOI) due: March 11 (Letter of Intent is optional, will be accepted after the due date.)
Questions due: March 22
Applications due: April 1
Estimated grant start date: May 15

Information Session

Technical Assistance (TA) session during the application period was offered on Mon., March 11 at 11 a.m. CST via WebEx. Questions from the TA session are addressed in the FAQ document found below and the presentation slides from the session are available for applicants to review.

Minnesota Innovations in Perinatal and Infant Health Presentation (PDF)

Letters of Intent (LOI)

Applicants are strongly encouraged to submit a non-binding Letter of Intent (LOI) to apply for funding under this RFP. Letters of Intent should include:

• Applicant legal name.
• Categories planning to apply for (if planning to submit for more than one category, a LOI must be submitted separately for each category).
• Brief description of the proposed communities and/or priority populations to be served.
• Brief description of the geographic area to be served.
• The anticipated approaches to be funded through this RFP.
• The anticipated amount of funding the applicant will request for funding activities.

Letters of Intent must be submitted electronically by 11:59 p.m. (CST) on March 11 to the grant interface portal, Foundant.

If you do not receive a confirmation within two days of submission, please contact the MCH section at 651-201-3650.

Questions and Answers

Minnesota Innovations in Perinatal and Infant Health RFP FAQ (PDF)

All questions regarding this RFP must be submitted by email to health.mch@state.mn.us. All questions and answers will be posted every Friday on this webpage.

Questions were to be received by 11:59 p.m. Central Standard Time (CST), on March 22. Questions submitted after this date will not be answered. The final questions and answers will be posted to the website on March 27.

Application Submission Instructions

All applications must be submitted electronically by 11:59 p.m. (CST) on April 1 to the grant interface portal, Foundant.

To apply for the proposal, you must acknowledge the LOI portion in Foundant. It is highly encouraged not to submit the LOI and application on the last day of submission. Please follow instructions in question 2 from the Frequently Asked Questions. 

How to access Foundant:

• New Users: Please click on “Create New Account” to complete the registration process and create your logon credentials.
• Existing Users: Please enter your credentials and log in. If you forgot your password, use the “Forgot your Password?” link to the left on the logon screen to reset your password.
• Not Sure: If you think that you or someone at your organization has already registered in Foundant, do not create a new account. Please contact our MDH Maternal and Child Health staff at health.MCH@state.mn.us for assistance.

Once in the system, click on the “apply” button located on the upper tool bar on the home page. You will be redirected to a list of open applications in the system. Then select the “Minnesota Innovations in Perinatal and Infant Health” application.

Acknowledgement of application receipt. MDH will “reply all” to the email address that submitted the application to acknowledge receipt of your application within one business day of the due date/time. If you do not receive this acknowledgment email within one business day of the due date/time, it means MDH did not receive your application/documents. Please contact the MCH section at health.mch@state.mn.us or at 651-201-3650 immediately after the one business day for further instructions.

Request for reviewers: Minnesota Innovations in Perinatal and Infant Health

Update: Reimbursement up to $300 are available for reviewers of this grant. **Please note that reimbursements are for community reviewers only and are not available for government employees or other reviewers who are receiving support from their employers to participate. 

MDH seeks volunteer grant reviewers to participate in a community review process for the Minnesota Innovations in Perinatal and Infant Health Grant.  These grants focus on improving infant and perinatal health outcomes for communities of color and American Indian communities.

We are especially seeking volunteers who:

• Identify as a person of color and/or American Indian.
• Come from across Minnesota’s urban and rural communities.
• Have lived experience in infant and perinatal health inequities.
• Have a background in infant and perinatal health.
• Have lived experience/or work with pregnant and postpartum women/birthing people: and parents and families with infants.  

* Reviewers will be required to identify any conflicts of interest and will not review a proposal if they have a direct relationship with the applicant. The number of reviewers selected will be contingent on the number of applications received. 
 
Reviewers will be asked to:

• Attend an optional 1-hour virtual reviewer orientation session, either March 27 or April 2 from noon - 1 p.m.
• Review and score assigned applications in the Foundant grants management system.
• Attend a 4-hour virtual community review team meeting (either on April 9 or 10).* 

*Detailed information will be sent about the orientation session and review team meetings.

*Reviewers are expected to have reliable internet access to participate in the meetings.
  
Interested? Please complete this online application. The deadline to apply to be a grant reviewer is Fri., March 29, by 11:59 p.m. Please email health.mch@state.mn.us if you have any questions.