National Rural Health Information Clearinghouse Program

For programmatic or technical questions:
Steven Hirsch
301.443.7322
shirsch@hrsa.gov

For grants management or budget questions:
Kimberly Dews
301.443.0655
kdews@hrsa.gov

The Federal Office of Rural Health Policy (FORHP) will support a single entity to serve as a national clearinghouse for information on rural health to support access to healthcare and improve population health in rural communities. A successful program will continue to build upon the federally funded resources that currently exist and serve as a primary resource for information, opportunities, and tools related to rural health.

The responsibilities of the awardee will include:

• Collecting, analyzing, synthesizing, and disseminating promising practices in rural health and the key findings of leading rural researchers
• Responding to FORHP requests, comments, and questions on a timely basis
• Responding to a wide range of information requests on rural issues through operation of a toll-free phone service and through email
• Systematically seeking out resources on a range of issues relevant to rural health and providing access to them through the web, email, social media, and other channels appropriate to rural stakeholders
• Development and maintenance of a Section 508-compliant website
• Assisting rural residents in navigating the complex web of federal agencies, foundations, and TA providers that support rural healthcare
• Making human and technical resources available, as necessary, either directly or contractually, to operate the clearinghouse including assistance with public dissemination of HRSA grantee information and access to an academic library that includes at least a focus or concentration in the health sciences
• Producing and electronically distributing email updates including a newsletter on rural health distributed by email and available on the website
• Attending and exhibiting at key national, regional, or state meetings
• Maintaining a web-based directory of federal, state, foundation, and other funding available to support rural health
• Tracking, posting, or linking to policy documents and federal regulations that affect rural healthcare
• Developing online toolkits relevant to the recipients of FORHP's community-based grants
• Tracking and working with philanthropic organizations involved or potentially involved with funding rural health initiatives
• Producing an annual report listing accomplishments of the clearinghouse, identifying topics frequently requested by users, and outlining future activities

Eligible applicants are domestic public, private and nonprofit entities, including faith-based and community-based organizations, tribes, and tribal organizations.

Total Funding Available: $3,000,000 per year
Project period: 5 years
Number of Awards: 1

Links to the full announcement, application instructions, and the online application process are available through grants.gov.

Applicant webinar recording
Playback number: 800.294.2476
Passcode: 91819