Public Health Emergency Preparedness (PHEP) Cooperative Agreement | CDC RFA TU 24 0137

Opportunity Information: Apply for CDC RFA TU 24 0137

The Public Health Emergency Preparedness (PHEP) Cooperative Agreement is a CDC funding opportunity designed to bolster how public health agencies plan for, respond to, and recover from major public health threats and emergencies. The core intent is to strengthen state, tribal, local, and territorial (STLT) public health systems so they can handle events that overwhelm normal, day-to-day response capacity. In practical terms, the program is meant to improve readiness in ways that translate into faster, more coordinated action during crises, with the ultimate aim of saving lives when emergencies escalate beyond routine operations. The opportunity frames this support as a roadmap for recipients to build strategies and carry out activities that improve their ability to execute emergency plans, manage real-world incidents, and recover afterward.

This announcement is issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), through ORR, as a discretionary cooperative agreement (Funding Opportunity Number CDC RFA TU 24 0137). The cooperative agreement structure signals that CDC expects substantial involvement in the work, typically through technical assistance, guidance, performance monitoring, and collaboration on program direction as recipients implement preparedness capabilities. The activity category is health, and the assistance listing is CFDA 93.069. The opportunity was created on February 23, 2024, and the original application closing date listed is April 24, 2024.

Eligibility is tightly defined and is not open to all entities. Applicants must be specific government jurisdictions (or their bona fide agents) and must also already be part of the existing PHEP funding stream: eligible recipients for this announcement must be currently funded under CDC-RFA-TP19-1901. The eligible applicant types include state governments and territorial governments, including freely associated states and territories such as American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, Guam, Puerto Rico, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, the Republic of Palau, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. In addition, certain local governments are explicitly named as eligible: Chicago, Los Angeles County, New York City, and Washington, D.C. While the general applicant category list includes items like county, city or township, special district governments, and others, the narrative makes clear that local eligibility is limited to those specifically identified jurisdictions and related statutory pathways.

The legal backbone of the award structure is Section 319C-1 of the Public Health Service (PHS) Act, which directs CDC to issue awards to eligible states, territories, and freely associated states using a formula method, provided they submit acceptable applications. Beyond formula awards, the statute also allows CDC to fund up to three political subdivisions that meet specific criteria: having a substantial population, having substantial local infrastructure for public health emergency response, and facing a high risk of bioterrorism or other public health emergencies. CDC has determined that Chicago, Los Angeles County, and New York City satisfy those requirements under this provision. Separately, the statute authorizes CDC to fund entities with an especially significant need to build capacity to identify, detect, monitor, and respond to bioterrorism or other public health threats when formula funding would not meet that need, and where the risk is particularly high. Under this authority, CDC has determined that the Cities Readiness Initiative (CRI) local planning jurisdictions and Level 1 Laboratory Response Network chemical laboratories meet the requirements. Washington, D.C. is also specifically recognized by statute as meeting the requirements for one of these awards.

In terms of scale, the opportunity indicates an expected 62 awards, with an award ceiling listed at $50,000,000. The focus across recipients is capability-building for preparedness and response, including the operational readiness needed to execute emergency plans, coordinate across agencies and jurisdictions, manage public health threats (including bioterrorism-related risks), and support recovery following incidents. Overall, the PHEP Cooperative Agreement functions as a major CDC mechanism for maintaining and strengthening nationwide public health preparedness infrastructure, with funds directed by statutory formulas and targeted risk- and need-based determinations for certain high-risk jurisdictions and specialized preparedness partners.

• The Centers for Disease Control - ORR in the health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Public Health Emergency Preparedness (PHEP) Cooperative Agreement" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 93.069.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2024-02-23.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2024-04-24. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $50,000,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 62 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: State governments, County governments, City or township governments, Special district governments, Others.

Apply for CDC RFA TU 24 0137

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