National Organizations of State and Local Officials: State Governance

This notice announces the opportunity to apply for funding under the National Organizations of State and Local Officials (NOSLO) Program: State Governance to fund a national level organization with an in-depth understanding of, and experience with, providing technical assistance and support to state and territorial governors and their policy advisors. 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: State Governance cooperative agreement identifies or develops and implements solutions to the public health challenges governors face in their state systems by leveraging HRSA investments. This work will support the development of innovative state public health activities that improve access to quality health care for people who are medically and economically vulnerable, with a special emphasis on under and uninsured populations, maternal health disparities, people with unmet behavioral health needs, including youth, justice involved populations, and other vulnerable people. The successful recipient is expected to provide tailored technical assistance to state and territorial governors and their policy advisors to address HRSA’s priorities through: • Communication and information sharing between HRSA and state and territorial governors and their policy advisors, and • Training; data collection, sharing, and analysis; publication development; convenings, (e.g., learning exchanges on priority topics); and other activities that enable state and territorial governors and their policy advisors to operate in a responsive, coordinated, and effective manner. Program Objectives • Engage state and territorial governors and their policy advisors 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 for innovative solutions to address public health challenges and share best practices that will improve access to quality health care to address the following: people who are medically and economically vulnerable, with a special emphasis on under and uninsured populations, maternal health disparities, people with unmet behavioral health needs, including youth, justice involved populations, and other vulnerable people. For more details, see Program Requirements and Expectations.