Building Resilience Against Climate Effects: Enhancing Community Resilience by Implementing Health Adaptations | CDC RFA EH16 1602

Opportunity Information: Apply for CDC RFA EH16 1602

Building Resilience Against Climate Effects: Enhancing Community Resilience by Implementing Health Adaptations is a CDC funding opportunity designed to help state and local health departments move from climate planning into real-world action. The premise is straightforward: climate change is already increasing the frequency and severity of hazards such as extreme heat, heavy rainfall, flooding, drought, stronger storms, and sea level rise, and those hazards can directly and indirectly harm human health. The CDC points to findings from the National Climate Assessment showing that existing health threats are likely to intensify and that new threats may emerge as climate conditions continue to shift across the United States.

This opportunity sits within the CDC Climate and Health Program (CHP), which was established in 2009 to help health departments develop and test ways to prepare for and respond to climate-related health risks. In earlier rounds of support, participating jurisdictions used the BRACE framework (Building Resilience Against Climate Effects) to assess risks, identify vulnerable populations, and produce Climate and Health Adaptation Plans. The focus of this particular Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) is follow-on work: it funds the implementation of those adaptation plans rather than the creation of new ones, with a strong emphasis on monitoring, evaluation, and measurable public health outcomes.

The core purpose is to reduce negative health impacts from climate change within a health department's jurisdiction by putting evidence-based interventions into practice wherever possible. That includes selecting and deploying public health adaptations that are grounded in existing research and practice, then tracking whether those interventions are working through structured monitoring and evaluation. The CDC expects funded projects to use performance measures that demonstrate progress and health impact, not just activity counts. In practical terms, that means designing interventions with clear objectives, defining indicators of success, collecting data consistently, and using findings to refine approaches over time.

A notable feature of the program is its emphasis on strengthening overall public health capacity to deal with climate threats using the 10 Essential Public Health Services (EPHS) as both a guide and an assessment tool. This signals that the CDC is not only funding specific climate-related interventions, but also encouraging health departments to embed climate readiness into routine public health functions such as surveillance, community partnerships, communication, emergency preparedness, policy development, and continuous quality improvement.

Administratively, this is a discretionary cooperative agreement (meaning the CDC is likely to have substantial involvement in guiding or supporting recipients during implementation). It is offered under Funding Opportunity Number CDC RFA EH16-1602, within the health activity category, and listed under CFDA 93.070. Eligible applicants are state governments and city or township governments, reflecting the program's intent to support governmental public health agencies with jurisdictional responsibility. The original closing date for applications was June 20, 2016, with an award ceiling of $300,000 per award and an expected 18 awards, indicating a moderately sized cohort of jurisdictions implementing climate-and-health adaptations with CDC support.

• The Centers for Disease Control - NCEH in the health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Building Resilience Against Climate Effects: Enhancing Community Resilience by Implementing Health Adaptations" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 93.070.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2016-04-15.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2016-06-20. (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 $300,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 18 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: State governments, City or township governments.

Apply for CDC RFA EH16 1602

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