Opportunity Information: Apply for RFA FD 17 012
The National Laboratory Curriculum Framework Development opportunity is an FDA cooperative agreement run through the Office of Regulatory Affairs (ORA), Division of Human Resource Development (DHRD), designed to strengthen training and standardization across the Integrated Food Safety System (IFSS). The goal is to build and expand a National Curriculum Standard (NCS) for laboratorians who support human food and animal feed regulatory programs, helping FDA and its state and local partners meet Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) workforce and training expectations (including FSMA Section 209 and related public health authorities). It is structured as a limited competition with a single expected award, with FDA able to guarantee one year of support and the possibility of up to four additional years of noncompetitive continuation funding based on performance and federal funding availability.
Eligibility is aimed at national associations or organizations that represent state and local laboratories conducting food and/or animal feed testing for regulatory programs. The logic is that these groups are best positioned to coordinate with FDA counterparts and help align training nationwide. A key structural requirement is that the awardee must subaward at least 25 percent of the total funds to at least two different associations to achieve program goals. One subawardee must represent state manufactured food regulatory officials, and another must represent state animal feed regulatory officials, and FDA must approve these subawards in advance.
The work is split into two main parts. Part 1 focuses on continuing development of the IFSS Laboratory National Curriculum Standard and curriculum framework. The framework is competency-based and spans five career stages: entry, mid-level, expert, supervisor/manager, and senior administration. The intent is to define what laboratorians should be able to do at each stage and to support progression from foundational preparation through independent bench work, advanced method development and research at the expert level, and eventually leadership and agency-wide responsibilities. This portion emphasizes building out competency statements, key performance indicators, and practical application exercises (field and bench) that reinforce learning and improve proficiency.
A major theme throughout Part 1 is adherence to FDA/DHRD instructional design expectations and a formal course integrity process. The opportunity expects the awardee to use adult learning best practices and a disciplined instructional systems approach: analyze training needs and learner skill levels; define proficiency levels using accepted learning taxonomies (cognitive, affective, psychomotor); write performance-based learning outcomes using clear condition/behavior/criterion approaches; incorporate behavioral science as it relates to effective regulatory work; and evaluate training effectiveness using recognized methods (for example, Kirkpatrick-style evaluation at Levels 1 and 2 and course assessments). The award also emphasizes using appropriately skilled staff for this work, including instructional designers, instructional systems specialists, subject matter experts, project/program managers, and specialists such as psychometricians or industrial/organizational psychologists where relevant. It also requires attention to legal and compliance requirements that affect training products, such as Section 508 accessibility, FOIA and Privacy Act considerations, plain language expectations, and copyright and fair use rules.
The deliverables under Part 1 are not just broad statements of capability; the program pushes competency development down into increasing levels of detail. Competency domains specifically include communication, cross-cutting core competencies, critical thinking, organizational awareness (including understanding regulatory authority and mission), and technical competencies tied directly to food and feed regulatory laboratory work. The awardee is expected to develop competency statements down to more detailed sub-competency levels (the announcement references development down to levels 5 to 7 in planning, with validation required to at least level 4, roughly corresponding to terminal learning objectives for units). The process is designed to be iterative and controlled, with checkpoints and FDA approvals required before moving forward. The awardee must also produce annual work plans with FDA, recruit laboratory subject matter experts to support development, and carry out validation activities to ensure the competency framework is defensible and aligned with real job performance.
Part 2 shifts from framework development into developing and/or delivering training that meets the NCS. FDA explicitly states that the current model for state and local laboratory training is not sufficient to meet demand under FSMA and the IFSS, so the award supports scaling a blended learning approach that combines online or independent learning for knowledge acquisition with classroom-based, hands-on, interactive training for application and demonstration. The awardee is expected to conduct training needs assessments for IFSS laboratories, support instructor development through an instructor skills training program, provide course-specific instructor training for each course or course segment (examples given include laboratory courses like LB101 and LB102), and oversee or audit instructors to ensure consistent delivery aligned with FDA intent rather than ad hoc deviations. The awardee must also gather course feedback, recommend updates or new course development to FDA based on evidence and assessed needs, and maintain training records and issue completion certificates, providing FDA with copies of those records.
Funding under Part 2 is intended to cover the operational costs of delivering and maintaining training: course delivery expenses, instructor training, instructor travel and per diem, instructor labor, course materials and shipping, field trip transportation, evaluations and needs assessments, and the costs of course updates or new development when mutually agreed within scope. A notable limitation is that the grant does not pay for participant travel, lodging, per diem, or wages, and participants cannot be charged registration or entrance fees. The award also encourages cost-efficient course site selection strategies that reduce travel burdens overall, including using host locations that can provide low-cost or free training space or leveraging hotel room blocks to reduce meeting space costs.
Across both parts, the cooperative agreement model means FDA remains actively involved rather than simply providing funds. FDA will contribute subject matter expertise for FDA-specific regulatory and policy content, provide project oversight and scientific input, review training and curriculum products, and work programmatically with the awardee on activities within scope. Administrative details from the posting include the opportunity number (RFA-FD-17-012), a cooperative agreement instrument, a single expected award, and an award ceiling listed at $3,750,000, with eligible applicants including certain nonprofit organizations and businesses (including for-profit entities and small businesses), though the narrative requirements make clear that the intended applicant is a national association representing state and local regulatory laboratories. The original closing date listed in the notice was July 10, 2017.Apply for RFA FD 17 012
- The Food and Drug Administration in the agriculture, consumer protection, food and nutrition sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "National Laboratory Curriculum Framework Development" and is now available to receive applicants.
- Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 93.103.
- This funding opportunity was created on 2017-05-15.
- Applicants must submit their applications by 2017-07-10. (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 $3,750,000.00 in funding.
- The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 1 candidate(s).
- Eligible applicants include: Nonprofits having a 501 (c) (3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Nonprofits that do not have a 501 (c) (3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, For-profit organizations other than small businesses, Small businesses.
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