Improving and Enhancing the US Vision and Eye Health Surveillance System | CDC RFA DP22 2204

Opportunity Information: Apply for CDC RFA DP22 2204

The grant opportunity titled "Improving and Enhancing the US Vision and Eye Health Surveillance System" (Funding Opportunity Number CDC RFA DP22-2204) is a CDC cooperative agreement designed to strengthen and expand the Vision and Eye Health Surveillance System (VEHSS). VEHSS is positioned as the only interactive, comprehensive U.S. collection of vision and eye health surveillance data, and the core goal of this award is to keep that system current, more useful, and easier for public health and other partners to use when tracking eye disease, vision impairment, and access to eye care across the country.

This is a non-research cooperative agreement, meaning the emphasis is not on conducting new clinical studies, but on improving an existing national surveillance platform that compiles and harmonizes data from multiple sources. The work is intended to support estimates at national, state, and county levels, specifically focused on the prevalence of major eye diseases, vision impairment, and patterns of eye care utilization. The system already draws from a substantial mix of inputs, including five national surveys, four administrative claims databases, an electronic health record registry, and published examination studies, and the NOFO centers on improving how these sources are maintained, updated, and translated into consistent public health indicators.

A major part of the proposed work involves routine but high-impact infrastructure tasks: adding new years of data as they become available, streamlining and refining the set of indicators displayed in the system, and identifying gaps where surveillance is weak or missing. The NOFO also calls for prioritizing the data sources and key indicators that provide the greatest public health value, which implies a deliberate focus on measures that are reliable, comparable over time, and actionable for decision-makers rather than simply expanding the system in every possible direction.

Beyond maintaining existing feeds, the opportunity explicitly encourages the recipient to identify and integrate additional vision and eye health data sources, including potential datasets from the Veterans Affairs system, the Indian Health Service, and other electronic health record systems. This reflects an intent to broaden coverage, improve representativeness, and strengthen the system's ability to describe vision and eye health outcomes in populations that may be underrepresented in traditional surveys or standard commercial claims datasets.

Another key enhancement is the incorporation of social determinants of health into VEHSS at national, state, and county levels. In practical terms, that means the surveillance system should not only show measures of disease and care utilization, but also allow users to view those outcomes alongside contextual factors that shape risk and access, such as socioeconomic and community-level conditions. The NOFO also emphasizes improving the platform's functionality and end-user experience, particularly through better data visualization and presentation, which signals that usability, clarity, and communication are central deliverables rather than secondary features.

Finally, the project includes a strong outreach and dissemination component. The recipient is expected to actively promote VEHSS to key partners and stakeholders and drive increased engagement with the system. This positions the award as both a technical modernization effort and a public-facing adoption effort, with success tied not only to updated datasets and improved indicators, but also to whether more users actually find, trust, and apply the information for planning, policy, and program decisions.

Administratively, the opportunity is offered by the Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), specifically within NCCDPHP. It is listed under CFDA 93.068 and categorized as discretionary funding using a cooperative agreement instrument, which typically means substantial CDC involvement during the project period. The posted award ceiling is $850,000, with one expected award. Eligibility is broad, spanning multiple levels of government, tribal entities and organizations, public and private institutions of higher education, nonprofits (with or without 501(c)(3) status), for-profit organizations, and small businesses, among others. The NOFO was created January 7, 2022, with an original application deadline of March 14, 2022, and applications were required to be submitted electronically by 11:59 pm ET on the due date.

• The Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control - NCCDPHP in the health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Improving and Enhancing the US Vision and Eye Health Surveillance System" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 93.068.
• This funding opportunity was created on Jan 07, 2022.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Mar 14, 2022 Electronically submitted applications must be submitted no later than 1159 pm ET on the listed application due date.. (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 $850,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 1 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: State governments, County governments, City or township governments, Special district governments, Independent school districts, Public and State controlled institutions of higher education, Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized), Public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities, Native American tribal organizations (other than Federally recognized tribal governments), 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, Private institutions of higher education, For profit organizations other than small businesses, Small businesses, Others (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification), Unrestricted (i.e., open to any type of entity above), subject to any clarification in text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility.

Apply for CDC RFA DP22 2204

[Watch] Creating a grant proposal using the step-by-step wizard inside the applicant portal: