Reducing Stigma at Systems, Organizational, and Individual Client Levels in the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program | HRSA 20 112

Opportunity Information: Apply for HRSA 20 112

The Reducing Stigma at Systems, Organizational, and Individual Client Levels in the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program opportunity (HRSA-20-112) is a discretionary federal grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, administered through the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) HIV/AIDS Bureau under the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program (RWHAP). The funding instrument is a cooperative agreement, which means the awardee is expected to work closely with HRSA throughout the project rather than operating fully independently. HRSA planned to make one award, with an award ceiling of $1,650,000. The opportunity was posted April 9, 2020, with an original application deadline of June 8, 2020, and it is listed under CFDA 93.145. Eligibility is described broadly as "Others" with additional clarification in the full notice.

The central purpose of the project is to build and run a national training and technical assistance (T and TA) program that helps reduce HIV-related stigma across multiple layers of the health care delivery system. The design is intentionally multi-level: it addresses stigma at the systems level (policies, structures, and service delivery systems), the organizational level (workplace culture, practices, and provider behaviors within agencies), and the individual client level (the direct experience of people with HIV as they seek and receive services). A major through-line in the notice is cultural humility, not simply as a training topic but as an organizing principle for how care settings interact with people with HIV. The long-term outcomes HRSA is aiming for are better linkage to HIV care, improved retention in care, and higher rates of viral suppression, based on the idea that stigma is a persistent barrier that keeps people from entering care, staying engaged, and trusting service systems.

The awardee would be expected to build on existing stigma-reduction efforts rather than reinventing them, and to coordinate with other federal and national initiatives. The notice specifically points to alignment and coordination with related work across HRSA and RWHAP, the National Institutes of Health, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the Minority HIV/AIDS Fund's Building Leaders of Color project. In practice, this signals that HRSA wanted this effort to fit into a broader federal ecosystem of HIV workforce development, implementation support, and equity-focused initiatives, including leveraging existing curricula, toolkits, and evidence-informed approaches already in use across programs.

The scope of work described in the announcement lays out several core activity areas. First, the project must assess readiness among RWHAP recipients to adopt and implement stigma-reduction strategies in their organizations and service delivery systems. This includes identifying practical barriers and technical assistance needs, and it must be done with meaningful engagement from people with HIV, reinforcing that the lived experience of clients should shape both the assessment and the resulting supports. Second, the awardee must develop an inventory of existing trainings, tools, and materials that address stigma using evidence-informed interventions and strategies, with particular emphasis on resources that integrate cultural humility. The notice suggests likely sources such as HRSA Special Projects of National Significance, the HRSA AIDS Education and Training Center program, CDC training centers, HIV.gov/PEPFAR resources, and the Health Policy Project, among others, implying that the inventory should be comprehensive, curated, and practical for real-world implementation.

Third, the awardee must deliver training and time-limited technical assistance to RWHAP recipients to help them implement stigma-reduction interventions and strategies within their own settings. This is more than awareness-raising; it is intended to support implementation, meaning recipients should come away with changes they can operationalize in workflows, policies, staff practices, and client-facing processes. Fourth, the project must also provide training for people with HIV themselves in stigma-reduction interventions. That component signals a commitment to client empowerment and peer-informed approaches, recognizing that stigma is experienced personally and socially, and that people with HIV can play a leadership role in shaping stigma-reduction efforts when given the tools and support.

Another major deliverable is the creation and management of learning collaboratives focused on stigma reduction. The awardee is expected to develop, facilitate, and evaluate these collaboratives, bringing together both staff from RWHAP recipient organizations and people with HIV as participants. Learning collaboratives typically emphasize shared learning, peer exchange, rapid-cycle improvement, and structured testing of changes, so this component suggests HRSA wanted ongoing communities of practice where participants can apply interventions, learn from results, and spread what works across sites rather than relying solely on one-time trainings. Finally, the project is expected to disseminate information through national conferences and forums, including the National Ryan White Conference on HIV Care and Treatment, by submitting abstracts, presenting findings, and sharing resources with the intended audience. HRSA notes that it would provide input and approval for proposed abstracts and presentations, consistent with the collaborative oversight typical of a cooperative agreement.

Overall, this funding opportunity is structured around the idea that reducing HIV stigma requires coordinated action: preparing organizations and systems to change, equipping the workforce with practical skills grounded in cultural humility, involving people with HIV as partners and leaders, and using national platforms to spread effective approaches. The single award structure indicates HRSA intended to fund one central coordinating entity to develop standardized or adaptable training, provide targeted implementation support, convene learning networks, and help move stigma-reduction practices into routine RWHAP service delivery nationwide.

• The Department of Health and Human Services, Health Resources and Services Administration in the health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Reducing Stigma at Systems, Organizational, and Individual Client Levels in the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 93.145.
• This funding opportunity was created on Apr 09, 2020.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Jun 08, 2020. (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 $1,650,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 1 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Others (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification).

Apply for HRSA 20 112

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