Tuesday, April 23, 2024
4/23/2024
The National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) proposes to provide capacity-building assistance to state legislators and legislative staff nationwide under Category C for the funding opportunity, “Strengthen Public Health Systems and Services Through National Partnerships to Improve and Protect the Nation’s Health.” NCSL’s project will target all of the nation’s 7,383 state legislators and more than 30,000 legislative staff with capacity-building assistance (CBA) to help them make more informed decisions about strengthening the nation’s public health infrastructure; ensuring a competent, current, and connected health system; and improving delivery of essential public health services. For more than 40 years, NCSL has provided CBA to state legislators and legislative staff on a variety of policy topics. NCSL proposes to work collaboratively with CDC and other public health and state organizations to accomplish the initiative’s goals and create opportunities for partnership among legislative leaders and state and local health department officials. The purpose of NCSL’s project is to help state legislators and legislative staff nationwide make more informed decisions about strengthening public health systems by conducting activities and developing products designed specifically for legislators and staff, and by partnering with other national organizations to foster collaboration among respective members to improve and protect the nation’s health. Focusing on the strategies of laws and policies and partnerships, NCSL’s CBA activities will include policy surveillance and analysis, direct technical assistance and a variety of educational policy tools and resources – all with a national reach – as well as targeted meetings for legislators and legislative staff and collaborative activities with legislative leaders and state and local health officials to foster partnerships. As identified in the CDC Project logic model, NCSL’s project will achieve the following short-term outcomes to build the capacity of state legislatures across the entire country: 1. Improve the capacity of legislators and legislative staff nationwide to evaluate, develop and adopt laws and policies that improve public health. 2. Improve the capacity of legislators and legislative staff nationwide, and state and local health departments, to establish and maintain partnerships in order to collaboratively identify and address public health needs. The short-term outcomes build legislative capacity around policies and develop capacity between legislatures and state and local health departments to create cross-system partnerships. NCSL’s project will achieve the following intermediate outcomes for the target population of state legislators and legislative staff, as identified in the logic model: 1. Strengthen the capability of legislators and legislative staff nationwide to create, apply and use laws and policies to improve health. 2. Strengthen the capability of legislators and legislative staff nationwide to respond to public health priorities collaboratively and strategically. The short and intermediate outcomes will contribute to legislative capacity and a policy climate that can foster longer-term results and outcomes that create a stronger public health system and healthier nation beyond the project period.
HHS’ Tracking Accountability in Government Grants System (TAGGS) website provides access to detailed descriptions of grants, loans, aggregated direct payments and other types of financial assistance awarded by the HHS Operating Divisions (OPDIVs) and the Office of the Secretary Staff Divisions (STAFFDIVs).
