National Syndromic Surveillance Program Community of Practice

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Purpose of FOA: The purpose of the FOA is to fund an organization with extensive experience developing and supporting syndromic surveillance practice to develop, implement and maintain a community of practice for CDC’s National Syndromic Surveillance Program. Overview:Syndromic surveillance emphasizes the use of near ‘real-time’ pre-diagnostic data, and statistical tools to detect and characterize unusual activity for further public health investigation or response. In 2015, CDC issued CDC-RFA-OE15-1502: The National Syndromic Surveillance Program: Enhancing Syndromic Surveillance Capacity and Practice to fund about 25 health departments to elevate and strengthen the overall science and practice of syndromic surveillance. The purpose of NSSP is to strengthen the practice of syndromic surveillance at local and state public health agencies and to support the use of syndromic surveillance data for regional and national situation awareness. The purpose of this new FOA is to fund an organization to support the development, implementation, promotion, and ongoing maintenance of the NSSP Community of Practice (NSSP CoP). The purpose of the NSSP CoP is to promote the use and practice of syndromic surveillance among a broad range of public health practitioners and stakeholders interested in sharing knowledge to advance and improve syndromic surveillance use and practices. The NSSP CoP will focus on providing a peer-to-peer collaborative environment to foster and facilitate knowledge sharing and collaboration. Working together through the NSSP CoP will allow CDC to leverage the talents of a broad range of public health practitioners and stakeholders to enhance the nation’s electronic surveillance capacity. Grantee Activities:Collaborate with CDC to develop a variety of forums and strategies for members of the NSSP CoP to connect with one another to problem solve; share information, tools, resources, and experiences; discuss developments related to syndromic surveillance; identify and document best practices; establish peer-to-peer networks; and map knowledge and identify gaps.Develop and maintain a content management system and knowledge repository.Develop and deliver a variety of synchronous and asynchronous training and knowledge sharing events and activities.Establish a steering committee to lead and guide the CoP.Develop a process for peer-to-peer mentoring and coaching.Identify methods to share success stories and measure the value and success of the CoP. Eligibility: Organizations with more than a decade of experience in advancing the science and practice of syndromic surveillance and managing a distributed community of practice. Organizational Capacity: Must demonstrate experience supporting and developing a community of practice for syndromic surveillance with a focus on practical applications rather than academic theories.

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