FDA's Integrated Food Safety System Training Delivery and Development

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), operating under the Department of Health and Human Services, has announced a new funding opportunity under the cooperative agreement mechanism UE5, titled "FDA’s Integrated Food Safety System Training Delivery and Development." This grant opportunity is administered by the Office of Inspections and Investigations (OII) and the Office of Training, Education and Development (OTED). Its primary goal is to enhance the effectiveness of the national Integrated Food Safety System (IFSS) by improving and expanding training for over 30,000 human and animal food safety professionals across more than 2,500 jurisdictions nationwide. This opportunity supports projects that design, develop, and deliver high-quality training content focused on retail food safety and manufactured foods. The grant emphasizes developing synchronous and asynchronous learning experiences that integrate adult learning principles and address emerging regulatory needs. Funding can be used for activities such as conducting training needs assessments, securing training venues, evaluating instructors, and developing course content and materials using industry-standard tools like Articulate. This initiative is aligned with OTED’s guiding principles on instructional design, focusing on course integrity, professional staffing, analysis, measurable learning outcomes, and a blended delivery approach. The total funding available for this opportunity is $4,000,000 in FY 2025, with up to four awards expected. Each award may not exceed $1,000,000 in total annual costs, including direct and indirect costs, for a project period of up to five years. Funding for future years is contingent upon annual appropriations and satisfactory performance. Notably, course participant costs such as travel, lodging, per diem, and salaries are not allowable expenses under this funding. Eligibility for this grant is exclusive to current recipients under RFA-FD-20-024. Foreign organizations and foreign components of U.S.-based institutions are not eligible to apply. All applicants must complete and maintain current registrations in SAM.gov, eRA Commons, and Grants.gov, including the assignment of a Unique Entity Identifier (UEI). Only one application per institution (as identified by UEI) is allowed. Program Directors/Principal Investigators must also be registered in eRA Commons and are expected to possess the experience and leadership skills necessary to oversee both scientific and administrative aspects of the proposed program. Applications must be submitted electronically via ASSIST, Grants.gov Workspace, or an institutional system-to-system solution. The earliest submission date is July 23, 2025, and the application deadline is August 8, 2025, at 11:59 PM local time of the applicant organization. No late submissions will be accepted. The Notice of Award is anticipated after peer review and administrative processing. Applications will be evaluated based on criteria such as significance, investigator qualifications, innovation, approach, and feasibility. Successful applicants will be expected to collaborate closely with FDA staff throughout the project lifecycle, adhering to all applicable federal and agency-specific policies, including data management and reporting requirements.

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