U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has opened a funding opportunity for state and local responders to receive cooperative agreement grants in support of field operations and sample collection activities under the BioWatch Program.
The action is primarily for continuation funding of current operations under the program, and recipients must be invited to apply by DHS.
DHS states that this grant mechanism may also be used to for supplemental awards to current recipients in the event of emergencies, special events with national significance, and limited alterations to current recipients to ensure a secure and resilient nation with the capabilities to thwart terrorist attacks.
The BioWatch Program is a federally managed, locally operated early warning system that is designed to detect the intentional release of select aerosolized biological agents in metropolitan areas and coordinate with state and local public health communities to prepare for and respond to a bioterrorist event.
Cooperative agreement recipients will be part of the BioWatch Evaluation Program (BWEP) conducted under the BioWatch Quality Assurance Program effective April 1, 2013. This quality assurance and quality control program will consist of independent external audits by Signature Science and internal audits by BioWatch Systems Program Office field personnel.
Awards are contingent upon availability of funds. It is anticipated that 27 awards will be made under this effort on a rolling basis. The award ceiling is $2,700,000. Further details are available at Grants.gov: DHS-2013-OHA-BioWatch.
