RFP Issued: September 25, 2026 — click here to view application

Applications due: Friday, October 26, 2026, by 8 p.m. Eastern Time (ET)

Questions: Please submit questions to MHPartners@chronicdisease.org. A FAQ document will be updated regularly with answers to some of the most common questions about the application and process.

All completed applications should be submitted to https://app.smartsheet.com/b/form/01a0c44c6186757e80bb9e2bede93183, no later than 8 p.m. Eastern Time (ET), October 26, 2026.

Period of Performance: November 16, 2026 –July 30, 2027

Funding: Up to twenty applicants for up to $15,000 each

About the National Association of Chronic Disease Directors: The National Association of Chronic Disease Directors improves the health of the public by strengthening state-based leadership and expertise for chronic disease prevention and control in states and at the national level. Founded in 1988, NACDD aims to lead and influence the ways that chronic disease prevention and health promotion shape the health landscape.

Brief Project Overview: The resources provided through this opportunity are intended to support the use of policies, systems, and services that enhance, optimize, or expand CR referral, participation, and/or completion. Successful applicants will demonstrate the ability to replicate or expand collaborative initiatives, advance the use of new delivery models that fulfill the core components of CR, or employ creative solutions to increase referrals, participation, and/or completion of CR.

Applicants are encouraged to review the change concepts and change ideas from the Million Hearts^®/American Association of Cardiovascular and Pulmonary Rehabilitation (AACVPR) Cardiac Rehabilitation Change Package, 2nd Edition and AHRQ’s TAKEheart initiative for examples of strategies to be implemented, scaled, or spread via this project.

Formal research projects cannot be funded. From the HHS Office of Research Integrity, research is defined as “systematic investigation, including research development, testing and evaluation, designed to develop or contribute to generalizable knowledge”. 

Applicants should be hospitals, healthcare systems, cardiac rehabilitation (CR) programs or organizations engaged in training or certifying cardiac rehabilitation (CR) programs and/or professionals.