Request for Proposals:
IMPLICIT: Innovations for Maternal and Perinatal Care and Improvement Grant

 The Minnesota Department of Health’s (MDH) Children and Youth with Special Health Needs (CYSHN) Section seeks proposals from qualified applicants to provide oversight of implementation of the Innovations for Maternal and Perinatal Care and Improvement (IMPLICIT) model into practice. The goal of this grant is to improve birthing parent’s health care in order to prevent birth defects. Through demonstrated clinical systems changes, the IMPLICIT model addresses smoking, maternal depression, multivitamin/folic acid use, and family planning, all modifiable risk factors related to many common birth defects in Minnesota. 

Eligible Applicants

Individuals, not-for-profit organizations, for-profit organizations, and health centers with clinical quality improvement experience are eligible. Individual clinics do not qualify for this grant; however, they may be recruited by the awarded applicant as implementation sites.

Grant funds are not transferrable to any other entity. Applicants that are aware of any upcoming mergers, acquisitions, or any other changes in their organization or legal standing, must disclose this information to MDH in their application, or as soon as they are aware of it. 

RFP and Application Materials

A new version of the RFP has been uploaded to the website, please review for changes. Corrections were made on the following pages:

• IMPLICIT: Innovations for Maternal and Perinatal Care and Improvement RFP (with corrections)
• Correction can be found on:
  • Page 4
    Page 5
    Page 6
    Page 16
    Page 17
    Page 19
    Page 21
    Page 24

• MDH Grant Agreement Sample 

Proposal Documents

• Appendix A: Application Checklist
• Appendix B: Grant Applicant Face Sheet
• Appendix C: Project Narrative
• Appendix D: Work Plan Template
• Appendix E: Budget Details and Justification
• Appendix F: Application Score Sheet
• Appendix G: Conflict of Interest Form
• Appendix H: Due Diligence Form
• Appendix I: Indirect Cost Questionnaire
• Appendix J: Background on IMPLICIT framework 

RFP Information Meeting

MDH will host two one-hour meeting (Zoom Meeting, formerly on Microsoft Teams) to assist applicants in preparing an application. All prospective applicants are encouraged to attend, but attendance is not required. Please follow this link to attend: IMPLICIT Grant RFP Program Information Session.

Slides for the Information Sessions can be found by clicking here. 

Application submission instructions

All applications must be submitted electronically by 4:30 p.m. (CST) on July 25, 2025 to the grant interface portal, Foundant.
 

How to access Foundant

• New Users: Please click on “Create New Account” to complete the registration process and create your logon credentials.
• Existing Users: Please enter your credentials and log in. If you forgot your password, use the “Forgot your Password?” link to the left on the logon screen to reset your password.
• Not Sure: If you think that you or someone at your organization has already registered in Foundant, do not create a new account. Please contact our MDH Maternal and Child Health staff at health.cyshn@state.mn.us for assistance.

Once in the system, click on the “apply” button located on the upper tool bar on the home page. You will be redirected to a list of open applications in the system. Then select the “Minnesota Innovations in Perinatal and Infant Health” application.

Notice of Intent

Applicants are strongly encouraged to submit a non-binding Notice of Intent by 4:30 P.M. CST June 30, 2025. While prospective applicants are strongly encouraged to submit a Notice of Intent it is not a mandatory requirement of this RFP. This means that an application may still be considered even if the applicant did not submit a Notice of Intent; likewise, an applicant is not obligated to submit an application just because they submitted a Notice of Intent.

Notices of Intent may be submitted by email to health.cyshn@state.mn.us. Please include “Notice of Intent to Apply for IMPLICIT Grant” in the subject line. In the Notice of Intent, include the following information:

• Name of main contact for application
• Individual, organization, or health center applying
• Address
• Phone number
• Email address

Acknowledgement of application receipt

Within one business day after the due date, MDH will “reply all” to the email address that submitted the application to acknowledge receipt. If you do not receive this acknowledgment email within one business day, it means MDH did not receive your application.  

Please contact the CYSHN section at health.cyshn@state.mn.us immediately after the one business day for further instructions. 

Important Dates

DEADLINES EXTENDED

Funding

Questions and Answers

Applicants may email Karmen Dippmann at health.cyshn@state.mn.us for questions about the application. Please submit questions no later than July 21, 2025 at 4:30PM CST and include the subject line: IMPLICIT Grant RFP Question. All question and answers will be posted here. 

• Is there an expectation that the grantee will be based in MN?
  • There are no specifications in the RFP that the grantee must be based in MN. However, we encourage prospective applicants to consider how they will support clinics located in the state of Minnesota and to review the due diligence form prior to completing an application.   
• Can you please confirm that the annual stipend for clinics correctly as $18,000 per clinic (so $90,000 total) which will come out of the $130,000 annual grant amount?
  • The matter of clinic stipends is included in the RFP correction. Clinics should receive no less than $12,000 and no more than $18,000 in the first year. This will come out of the annual $130,000 grant award.
• For the task “Collaborate with national IMPLICIT Network to convene annual in-person trainings,” what are the budget expectations? Would the grantee be required to pay for travel for themselves and/or any other attendees? Would the grantee be required to support meeting costs?
  • Participating clinics are expected to utilize their stipend funds to cover the cost of the national IMPLICIT Network meeting annually. The grantee would be expected to pay for their staff person to travel to the meeting as an IMPLICIT Network member, but these costs can be covered by grant funds. Please review eligible expenses for travel in the RFP for more details.
• Are pediatric dental clinics and WIC centers considered eligible sites for the Interconception Care (ICC) Model?
  • The ICC model in the context of the IMPLICIT Network is informed by evidence to suggest that a reliable point of contact for postpartum birthing people are at their child's well-child visits. We encourage prospective applicants to consider clinics who provide or coordinate well-child visits as eligible to participating in the IMPLICIT grant.
• Can subgrantee clinics participate for the entire duration of the grant (begin right at the start of the grant period)?
  • Yes, we understand that some eligible clinics may be ready to participate in the IMPLICIT grant at the start of the grant.  Ensure that the submitted budget allows for clinic stipends for the time reflected in the workplan.
• Could you please confirm if it’s acceptable for applicants to identify intended or priority clinic sites within their application to demonstrate existing relationships, network strength, and a realistic recruitment plan? We understand MDH would support and finalize recruitment post-award, but want to be sure it’s appropriate to name proposed clinics in our application narrative.
  • Yes, it is acceptable for applicants to identify intended or priority clinic sites in their application with the intention of finalizing the recruitment plan post-award.
• We also want to confirm if, as the awardee, our entity can subcontract with both our own system clinics and external clinics within Minnesota and outside of Minnesota as implementation sites, provided we follow our procurement policies and MDH subcontracting requirements.
  • If applicable, the grantee can subcontract within and outside of their own system. However, per the language of the RFP, all recruited clinics must be located in the state of Minnesota.