Rural Health Network Development Planning Program | HRSA 17 016

Opportunity Information: Apply for HRSA 17 016

The Rural Health Network Development Planning Program (HRSA 17-016) is a discretionary grant opportunity from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), focused on helping rural communities create the groundwork for a formal, integrated health care network. It is designed especially for rural providers and service organizations that have not previously worked together in a structured or formal collaborative arrangement. The central idea is that small rural organizations often struggle to respond to changing health care demands on their own, but can do more effectively when they plan together, share resources, and coordinate services as a network.

This program funds a one-year planning period intended to help participating organizations build the foundation of a functioning network, including the relationships, governance approach, priorities, and shared strategies needed to operate as a coordinated group. The planning effort is meant to move beyond informal cooperation and into a more organized partnership that can align members around common goals. By supporting early-stage network development, HRSA is aiming to help rural communities improve how local providers work together before moving into larger-scale implementation activities.

The opportunity emphasizes why networks matter in rural health. Rural providers are often smaller, more financially constrained, and geographically isolated, which can make it hard to maintain services, recruit staff, invest in technology, or adapt to new payment and quality requirements. A network approach can help participants achieve economies of scale, reduce duplication, and improve efficiency through shared planning and coordinated decision-making. It can also help stabilize and strengthen the rural health system overall by making it easier for essential services to remain accessible and sustainable across a region.

Program goals focus on three broad outcomes. First, networks are expected to plan for improved efficiencies, which can include shared administrative functions, joint purchasing, coordinated staffing approaches, or other strategies that reduce costs and improve operations. Second, the program encourages networks to expand access to essential services and improve coordination and quality of care, particularly in areas where rural residents face gaps in services, long travel times, or fragmented care. Third, the planning process is intended to strengthen the rural health care delivery system as a whole by building local capacity, improving collaboration, and creating a more resilient regional approach to meeting community health needs.

A major theme of the announcement is the shift happening across health care from volume-based care to value-based care. As payment models increasingly reward outcomes, quality, and coordination rather than just the number of services delivered, rural organizations can face added pressure to demonstrate performance, manage population health, and coordinate across settings. This planning grant is positioned as a way to help rural providers prepare for those changes by organizing partnerships that can collectively respond to value-based expectations, rather than forcing each small provider to navigate the transition alone.

Administratively, the funding opportunity is listed under CFDA 93.912 and anticipates making about 24 awards. The eligibility category is described broadly as "Others," with additional eligibility details referenced in the full notice. The original posting date was November 2, 2016, with an original closing date of January 3, 2017. The award ceiling is listed as 0 in the provided data, which typically signals that applicants need to rely on the full announcement for the specific funding limits and budgeting rules rather than assuming a stated maximum from the summary fields alone.

Overall, this grant is best understood as startup support for rural collaboration: it pays for structured planning so rural health care entities can form or formalize a network, set shared priorities, and create the infrastructure needed to pursue coordinated solutions to local or regional health needs. The end product is not simply a loose partnership, but a clearer, organized foundation that positions the network to implement improvements in access, quality, coordination, and efficiency in future phases.

• The Department of Health and Human Services, Health Resources and Services Administration in the health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Rural Health Network Development Planning Program" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 93.912.
• This funding opportunity was created on Nov 02, 2016.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Jan 03, 2017. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 24 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Others (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification).

Apply for HRSA 17 016

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