Funding Opportunities Shouldn’t Be Hard to Understand
Applying for federal funding is already complex. Understanding the opportunity itself shouldn’t make it harder. Notices of Funding Opportunity, or NOFOs, often asked applicants to navigate dense language, inconsistent structures, lengthy requirements, and information written around government processes rather than the questions applicants actually needed answered. HHS saw an opportunity to rethink that experience. Through SimplerNOFOs, the Department set out to make funding opportunities clearer, more accessible, and easier to act on without sacrificing the policy, regulatory, and program requirements behind them.
What We Built
Start with what applicants need to know We helped shift NOFO development from document production toward applicant-centered content design. Complex requirements, technical language, and government terminology were translated into clearer, more direct content, with information organized around the questions applicants need answered: Is this opportunity right for me? What do I need to do? What will HHS look for? And what happens next?
Make clarity repeatable
Improving a single NOFO wasn’t enough. We helped turn plain-language and content design practices into a repeatable approach that could work across HHS operating divisions and funding programs. Standardized structures, reusable content patterns, modular templates, and shared guidance gave teams a stronger foundation for creating clearer opportunities while preserving the flexibility needed for different programs and requirements.
Coach teams through the change
Better content required more than a new template. Working across HHS and directly with teams supporting CDC, PEPFAR, and the Division of Global HIV and TB, we coached program staff through applying user-centered content practices to real funding opportunities. Collaborative working sessions helped teams simplify complex information, strengthen information hierarchy, resolve content challenges, and build the skills to carry the approach into future NOFOs.
Design accessibility into the content
Accessibility shaped the experience from the beginning. Plain language, meaningful headings, predictable structures, accessible tables and links, reduced cognitive load, and Section 508 and WCAG-aligned practices were incorporated throughout the process. The result was content designed not simply to meet requirements, but to help more people find, understand, and act on critical funding information.
Build a model that can scale
What began as an effort to simplify individual funding opportunities became a broader model for changing how HHS communicates with applicants. By combining content strategy, reusable standards, coaching, accessibility, and structured production practices, SimplerNOFOs created a foundation that could extend across operating divisions while adapting to evolving program, policy, and administrative requirements.