Planning and Assessment Award
Call for Applications
The National Network of Libraries of Medicine, Greater Midwest Region (NN/LM GMR), under contract with the National Library of Medicine (NLM), announces the availability of Planning and Assessment Awards for network members.
The GMR plans to fund a minimum of five awards for up to $2,500 each in contract year 5 (May 2010-April 2011). Applications not funded may be resubmitted in subsequent years. If you have questions regarding this award or require assistance with the application, contact
Jacqueline Leskovec, Outreach, Planning and Evaluation Coordinator Email Jacqueline
or send an email to
. To contact the GMR by phone, call 1-800-338-7657 and press one (1) for the Regional Network Office.
Award recipients will be publicized on the GMR website, GMRLIST and/or in The Cornflower, the GMR blog.
Purpose
The purpose of the Planning and Assessment Award is to assist GMR Network members with activities aimed at identifying and describing potential outreach populations and/or developing plans for targeted outreach to specific populations. The award also supports activities to identify and network with community partners that might be interested in collaborating on a future outreach project.
Typical outreach population(s) might include:
- NLM-identified targeted minority populations, seniors, AIDS/HIV patients, inner city communities, and rural areas
- Unaffiliated health care professionals and health professionals who serve targeted populations identified by NLM
Typical assessment/planning needs might include:
- Demographics
- Information needs
- Community resources/assets
Eligibility
Applications will be accepted from NN/LM GMR Full and Affiliate Members.
Technical Application Instructions
The respondent should complete the Planning and Assessment Award Application 
. Submit the completed application and supporting documents (e.g. resumes, letters of support and equipment quotes) attached to an email addressed to . Supporting documents may be in Word or PDF format. Include "PLAN" and your LIBID in the subject line of the email.
The GMR staff will respond to your application within two weeks of receipt.
For training projects, applicants are expected to use or adapt existing training materials before developing new materials. Applicants are encouraged to consult the training materials available in the NN/LM National Training Center and Clearinghouse.
For needs assessment and/or evaluation plans, applicants should follow the guidelines established in
Measuring the Difference: Guide to Planning and Evaluating Health Information and the three
supplemental planning and evaluation booklets published in 2006 found on the
NN/LM Outreach Evaluation Resource Center website.
For more information on needs assessment, see publications from the Outreach Evaluation Resource Center, in particular Booklet 1: Getting Started with Community-based Outreach and Stage 1: Conducting a Community Assessment from Measuring the Difference.
Cost Application Instructions
Total cost must not exceed $2,500.
Funding will be processed on a cost reimbursement basis. This award is not a grant or subcontract. Line item invoices must be submitted for reimbursement of expenditures. Reimbursement takes an average of four weeks.
For IT/Computer Hardware, please include the following as part of your cost proposal:
- For IT/Computer Hardware under $3,000, submit catalog pricing. List equipment type (printer, scanner, etc.), brand name and model number.
- For IT/Computer Hardware of $3,000 or more, submit three (3) vendor
quotes (preferably valid for 60 days, minimum of 30 days). Quotes may include General Service
Administration (GSA) price lists (Reference: http://www.gsa.gov
). Vendor quotes are
necessary to determine price reasonable for purchase of over $3,000 or more. The absence of competitive quotes
must be documented and justified. An institutional policy that outlines preferred vendor requirements
is an example of such documentation.
are requested, the following statement must
appear in the budget justification:
The recipient of the funding agrees that there is a legitimate purpose for the personal appeal items and use of the items by the Subcontractor(s) will be managed in accordance with policy. Items will not be used in a way that would discredit the NN/LM, the National Library of Medicine and the National Institutes of Health or the applicable Institution.
Allowable expenses include:
- Personnel
- Travel
- Equipment
- Supplies
- Communications
- Reproduction
- Exhibit and Training Expenses
- Other Costs
Expenses for the following are not allowable:
- Indirect costs
- Library collections
Please note: Funds requested to develop print collections of consumer health materials or to purchase access to any commercial electronic health information product may not exceed 5% of the total amount of the project budget.
Definitions and Instructions for Budget Narrative Justification
A narrative justification for each expense category in the budget is required in the online application. Use the following definitions to guide you:
Personnel:
May include professional and support personnel for the project.
Supplies:
May include paper, pens, software, and display items.
Equipment:
May include rental or purchase of equipment and software.
Communications:
May include telephone, postage, parcel and other delivery services and communication line charges.
Travel:
May include air travel, ground transportation, parking, hotel, and meals.
Reproduction:
May include costs for printing/photocopying of project related materials.
Other Costs:
May include honoraria, exhibit fees, or any others items that do not fit into one of the other lines. Please provide a breakdown of what has been included in this category.
Technical Evaluation Criteria
The following criteria will be used to evaluate applications. The criteria are listed in the order of relative importance with points assigned for evaluation purposes. Applications will be scored against these criteria, so be certain that all criteria have been addressed.
STATEMENT OF NEED AND TARGET POPULATION
Application describes why the assessment and/or planning project is needed and how it will become the basis for improving access to health information for the target population. The target population is centered on defined NN/LM priority populations. There is evidence of audience involvement in the project planning.
40 points
OBJECTIVES AND METHODOLOGY
Methods are logical and feasible. Strategies are presented to monitor outputs, which are measurable units of project activities/services/products/classes, and to assess outcomes, clearly describing what will be measured and how. The timeline is reasonable and well thought out.
40 points
PERSONNEL AND INSTITUTIONAL SUPPORT
Adequate evidence is provided about the qualifications of the personnel and the organizational resources available to assure likelihood of successful completion of the project. Documentation includes appropriate letters of support and resumes of key personnel.
20 points
TOTAL POINTS POSSIBLE: 100
Period of Performance
The Period of Performance would typically run 6-to-12 months and should not exceed one year. All projects funded in Year 5 of the contract must be completed by April 30, 2011.
Reporting Requirements
Quarterly and final reports are required and will be entered and submitted to the Online Contract Reports (OCR) System: https://outreach.nlm.nih.gov/. Contact your GMR program coordinator for additional information on the OCR and/or to obtain an account for a funded project.In addition, recipients are encouraged to report on the project experience in The Cornflower, the GMR blog, and agree to allow the NN/LM GMR to republish reports and materials.
.
Additional Requirements
Publications Resulting from NN/LM Funded Projects
As of April 7, 2008, final peer-reviewed manuscripts arising from NIH funds must be submitted to PubMed Central upon acceptance for publication. The NIH Public Access Policy (http://publicaccess.nih.gov/policy.htm ) ensures that the public has access to the published results of NIH funded research. It requires scientists to submit final peer-reviewed journal manuscripts that arise from NIH funds to the digital archive PubMed Central (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/ ) upon acceptance for publication.
To help advance science and improve human health, the Policy (http://publicaccess.nih.gov/FAQ.htm ) requires that these papers are accessible to the public on PubMed Central no later than 12 months after publication. The NIH Public Access site should be consulted for additional information: (http://publicaccess.nih.gov/policy.htm ).
Development of Training Materials
Successful applicants are expected to use or adapt existing training materials before developing new materials. Consult the Medical Library Association (MLA) Educational Clearinghouse, http://cech.mlanet.org prior to developing materials. Training materials developed as part of the award should be submitted to the MLA Educational Clearinghouse.
508 Compliance
The Department of Health and Human Services synopsis of Section 508 accessibility requirements, requires that all Federal agencies are obligated to make all electronic and information technology (EIT) that they develop, maintain or use compliant with Section 508. EIT purchases made on or after June 25, 2001, are subject to Section 508.
Federal regulations and guidelines (e.g., Section 501 and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act) require equal access for individuals with disabilities. Therefore, Federal agencies are required, upon request, to provide information and data to individuals with disabilities through an alternative means of access that can be used by the individuals.
The National Library of Medicine is a part of the National Institutes of Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Recipients of National Library of Medicine funding through the NN/LM must also meet these requirements.
Credit Statement
The awardee shall acknowledge the support of the National Library of Medicine whenever publicizing the work under this award in any media by including an acknowledgment substantially as follows:
This project has been funded in whole or in part with Federal funds from the Department of Health and Human Services, National Institutes of Health, National Library of Medicine, under Contract No. HHSN-276-2011-00005C with the University of Illinois at Chicago.
Required Statement
The following statement is required to be included in this solicitation to comply with regulations for annual appropriation of federal funds:
All awards issued under the NLM Contract with University of Illinois at Chicago are subject to the Government's availability of appropriated funds in compliance of Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 52.232-18, Availability of Funds. No legal liability on the part of the Government for any payment may arise until funds are made available to the Contracting Officer for this contract and until the Contractor receives notice of such availability, to be confirmed in writing by the Contracting Officer.
All awards spanning more than a 12 month period of performance are subject to FAR Clause 52.232-20, "Limitation of Costs"; FAR Clause 52.232-22, "Limitation of Funds", under the NLM Prime Contract.
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