Funding
Ongoing until funds are expended or award end date.
Description of Award
The NNLM Regional Medical Libraries (RMLs) and Offices rely upon partnerships. The award’s primary aims are to widen access to and awareness of health information resources, with a focus on those resources provided by the NLM. The programs are intended to help a variety of users:
- With a focus on underrepresented populations and the healthcare professionals who serve them
- Make the most effective use of information and decision-support resources to promote healthy behaviors
- Prevent costly and debilitating illness
- Improve health outcomes when disease occurs
The purpose of the Professional Development Award is to enable individuals in Region 3 Network Member institutions to expand professional knowledge and experience to provide improved health information access to healthcare providers and consumers. Funding is provided to individuals interested in attending professional seminars, conferences, and other continuing education opportunities in areas of data science or health information access/delivery and to build professional capacity in support of the goals of the NNLM. These awards are offered throughout the year with the expectation of a short timeline. Individuals may only be awarded once per annual performance cycle.
When applying for this award, the professional development funds might cover:
- In-person or virtual training for people, like courses, meetings, or workshops. This includes:
- Attending a professional conference to enhance your ability to teach health literacy.
- Teaching students about health information resources from the National Library of Medicine or how to enhance their job skills in health information professions.
- Training people to take on leadership roles in health science institutions.
- Organizing a special session with goals related to improving access to health information.
- Costs of bringing in a presenter to conduct a talk, workshop, or class.
- Educational activities designed to equip professionals with the skills to serve their communities better.
RML staff may be available for consultation and training on applicable NLM resources and potential projects. Please contact us prior to applying to discuss your professional development opportunity in advance; we want to help you succeed!
- Generally, individuals affiliated with NNLM member organizations are eligible to apply and must submit a W-9, but there are exceptions to this. For instance, students, the unemployed, or retired information professionals. Consult with your RML/Office/Center for specifics.
Eligibility for Organizations
- Your organization must be a Network Member of the NNLM. Not a member yet? Join now for free!
- Organizations, in most cases, are only eligible to apply for awards from the Regional Medical Library that serves the state in which they operate in. Please contact the RML/Office for further clarification.
Application Instructions
Requirements
The following is not applicable to individual applicants, unless their organization will be responsible for handling funds.
- Confirm that your institution is a NNLM Member with a NNLM Member record.
- Not sure if your institution is a Member or has a Member record? Contact NNLM Region 3 staff at nnlmregion3@unthsc.edu
- If your institution is not a NNLM Member, apply for membership prior to submitting a professional development application. Membership is not automatic. A Member record is required to successfully submit an application.
- Confirm that you (the applicant) have an NNLM Account. Here is a step by step guide to setting up a new user account.
- You must be logged in to your NNLM account to successfully submit an application.
- If you are submitting an application on behalf of the Project Lead, the Project Lead must also have an NNLM account prior to submission.
- Confirm that your NNLM account is connected to the NNLM Member record for your institution.
- To connect, fill in the “Organization” field on your NNLM account using the autocomplete function. When correctly filled, you will see a 5-digit NNLM ID in parenthesis beside the institution name.
- If you are submitting an application on behalf of the Project Lead, the Project Lead must also be connected to the NNLM Member record for your institution prior to submission.
Please note: you cannot successfully submit an application without these components. If you have questions about these or any other system requirements, please contact your Regional Medical Library or Office in advance of the application deadline.
Application Overview
Please include the following information in your application and follow these formatting standards. Adherence to font size, type density, line spacing and text color requirements is necessary to ensure readability and fairness.
- Text size: 12 point
- Text color: black or other high contrast color
- Recommended fonts:
- Arial
- Georgia
- Helvetica
- Times New Roman
- 1” margins
- DOCX or PDF file format is acceptable
- Clearly formatted headings
Project Information (do not exceed 1 page)
- Program/Event Summary: Provide a one-paragraph description that summarizes the professional development opportunity with an external audience in mind. Funded projects are displayed on the NNLM website and are provided by NLM in response to data calls from NIH, HHS, OMB, Congress, and the White House.
- Primary Contact: If you are the Primary Contact, select your own name from the drop-down list. If the name of the Primary Contact does not appear in the drop-down list, confirm that their NNLM account is connected to the NNLM Member record for the institution.
- Institution Name: Enter the name of the institution to which you belong.
- Institution Unique Entity ID (UEI) Number: Please confirm your organization’s UEI number, which has replaced the previously used DUNS number. If your organization does not have a UEI number, apply for one as soon as possible. Check with your RML/Office to see if this is a requirement. Consult with your RML to see if this is required. It may not be applicable if you are applying as an individual.
- Have you previously received NNLM funding in the current grant cycle (from May 1, 2021 to present)? State yes or no.
- Amount Requested: The amount specified should not exceed the limit established by the RML/Office. Contact your RML/Office if you have questions about the funding amount.
Project Proposal (do not exceed 1 page)
- Program/Event Name: Enter the name of the event, program, or educational activity.
- Program/Event Dates: Specify the dates of the program.
- Travel Dates: Indicate your travel dates, if applicable.
- Professional Development URL: URL for the Conference, or Professional Development you would like to attend or hold, if available
- Significant/Objectives: State the goal(s) of the proposed program/event or educational activity and how they align to the NNLM Goals and Objectives. Provide 2-3 paragraphs why this program/event would be necessary or useful for your professional development or for its intended beneficiaries. Detail how this information will be used.
- Personnel Qualifications: Submit resumes or CVs for personnel listed as attachments with your completed application.
We now have a budget worksheet. You can download this budget worksheet from the section labeled “Application Files.”
- Fees: Any allowable fees associated with the educational activity/program or event.
- Travel: Estimates for travel. Include description, justification, and any quotes in the budget worksheet or attach as additional documentation.
- Hotel: Costs associated with lodging.
- Per Diem: Costs associated with meals and incidental expenses. You can look up per diem via the GSA website: https://www.gsa.gov/travel/plan-book/per-diem-rates
- Other: Include description and any quotes in the attached budget or as other attachment.
- Other Funding if Applicable: Other funds that will be used to support the project should be specified. This includes matching funds, other grants, etc.
NOTE: You will need to provide justification in the worksheet or submit a narrative to support your budget.
- Funding restrictions: Food, promotional items and furniture are not allowable expenses. Promotional items include but are not limited to: Clothing and commemorative items such as pens, mugs/cups, folders/folios, lanyards, and conference bags that are sometimes provided to visitors, employees, grantees, or conference attendees. Refer to the policy.
This award does not cover the costs of memberships or the costs associated with taking certification exams.
You are required to acknowledge the following statements before submitting an application:
- You will share the information gained with colleagues in your institution/RML/Office, as required by the Request for Proposal.
- You will submit regular, interim & final reports, as requested by the funding agency & stipulated in the Request for Proposal.
- Any web-based resources developed for this project will ensure accessibility to the greatest possible number of people.
- Additional documentations will need to be completed should your project be awarded. Please consult with your RML/Office for details.
In summary, your application will be comprised of the following items:
- Proposal
- Budget Worksheet
- CVs/Resumes
The full application should be emailed to: nnlmregion3@unthsc.edu
Additional Information
For support in grant writing, please see the NNLM Grants and Proposal Writing Course for tips on award applications.
Section 508 requires that all website content be accessible to people with disabilities. This applies to Web applications, Web pages and all attached files on the intranet, as well as, internet. 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 NNLM must meet all requirements under Section 508. Information on 508 Compliance.
Recipients must complete an NNLM Professional Development Award Report within 30 days after completing the last activity associated with this award.
Recipients of NNLM funding are required to deposit any peer-reviewed manuscript upon acceptance for publication in PubMed Central in accordance with the NIH Public Access Policy.
To facilitate the dissemination of knowledge and information associated with the NNLM Cooperative Agreement Award, all subawardees are required to share any data or training material resulting from funding. This information must be submitted to the following collection sites as applicable:
- Network of the National Library of Medicine (NNLM) website;
- Other websites specifically designated by the NLM as part of the Network of the National Library of Medicine (considering changes in the project and data repositories required to maintain sharing within the Network).
In addition, recipients of funding are expected to use or adapt existing training materials before developing new materials. Consult with your RML/Office and the NNLM Training Office (NTO) prior to developing materials.
Per Section 8.2.1. - Right in Data (Publication and Copyrighting) of the NIH Grants Policy Statement. The NIH must be given a royalty-free, nonexclusive, and irrevocable license for the Federal government to reproduce, publish, or otherwise use any materials developed as a result of funding and to authorize others to do so for Federal purposes, i.e. the ongoing development of the Network of the National Library of Medicine. Data developed by a subawardees/consortium participants and consultants are also subject to this policy.
Any resources developed with project funds must include an acknowledgment of NIH grant support and a disclaimer:
“Developed resources reported in this [publications, press releases, internet sites] are supported by the National Library of Medicine (NLM), National Institutes of Health (NIH) under cooperative agreement number UG4LM012345. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health."
Application Review and Scoring Criteria
Scored Review Criteria: Scale: 1-25
The application will be scored in the following areas:
- Significance (15 points max): Does the proposed program/event/educational activity align well with NNLM Goals and Objectives? Does the proposal provide justification for why the activity is needed? Is the proposal appropriate for the intended beneficiary/beneficiaries?
- Budget (5 points max): Is the proposed budget within funding limits? Is the budget justification sound? Does it include money within allowable line items? Do they have line items that account for all the requested money?
- First-time applicant (5 points max): Is the applicant a first-time applicant in the five-year funding period?
- RML/Office staff and Network members will review and score applications using a standardized RFP scorecard. For more information, please review the RFP Scorecard.
- Reviewer score sheets and comments will be shared with the applicant. If further clarification is needed, the applicant will be given 1 week to submit more information.
- The RML/Office will provide an agreement for all approved projects. All awards are on a cost-reimbursement basis. Only allowable costs can be reimbursed.