The NNLM Region 1 Funded Projects Guide is designed to support awardees and answer questions regarding the process of funding from the NNLM Region 1 and the University of Maryland, Baltimore.
This guide compiles all funding requirements into a single reference to assist our awardees in completing successful projects, and to promote timely and accurate reporting in compliance with the requirements of the Network of the National Library of Medicine.
Learn more about NNLM Region 1 Office.
Once You Have Been Funded
- Keep your Notice of Award letter handy.
- Bookmark this Guide for future reference
- A Region 1 staff member has been assigned to monitor your project and that contact is listed on your grant notification letter. That person will be reaching out to you and will be your point of contact during the project period. We welcome your questions and contact!
- Be prepared to provide regular updates! We'll work together to plan the best way to do that.
- Colette Beaulieu is the Region 1 staff member who is your contact for anything financial - invoicing, payments and related things.
- Take photos that can be shared on social media and Tag Us!
- Take note of participant feedback to tell your outreach story.
- Feel free to contact the NNLM Region 1 Office with any comments, suggestions or questions. We want to hear from you!
Quick Links
- Funding Opportunities
- Funded Projects
- Proposal Writing Toolkit
- Funding FAQs
- Guidelines for Award Requirements
- Ordering Free Information Materials
Training Request
If you would like training conducted by NNLM staff to help with professional development of your staff and volunteers or for the audience you are providing outreach, please contact your Region 1 contact (or the NNLM Region 1 Office). We will be able to offer training online and, possibly, if the budget and travel restrictions allow, in person.
Required Documentation
Prior to starting a subaward, documents will be sent to you by Colette Beaulieu, NNLM Region 1 Office Manager. Some of the documents that will need to be completed may include:
- FDP Cost Reimbursement Research Subaward Agreement
- Financial Conflict of Interest Statement (FCOI)
- A-133 Sub-recipient Financial Questionnaire.
- Memorandum of Understanding
A recent addition to requirements for NNLM funding is Institutional Review Board (IRB) approval for Human Subjects Research. NNLM Region 1 will take care of this, asking any necessary questions about your project and letting you know when approval is received.
Please note that you can not start your project until all documents are completed and are notifed that it is a fully executed agreement.
Call 410-706-2855 if you have any questions regarding completion of these documents to ensure they are fully executed.
Funding Terminology
The NNLM Region 1 office often utlizes terms you are unfamiliar with. This primer will help you hopefully understand some of the more common terms used.
Budget
A budget is an estimate of the costs of a proposed project, including direct costs and indirect (or Facilities & Administration (F&A)) costs. Budgets generally consist of an itemized list of expenses, an explanation of the expenses, and a justification of why those expenses are necessary.
Direct Costs
Direct costs are the costs of a project that can be clearly identified with that specific project. They include: equipment and supplies, consultant fees, travel costs, etc.
Federal Identification Number (EIN)
A Federal ID Number/Employer Identification Number is an official 9 digit number given by the US Government that is used to identify a business in order that the amount of tax that the business needs to pay can be calculated.
Indirect Costs (or Facilities & Administration (F&A))
Indirect costs, also called Facilities and Administrative costs (F&A), include facility maintenance, depreciation, utility costs, sponsored programs administration, and general department administration. Since indirect costs cannot be itemized for projects, they are calculated using a fixed percentage rate. It is common for institutions to have a negotiated indirect cost rate in place, but if not, a 10% Modified Total Direct Cost (MTDC) may be applied. An institution may also choose to waive indirect costs entirely.
Period of Performance
The period of performance is the period during which the award recipient is expected to complete project work and incur any expenses. The period of performance for all NNLM Region 1 awards begins on May 1st and ends on April 30th of the following year (unless otherwise noted).
While NNLM Region 1 may make awards announcements prior to May 1st, the contract for the work is not issued until that date and project work should not begin until then. Keep the period of performance in mind when planning a project.
If you have questions or concerns regarding the period of performance when planning a project, please email the NNLM Region 1.
Subaward
A subaward is an award provided by a pass-through entity, such as the University of Maryland, Baltimore NNLM Region 1 offices, to a sub-recipient to carry out as part of a Federal award. It does not include payments to a contractor or payments to an individual that is a beneficiary of a Federal program. A subawardee has responsibility for programmatic decision making and exercises judgment throughout the scope of the project.
Invoicing Process
- All awards are made on a cost reimbursement basis.
- Awardees should submit invoices on a monthly basis.
- Receipts are not required with invoices but should be kept on file by subawardees for auditing purposes.
- Email all invoices to Colette Beaulieu.
- The University of Maryland, Baltimore offers a sample invoice template, but other invoice templates are also accepted.
- The requirements for an invoice include:
- Payee name, mailing address and Federal ID number
- Date of invoice submission
- Name of PI and award name
- Each expense listed as a line item
- If you have questions about the invoicing process, please emall Colette Beaulieu or call 410-706-2855
The Use of Appropriated Funds for Promotional Materials
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has developed a policy that promotes the Administration’s commitment to act in a fiscally responsible manner by minimizing our administrative costs to perform our mission-critical functions in the most efficient, cost-effective way. It is the Department’s policy that appropriated funds not be used to pay for promotional items.
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. Typically, items or tokens to be given to individuals are considered personal gifts for which appropriated funds may not be expended.
More information is located at: HHS Policy on the Use of Appropriated Funds for Promotional Items.
Fly America Act
Federal travelers are required by 49 U.S.C. 40118, commonly referred to as the "Fly America Act," to use U.S. air carrier service for all air travel and cargo transportation services funded by the U.S. government. For more information, please see the policy on GSA.
Outreach Project:
These reports are submitted every time you host an event or activity with your target audience. If you host multiple activities, you’ll submit multiple Activity Reports. Common activities are things like:
- Classes/Courses/Trainings/Workshops
- Symposia/Seminars
- Webinars
- Exhibits/Health Fairs
- Conference Poster Sessions/Presentations
- Focus Groups
- Grand Rounds
Login to NNLM.gov, go to your institution's profile, and you'll see a hyperlink for the grant - Click on that and you'll see grant information with hyperlinks for reports you can complete online, Activity Reports that you'll enter throughout the project year and a Final Report you'll enter at project completion.
If not initially provided, you may also request a direct grant URL from your Region 1 contact that will allow you to go straight to your grant page, once logged into NNLM.gov.
Our National Web Services Office (NWSO) has created a helpful video on how to complete the online Activity Report form.
Activity Report Forms - if you prefer to complete them on paper before submitting online:
In addition to Activity Reports, a mid-project progress report must be submitted to your Region 1 representative. This report is a brief and informal summary of progress made toward meeting project goals and objectives to date. Your NNLM contact will establish your Mid-Project Report due date in relation to your project's start date.
This report is similar to what is typically reported in your Final Report and will be helpful to you when you submit your Final Report at the end of the project period.
You can either send the information in the body of an email to your Region 1 contact or email that person the completed report from the template below.
All Final Project Reports are to be submitted by May 15, the end of the project period (or upon completion of the project if completed earlier).
- Final Project Reports are submitted online like Activity Reports. However, instead of "Add Activity to Project," select "Add Project Final Report."
- Before entering the report into nnlm.gov, you can complete the PDF or Word version in advance and copy/paste it into the online fields.
- Please note that parts of these reports may be made public and should be edited carefully for spelling and grammatical errors.
- You can enter your Final Report at any time:
- Select "Save Draft" in NNLM.gov if you begin entering content in the Reporting System but want to finish submitting your report.
- Select "Send to RML for Review" if you are finished entering your report.
- NNLM Region 1 staff will contact you with any questions.
- Reports may be submitted any time after the project has begun. We recommend starting early and writing the report as the project progresses.
Your Region 1 contact should provide you with a URL that takes you directly to your grant page - feel free to request the URL if you have not received it.
If you prefer, you can also get to your grant page this way:
Login to NNLM.gov, go to your institution's profile, and you'll see a hyperlink for the grant - Click on that and you'll see grant information with hyperlinks for reports you can complete online, Activity Reports that you'll enter throughout the project year and a Final Report you'll enter at project completion.
Only if your project includes the purchase of technology, you must complete an evaluation of the technology to determine its benefits in your project. Your evaluation should occur 30 days after you begin using the technology for your project.
* If your project does not include the purchase of technology, you do not need to complete this evaluation.
The National Evaluation Center (NEC) has created a customizable survey you can use to evaluate your activities with attendees or external participants, for example, a health information fair or health literacy class. This survey serves to provide valuable input on your activities and satisfies the evaluation requirement for NNLM funding.
The Participant Activity Survey (PAS) is comprised of 5 sections: 1) Satisfaction; 2) Activity objectives (customizable); 3) Impact of participation; 4) Awareness of organization; and, 5) Trust of organization. You can view a preview of the PAS questions in English and en español
Activity-specific learning objectives (up to 4) can be tailored for individual events and activities and this data can be used to evaluate the effectiveness of your program or services. This survey is also available in Spanish.
Please see the PAS Required Submission Information Form for what information is needed to request use of the PAS. (See also a completed example).
For each activity or event you plan to utilize the PAS for, please send this completed form to Nancy Patterson who will provide you with a custom online survey link for each separate activity. Requests can take up to 7 days, so please contact your NNLM staff coordinator with your activity details at least 14 days before the event (The sooner the better – feel free to send forms now for dates you know in advance).
- PAS Required Submission Information Form - Subawardees (blank)
- PAS Required Submission Information Form - Example
- Participant Activity Survey – Questions Preview (blank) (also en español)
You can learn more about the PAS by exploring resources from NEC.
Professional Development:
These reports are submitted every time you host an event or activity with your target audience. If you host multiple activities, you’ll submit multiple Activity Reports. Common activities are things like:
- Classes/Courses/Trainings/Workshops
- Symposia/Seminars
- Webinars
- Exhibits/Health Fairs
- Conference Poster Sessions/Presentations
- Focus Groups
- Grand Rounds
Login to NNLM.gov, go to your institution's profile, and you'll see a hyperlink for the grant - Click on that and you'll see grant information with hyperlinks for reports you can complete online, Activity Reports that you'll enter throughout the project year and a Final Report you'll enter at project completion.
If not initially provided, you may also request a direct grant URL from your Region 1 contact that will allow you to go straight to your grant page, once logged into NNLM.gov.
Our National Web Services Office (NWSO) has created a helpful video on how to complete the online Activity Report form.
Activity Report Forms - if you prefer to complete them on paper before submitting online:
Only if your grant includes the purchase of technology, you must complete an evaluation of the technology to determine its benefits in your project. Your evaluation should occur 30 days after you begin using the technology for your project.
* If your grant does not include the purchase of technology, you do not need to complete this evaluation.
As part of your NNLM funding for Professional Development, we require that you submit a blog post to be published on the Region 1 Insights blog. This post should be a reflection on your Professional Development activity. Some suggestions of what to include:
- Relay what you learned and your impressions of anything innovative in content or presentation methods.
- Provide a review of the professional event itself and whether you recommend it to others.
- Interview other attendees and share their backgrounds, interests and experiences.
- Share how you, your career or your community may benefit from this professional development.
- We’re open to ideas – write what you feel others will be inspired by or learn from!
Blog posts are anywhere from 500-750 words and are submitted to Region 1 contact within 2 weeks of the end of your professional development activity.
Exhibiting:
These reports are submitted every time you host an event or activity with your target audience. If you host multiple activities, you’ll submit multiple Activity Reports. Common activities are things like:
- Classes/Courses/Trainings/Workshops
- Symposia/Seminars
- Webinars
- Exhibits/Health Fairs
- Conference Poster Sessions/Presentations
- Focus Groups
- Grand Rounds
Login to NNLM.gov, go to your institution's profile, and you'll see a hyperlink for the grant - Click on that and you'll see grant information with hyperlinks for reports you can complete online, Activity Reports that you'll enter throughout the project year and a Final Report you'll enter at project completion.
If not initially provided, you may also request a direct grant URL from your Region 1 contact that will allow you to go straight to your grant page, once logged into NNLM.gov.
Our National Web Services Office (NWSO) has created a helpful video on how to complete the online Activity Report form.
Activity Report Forms - if you prefer to complete them on paper before submitting online:
Only if your grant includes the purchase of technology, you must complete an evaluation of the technology to determine its benefits in your project. Your evaluation should occur 30 days after you begin using the technology for your project.
* If your project does not include the purchase of technology, you do not need to complete this evaluation.
As part of your NNLM funding for Exhibiting, we require that you submit a blog post to be published on the Region 1 Insights blog. This post should be a reflection on your experience during your exhibit. Some suggestions of what to include:
- Share an overview of your experience as an exhibitor.
- Provide a review of the event itself and whether you recommend it to others for exhibiting.
- Ask each visitor to your exhibit the same event-related question and share their responses. Make it serious or have fun with it!
- Share how your organization benefited from participating in this exhibit.
- We’re open to ideas – write what you feel others will be inspired by or learn from!
Blog posts are anywhere from 500-750 words and are submitted to your Region 1 contact within 2 weeks of the end of your exhibit.
Contact your Region 1 contact (or the NNLM Region 1 Office) with any questions – We’re here to help!
Project Changes
It is common that small changes will occur to your project after the agreement is issued and fully executed between your institution and the University of Maryland, Baltimore.
For example, an employee written into the project may leave your institution in the middle of the project or severe weather may make travel to an outreach event impossible. Some changes do not require an official change to the Agreement, while others do.
For any changes, email a brief narrative of the changes to your Region 1 contact or request to schedule a discussion. If you don't know who your contact is, email the NNLM Region 1 Office.
No-Cost Project Extensions
In rare instances, project extensions may be approved when an awardee needs additional time to complete the project beyond the project period (period of performance).
To request an extension, please contact your Region 1 contact with a description of the barriers faced and a new timeline for the project. If you don't know who your contact is, email the NNLM Region 1 Office.
Please note that cost extensions will not be granted beyond the project period. All funds approved must be expended by the end of original project period.
NIH Acknowledgement
Developed resources related to this project must include an acknowledgement of NIH support and a disclaimer stating the following:
"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: UG4LM013724. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health."
If the recipient plans to issue a press release about research supported by an NIH grant, it should notify the NIH funding component in advance to allow for coordination. Please visit NIH Media Contacts for more information.
Funding Statement Images (For use on items produced by awardees)
Publications Resulting from NNLM Funded Projects
As of April 7, 2008, final peer-reviewed manuscripts arising from NIH funds must be submitted to PubMed Central (PMC) upon acceptance for publication. The NIH Public Access Policy 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 PMC upon acceptance for publication. To help advance science and improve human health, the Policy 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.
Authors that publish NIH-supported, peer-reviewed articles in full PMC-participating journals (such as the Journal of the Medical Library Association) have fulfilled their obligations to NIH Public Access and have nothing else to do.
If an NIH-supported peer-review article is published in a non-PMC journal, the final manuscript must be submitted to PMC via the NIH Manuscript Submission System (NIHMS). If the author was supported by an NIH contract, and the contract details are not available for selection in the NIHMS, the author should contact the NIHMS Help Desk to have this information added to the system. This lets the NIHMS Help Desk correlate requests with specific manuscript numbers and specific users, and helps us resolve the issue faster.
The link to the help desk is on the bottom of every page in NIHMS. The NIHMS Help Desk will need the following information:
- Grant Number: UG4 LM013724 with the University of Maryland, Baltimore
- Contract title/name: Network of the National Library of Medicine
- Awarding NIH institution: National Library of Medicine
Help Resources: Consult the PowerPoint by Bart Trawick for instructions.
Development of Training Materials
All awardees are required to share any data or training material resulting from funding. Please submit them to your NNLM Region 1 contact, who will assure they are uploaded to appropriate repositories. This assures that all NNLM funded resources are freely available for use, in keeping with the missions of both NLM and NNLM.
In addition, recipients of funding are expected to use or adapt existing training materials before developing new materials. Consult with your NNLM Region 1 contact prior to developing materials.
Accessibility (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 (NLM) is a part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Recipients of National Library of Medicine funding through the NNLM must also meet these requirements.
For more information on making your resources accessible, please visit HHS Accessibility Resources.