Funding
Description of Award
The mission of the Network of the National Library of Medicine (NNLM) is to advance the progress of medicine and improve the public's health by providing U.S. researchers, healthcare professionals, public health workforce, educators, and the public with equal access to biomedical and health information resources and data. NNLM’s main goals are to work through libraries and other members to support a highly trained workforce for biomedical and health information resources and data, improve health literacy, and increase health equity through information.
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 minority and other 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 Virtual 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 remotely 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.
Depending on the Regional Medical Library (RML) you are applying to, professional development awards may be used to support:
- Professional development opportunities such as classes, conferences or workshops for individual NNLM members. This can include:
- Introduce students to the health sciences, trusted National Library of Medicine (NLM) resources, and develop their professional skills.
- Prepare individuals for a leadership position in a hospital or academic health sciences library.
- Host a reading club with learning outcomes focusing on health information access issues that can be used to improve library programming that are more impactful to your underrepresented communities.
- Costs associated with arranging for an expert speaker to give a talk, workshop, class or lecture.
- Educational activities that relate to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion and aim to prepare professionals to better serve underserved, minority and underrepresented communities.
RML staff are 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!
Eligibility for Individuals
- Generally, members of network institutions apply for these awards but there are exceptions to this. This may include students, unemployed, or retired information professionals for instance. Consult with your RML/Office/Center for specifics.
Eligibility for Organizations
- You 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.
- Individuals are eligible to apply and must submit a W-9.
Application Instructions
System Requirements
- 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, submit an application for Membership at least 3 weeks prior to the funding deadline. 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 a 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. Consult with your RML to see if this is required.
- Have you previously received NNLM funding in the current grant cycle? 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.
Proposal (do not exceed 1 page; page limit does not include supporting documentation)
- Program/Event Name: Enter the name of the event, program, or educational activity.
- Program/Event Dates: Select the appropriate dates.
- Professional Development URL: URL for the Conference, or Professional Development you would like to attend or hold, if available
- Significance/Objectives: Provide a short 1-2 paragraph description that summarizes the proposed program/event. State the goal(s) of the proposed program/event or educational activity and how they align to the NNLM Goals and Objectives. Discuss why this program/event would be necessary or useful for the intended beneficiary. Detail how you plan to use what you learn, or what you hope others will learn.
- Personnel Qualifications: Submit resumes or CVs for personnel listed as attachments with your completed application.
Budget (do not exceed 1 page)
Awards are cost-reimbursable and are generally issued to the institution, but in some cases are issued to the individual. The budget estimate should be categorized by the following, as they apply:
- Fees: Any fees associated with the educational activity/program or event.
- Travel: Estimates for travel. Include description and any quotes in the budget table and narrative justification attachments.
- Hotel: Costs associated with lodging.
- Per Diem: Costs associated with meals and incidental expenses.
- 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 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 to take 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:
- Full Project Proposal (information, proposal, budget)
- 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.
Access | Timeline | |
Activities and Participants –Submitted through the NNLM Data Reporting System (DRS) | Subawardees must add reports on their individual project page which is accessible via the institutional record. | Within 10 days of the activity. |
Final Report –Submitted through the NNLM DRS | Same as above. | Within 30 days of project completion or 15 days after the end of the Project Period. |
Required if Applicable | ||
If offering Medical Library Association (MLA) Continuing Education (CE), contact the RML for training evaluation form. | ||
If technology is purchased or provided: NNLM Technology Report |
| Submit before the final report |
If funds are included for professional development: NNLM Professional Development Report | NNLM Professional Development Award Report
| Within 30 days after the last day completed |
Project Outcome: Optional tool for public libraries providing programming to patrons or community members |
| Immediately following program completion- be sure to check the box to ensure NNLM has access to the data. |
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. Please consult with your RML/Office for the specific acknowledgement statement to be used for your project award.
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 a 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?
- Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (5 points max): Does the educational activity promote diversity, equity and inclusion or 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 cost reimbursement.