Guidelines for Award Requirements

Project Reporting

All NNLM-funded projects require some form of reporting, to communicate the value and achievements of your activities back to the National Library of Medicine and National Institutes of Health. You should consult with your Regional Medical Library, Office, or Center funding your project to confirm what reports you will need to submit. The following reports are the most common reports you are required to complete.

NNLM Awardees should refer to the Grant Reporting video tutorial to help submit an activity report and include data for your activities. Templates are available for you on this page to plan answers ahead of submission.

Activity Reports

Activity reports must be submitted via the Network of the National Library of Medicine's online reporting portal, known as the Data Reporting System (DRS).

• These activities are typically scheduled in advance and directed toward an audience outside of the awardee's institution.
• Activities may be in person, virtual, or a combination of both.
• Awardees should make an effort to collect demographic information for all participants.
• Some examples of activities that should be reported are:
  • Holding a class on an NLM resource for members of the public
  • Presenting your outreach program at a professional conference
  • Visiting a potential community partner to assess their health information needs
  • Conducting focus groups to determine how best to serve the larger community
  • Exhibits where you answer questions, distribute educational materials, and provide impromptu training to attendees at conferences, health fairs, or other events
• If you are unsure about whether your activity should be reported, please contact the Region, Office or Center that funded your project.
• Sample Documents
  • Participant Information Form
  • Activity Report Template

Final Reports

A Final Project Report must be completed no later than 30 days after the end of the period of performance.

• Final Reports must be submitted via the Network of the National Library of Medicine's online reporting portal, known as the Data Reporting System (DRS).
• Unique login information for the DRS will be supplied to subawardees.
• Answer in a narrative paragraph format.
• Please note that parts of these reports may be made public, and so should be edited carefully for spelling and grammatical errors.
• Final Reports may be started at any time after the project has begun. We recommend starting early and writing the report as the project progresses.
• Sample Document
  • Final Report Template

Please contact the funding Region, Office or Center with any questions.

Other Reporting Requirements

Additional reporting may be required depending on the award type. Supplemental reports are requested for:

• Professional Development
• Technology Improvement

Awardees may also be required to share their project with the network via:

• Blog post
• Webinar presentation

Consult with your RML Coordinator and/or check your Statement of Work (SOW) for guidance.

Compliance with Federal Requirements

In addition to reporting on your project activities and outcomes, all projects funded through the National Institutes of Health (NIH) must also comply with federal requirements.

NIH Acknowledgement

Awardees must 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:

"Developed resources reported in this [publication, press release, website] are supported by the National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health, under Cooperative Agreement number XXXXXX. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health."

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 is funded by the National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health, Department of Health and Human Services, under Cooperative Agreement Number XXXXX with the University of XXXXX."

Accessibility Requirements: 508 Compliance

Section 508 requires that all website content be accessible to people with disabilities. This applies to web applications, web pages and training materials posted on websites.

Data Sharing and Development of Training Materials

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 and the NNLM Training Office (NTO) prior to developing materials.

NIH Public Access Policy: Publications and Copyright

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. Contact your RML for additional guidance.

Final peer-reviewed manuscripts arising from NLM/ 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.

NNLM's Invoicing Process

Please note the following information and requirements related to invoicing.

• All NNLM awards are made on a cost reimbursement basis unless another arrangement has been explicitly pre-approved by the funding Regional Medical Library, Office, or Center.
• Awards are contingent upon funding available from the sponsoring agency.
• Reimbursement is contingent on satisfactory compliance with reporting requirements (LINK).
• All awardees should submit invoices on a monthly basis, unless another arrangement has been explicitly approved by the funding Region.
• Receipts are not required with invoices, but should be kept on file by subawardees for auditing purposes.
• Please use the NNLM invoice template to ensure that all required information is collected prior to submission.
• Please contact your Project Coordinator for approval before purchasing anything not included in the original project budget.

To submit an invoice:

• Send a PDF copy of the invoice via email to your invoicing contacts, and CC your Project Coordinator.
• If your project is funded by Region 5, invoicing is processed through the University of Washington ARIBA System. Instructional links will be provided by the RML.
• With your first invoice, please also include a copy of your institution’s W-9, if requested by the funding Region.

Note: invoices cannot be processed until your contract has been fully executed with the sponsoring university; contact your RML if you are unsure about the status of your contract.

Invoicing Contacts

The following table provides contact information and the correct institutional address to include in your invoice. If you have questions about the process or need assistance, please reach out to the invoicing contact for the Region, Office or Center (ROC) that is supporting your project.