Funding
Awards are cost-reimbursable and issued to the institution, not the individual. Network member organizations in Region 2 are eligible to apply: Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, South Carolina, Tennessee, and the US Virgin Islands.
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, health professionals, public health workforce, educators, and the public with equal access to biomedical and health information resources and data.
The Exhibit Award provides funding to exhibit at local, regional, national meetings, summits and conferences for health professionals, information professionals and health consumers. Exhibiting provides an opportunity to promote NLM products, Region 2 programs and/or Region 2 membership.
Award funding covers registration and booth fees, travel and per diems, communication costs, equipment rental and associated costs for the exhibit.
All projects must:
- Incorporate one or more National Library of Medicine resources. You can refer to the NLM list of Databases, Resources, and APIs for a complete overview of resources by topic.
- Increase access to high quality biomedical and health information
- Improve the use of technology for health information access, especially to underserved and underrepresented populations
- Improve access to libraries and information services
Priority will be given to projects which:
- Feature first-time applicants; are from faith-based, community-based, public health, or public education sector professionals or organizations; support Spanish-speaking, Indigenous, and/or rural communities; or are from states/territories that have not received as much funding previously
- Reach underserved, minority and underrepresented communities including, but not limited to:
- Racial and ethnic minority populations
- LGBTQIA+ populations
- Populations reported below the Federal Poverty Level
- Populations with limited access to medical care
- Populations with physical and/or mental disabilities
- Soldiers, veterans and military families
- Rural populations
- Urban populations
- Older Adults
- Demonstrate principles of accessibility, cultural competency, and inclusivity
- Include training and outreach about NLM resources
- Describe strategies for sustainability of the project after one year
- Collaborate with Region 2 Regional Medical Library, another Region 2 individual member, and/or a national NNLM office or center to co-exhibit at a:
- State library or public health association meeting
- State or regional public health association meeting
- State or local LGBTQIA+ health event
- Local health fair/expo
- State or local health professional meeting
- Tribal community event
- Remote Area Medical (RAM) event
Applicants 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. Please contact the RML for further clarification.
Application Instructions
- Lead Organization: Select the institution that will lead and receive funding to conduct the proposed project.
If the drop-down list appears blank, confirm that your NNLM account is connected to the NNLM Member record for your institution. (See System Requirements above)
- Project Lead: If you are the Project Lead, select your own name from the drop-down list. If you are submitting this application on behalf of the Project Lead, select their name from the drop-down list.
If the name of the Project Lead does not appear in the drop-down list, confirm that their NNLM account is connected to the NNLM Member record for the institution. (See System Requirements above)
- Institution Tax ID: Enter the 9-digit tax identification number for your institution.
- Institution DUNS Number: Please confirm your organization’s DUNS number. If you do not have a DUNS number, apply for one as soon as possible.
- Have you/your institution previously received NNLM funding in the current grant cycle? Select Yes, No, or I don’t know.
- Amount Requested: The amount specified should not exceed the limit established above. Contact Region 2 if you have questions about the funding amount. This field will accept numbers only. Enter the amount to the nearest whole dollar.
- Project Title: Describe the project 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.
- Project Summary: Provide a one-paragraph description that summarizes the proposed project. Funded projects are displayed on the NNLM website and are provided by NLM in response to requests from NIH, HHS, OMB, Congress, and the White House.
- Partner Organizations: Use the autocomplete function to find and select existing records for up to three (3) organizations that will partner with the Lead Organization to conduct/complete the project. If a record does not exist for a partner organization, click “Partner Organization not Listed?” and use the additional fields under “Add Partner Organization” to provide the institution name and address.
- Training be Provided as Part of this Award: Select yes or no.
- Proposed Start and End Dates for the Project: Select the appropriate dates. Contact your RML/Office before applying if your project will extend more than one year.
- Evidence of Need: Provide a statement of how the project proposed will support the mission of NNLM, explain the need for the project, and describe the audience or population that will be reached through this project. Please clearly document if this project will engage traditionally underrepresented populations and/or involve medically underserved areas. When possible, support the stated need using data such as known needs assessments or statistics.
- Project goals and objectives: State the goal(s) and specific objectives(s) of the proposed project. Goals should align to the NNLM Goals and Objectives.
- Implementation: Describe what will be done to meet project objectives and its rationale. Include tasks to be performed and who will perform them.
- Schedule/Timeline: Include a timeline for implementing the plan to meet objectives.
- Evaluation Plan: Describe how the project will measure success. Include data collection frequency, type of data to be collected, tools, and how data will be used or disseminated.
- Publicity/Promotion: Briefly describe how you intend to promote your project to the target population. Please specify which NLM resources or NNLM national initiatives will be utilized, how they will be promoted, and how they will be utilized throughout the project.
- Continuity/Sustainability Plan: Describe the activities that will sustain project services and/or communication to the targeted community beyond the cooperative agreement period.
- Personnel Qualifications: If applicable, list the project personnel who will be involved in the project and include their role(s) and applicable experience. Submit resumes or CVs for personnel listed as attachments with your completed application.
The budget needs to be filled out in the online application system. Budget fields will accept numbers only. Enter each amount to the nearest whole dollar. If a budget line is not applicable for your project, you may leave it blank.
You must also complete and upload the NIH Budget Justification form (linked below in "Attachments" section.)
The budget estimate should be categorized by the following, as they apply:
- Personnel: Include (hourly rate X estimated hours) or (% time X annual salary) in the budget justification attachments or descriptions. Check with your RML/Office for specifics on personnel.
- Consultant Costs: Estimated expenses from consultants, such as marketing firms or other agencies; Prior to hiring Consultants, submit the following information to the RML/Office: name of consultant, description of work, hourly rate, total amount/not to exceed amount, and period of performance.
- Equipment: Quotes for items required such as computers and other equipment. Include quotes received or other pricing information in the budget attachment or as another attachment.
- Supplies: Quotes for printing, publication costs and other materials. Include description and any quotes in the attached budget or as other attachment.
- Communications: Media, publicity or other communication costs. Include description and any quotes in the attached budget or as other attachment.
- Reproduction: Printing materials or other reproduction costs.
- Travel: Estimates for travel. Include description and any quotes in the attached budget or as other attachment.
- Other: Include description and any quotes in the attached budget or as other attachment.
- Indirect Costs (IDC) or Facilities and Administrative (F&A) Costs: Apply at your institution’s non-research rate (or, if your institution has no negotiated rate, a 10% Modified Total Direct Cost (MTDC) can be applied if you wish to claim it). Indirect Costs need to be factored into your overall budget. The total budget cannot exceed the limit defined by the RML/Office you are applying to, including Indirect Costs.
- Other Funding if Applicable: Other funds that will be used to support the project should be specified. This includes matching funds, other grants, etc.
***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.
Identify the populations that will be reached during the project.
- Populations Served: Select all that apply, but these should be the primary populations targeted in your project. If not explicitly identified in the proposal section, please do not select it here.
- Participant’s Roles: Select all that apply. These are the primary roles of the participants of your project. These should be explicitly identified in the proposal section.
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 documentation will need to be completed should your project be awarded. Please consult with your RML/Office for details.
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.
Subawardees must submit an Activity Report at the culmination of the exhibiting activity, within 1 month of the event conclusion.
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
A review committee comprised of Region 2 Regional Medical Library staff and Network members will review and score applications based on ten criteria: Significance, Evidence of Need/Target Population, Methodology/Objectives, Promotion Plan, Evaluation, Sustainability/Continuation, Personnel/Qualifications, Institutional Support, Training Plan (if applicable), and Budget. View the scorecard.