Introduction

The NN/LM SCR encourages you to review this Guide prior to developing your proposal or application. After your project is funded, we encourage you to keep it handy and refer to it throughout your project. If you have questions that are not addressed in this Guide, please contact the NN/LM SCR office.

Developing Your Proposal or Application

Contact your Grants & Contracts/Sponsored Projects/Business Office to discuss the Request for Proposals (RFP) or Call for Applications (CFA). After your project is awarded, you will most likely meet with one of these offices. These offices can be very helpful in navigating you through your institutional guidelines for applying for funding, and managing your award. After your project is awarded, notify the Grants & Contracts/Sponsored Programs office of your award. Usually, there are internal procedures that must be followed. Also, internal procedures and guidelines may have changed since your last award.

Next, contact the office that will generate invoices on your project to find out if the budget categories listed on the RFP or CFA can or will be used on the invoices. If the institution prefers to use its own budget categories, you may submit your project budget using your institution's budget categories. If you do use your institutional budget categories, you must provide a detailed explanation regarding what will be billed in those categories. (Example: Some institutions consider Supplies and Travel as Administrative Costs. The NN/LM SCR considers these as separate categories. Explain in your budget justification/explanation that these two areas will be billed under Administrative Costs).

Effectively Managing Your Award

The NN/LM SCR staff manages approximately 35-40 new awards each year. We strive to provide a positive experience for each awardee, regardless if you are a new or experienced awardee with the NN/LM SCR. Effective award managers are integral in this relationship and in the successful completion of projects.

The NN/LM SCR never awards "grants;" therefore, there is no Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) number associated with your award. The NN/LM SCR is under Contract with the National Library of Medicine (NLM). All awards made by the NN/LM SCR are "awards" or "subcontracts." (Your Grants & Contracts/Sponsored Programs Office can explain the difference between grants and subcontracts to you).

The NN/LM SCR usually issues a cost reimbursement Subcontract Agreement or a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA). Cost reimbursement means that you (the Awardee) will perform the work agreed upon in the final, approved proposal and Subcontract/MOA. As the Awardee, your institution bears the cost until the next invoicing period. The NN/LM SCR office is prompt in reviewing invoices and the HAM-TMC Library is also prompt in reimbursing awardees.

The Subcontract Agreement/Memorandum of Agreement

The following should be noted as you begin your project. Refer to these guidelines throughout your project.

1. Negotiations occur with most applicants. Note the final major project goals and objectives stated in the Subcontract/MOA, in the approved final proposal and /or final negotiations.
2. Note the due dates for all reports and invoices to help ensure that you send both in according to schedule. If you will submit your report or invoice late, please notify the NN/LM SCR contact who is managing your Subcontract/MOA.
3. If you are unable to complete the project by the end date, notify your NN/LM SCR contact as soon as possible to discuss the circumstances that prohibit you from completing the project. In most cases, an extension can be discussed and must be formally submitted in electronic format.

   Do not wait until the last day of the project to request an extension. Requests for extensions submitted after the end date of your project will not be considered.

Budgets and Invoices

1. Develop a spreadsheet that reflects the final, approved budget. Track project expenses, invoices, and reimbursements. Request to rebudget if necessary.

1. The NN/LM SCR does not reimburse projects above the awarded amount.
2. Invoice according to the invoicing schedule in your Subcontract/MOA. Do not accumulate charges throughout the period of performance of your subcontract and bill all costs on the Final Invoice. It is extremely difficult to review an entire project report and single invoice, particularly if charges were incurred throughout the period of performance. If there are discrepancies between activities reported and items invoiced, it is almost impossible to assist you in correcting the discrepancies after the period of performance has ended. Consequently, you may not receive all of your award funding.
3. Monitor your project activities in relation to the line items in your budget. This allows you to request to rebudget funds within the budget so you can obtain maximum cost effectiveness and reimbursement.
4. Do not overspend line items in your budget. If you think you may require more money in a line item, review your budget for areas in which you may have underspent and submit an electronic request to rebudget with an explanation to the NN/LM SCR Associate Director. There are no limits to the number of times you can request to rebudget within the period of performance.
5. Ensure that you submit requests to rebudget before the project ends. Requests to rebudget funds after the period of performance will not be considered.

2. Ensure that all invoices:

1. Correspond to the time periods outlined in the reporting and invoicing requirements in the Subcontract/MOA;
2. Contain sufficient detail, by line item budgeted, to enable the NN/LM SCR to review and approve the invoice;
3. Include the title/name of the project. The NN/LM SCR often makes multiple awards to a single institution. Identifying project information assists the NN/LM SCR staff and HAM-TMC Library manage each Subcontract/MOA accurately; and
4. Include the name and address to whom the check should be mailed.

3. Note the start and end date of the project (listed in the Subcontract/MOA under "Period of Performance"). Invoicing for award-related activities that occur prior to the start date or past the end date is not permitted.

Project Reports

Reporting guidelines are provided by the NN/LM SCR office. Please see reporting form templates on the website: http://nnlm.gov/scr/outreach/outreachformsindex.html

1. Include a report cover sheet for each report.
2. Use the report template as an outline for your reporting. Adjust as needed to meet the reporting needs of your project.
3. An Outreach Activity Reporting Form and Participant Information Form must be completed for each outreach activity (class or presentation). Training or assistance in completing these online forms is available from your NN/LM SCR contact.
4. An Exhibit Report Outline and the Exhibit Budget Sheet must be completed for each exhibit or health fair that is conducted. Enclose the Reports and Budget Sheets with your upcoming report.
5. Mail four (4) copies of your report to the NN/LM SCR contact who manages your report. Also email the report to your contact. In addition to the quarterly reports, please provide four (4) copies of any products, materials, press releases, and articles, etc. associated with or developed under this project.

Publishing the Results of the Project

You are encouraged to publish the results of your project. You are strongly encouraged to publish the results in journals that make their contents freely available on the web.

There is an NIH Policy on Enhancing Public Access to Archived Publications Resulting from NIH-Funded Research. The Policy requests that beginning May 2, 2005, NIH-funded investigators submit to the NIH National Library of Medicine's (NLM) PubMed Central (PMC) an electronic version of the author's final manuscript, upon acceptance for publication, resulting from research supported in whole or in part with direct costs from NIH. NIH defines the author's final manuscript as the final version accepted for journal publication, and includes all modifications from the publishing peer review process. The PMC archive will preserve permanently these manuscripts for use by the public, health care providers, educators, scientists, and NIH. The Policy directs electronic submissions to the NIH/NLM/PMC: http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov. Additional information is available at: http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/NOT-OD-05-022.html.

As an Awardee, you shall acknowledge the support of the National Institutes of Health whenever publicizing the work under this subcontract in any media by including the following acknowledgment:

This project has been funded in whole or in part with Federal funds from the National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health, Department of Health and Human Services, under Contract No. N01-LM-6-3505.

Terminating the Project

If you are unable to complete the project for any reason, you are responsible for notifying your NN/LM SCR contact immediately. Per the Subcontract/MOA agreement, the NN/LM SCR may terminate the Subcontract/MOA within 30 days if written notification is not provided by the Awardee.

If you are the Principal Investigator or awardee and you leave the institution for any reason, you must notify your NN/LM SCR contact immediately to discuss formal reassignment of the project.

Any award that is not satisfactorily completed jeopardizes the institution and applicant from receiving funding from the NN/LM SCR for the remainder of the current RML Contract.

Contacting the NN/LM SCR Office

National Network of Libraries of Medicine, South Central Region (NN/LM SCR)
Houston Academy of Medicine-Texas Medical Center (HAM-TMC) Library
1133 John Freeman Blvd.
Houston, TX 77030-2809
Phone: 800-338-7657 (in AR, LA, NM, OK, TX only) or 713-799-7880
Fax: 713-790-7030
Website: http://nnlm.gov/scr