New Roles for Information Professionals Awards
Award Goals
The goal of the New Roles for Information Professionals Award is to fund projects to advocate for the role of information professionals within their institution and/or community.
MAR will give preference to projects that promote and strengthen the role of health information professionals in:
- Evidence-Based Health Information
Evidence-Based Health Information
The goal of the Evidence-Based Health Information Express Award is to support and promote librarian involvement in evidence-based practice within the institution and/or community.
Potential Projects
Projects may include the following (other creative ideas are encouraged):
- Projects to collaborate with clinical staff and/or patient education staff on incorporating library resources and MedlinePlus Connect into EHRs or PHRs
- Projects to offer a new clinical service, such as one that provides evidence to support the development of order sets within the EHR
- Projects to offer a new clinical service such as one to provide evidence to support the development of clinical guidelines or provide support on a research or patient education committee
- Projects to start a new consumer health information service
- Projects to educate physicians and nurses on the importance of health literacy and appropriate patient materials
Eligibility Requirements
Full and Affiliate Network members in the NN/LM MAR (Delaware, New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania) are eligible to apply.
Availability of Funds
All awards issued under the NLM Contract with the University of Pittsburgh, Health Sciences Library System are subject to the Government’s availability of funds in compliance of Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 52.232-18, Availability of Funds.
The Government’s obligation under this contract is contingent upon the availability of appropriated funds from which payment for contract purposes can be made. No legal liability on the part of the Government for any payment may arise until funds are made available to the Contracting Officer for this contract and until the Contractor receives notice of such availability, to be confirmed in writing by the Contracting Officer.
Application Process
- Applications will be accepted until October 1, 2012
- Applicants may submit a proposal (http://nnlm.gov/mar/funding/outreach_app_instr2012.pdf) and supporting documentation to NN/LM MAR at nnlmmar@pitt.edu
- Put New Roles in the subject line
Budget Guidelines
Funding will be processed on a cost reimbursement basis.
A detailed budget and justification is required.
Allowable expenses include:
- Personnel (may include professional or support personnel for the project)
- Travel (may include air travel, ground transportation, parking, hotel, per diem for meals)
- Equipment (may include rental or purchase of equipment)
- Supplies (may include paper, pens, software, display items)
- Communications (may include postage, parcel and other delivery services, and telephone/data line charges)
- Reproduction (may include costs for printing/photocopying of project related materials)
- Other costs (may include honoraria, exhibit fees, or any other items that do not fit into one of the other lines. Provide a breakdown of what has been included in this category.)
- Indirect costs (IDC) up to 10% are allowed for this award. It is recommended that due to low funding level, IDC be kept to a minimum.
If mobile technology or computer hardware is proposed, please include the following as part of your cost proposal:
- For technology or computer hardware purchases under $3,000 – submit catalog pricing.
- For technology or computer hardware purchases $3,000 or more per item – submit three (3) vendor quotes (valid preferably for 60 days, minimum of 30 days). Quotes may include General Service Administration (GSA) price lists. Reference: http://www.gsa.gov.
- For personal appeal items such as cameras, MP3 Players, smartphones, and laptop computers the proposal must address the following:
- Purpose: There is a legitimate purpose for the items, and use of the items by the awardee will be managed in accordance with institutional policy.
- Appropriate Use: Items will not be used in a way that would discredit the NN/LM, the National Library of Medicine and the National Institutes of Health or the applicable Institution.
- Cost Effective: Must demonstrate requested items are cost effective and appropriate. For example, will generic brands satisfy the minimum requirements? If not, the proposal/request must describe 1) why it is necessary to purchase branded products, 2) benefits in brand name products. How will items further the mission of the NN/LM and achieve the objectives of the contract?
Vendor quotes are necessary to determine price reasonable for purchase of $3,000 or more. The absence of competitive quotes must be documented and justified.
Expenses are not allowed for:
- Food
- Furniture purchases
Period of Performance
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Funding period is November 1, 2012 - April 30, 2013. Projects must be completed by April 30, 2013.
Selection Criteria
Proposals will be evaluated by RML staff and/or MAR advisory committees according to the following criteria. Requests for clarification and/or revision may be asked of proposal writers as determined by reviewers.
- Evidence of qualified personnel and organizational resources, including partnerships, to assure completion of the project and potential sustainability (20 points)
- Evidence of institutional facilities and resources adequate to support the proposed program.
- Letter of commitment from bidder's institutional administration, and letters of commitment from administrations of all agencies involved or targeted in the project.
- Statement or plan to continue support of services to the target population beyond the contract period.
- Well defined description of the target population (10 points)
- Estimates of the potential population and the portion expected to be reached should be included.
- Evidence of need for the project and involvement of the target audience in determining need(s) (10 points)
- Goals and outcomes that can reasonably be accomplished and even sustained beyond the project period (10 points)
- Project plan that clearly indicates specific steps to be accomplished to fulfill objectives (20 points)
- Inclusion of a timeline or implementation schedule for major events and activities.
- Planned outputs for the project: number of training session, participants, transactions, etc.
- Clear evaluation strategies to measure and assess outcomes and determine the project's success (20 points)
- In developing an evaluation mechanism, attention should be given to how successful the project will be in meeting the information needs of the target group.
- Evaluation should measure project objectives and their outcomes. Proposed evaluation tools should reflect these measurements.
- NN/LM members are strongly encouraged to consult the Outreach Evaluation Resource Center (OERC) publications and resources, or OERC staff for assistance in developing an effective evaluation plan: http://nnlm.gov/evaluation/.
- Budget plan that is complete, clear, and well justified to complete the project (10 points)
Reporting Requirements
- Progress reports must be submitted quarterly. These will include a report of project activities, including progress made toward award goals, problems encountered and a report of the ongoing evaluation or assessment of the project’s effectiveness.
- One final report will be submitted no later than April 30, 2013.
- All reports are submitted online to the Outreach Application and Online Contract Reports System at: https://outreach.nlm.nih.gov/.
- Users of the System must first create an account before reports can be submitted. The NN/LM MAR will provide additional information on accessing the system and submitting reports.
- If training is conducted as part of the project, the awardee will complete a record of the event in the Outreach Application and Online Contract Reports System within 2 weeks of the activity. The NN/LM MAR will provide an instruction manual for inputting this information into the system.
- The project leader agrees to share portions of the report with other network members by submitting it for posting to the NN/LM MAR blog, newsletter, or a Lunch with the RML session.
- The project leader shall provide copies of all communications, materials produced, press releases, advertisements, photographs and articles for newsletters related to the project. In accepting the award, the project leader gives permission for use of such materials by the NLM and NN/LM.
Additional Requirements
Publication and Publicity
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 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. HHS-N-276-2011-00003-C with the University of Pittsburgh, Health Sciences Library System.
NIH Policy on Enhancing Public Access to Archived Publications Resulting from NIH-Funded Research
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 at http://publicaccess.nih.gov/policy.htm 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 (http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/ ) upon acceptance for publication. To help advance science and improve human health, the Policy requires that these papers (http://publicaccess.nih.gov/FAQ.htm#b1) are accessible to the public on PMC no later than 12 months after publication.
The NIH Public Access site should be consulted for additional information: http://publicaccess.nih.gov/policy.htm.
Website 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 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 NN/LM must also meet these requirements.
[Information on 508 Compliance is located at http://www.section508.gov.]
Development of Training Materials
Successful applicants are expected to use or adapt existing training materials before developing new materials. Consult the Medical Library Association (MLA) Educational Clearinghouse prior to developing materials. Training materials developed as part of the award should be submitted to the MLA Educational Clearinghouse.
Resources for Planning, Implementing and Evaluating Outreach Projects
NN/LM members are strongly encouraged to consult the Outreach Evaluation Resource Center (OERC) publications and resources, or OERC staff for assistance in developing an effective evaluation plan: http://nnlm.gov/evaluation/.
Need Assistance?
To request assistance, contact us at nnlmmar@pitt.edu or (800) 338-7657.
