Health Information Needs Assessment Award
Call for Applications
The purpose of the Health Information Needs Assessment Award is to improve outreach through increased knowledge of community health information needs. Thorough needs assessments serve to analyze community needs in depth, with respect to the community’s cultural, social, economic and physical situations. This award is designed to give organizations an opportunity to subsequently design effective outreach strategies, particularly those that focus on the National Library of Medicine's databases.
Eligibility
Network members in the NN/LM SCR (Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas) are eligible to apply. Network membership is free and open to institutions interested in providing health information. To apply for membership: http://nnlm.gov/scr/services/member.html.
Funding
One (1) project up to $5,000
Period of Performance
May 1, 2012 – April 30, 2013
Deadline for Applications
March 9, 2012, 5:00 pm CT
Potential Projects
Projects can include but are not limited to:
- Focus groups to identify specific health information needs of a population group and why they are not being met;
- Informal interviews or surveys to ascertain where a particular community goes for health information; where they will not go; and how they like to obtain their information (e.g. in print, online, etc.).
Projects may focus on a specific community or population including but not limited to: minority or ethnic populations, specific age groups, low-income residents, or Medically Underserved Areas/Populations.
Applicants are encouraged to consult the NN/LM SCR office or the Outreach and Evaluation Resource Center website http://nnlm.gov/evaluation/ when developing a needs assessment plan.
To Apply
See: http://nnlm.gov/scr/funding/needs_award_app.doc 
Budget Guidelines
Funding will cover (these are examples only and are not meant to be all-inclusive): personnel, equipment, software, Internet service provider fees, supplies, travel and reproduction. Funds requested to develop print collections of health materials or to purchase access to a commercial electronic health information product may not exceed 5% of the total amount of the project budget.
Food, furniture and indirect costs are not allowed.
If IT/Computer Hardware is proposed in response to this Call for Applications, 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 (NLM) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) 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.
All awards issued under the NLM Contract with the Houston Academy of Medicine, Texas Medical Center Library 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.
Evaluation Criteria
Criteria for selection include: clear understanding of the community, feasibility of needs assessment plan, choice of a suitable of a needs assessment mechanism for the community, future plans for the information gained via the needs assessment, and appropriateness of the budget.
Reporting Requirements
One interim report of project activities, including progress made toward goals and problems encountered, and completion of outreach reporting activity forms are required. A final report covering the entire period of performance is due within 30 days of the close of the project. Reports will be entered and submitted 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 awardee shall email copies of all communications, materials produced, press releases, advertisements, photographs and articles for newsletters related to the project. In accepting the award, the awardee gives permission for use of such materials by the NLM and NN/LM.
Publication and Publicity
The awardee shall acknowledge the support of the National Library of Medicine whenever publicizing the work under this contract 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, under Contract No. HHSN-276-2011-00007-C with the Houston Academy of Medicine-Texas Medical Center Library.
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 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 PubMed Central (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 PubMed Central no later than 12 months after publication.
The NIH Public Access site should be consulted for additional information: http://publicaccess.nih.gov/policy.htm.
508 Compliance
If a website is developed under this award, the website must adhere to Section 508 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.
More information on 508 Compliance is located at: http://www.section508.gov.
Need help?
Karen J. Vargas, MLS
Consumer Health Coordinator
National Network of Libraries of Medicine,
South Central Region (NN/LM SCR)
Houston Academy of Medicine-Texas Medical Center Library (HAM-TMC) Library
1133 John Freeman Blvd.
Houston, Texas 77030-2809
Phone: 1-800-338-7657 (AR, LA, NM, OK, TX only)
Fax: 713-790-7030
Email: karen.vargas@exch.library.tmc.edu
