Outreach Express Award
Call for Applications (CFAs)
The National Network of Libraries of Medicine, Greater Midwest Region (NN/LM GMR), under contract with the National Library of Medicine (NLM), announces the availability of Outreach Express Awards for network members.
The GMR plans to fund awards for up to $4,500 in the 2011-2016 contract. This award is currently closed for Option Year 01 (May 2012 - April 2013).
If you have questions regarding this award , contact Jacqueline Leskovec, Outreach, Planning and Evaluation Coordinator. Email Jacqueline or send an email to gmr4u@uic.edu. To contact the GMR by phone, call 1-800-338-7657 and press one (1) for the Regional Network Office.Award recipients will be publicized on the GMR website, GMRLIST and/or in The Cornflower, the GMR blog. A list of current Outreach Express Award Recipients is available. There is also a list of awardees from the previous contract: Outreach Express Award Recipients 2006-2011.
Purpose
The purpose of the Outreach Express Awards is to support a wide range of smaller outreach projects aimed at improving access to biomedical information for unaffiliated and/or underserved populations. Projects may be targeted to health professionals, librarians, or consumers.
Projects should address one or more of the following outreach needs:
- Provide training in effective use of electronic health information resources, with an emphasis on National Library of Medicine (NLM) databases including PubMed, MedlinePlus, and ClinicalTrials.gov.
- Assist health information professionals and health sciences librarians in providing information service or training to groups that do not have access to a medical library
- Encourage network members to share their expertise and resources with a target population not normally reached
- Strengthen the role of health information professionals and librarians in the delivery of health care
- Promote partnerships with community-based organizations to reach specific populations
- Increase awareness of uses of information technology for improving access to biomedical information
Priority will be given to applications involving outreach to:
- Health professionals working in public health
- Minority communities and health professionals serving these communities
- Inner city and rural communities and health professionals serving these communities
- Senior citizens
- Low income populations
- HIV/AIDS patients and health professionals working with these patients
Eligibility
Applications will be accepted from NN/LM GMR Full and Affiliate Members. Membership(s) may be confirmed by entering a zipcode in the following widget and clicking the go button:
Technical Application Instructions
The respondent should complete the Outreach Express Award Application 
. Submit the completed application and supporting documents (e.g. resumes, letters of support and equipment quotes) attached to an email addressed to gmr4u@uic.edu. Supporting documents may be in Word or PDF format. Include "OUTR" and your LIBID in the subject line of the email.
The GMR staff will respond to your application within two weeks of receipt.
For needs assessment and/or evaluation plans, applicants should follow the guidelines established in
Measuring the Difference: Guide to Planning and Evaluating Health Information and the three
supplemental planning and evaluation booklets published in 2006 found on the
NN/LM Outreach Evaluation Resource Center 
website.
Cost Application Instructions
Total cost must not exceed $4,500.
Funding will be processed on a cost reimbursement basis. This award is not a grant or subcontract. Line item invoices must be submitted for reimbursement of expenditures. Reimbursement takes an average of four weeks.
Please note: Funds requested to develop print collections of consumer health materials or to purchase access to any commercial electronic health information product may not exceed 5% of the total amount of the project budget.
For IT/Computer Hardware, please include the following as part of your cost proposal/application process:
- For IT/Computer Hardware under $3,000, submit catalog pricing. List equipment type (printer, scanner, etc.), brand name and model number.
- For IT/Computer Hardware of $3,000 or more, submit three (3) vendor
quotes (preferably valid for 60 days, minimum of 30 days). Quotes may include General Service
Administration (GSA) price lists (Reference: http://www.gsa.gov
). Vendor quotes are
necessary to determine price reasonable for purchase of over $3,000 or more. The absence of competitive quotes
must be documented and justified. An institutional policy that outlines preferred vendor requirements
is an example of such documentation.
are requested, the following statement must
appear in the budget justification:
The recipient of the funding agrees that there is a legitimate purpose for the personal appeal items and use of the items by the Subcontractor(s) will be managed in accordance with policy. 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.
Allowable expenses include:
- Personnel
- Travel
- Equipment
- Supplies
- Communications
- Reproduction
- Exhibit and Training Expenses
- Other Costs
Expenses for the following are not allowable:
- Indirect costs
- Library collections in excess of 5% of project budget
- Furniture
- Food
Definitions and Instructions for Budget Narrative Justification
A narrative justification for each expense category in the budget is required in the online application. Use the following definitions to guide you:
Personnel:
May include professional and support personnel for the project.
Supplies:
May include paper, pens, software, and display items.
Equipment:
May include rental or purchase of equipment and software.
Communications:
May include telephone, postage, parcel and other delivery services and communication line charges.
Travel:
May include air travel, ground transportation, parking, hotel, and meals.
Reproduction:
May include costs for printing/photocopying of project related materials.
Other Costs:
May include honoraria, exhibit fees, or any others items that do not fit into one of the other lines. Please provide a breakdown of what has been included in this category.
Period of Performance
Projects must be completed by April 30, 2013. Questions about the period of performance should be directed to Ruth Holst, Associate Director . Email Ruth .
Application Review Process
Applications are reviewed by the GMR staff and members of the Regional Advisory Council. Questions and comments from these review bodies may be sent to the applicant for clarification and revision of the application. The merits of each application will be carefully evaluated, based on responsiveness to the CFA and the thoroughness and feasibility of the technical approach proposed. Applicants must submit information sufficient to evaluate their submissions based on the criteria listed below.
Technical Evaluation Criteria
The following criteria will be used to evaluate applications. The criteria are listed in the order of relative importance with points assigned for evaluation purposes. Applications will be scored against these criteria, so be certain that all criteria have been addressed.
STATEMENT OF NEED AND TARGET POPULATION
The target population is well-defined and is centered on defined NN/LM priority populations. There is a clear understanding of population characteristics, demographics, and health status. The information needs of the target population, and the barriers as well as available resources, are understood and well described. There is evidence of audience involvement in determining need. Portion of target population to be reached by the project is identified.
40 points
OBJECTIVES AND METHODOLOGY
The goals and projected outcomes are reasonable and at least some are sustainable. Process and outcomes-based objectives flow logically from goals. Approach to fulfilling objectives reflects realistic awareness of target community, clearly indicates steps to be accomplished, and is feasible. The budget is reasonable, sufficient to accomplish the project, and well justified. The timeline is reasonable and well thought out. Strategies are presented to monitor outputs, which are measurable units of project activities/services/products/classes, and to assess outcomes, clearly describing what will be measured and how.
40 points
PERSONNEL AND INSTITUTIONAL SUPPORT
Adequate evidence is provided about the qualifications of the personnel and the organizational resources available to assure likelihood of successful completion of the project. Documentation includes appropriate letters of support and resumes of key personnel.
20 points
TOTAL POINTS POSSIBLE: 100
Reporting Requirements
Final reports are required and will be entered and submitted to the Online Contract Reports (OCR) System: https://outreach.nlm.nih.gov/. Contact your GMR program coordinator for additional information on the OCR and/or to obtain an account for a funded project.
In addition, recipients are encouraged to report on the project experience in The Cornflower, the GMR blog, and agree to allow the NN/LM GMR to republish reports and materials.
Additional Requirements
Publications Resulting from NN/LM Funded Projects
As of April 7, 2008, final peer-reviewed manuscripts arising from NIH funds must be submitted to PMC (PubMed Central) upon acceptance for publication. The NIH Public Access Policy (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.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/ ) upon acceptance for publication.
To help advance science and improve human health, the Policy (http://publicaccess.nih.gov/FAQ.htm ) requires that these papers 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 ).
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, http://cech.mlanet.org prior to developing materials. Training materials developed as part of the award should be submitted to the MLA Educational Clearinghouse.
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.
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 has been funded in whole or in part with Federal funds from the Department of Health and Human Services, National Institutes of Health, National Library of Medicine, under Contract No. HHSN-276-2011-00005C with the University of Illinois at Chicago.
Required Statement
The following statement is required to be included in this solicitation to comply with regulations for annual appropriation of federal funds:
All awards issued under the NLM Contract with University of Illinois at Chicago are subject to the Government's availability of appropriated funds in compliance of Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 52.232-18, Availability of Funds. 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.
All awards spanning more than a 12 month period of performance are subject to FAR Clause 52.232-20, "Limitation of Costs"; FAR Clause 52.232-22, "Limitation of Funds", under the NLM Prime Contract.
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