Funding
Only institutions who received a Technology Improvement Award from Region 5 during the 2021-2026 funding period are eligible to apply.
Awards are cost-reimbursable and are issued to the institution, not the individual. Award funding is pending budget availability.
Description of Award
The purpose of the Supplemental Technology Improvement Award is to build on projects and programs funded by NNLM Region 5 through the Technology Improvement Award between 2021 – 2026. The supplemental award will increase access and use of quality health information through access to technology.
This award supports the mission of the Network of the National Library of Medicine (NNLM): 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 access to biomedical and health information resources and data.
The award will support the continuation of projects and programs funded through the Region 5 Technology Improvement Award (2021-26).
Applicant institutions must have received a Technology Improvement during the 2021-26 funding period. The proposal must build on work completed with the Technology Improvement Award.
Applicants are encouraged to attend an open meeting on July 22, 2026 at 3:00 P.M. PDT to learn about the funding opportunity and ask questions. Contact Emily Hamstra (ehamstra@uw.edu) for the meeting link.
Disallowance of Human Subjects Research
Projects containing Human Subjects Research components will not be reviewed or considered for funding.
- Applicants with an institutional IRB must submit documentation to their institutional IRB to request a determination letter stating that their project does not meet regulatory definitions of human subjects research.
- Applications from institutions without an institutional IRB will be reviewed by the University of Washington. The project must not meet regulatory definitions of human subjects research.
- Purchasing or updating technology to build on previous award
- Purchasing or updating technology to meet additional needs discovered during the previous award
Only institutions who received a Technology Improvement Award during the 2021-2026 funding period are eligible to apply.
The following institutions are eligible to apply for this award:
- Advancing Modoc
- California Health Sciences University
- California State University Fresno Library
- HIV Alliance
- Lake Washington Institute of Technology
- Oregon Health and Science University
- Sherwood Library Foundation
- Springfield Public Library (OR)
- University of California Davis
- University of San Diego
Application Instructions
Application Deadline: August 3, 2026 5:00 P.M. Pacific
IMPORTANT: Because the NNLM online application system has no “save” feature to pause and return later, it is recommended that you become familiar with all sections of the application and prepare your materials in advance using the following outline to draft your proposal, and then submit online.
System Requirements
- Your organization must be a NNLM member to apply for funding. Confirm that your institution is a NNLM Member before applying for funding. If your organization is a member, it will be listed in the NNLM Members Directory.
- You must be logged in to your NNLM account to successfully submit an application. Confirm that you (the applicant) have an NNLM User Account. Here is a step by step guide to setting up a new user account.
- Confirm that your NNLM account is connected to the NNLM Member record for your institution. To connect, fill in the “Organization” field on your NNLM account using the autocomplete function. When correctly filled, you will see a 5-digit NNLM ID in parenthesis beside the institution name.
- If you are submitting an application on behalf of the Project Lead, the Project Lead must also be connected to the NNLM Member record for your institution prior to submission.
Please note: you cannot successfully submit an application without these system requirements. If you have questions, please contact Emily Hamstra (nnlm@uw.edu) in advance of the application deadline.
It is recommended that you use the following outline to draft your proposal, and then submit online.
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)
Institution Tax ID Number (TIN): Enter the 9-digit Tax Identification Number (TIN) for your institution
Institution Unique Entity Identification (UEI): Required. Enter your organization’s UEI number. UEIs are available through SAM Directory. If your organization does not have a UEI number, create an account for SAM Directory and follow the process for registering for a UEI.
Have you/your institution previously received NNLM funding in the 2021-2026 NNLM cooperative agreement: Select Yes, No, or I don’t know.
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)
Partner Organization: If partner organizations are proposed, use the autocomplete function to find and select up to three organizations that will partner with the Lead Organization to conduct/complete the project. If a record does not exist for a partner organization, click "Add a New Partner" and use the additional fields to provide an address for the institution.
Amount Requested: The amount specified should not exceed the $3,000 limit. 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.
Proposed Start and End Dates for the Project: Select proposed dates within the timeframe of September 1, 2026 - April 30, 2027.
Training be Provided as Part of this Award: Select yes or no.
Evidence of Need: Provide a statement of how the project proposed will support the mission of NNLM, explain how this project will address community needs and describe the reach of this project. 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 NNLM Goals and Objectives, and/or the NLM Strategic Plan.
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: In order to meet your objectives, include a detailed timeline that outlines when tasks will be completed, how long it is anticipated to take, and who will do the work.
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.
- Limit your evaluation plan to collecting descriptive or process data such as: Did the purchase process and setup go smoothly? Is the new product being used, as measured by counts? Did the organization publicize the new product as planned? The evaluation plan should not include surveys, interviews or focus groups. (See “Disallowance of Human Subjects Research” above.)
Publicity/Promotion: Briefly describe how you intend to promote your project to the target population.
Continuity/Sustainability Plan: Describe the activities that will sustain project services and/or communication to the targeted community beyond the funding period.
Personnel Qualifications: List the project personnel who will be involved in the project and include their role(s) and applicable experience. Attach resumes for key personnel when submitting your application.
Prepare the budget using the budget table and narrative justification. The completed budget table must be uploaded in the attachments section of the online application.
Complete the budget section in the online application using the numbers and narrative justification from your completed budget table. Enter each amount to the nearest whole dollar. If a budget category is not applicable for your project, you may leave it blank. The online application includes a field for inserting the narrative budget justification concisely describing the purpose of each budgeted item.
Allowable expenses: Personnel, equipment, supplies, travel and other costs such as reproduction of materials, software, Internet service provider fees. These are examples only and are not meant to be all-inclusive. Expenses are also allowed to publicize a health information service, event or resource, including National Library of Medicine (NLM) or Network of the National Library of Medicine (NNLM) resources or services, but the allowable costs are limited to educational materials or publicity, such as posters, displays, flyers, bookmarks, or brochures.
Non-allowable expenses: Furniture, food, clothing, commemorative items such as pens, mugs/ cups, folders/ folios, lanyards, and conference tote bags
Indirect Costs (IDC) or Facilities and Administrative (F&A) Costs: Indirect cost (IDC)/F&A can be included based on your institution's federally approved IDC agreement (non-research rates apply). A 10% MTDC rate may be used if no IDC agreement exists.
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.
You will need to apply online using the button at the top of this page that says "Apply for this Grant." You must be logged in with your NNLM account to begin the application and submission process.
Need Assistance? Contact Emily Hamstra, Assistant Director, nnlm@uw.edu.
Additional Information
For support in grant writing, please see the NNLM Grants and Proposal Writing Course for tips on award applications.
Please refer to the NNLM Resource Guides:
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.
For any classes, training sessions, presentations, exhibits and/or site visits conducted as part of this project, an NNLM Activity Report and a Participant Information Sheet are required and must be submitted to NNLM Region 5 staff within 14 days of the activity. NNLM Region 5 staff will provide access to the report templates to awardees.
A progress report summarizing activities and evaluation completed to date is due to the NNLM Region 5 staff no later than December 7, 2026. NNLM Region 5 staff will provide access to the report template to awardees.
A final report and technology report are required to be submitted to NNLM Region 5 staff no later than April 15, 2027. NNLM Region 5 staff will provide access to the report templates to awardees.
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 resource developed with project funds must include an acknowledgment of NIH grant support and a disclaimer stating the following:
“Developed resources reported in this [publications, press releases, internet sites] are supported by the National Library of Medicine (NLM), National Institutes of Health (NIH) under cooperative agreement number UG4LM013725 with the University of Washington. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health."
Application Review and Scoring Criteria
Significance (10 points max)
- Application clearly explains the need for the project including demographic information about the target population or geographic area. (5 points)
- Application contributes to NNLM goals and objectives. See NNLM goals and objectives. (5 points)
Methodology/ Approach (20 points max)
- Application proposes an approach that is suitable for the target population and geographic area and includes data to support this. (5 points)
- Application clearly outlines activities, milestones, and methods that are feasible and relevant to the project. (5 points)
- Application provides a rationale for selecting the proposed approach(es) and includes the use of NLM products where appropriate. (5 points)
- Application provides an effective plan to promote the project. (5 points)
Evaluation (5 points max)
- Evaluation plan is well aligned with the project goals and objectives and clearly indicates how to measure success and project outcomes. (5 points)
Project Staff (5 points max)
- Application clearly explains qualifications, roles and time commitment of the project staff. (5 points)
Budget (5 points max)
- Proposed budget is appropriate with a budget narrative that justifies expenses. (5 points)
Reviewer score sheets and comments will be shared with the applicant upon request. If further clarification is needed, the applicant will be given 1 week to submit more information.