Opportunity Information: Apply for RFA LM 20 002
The National Institutes of Health, through the National Library of Medicine (NLM), released this cooperative agreement opportunity (U24) to fund an organization that will serve as the Network of the National Library of Medicine (NNLM) Evaluation Center. The NNLM is NLM's nationwide outreach and engagement program designed to advance medicine and improve public health by making sure health professionals and the public can access trustworthy biomedical information and data. A core idea behind the program is that better access to information helps people make more informed decisions about their health, strengthens health literacy, supports the health information workforce, and ultimately contributes to greater health equity.
NNLM operates as a coordinated national network anchored by seven Regional Medical Libraries (RMLs), each responsible for a geographic region. Those RMLs collaborate with a broad set of member libraries and partner organizations to carry out programs at local, regional, and national levels. The overall program is coordinated by the NLM Office of Engagement and Training, which helps align the network's activities, priorities, and initiatives across regions.
The purpose of the NNLM Evaluation Center (NEC) is to provide the network with a strong, consistent evaluation function that can measure what NNLM does, how well it works, and what value it delivers. The NEC is expected to coordinate assessment of NNLM activities, services, and resources, with a particular emphasis on community engagement. Within that emphasis, the FOA highlights the importance of measuring impact for people who experience health disparities and for populations underrepresented in biomedical research, signaling that equity-focused evaluation is central rather than optional.
In practical terms, the NEC's role goes beyond producing reports. The center is expected to develop and refine evaluation tools that can be used across the NNLM, plan and support evaluation studies, and build evaluation capacity throughout the network by providing training to the RMLs as well as NNLM Offices, Centers, and sub-awardees. Another major responsibility is assessing the effectiveness of NNLM national initiatives and selected programs, which implies a mix of network-wide performance measurement and deeper dives into specific activities. The end goal is to give NNLM actionable evidence it can use to improve, evolve, and sustain effective engagement and outreach strategies for diverse communities across the country.
This is a discretionary funding opportunity using a cooperative agreement mechanism, meaning the awardee should expect substantial involvement from NLM during the project period compared with a standard grant. The activity category is listed under education and health, and the associated CFDA number is 93.879. Clinical trials are not allowed under this FOA.
Eligibility is broad and includes many types of U.S.-based public and private organizations, such as state, county, and local governments; special districts; independent school districts; public housing authorities; public and private institutions of higher education; federally recognized tribal governments and other tribal organizations; nonprofits with or without 501(c)(3) status; for-profit organizations (other than small businesses); and small businesses. The FOA also calls out additional eligible applicant types such as faith-based or community-based organizations and institutions that serve populations historically underrepresented in higher education and research (for example, HBCUs, Hispanic-serving institutions, Tribal Colleges and Universities, Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian Serving Institutions, and AANAPISIs), as well as U.S. territories or possessions and certain regional organizations.
Foreign participation is explicitly restricted. Non-domestic (non-U.S.) entities and non-domestic components of U.S. organizations are not eligible to apply, and foreign components (as defined by NIH policy) are not allowed. The opportunity number is RFA-LM-20-002. The original closing date was September 28, 2020, and the listed award ceiling is $610,000.Apply for RFA LM 20 002
- The National Institutes of Health in the education, health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Network of the National Library of Medicine Evaluation Center (U24) (Clinical Trial Not Allowed)" and is now available to receive applicants.
- Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 93.879.
- This funding opportunity was created on 2020-07-01.
- Applicants must submit their applications by 2020-09-28. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
- Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $610,000.00 in funding.
- Eligible applicants include: State governments, County governments, City or township governments, Special district governments, Independent school districts, Public and State controlled institutions of higher education, Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized), Public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities, Native American tribal organizations (other than Federally recognized tribal governments), Nonprofits having a 501 (c) (3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Nonprofits that do not have a 501 (c) (3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Private institutions of higher education, For-profit organizations other than small businesses, Small businesses, Others.
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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
What is this funding opportunity?
This is a National Institutes of Health (NIH) cooperative agreement opportunity (U24) released through the National Library of Medicine (NLM). It funds a single organization to serve as the Network of the National Library of Medicine (NNLM) Evaluation Center (NEC).
What is the opportunity number?
The opportunity number is RFA-LM-20-002.
Which NIH institute/center is offering this opportunity?
NLM (the National Library of Medicine), a component of NIH, is offering this opportunity.
What is the NNLM?
The Network of the National Library of Medicine (NNLM) is NLM's nationwide outreach and engagement program. Its aim is to advance medicine and improve public health by helping health professionals and the public access trustworthy biomedical information and data.
How is the NNLM organized?
NNLM operates as a coordinated national network anchored by seven Regional Medical Libraries (RMLs). Each RML covers a geographic region and collaborates with member libraries and partner organizations to run programs at local, regional, and national levels. The overall program is coordinated by the NLM Office of Engagement and Training, which aligns activities, priorities, and initiatives across regions.
What is the NNLM Evaluation Center (NEC)?
The NEC is the NNLM Evaluation Center. Its purpose is to provide the NNLM with a strong, consistent evaluation function that measures what NNLM does, how well it works, and what value it delivers.
What is the main purpose of the NEC under this FOA?
The NEC is expected to coordinate assessment of NNLM activities, services, and resources, with a particular emphasis on community engagement. The evaluation focus is intended to generate actionable evidence NNLM can use to improve, evolve, and sustain effective outreach and engagement strategies nationwide.
What does the FOA emphasize about equity and disparities?
The FOA highlights the importance of measuring impact for people who experience health disparities and for populations underrepresented in biomedical research. Equity-focused evaluation is treated as central to the NEC's work.
What kinds of evaluation work is the NEC expected to perform?
Based on the FOA description, the NEC's responsibilities include developing and refining evaluation tools usable across NNLM, planning and supporting evaluation studies, coordinating network-wide performance measurement, and conducting deeper assessments of selected programs and national initiatives.
Is the NEC role limited to writing evaluation reports?
No. The FOA indicates the NEC role goes beyond producing reports. The NEC is expected to build evaluation capacity across NNLM, including training and support for RMLs, NNLM Offices, Centers, and sub-awardees.
Who would the NEC provide training and evaluation capacity-building to?
The NEC is expected to provide evaluation training and capacity-building to the Regional Medical Libraries (RMLs) as well as NNLM Offices, Centers, and sub-awardees.
What types of NNLM activities are expected to be evaluated?
The FOA states the NEC should coordinate assessment of NNLM activities, services, and resources, with emphasis on community engagement. It also calls for assessing the effectiveness of NNLM national initiatives and selected programs.
What funding mechanism is used?
This opportunity uses a cooperative agreement mechanism (U24).
What does it mean that this is a cooperative agreement?
Under a cooperative agreement, the awardee should expect substantial involvement from NLM during the project period compared with a standard grant.
What is the activity category for this opportunity?
The activity category is listed under education and health.
What is the CFDA number associated with this opportunity?
The associated CFDA number is 93.879.
Are clinical trials allowed under this FOA?
No. Clinical trials are not allowed under this FOA.
Who is eligible to apply?
Eligibility is broad and includes many U.S.-based public and private organizations. Examples listed include state, county, and local governments; special districts; independent school districts; public housing authorities; public and private institutions of higher education; federally recognized tribal governments and other tribal organizations; nonprofits with or without 501(c)(3) status; for-profit organizations (other than small businesses); and small businesses.
Are faith-based and community-based organizations eligible?
Yes. The FOA explicitly calls out faith-based and community-based organizations as eligible applicant types.
Are institutions that serve historically underrepresented populations eligible?
Yes. The FOA highlights eligibility for institutions that serve populations historically underrepresented in higher education and research, including examples such as HBCUs, Hispanic-serving institutions, Tribal Colleges and Universities, Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian Serving Institutions, and AANAPISIs.
Are U.S. territories or possessions eligible?
Yes. The FOA includes U.S. territories or possessions as eligible, and also mentions certain regional organizations.
Can foreign organizations apply?
No. Non-domestic (non-U.S.) entities are not eligible to apply.
Can a U.S. organization apply if it has a non-U.S. component?
No. Non-domestic components of U.S. organizations are not eligible to apply under this opportunity.
Are foreign components allowed as part of an application?
No. Foreign components (as defined by NIH policy) are not allowed.
What is the award ceiling listed for this opportunity?
The listed award ceiling is $610,000.
What was the original closing date?
The original closing date was September 28, 2020.
What is the expected end result of funding an NEC?
The FOA describes an end goal of providing NNLM with actionable evidence to improve performance, adapt and strengthen outreach and engagement, and sustain effective strategies for diverse communities across the country, especially with an emphasis on community engagement and equity-focused impact measurement.
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