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Scope and Priorities |
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Purpose
The National Library of Medicine (NLM) recognizes the value of supporting high quality scientific meetings that are relevant to its scientific mission and to the public health. A scientific meeting is defined as a gathering, symposium, seminar, conference, workshop or any other organized, formal meeting where persons assemble to coordinate, exchange, and disseminate information or to explore or clarify a defined subject, problem, or area of knowledge.
Research Objectives
The scientific priorities of NLM are biomedical informatics, bioinformatics and computational biology, and health sciences library and information sciences. Support of conferences in these areas is contingent on the fiscal and programmatic interests and priorities of NLM. All conference grant applications, including revisions, supplements, and competing renewals, require advance permission to submit an application from the NLM contact listed below. Advance permission to submit an application should be requested early in the process and no later than six weeks before the application deadline. The letter from NLM program staff that conveys advance permission to submit an application must be submitted with the application. |
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Eligibility |
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Eligible Institutions
You may submit an application if your institution has any of the following characteristics:
- Domestic for-profit or non-profit organizations.
- Public or private institutions, such as universities, colleges, hospitals, and laboratories.
- Units of State and local governments.
- Eligible agencies of the Federal government.
- Faith-based organizations
Foreign institutions are not eligible to apply for conference grant support. An international conference can be supported through the U.S. representative organization of an established international scientific or professional society.
Individuals Eligible to Become Principal Investigators
Any individual with the skills, knowledge, and resources necessary to conduct the proposed scientific meeting is invited to work with that individual's institution to develop an application for support. Individuals from underrepresented racial and ethnic groups as well as individuals with disabilities are encouraged to apply.
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Mechanism |
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This program uses the NIH conference grant (R13) award mechanism. Under the R13 mechanism, the applicant is solely responsible for planning, directing, and executing the proposed project. Multiple year awards may be made to a permanently-sponsoring organization for conferences held annually or biennially on a recurring topic. The total project period for an application requesting support may not exceed five years. The typical award is $10,000 per year in direct costs. The maximum available in a single year is $20,000 in direct costs.
This program does not use just-in-time concepts and does not use modular budgeting formats. Follow the PHS 398 instructions at http://grants.nih.gov/grants/funding/phs398/phs398.html for non-modular research grant applications. See the Conference Grant special instructionsfor additional assistance in completing the application. |
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Special Requirements |
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NLM will accept applications for up to five years when a series of annual or biennial meetings is proposed by a sponsoring organization. Support for meetings held on a less frequent schedule must be applied for individually. For multiple year awards, the progress report (Form PHS 2590, available at http://grants.nih.gov/grants/funding/2590/2590.htm , must be submitted two months prior to the next budget period start date. It should include a report on the previous meeting supported by the current grant, as well as a full description of the next planned meeting.
A critical part of the application for NLM support of scientific meetings is documentation of appropriate representation of women, racial/ethnic minorities, persons with disabilities, and other individuals who have been traditionally underrepresented in science. These individuals must be included in all aspects of planning, organization and implementation of NIH-sponsored and/or supported meetings. "Appropriate representation" means representation based on the availability of scientists from these groups known to be working in a particular field of biomedical or behavioral research. If appropriate representation is not apparent, no award will be issued until program staff are assured of concerted recruitment efforts. Organizers of scientific meetings must document compliance with the GUIDELINES FOR INCLUSION OF WOMEN, MINORITIES, AND PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES IN SCIENTIFIC MEETINGS SUPPORTED BY THE NIH (included at http://grants.nih.gov/grants/funding/r13/index.htm ). |
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Review Criteria |
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The goals of NIH-supported research are to advance our understanding of biological systems, improve the control of disease, and enhance health. The scientific review group will address and consider each of the following criteria in assigning an overall score, weighing them as appropriate for each application.
- Significance
- Approach
- Innovation
- Investigator
- Environment
The application does not need to be strong in all categories to be judged likely to have major scientific impact and thus deserve a high priority score.
(1) Significance: Does this scientific meeting address an important problem? If the aims of the application are achieved, how will scientific knowledge be advanced? What will be the effect of these endeavors on the concepts or methods that drive this field?
(2) Approach: Is the format and agenda for the meeting appropriate for achieving the goals of the conference? Is the meeting timely for the subject matter? How well do the plans for inclusion of women, minorities and persons with disabilities provide for their appropriate representation in the planning, organization, and implementation of the proposed meeting? Multi-year applications should address these issues for the length of the proposed grant period.
(3) Innovation: Does the meeting employ novel approaches or methods to fulfill its purpose?
(4) Investigator: Is the PI well suited for organizing this conference? Are the qualifications of the PI appropriate and past performance adequate? Are the key personnel and selected speakers appropriate and well suited for their described roles in the conference?
(5) Environment: How appropriate is the meeting site? Does the applicant organization have the ability to contribute to the probability of success? Do the proposed meetings, exhibits, interactions, etc., take advantage of unique features of the scientific environment or employ useful collaborative arrangements? Is there evidence of institutional support?
Budget: Is the proposed budget and the requested period of support reasonable
in relationship to the proposed plan?
Award Criteria
Applications submitted in response to this program will compete for available funds with all other recommended applications. The following will be considered in making funding decisions:
- Scientific merit of the proposed conference/meeting as determined by the evaluation process
- Availability of funds
- Relevance to NLM program priorities
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Application Receipt Dates |
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Applications submitted in response to this Program Announcement will be accepted annually on April 15, August 15, and December 15. Applications must be mailed on or before the receipt date. |
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Application and Process |
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Applications must be prepared using the Public Health Service (PHS) 398 research grant application instructions and forms, http://grants.nih.gov/grants/funding/phs398/phs398.html , using the supplemental instructions described below. Applications must have a Dun and Bradstreet (D&B) Data Universal Numbering System (DUNS) number as the Universal Identifier when applying for Federal grants or cooperative agreements. The DUNS number can be obtained by calling (866) 705-5711 or through the web site at http://www.dunandbradstreet.com/us/ . The DUNS number should be entered on line 11 of the face page of the PHS 398 form. For further assistance contact GrantsInfo, Telephone (301) 435-0714, email GrantsInfo@nih.gov
Sending an Application to the NIH: Submit a signed, typewritten original of the application, include the advance permission letter from NIH, and three signed photocopies in one package to:
Center for Scientific Review
National Institutes of Health
6701 Rockledge Drive, Room 1040, MSC 7710
Bethesda, MD 20892-7710
Bethesda, MD 20817 (for express/courier service)
At the time of submission, two additional copies of the application and all copies of the appendix material must be sent to the NLM contact person listed below.
See also the special instructions for completing NLM Conference Grant applications. |
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Review Considerations |
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Conference grant applications are assigned to NLM the basis of the advance permission letter. Applications lacking such a letter will be returned without assignment or review. An appropriate evaluation group convened by NLM will evaluate the application for scientific and technical merit.
As part of the initial merit review, applications:
- Will undergo a selection process in which only those applications deemed to have the highest scientific merit, generally the top half of applications under review, will be discussed and assigned a priority score;
- Will receive a written critique;
- May receive a second level review by the appropriate national advisory council or board.
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Contact Information |
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We encourage your inquiries and welcome the opportunity to answer questions from potential applicants. Questions and requests for prior approval of conference grant submissions may be directed to:
Valerie Florance, PhD
Program Officer, NLM Extramural Programs
Rockledge 1, Suite 301
6705 Rockledge Drive MSC 7968
Bethesda, MD 20892
Telephone: (301) 594-4882
FAX: (301) 402-2952
Email: floranv@mail.nih.gov |
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