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Introduction |
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PAR Number: PAR-02-096
Release Date: 04-08-02
Expiration Date: 03-15-05, unless reissued |
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Scope and Priorities |
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Purpose
The National Library of Medicine provides IAIMS grants to health-related institutions and organizations that seek assistance for projects to plan, design, test and deploy systems and techniques for integrating data, information and knowledge resources into a comprehensive networked information management system that serves the organization's clinical, research, educational and administrative needs. Integrated advanced information systems (IAIMS) are organization-wide or trans-organizational mechanisms that use computer networks to link and relate the published biomedical knowledge base with individual and institutional databases and information files, within and external to an institution.
The Integrated Advanced Information Management Systems (IAIMS) program described in this Program Announcement is a substantially revised version of the NLM's existing IAIMS program, first announced in 1982 and substantially revised in 1992. Because health-related organizations exhibit considerable variation in their approach to information management, NLM's IAIMS program offers several options for grant support: IAIMS Planning Grants, IAIMS Pilot Study Grants, IAIMS Testing and Evaluation Grants, IAIMS Operations Grants and IAIMS Fellowships. This program announcement describes only the IAIMS Fellowship. For information about other IAIMS grants, see their individual program announcements .
Research Objectives
The Internet, advanced computing technologies, and digital information have altered the information landscape. With access to data, information and knowledge no longer time- and place- dependent, new opportunities are emerging to improve health care, education and research. To benefit from these advances, health-related organizations must (1) seamlessly integrate their own digital information resources with relevant information obtained from external sources, and (2) bring digital information to health care teams, researchers, teachers, students, patients and the general public in a way supports sound decisions and effective action.
The long-term goal of NLM's IAIMS program is a comprehensive and convenient information management system, one that brings useful, usable knowledge to action settings in health care, education and research. Particular emphasis is placed on organization-wide and trans-organizational mechanisms that enable the easy flow of information between arenas of action, such as between health care and education, or between health-related organizations, such as from a community clinic to a hospital or public health department.
Since 1984, NLM has provided IAIMS grants to academic health sciences centers to build networks and organizational mechanisms for information management. In its first two decades, the emphasis of IAIMS was building organizational mechanisms and infrastructure that were largely internal to academic centers. Technological advances and widespread access to the Internet make it possible now to shift the emphasis of IAIMS from building these capabilities to using them. The IAIMS challenge for the 21st century is to involve all kinds of health-related organizations in using local and national networks to acquire, manage, and deliver knowledge in a way that binds it to effective action. See References below.
The fundamental activity areas of today's IAIMS program are these:
CONTEXT-APPROPRIATE INFORMATION. People need usable, useful health information to guide their learning and decisions. Health care, education and research take place today in an information space fed by many sources of digital and printed information, some of which are not owned by an organization. Each organization must implement approaches that select the right subset of information from the available sources, and present it in the way most effective for a given problem and person. Examples of context-appropriate systems include:
- systems that deliver applicable 'chunks' of published knowledge into settings in which clinical decisions are being made;
- systems that employ user profiles to tailor information resources or services to meet the needs of a key audience;
- systems that enable the exchange of data between research databanks and clinical health records;
- education modules that are delivered into workplace settings.
STANDARDS-BASED INFORMATION MANAGEMENT. Integrated access to a collection of information resources and services (one-stop shopping) has always been a core purpose of IAIMS. Effective integration of data, information and knowledge requires common syntax and semantics. Health organizations must use common vocabularies and adopt information standards that support the integration and exchange of health information. Examples of standards-based information management include:
- standards-based applications that move clinical data from one proprietary system to another;
- systems that use components of the Unified Medical Language System (UMLS®) to link library information to personal health records;
- systems that employ accepted standard data definitions in transmitting claims information or other reports electronically.
DIGITAL LIBRARIES. The phrase 'digital library' refers to a collection of information, data or knowledge, stored on a computer and accessible across a network to other local and distributed computers. Examples of digital libraries include collections of electronic published articles and books, electronic personal health records, multimedia curriculum materials, research databanks and data warehouses of administrative or clinical information. The complex array of activities in academic health sciences centers and health care organizations can result in poorly- integrated information resources and services. Departmental and organizational boundaries can impede the flow of usable, useful information (1) between centers of activity within a single organization (such as between 2 health professions schools), or (2) among unaffiliated organizations, (such as departments at different universities or a community consortium of hospitals). Organizations must implement approaches that facilitate the use of information acquired in one arena of action, such as clinical care, by people in another arena, such as research.
Information management includes such functions as: methods of stewardship that assure the availability of useful, usable, accurate information; tools that allow authorized people to use information retrospectively and prospectively, in real time, for their chosen purposes; links from the organization's knowledge store to knowledge that is external (i.e., not owned by the organization); evaluation of the costs and benefits to users of an information resource or service. Work in any fundamental IAIMS activity area requires the adoption of efficient, effective strategies for information management. A discussion of pertinent information management issues and processes is a required component of all IAIMS applications.
Applicants are encouraged to propose IAIMS projects that include more than one institution, or include organizations of different types such as hospitals, clinics, community centers and local government health departments. While more complex, such collaborative projects give desirable economies of scale, affect greater numbers of users, and take advantage of network technological advancements. IAIMS grants are not sequential grants. However, some IAIMS grants do have prerequisites. Please see the program details for each grant in the IAIMS program. Organizations may apply for more than one type of IAIMS grant at the same time, but those applications will compete against one another for funds.
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Special Requirements For IAIMS Fellowship Grants |
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The purpose of the IAIMS Fellowship is preparation for in-depth involvement in IAIMS work. The IAIMS Fellowship may be undertaken at the applicant's home institution, and/or may involve an internship at another institution. The fellowship should include formal instruction, mentoring by an appropriate IAIMS mentor, and the completion of a hands-on project. The application for an IAIMS Fellowship should cover the following points:
- A learning program that prepares the candidate to work in one of the fundamental IAIMS activity areas;
- Designation of an IAIMS mentor and a description of the mentor's involvement;
- The goals and duration of the fellowship;
- The structure of the learning experience, including site visits and internships;
- A hands-on project related to the course of study.
- Discussion of pertinent information management issues and processes is required.
Each IAIMS fellow must have a mentor who advises and oversees the work. The IAIMS mentor should be expert in an area of informatics or information science that is pertinent to the applicant's learning program, and/or have participated in IAIMS activities at another location. The mentor may be at the home institution of the applicant, or at another institution
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Eligibility |
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Eligible Institutions
You may submit (an) application(s) 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
Individuals Eligible To Become Principal Investigators
Any individual with the skills, knowledge, and resources necessary to carry out the proposed research is invited to work with their institution to develop an application for support. Individuals from underrepresented racial and ethnic groups as well as individuals with disabilities are always encouraged to apply for NIH programs.
To apply for support, an organization must submit an application on behalf of the individual seeking the fellowship. Fellows must be citizens or non-citizen nationals of the United States, or have been lawfully admitted for permanent residence at the time of appointment. Individuals on temporary or student visas are not eligible. Physicians, dentists, nurses, health science librarians, researchers, educators, administrators, and other health professionals are eligible. Applicants must have a bachelor's, master's, or doctor's degree or be enrolled in a program leading to such a degree and demonstrate a commitment to the health sciences.
It is not a requirement that this fellowship lead to a degree. Whether or not the training is used for credit or certification in an educational program is up to the applicant and the organization involved. Applications from minority individuals, and women are strongly encouraged.
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Mechanism of Support |
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This PA uses the NIH F38 award mechanism. As an applicant, you will be solely responsible for planning, directing, and executing the proposed project. The IAIMS Fellowship grant provides a salary stipend not to exceed $50,000 per year for one or two years. The amount of the salary stipend will be based on the salary or remuneration that the individual would have been paid by the home institution on the date of award. Stipends may be supplemented by an institution from non-Federal funds. The applicant's home institution may request an allowance up to $6,000 per year for support of supplies, equipment, travel, tuition, fees, insurance, and remuneration for the IAIMS mentor. |
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Review Criteria |
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The review criteria focus on four main components:
Candidate: An assessment of the candidate's previous academic and research performance and the potential to become an important contributor to biomedical, behavioral, or clinical science.
Sponsor and Training Environment: An assessment of the quality of the training environment and the qualifications of the sponsor as a mentor for the proposed research training experience.
Research Proposal: The merit of the scientific proposal and its relationship to the candidate's career plans.
Training Potential: An assessment of the value of the proposed fellowship experience as it relates to the candidate's needs in preparation for a career as an independent researcher.
OTHER REVIEW CRITERIA In addition to the general review criteria outlined above, each IAIMS grant has a specific set of review criteria.
Critical Review Elements for IAIMS Fellowship Grants include the following:
- Responsiveness to one or more of the IAIMS fundamental activity areas;
- Learning program that is likely to produce intended results;
- Substantive involvement of a suitable IAIMS mentor;
- Hands-on project that is likely to achieve stated goals;
- Evidence of institutional support.
Though not required, these elements will be highly favored by reviewers of IAIMS Fellowship grants:
- Focus on building new informatics skills that allow the applicant to apply existing subject expertise in a new area;
- Focus on building subject expertise to complement existing informatics or information science expertise;
- Formal coursework, e.g. informatics or information science courses in accredited programs.
- A discussion of pertinent information management issues and processes is a required component of all IAIMS applications.
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Award Criteria |
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Applications submitted in response to a PA will compete for available funds with all other recommended applications. The following will be considered in making funding decisions:
- Scientific merit of the proposed project as determined by peer review
- Availability of funds
- Relevance to program priorities
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Application Receipt Dates |
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Applications submitted in response to this program announcement will be accepted at the standard application deadlines, which are available at Application Receipt, Review, and Award Cycles: Fellowships. Application deadlines are also indicated in the PHS 416-1 application kit.
Complete Item 3 on the face page of the application indicating that the application is in response to this announcement and print F38 IAIMS Fellowship. The completed original and two legible copies along with the Personal Data form, the Checklist, appendix material, sealed reference reports, and other required information must be sent or delivered 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)
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Application & Process |
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Applications are to be submitted on the grant application form PHS 416-1 [http://grants1.nih.gov/grants/funding/416/phs416.htm] and will be accepted at the standard application deadlines as indicated in the application kit, April 5, August 5, and December 5. Application kits are available at most institutional offices of sponsored research offices and online [http://grants1.nih.gov/grants/funding/416/phs416.htm]. 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, including the checklist, and five 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)
APPLICATION PROCESSING: Applications must be received by or mailed before the receipt dates described for new grants at NLM Application Receipt, Review, and Award Cycles . The CSR will not accept any application in response to this PA that is essentially the same as one currently pending initial review unless the applicant withdraws the pending application. The CSR will not accept any application that is essentially the same as one already reviewed. This does not preclude the submission of a substantial revision of an application already reviewed, but such application must include an Introduction addressing the previous critique. |
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Peer Review Process |
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Applications submitted for this PA will be assigned on the basis of established PHS referral guidelines. An appropriate scientific review group convened in accordance with the standard NIH peer review procedures ( http://www.csr.nih.gov/refrev.htm ) will evaluate applications for scientific and technical merit. As part of the initial merit review, all applications will:
- Receive a written critique
- 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
- 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 concerning this program and welcome the opportunity answer questions from potential applicants.
Direct questions about scientific/research issues to:
Dr. Charles P. Friedman
Extramural Programs
National Library of Medicine
Rockledge 1, Suite 301
6705 Rockledge Drive MSC 7968
Bethesda, MD 20892
Telephone: (301) 594-4882
FAX: (301) 402-2952
Email: friedmc1@mail.nih.gov |
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