The National Library of Medicine (NLM) released a Request for Proposal (RFP) to fund small projects that would improve access to disaster medicine and public health information. The funding will go to healthcare professionals, first responders, and others that play a role in health-related disaster preparedness, response, and recovery. Contract awards will be for a minimum of $15,000 to a maximum of $30,000 each for a one year project.
NLM is soliciting proposals from partnerships that include at least one library and at least one non-library organization with disaster-related responsibilities. The groups can include health departments, public safety departments, emergency management departments, pre-hospital and emergency medical services, fire/rescue, local, regional, or state agencies with disaster health responsibilities, hospitals, faith-based organizations, plus voluntary organizations.
Projects should:
- Increase awareness of health information resources
- Demonstrate how libraries and librarians can assist planners and responders with disaster-related information needs
- Show ways in which disaster workers can educate librarians about disaster management
- Provide for collaboration among partners in developing information resources to support planning and response to public health emergencies
For example, funding in 2011 supported Inova Fairfax Hospital’s “Northern Virginia Disaster Health Information Initiative”. The outreach project is helping to develop a medical librarian-led disaster information specialist role to work with members of the Northern Virginia Hospital Alliance (NVHA) to provide disaster related health information.
In another example, the Kanawha-Charleston Health Department, Division of Emergency Preparedness in West Virginia is collaborating with the West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine Library, and Concord University in Athens, to create both a vortal (a web-based portal specific to the needs of a particular community), and related mobile applications derived from the vortal to be used during a health-related disaster by health professionals.
This RFP for 2012 has been split into two solicitations. One solicitation is a “Partial Small Business Set-Aside” (RFP No: NIHLM2012411) and the other solicitation is a “Full and Open” RFP (RFP No. NIHLM2012412. For more information go to http://www.fbo.gov/ or go to http://nnlm.gov/psr/newsbits. For more details, email Keturah Busey at buseyk@mail.nlm.nih.gov or call (301) 451-6557.
