Network of the National Library of Medicine Training Center (U24 Clinical Trial Not Allowed)

The National Library of Medicine (NLM), a division of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) under the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, is forecasting a funding opportunity titled "Network of the National Library of Medicine Training Center (U24 Clinical Trial Not Allowed)." This opportunity, released as RFA-LM-26-002, seeks to establish a dedicated Training Center within the Network of the National Library of Medicine (NNLM). The NNLM, founded in 1965, is a geographically distributed network that promotes access to health information across the United States and its territories. Historically, NNLM has engaged with a broad spectrum of institutions including libraries, healthcare professionals, and community-based organizations to support the use of health-related data and resources produced by the NLM and NIH. This funding opportunity focuses specifically on enhancing the capacity of NNLM through the development of a centralized Training Center. The proposed Training Center will take the lead in creating, managing, and delivering training resources and sessions to meet the evolving needs of NNLM participants. The selected entity will be responsible for both synchronous and asynchronous learning formats and will collaborate closely with the NNLM’s Network Coordinating Center (NCC) and the eight Regional Medical Libraries (RMLs) to assess training gaps and develop appropriate content. Strong emphasis will be placed on instructional design, technology integration, and subject-matter expertise in biomedical information and data. The scope of work for the Training Center includes identifying training needs across diverse audience types, designing curriculum and instructional materials, and measuring effectiveness through structured evaluation protocols. The center must ensure that training not only meets learner satisfaction metrics but also supports broader NIH goals, such as increasing public awareness and utilization of NIH research findings, data resources, and clinical trial engagement. As NIH continues to expand its focus beyond the NLM-specific tools, the Training Center will be critical in bridging these offerings with target audiences through education and outreach. Applicants must demonstrate technical capacity in educational design and biomedical informatics, and the ability to coordinate with NNLM stakeholders. This cooperative agreement opportunity (assistance listing 93.879) does not allow for clinical trials. It offers one award with an estimated total funding of $750,000, and no matching funds are required. Eligible applicants span a wide range of institutions including public and private institutions of higher education, nonprofit organizations, tribal governments, for-profit entities, housing authorities, and faith-based organizations. The funding is intended to support national-level training activities and has no geographic restriction. The estimated timeline for this opportunity indicates a posting date of August 15, 2026, with applications due by December 15, 2026. Award notifications are expected by July 1, 2027, with the project beginning on the same date. No pre-application materials, such as letters of intent or concept papers, are required. All submissions will be processed via Grants.gov, and applicants are advised to reach out to NLM Extramural Programs via email ([email protected]) with questions or clarifications. As this is a forecasted opportunity, final details are subject to change upon the official Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) release.