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Grant Opportunities

FSMB FOUNDATION GRANTS FOR STATE MEDICAL BOARD INNOVATIONS AND UPGRADES OF TECHNOLOGY RESOURCES AND PROGRAMS

For 2025, the FSMB Foundation will award grants to state and territory medical boards to upgrade and innovate technology systems used in licensing, discipline, and public outreach and communication. Grants will also be awarded for license portability. Three major categories of awards are offered as outlined below. The deadline for application is March 28, 2025. 

CATEGORY 1.   FSMB FOUNDATION GRANTS FOR IMPROVING STATE MEDICAL BOARD TECHNOLOGY FOR PROCESSES IN LICENSING, DISCIPLINE, AND PUBLIC COMMUNICATION AND OUTREACH. 

Introduction and Background 

The FSMB Foundation recognizes the importance of technology upgrades and innovation in state medical board processes. Such upgrades should serve to shorten licensing times, improve processing of patient complaints, and facilitate communication with the public, all critical for the role of state medical boards. 

Examples of areas of funding would include:

  1. Upgrades and innovations to technology that would facilitate shorter and improved licensing processes.
  1. Upgrades and innovations to discipline and case tracking improving board processes.
  1. Upgrades to state medical board websites or other communication vehicles to improve communication and outreach to the public.
  1. Cost of adopting the Interstate Medical Licensing Compact.
  1. Other.

CATEGORY 2.  FSMB FOUNDATION EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE GRANTS 

Introduction and Background

Because medical and osteopathic boards are instrumental to the nation’s ability to mitigate, manage and address disasters, pandemics, and other emergencies, it is critically important for them to be prepared as our nation experiences increasing numbers of natural disasters and public health emergencies. Analysis and assessment of state and federal responses to past disasters and emergencies provide lessons learned that can inform improved preparedness and response.

Provider Bridge Supports States’ Emergency Preparedness and Response 

Provider Bridge was developed in 2020 with grant funding through the Department of US. Health and Human Services, Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), Coronavirus License Portability Grant Program. The Provider Bridge technical platform allows clinicians (physicians, PAs, and nurses) to create a time-stamped, digital report that includes name, provider type, school and graduation date, NPI, license number(s), specialty or area of practice, state license(s), and DEA registration(s), as well as history of disciplinary action. Provider Bridge also allows entities, such as medical boards, hospitals, health care institutions, and emergency management offices, to search for verified clinicians who are available to deploy to a disaster site. For more information, please visit https://www.providerbridge.org. 

Grants

FSMB Foundation Emergency Preparedness Technical Grants are designed to offer state medical and osteopathic boards, state departments of health, or other emergency management entities to explore how to integrate Provider Bridge into their state emergency preparedness and response programs. The long-term goal of this program is to maintain a comprehensive registry that can be accessed expeditiously to support local, state, regional and national preparedness and response to disasters and public health emergencies.

The Provider Bridge was developed in response to the COVID-19 pandemic but, with support from federal funding under HRSA, has been repositioned to serve as a resource for all current and future emergencies. The FSMB Foundation is offering this technical grant program to expand participation in Provider Bridge by leveraging the experience of the National Council of State Boards of Nursing that incorporated the Provider Bridge registration opt-in feature to the NURSYS platform, resulting in more than 215,000 nurses registered.

This grant program is designed to be as flexible as possible. Scopes of work may include, but are not limited to: 

  • Incorporating Provider Bridge registration into the medical board’s website, licensure, and renewal processes.
  • Creating an API between the board and/or agency responsible for emergency response and Provider Bridge.
  • Integrating Provider Bridge into the state’s Emergency System for Advance Registration of Volunteer Health Professionals (ESAR-VHP).

CATEGORY 3.  FSMB FOUNDATION GRANTS FOR LICENSE PORTABILITY

FSMB Foundation will continue to support state and territory medical boards activities to meet the need for license portability.  Specifically, these grants will fund technology, operations, outreach, and other needs critical to promoting the adoption and operation of :

  1. The Interstate Medical Licensing Compact
  1. The Interstate PA Compact. 

GRANT FUNDING LEVELS 

Applicants for Categories 1 and 2 may apply for up to $50,000 in funding support. Applicants for Category 3 may apply for up to $15,000.  A total of $300,000 is available for this program. The determination of how many grants should be funded and what level of funding provided for each grant will be made by the Board of Directors of the FSMB Foundation.

Funding is distributed in two stages, with partial funding provided at an approved project’s launch and final funding provided following an interim report by the grantee.   To give the boards receiving awards more flexibility, the grantees will have 2 years for completion of the project. 

APPLICATION PROCESS AND DEADLINES 

Applicants must apply no later than March 28, 2025.
Grant recipients will be announced by April 18, 2025. 

Application

To submit an application, please provide responses to the following items on official company/organization letterhead - there is not a formal application to complete – and submit via email to fsmbfoundation@fsmb.org.

  1. Title of Project.
  1. Category of grant you are applying for:
  • Category 1 – Grants for improving state medical board technology for processes in licensing, discipline, and public communication and outreach.
  • Category 2 – Emergency Preparedness Technical Assistance Grants
  • Category 3 – License Portability
  1.  Name of state medical board or organization, address, email, and telephone number of Key Contact(s)
  1. Names of any partner organizations/agencies and description of this organization, if applicable.
  1. A project description, not to exceed 600 words. Project description should include a statement indicating the significance and potential impact on the state medical board’s function (category 1) or the state’s emergency preparedness and response programs (category 2).
  1. An estimated budget for the project, following these guidelines:
  • Budget must clearly support the goals and timeline of the proposed project.
  • Budget should include line items for specific expenses.
  • Multiple activities should not be grouped in single line items.
  • Any sources of outside funding and in-kind services should be included.
  • Applications can be made for funding of less than the maximal award in the given category.

Grant Reports

Grant recipients will be required to report to the FSMB Foundation how they have used the Foundation's grant funds, including a brief interim report during the project’s implementation and a final report at its conclusion. The grantees will have 2 years for completion of the project. 

Restrictions 

  • Grant funds may not be used for the purpose of lobbying policy makers or legislators.
  • Grant funds may only be used to support personnel who are directly involved in the project’s development, implementation, and execution. 

Budget 

Expenses

Please itemize projected expenses for your proposal: 

Personnel Costs

  • Salary and wage cost by individual position related to this project, specifying full- or part-time positions (please provide a scope of the work and deliverables expected for individual staff members, and estimate total staff hours anticipated and salary/wage cost).
  • Consultant and professional fees. 

Operational Costs

  • Travel
  • Equipment
  • Supplies
  • Printing and copying
  • Postage and delivery
  • Other Expenses
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