CSS OMB Cover Ltr 09-0130

DATE: January 23, 2009

TO: Office of Management and Budget

THRU: Project Clearance Officer, DHHS

Project Clearance Officer, NIH

Project Clearance Liaison, NIAID

FROM: Katharine Kripke, Assistant Director

National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease

Division of AIDS

Vaccine Research Program

SUBJ: Pretesting of NIAID’s HIV Vaccine Research Education Initiative

(OMB No. 0925-0585; Expiration Date 2/28/11)

In accordance with the terms of the generic clearance granted by OMB to the Division of AIDS, NIAID on February 28, 2008, I have electronically attached the submission for the third information collection requested under this generic clearance (tracking # 0925-0585-03). This collection includes up to 1610 customer satisfaction surveys (805 per year for two years) with NIAID HIV Vaccine Research Education Initiative (NHVREI) partners and stakeholders.

The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) supports basic and applied research to prevent, diagnose, and treat infectious and immune-mediated illnesses, including illness from human immunodeficiency virus/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS). This research will focus on NHVREI partners and stakeholders that attend NHVREI meetings and/or conference sessions. Partners and stakeholders are gatekeepers of information who help to shape public perceptions of HIV vaccine research. NIAID plans to gather customer satisfaction information for its meetings and conference session presentations through a series of surveys with partners and stakeholders. The purpose of this formative research is to determine the usefulness of NHVREI meetings and/or conference sessions and identify suggestions for refining content of future NHVREI activities. These surveys will allow NIAID to better meet the needs of partners and stakeholders.

The surveys will be distributed to partners and stakeholders attending all appropriate NHVREI meetings and/or conference sessions; specific dates and locations of meetings and conference sessions are still to be determined. All individuals attending these sessions will be given a survey; NIAID will collect up to 1610 survey responses. At 12 minutes (0.2 hours) per survey, the total respondent burden for this effort is 322.0 hours. This effort will account for 8.7 percent of the total burden hours (3689.0) granted in our approval package.

This submission includes:

• Supporting statement;

• Generic clearance form;

• Participant questionnaire; and

• IRB exemption review.

Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions.

Katharine Kripke, Ph.D.