Supplementary Supporting Statement

SAMHSA Agency-Wide Strategic Communications Plan

Key Informant Interviews

A. Product/Activity to be Assessed

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), Office of Communications (OC), is seeking Office of Management and Budget (OMB) approval to conduct key informant interviews with a wide variety of stakeholders and organizations in the behavioral health field to assess SAMHSA’s communication activities and guide development of an agency-wide strategic communications plan.

B. Brief Statement of Objectives

The objective of the key informant interviews is to learn how SAMHSA can to enhance its communications to the field. Data gathered from the interviews will document interviewee knowledge about, attitudes toward, and satisfaction with SAMHSA’s current communications practices, and help to formulate its communications priorities for the next three years, including:

• topics about which SAMHSA will communicate;

• audiences it wishes to reach for those topics; and

• the most effective tactics and channels to communicate with each audience, e.g., formats, delivery options, and promotional activities.

The effort is being overseen by a Steering Committee composed of Communications Governance Council (CGC) members, headed by the Director of the SAMHSA Office of Communications. A cross section of 44 key organizations within each of four audience segments will be interviewed:

• Service Providers

• Public and Influencers

• Government and Policy Makers

• Business, Insurers, and Quality

The findings of the key informant interviews will be analyzed and a report submitted to the Steering Committee for review and comment. The final report will be incorporated into a broader document that includes media and environmental scans. This document will inform SAMHSA’s efforts to establish broad consensus on agency communications goals and objectives for the next three years.

C. Overview of Methods to Collect the Information

Data collection method.

The key informant interviews will be conducted via telephone.

Method for identifying respondents.

Respondents will be drawn from a list of proposed organizations around the country that are indicative of traditional and nontraditional viewpoints grouped into four major categories – Service Providers, Government and Policy Makers, Public and Influencers, and Business, Insurers and Quality Groups. The list of proposed organizations (Attachment 1) has been reviewed and approved by the SAMHSA Office of Communications and the CGC Steering Committee.

General criteria for selection of organizations included:

• Balance among the four audience quadrants and categories within quadrants

• Incorporation of SAMHSA’s essential stakeholder organizations and nontraditional audiences

• Inclusion of both mental health and substance use organizations

• Acknowledgement of SAMHSA’s Strategic Initiatives and programs

• Representation of diverse populations

Top criteria for final selection of 44 organizations included:

• Inclusion of organizations that are affected by the Affordability Care Act, interacting with SAMHSA for the first time or with greater access to SAMHSA information

• Inclusion of organizations that focus on key issues facing SAMHSA in the next two to four years including health care reform, SBIRT, integration of behavioral health with primary care, and the SAMHSA Strategic Initiatives

• Inclusion of organizations where the contractor has strong contacts to ensure participation with the interview process

• In the circumstance that several organizations represented the same audience, the organization that provided nontraditional and innovative feedback for the interview process was selected (except for organizations involved in health care reform)

• Exclusion of most organizations that are “traditional” partners and/or receive funding from SAMHSA

Interview candidates within the proposed organizations will be identified based on their leadership role and involvement with behavioral health issues. Upon OMB approval, SAMHSA will send a letter/email (Attachment 2) to the contact requesting participation in a 30-minute interview. Project staff will follow up with the contacts to schedule and conduct the interviews.

Proposed sample size and rationale.

The sample size is 44 respondents from a cross-section of key organizations around the country. This sample size was selected in order to solicit information from a wide range of organizations, while balancing budget and timeline considerations.

Planned frequency of information collection.

The key informant interviews will be conducted one time.

Time period over which the information will be collected.

The interviews will be conducted over a six-week period.

Expected response rate and plan for follow-up, if any, of non-respondents.

To maximize interview response rates, we have recommended organizations where the contractor has strong ties and close relationships. If the initial contact at an organization is non-responsive, other individuals with that entity will be identified who are known to either SAMSHA or the contractor, and appointments will be scheduled with them. We do not anticipate significant difficulties in obtaining interviews.

Expected ability to assess non-response bias using existing information.

We do not anticipate any non-response bias based on existing information.

Methods used to maintain customer privacy.

All responses will be recorded in internal notes during the interviews, and synthesized in a summary report. All responses will be kept private; individual names or organizations will not be linked to the responses. The summary report will be used as an internal report only with SAMHSA’s Office of Communications. The discussion guide (Attachment 3) specifically addresses adherence to privacy in the introduction.

D. Annual Response Burden Estimate

Annual Burden Estimate for Respondents

The total burden for the individual respondent is estimated at 30 minutes. Time estimates are based on experience with similar interview guides in other studies of comparable organizations. The key informant interviews will be conducted with a total of 44 individuals for an estimated cost burden of $1,136.08, as shown below.

Respondent	Number of Respondents	Responses per Respondent	Total Number of Responses	Burden per Respondent	Total Hour Burden	Hourly Wage Cost*	Total Cost
	44	1	44	.50	22	$51.64	$1,136.08

*The mean hourly wage is estimated at $51.64 for the types of respondents based on a mean annual salary of $107,410 (assessed through a review of average salary estimates of management occupations from the US Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics http://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_nat.htm.)

Annual Burden Estimate for the Government

The cost to SAMHSA of the contract task to collect this information is $74,761, which includes one percent of a government FTE at a Grade 15 (for Washington, DC area), as well as:

• Contractor labor hours to develop the introductory letter, discussion guide and identify the organizations and key informants;

• Contractor labor hours for planning and conducting the key informant interviews; and

• Contractor labor hours to develop the summary report from the key informant interviews.

E. Methods Used to Develop and Test the Questions

The key informant interview guide and proposed organization list has been shared with Megan Humphries of Edelman and Thomas E. Backer, Ph.D., of the Human Interaction Research Institute. Ms. Humphries and Dr. Backer provided input and feedback on the approach, and their comments have been incorporated. The contractor will conduct a pre-test of the discussion guide with an organization familiar to SAMHSA but not identified on the top 44 list. This test will measure the length of time of the interview, challenges or edits required with language used with the discussion guide (but not to change the intent of the question), and flow/ease of the discussion.

F. Federal Project Officer and Contractor

The SAMHSA Task Order Officer is:

Philip Passarelli

Office of Communications

Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration

1 Choke Cherry Road, Room 8-1035

Rockville, MD 20857

Phone: 240-276-2136

[email protected]

The Abt Associates (Contractor) Project Director is:

Carol Bloomberg

Principal Associate

Abt Associates

4550 Montgomery Avenue, Suite 800

Bethesda, MD 20814

Phone: 301-347-5156

Fax: 617-386-8573

[email protected]

Abt Associates (Contractor) Contact for OMB-related matters:

Caryn Nagler

Associate

Abt Associates

4550 Montgomery Avenue, Suite 800

Bethesda, MD 20814

Phone: 301-634-1762

Fax: 301-828-9796

[email protected]

G. Project Statistician and Data Collection Entity

The contractor will record notes from the key informant interviews using a computer-based version of the interview guide. Upon completion of all interviews, a summary report will be prepared analyzing the interview results. The use of compiled and analyzed results is at the sole discretion of the Office of Communications. No data will be shared publicly beyond the OC or the contractor.

List of Attachments

Attachment 1: SAMHSA Agency-wide Strategic Communication Plan: Proposed Respondent Organizations by Category

Attachment 2: SAMHSA Agency-wide Strategic Communication Plan: Leadership Invitation Email/Letter to Participate with Key Informant Interviews

Attachment 3: SAMHSA Agency-wide Strategic Communication Plan: Key Informant Interview Guide

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