Supporting Statement for Paperwork Reduction Act Submission
Office on Violence Against Women Solicitation Template
A. Justification
Statutorily-Mandated Need for Information
The Office on Violence Against Women (OVW) administers financial support and technical assistance to communities around the country that are creating programs, policies, and practices aimed at ending domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking. Its mission is to provide national leadership to improve the Nation’s response to these crimes through the implementation of the Violence Against Women Act of 1994 (VAWA), the Violence Against Women Act of 2000, and the Violence Against Women Act of 2005. OVW pursues this mission by supporting community efforts, enhancing education and training, disseminating best practices, launching special initiatives, and leading the Nation’s efforts to end violence against women.
Since its inception in 1995, OVW has awarded over $4 billion in grants and cooperative agreements and has launched a multifaceted approach to implementing VAWA. VAWA grant programs are designed to develop the nation’s capacity to reduce domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking by strengthening services to victims and holding offenders accountable for their action. OVW posts grant program solicitations, closes solicitation periods, performs initial internal reviews, conducts peer reviews, makes funding decisions, and ultimately makes awards on a staggered basis by grant program according to a master calendar that ensures that grant awards are made in a timely manner in a specific fiscal year. The date of the posting of a solicitation is set by working backwards from the date that OVW is required to award grant funds.
Previously, OVW developed a solicitation template and an accompanying Grant Program Reference Guide to assist potential grantees in applying for OVW programs. The solicitation template ensures that all applicants to OVW grant programs will be asked to provide uniform information in a consistent manner. The information addressed in the solicitation template includes: Application for Federal Assistance; Standard Assurances and Certifications; Single Point of Contact; Financial Accounting Practices; Summary Data Sheet; Proposal Abstract; Summary of Current OVW Projects; Project Narrative; Budget Detail Worksheet and Narrative; Memorandum of Understanding (MOU); Letter of Nonsupplanting; Financial Capability Questionnaire; Statutory Certification Requirements; and Indirect Cost Rate Agreement. OVW will tailor each solicitation to address the specific OVW grant program so that identification of eligible applicants, availability of funds, award period, award amount, program scope, activities that may compromise victim safety and recovery and unallowable activities will be consistent with the statutory requirements and funding amounts authorized for each particular grant program.
Recently, OVW made revisions to the solicitation to update technical requirements for applicants, give notice of rules and regulations that apply to awards, and clarify the required elements of a submission. In the past few years, OVW has used both the solicitation Template (and subsequent OVW solicitations) and the OVW Resource Guide to provide information to applicants about how to apply for a grant or cooperative agreement; the solicitation offered the core application requirement information with links to the OVW Resource Guide for more detailed information. The OVW Resource Guide also provided information beyond that which was relevant for the application process. OVW learned that applicants found the Resource Guide to be confusing or, in some instances, were not reviewing important links and, as a result, were missing key information that impacted the submission of an application. A good example of this was the Central Contractor Registration (CCR) requirement. The template that OVW used for the FY2012 solicitations included information about the basic steps involved in the Grants.gov registration process and then referred applicants to the Resource Guide for a more detailed step-by-step guide. It is here where applicants would find language about the need to register with CCR or to ensure that a current registration is active at the time of application submission. Many of applicants did not utilize this additional resource and found that they could not submit via Grants.gov on the application deadline which was too late to correct the problem.
For FY 2013, OVW wanted to ensure that solicitations are stand-alone resources and that all the information that an applicant would need to apply would be included in this one resource. Therefore, we made some revisions to the FY2012 template. The FY2013 is not asking for new information, but OVW feel it provides a clearer description of all of the application requirements. The template has also been modified to include updated information pertinent to Grants.gov, such as the System for Award Management (SAM).
Lastly, the FY 2013 Solicitation Companion Guide was developed to capture general information about all FY 2013 grant programs as well as pertinent information about post-award requirements. Much of this information was previously contained in the FY2012 Resource Guide and provides notice to applicants about what some of the requirements they would experience as grantees, should their application be selected for an award.
The recent revisions do not request additional information from applicants. Therefore, OVW is requesting Office of Management and Budget (OMB) approval for an information collection that makes no material change to an existing collection. OVW would like to use this revised template for the FY2013 solicitations for three formula grant programs and 16 discretionary grant programs. OVW anticipates beginning the release of FY2013 solicitations in December 2012.
2. Use of Information
OVW will use the information collected to make determinations about grant awards. The solicitation template is designed so that applicants will be asked to provide specific information in a consistent manner. For example, in the Project Narrative Section of the solicitation, all applicants will be asked to include descriptions of the purpose of application, what will be done and who will implement in a separate attachment to the application that may not exceed 20 pages in length, double spaced.
Use of Information Technology
The collection of information will involve the use of automated, electronic, mechanical or other technological collection techniques or other forms of information technology.
Duplication of Information Request
In order to make federal funding decisions, OVW collects information through the submission of applications to its grant programs after posting the solicitations online. The only mechanism to apply for funding under the OVW grant programs is participation in the solicitation process.
Impact on Small Businesses
There is no impact on small businesses.
Consequences to Federal Programs or Policy
The solicitation process including the collection of information from OVW grant program applicants in a consistent and uniform manner and the utilization of specified selection criteria ensures that federal funding decisions are made in an appropriate, equitable, and effective manner consistent with the statutorily authorized purposes of the VAWA grant programs and within the level of funding authorized by Congress.
Special Circumstances
There are no special circumstances as identified in the specific instructions for a supporting statement for Paperwork Reduction Act Submissions.
Federal Register Publication
Previously OVW consulted with persons outside the agency who have advised that the information proposed to be collected is available to potential grantees, the annual collection of and submission of such information is not burdensome, and the solicitation template is clear.
OVW has solicited public comment on the FY2012 version of the template form in accordance with the requirements of the Paperwork Reduction Act through publication in the Federal Register. A 30-day notice was published in the Federal Register on November 30, 2009 (Federal Register, Volume 74, page 62595) and a 60-day notice was published on January 29, 2010 (Federal Register, Volume 75, page 4846).
As OVW is requesting OMB approval for an information collection that makes no material change to an existing collection (1122-0020 Exp. Date 6/30/2013), OVW did not submit notices to the Federal Register announcing the form revisions.
Payment or Gift to Respondents
There will no payment or gift to respondents.
Confidentiality
Although this information is needed for funding decisions, it will not involve any personal information about victims that could identify them as specific individuals. However, anecdotal, non-identifying information about the effectiveness of individual programs may be included in the applications. There is no assurance to confidentiality.
Specific Questions
The solicitation template will not contain any questions of a personal, sensitive nature such as sexual behavior and attitudes, religious beliefs, and other matters that are commonly considered private.
Hour Burden of the Collection of Information
The collection of the information addressed in this solicitation template is not overly burdensome. Solicitations will be completed by approximately 1800 applicants once a year. It is estimated that there will be approximately 1800 annual responses and it is estimated that it will take applicants approximately 30 hours to complete an application
OVW is seeking information that is necessary to make determinations about funding decisions and the solicitation template requires applicants to provide this information in a consistent and uniform manner across the different grant programs. OVW estimates that it will take approximately 30 hours for applicants to complete an application package. OVW developed this estimate based on past experiences during the solicitation and award process.
13. Cost Burden of the Collection of Information
OVW does not believe that there is any annual cost burden on respondents or recordkeepers resulting from the collection of this information other than the staff time devoted to developing and drafting a response to the solicitation.
Annualized Costs to the Federal Government
OVW does not believe that there are any annualized costs to the Federal Government resulting from the collection of this information beyond those costs associated with the routine administration and management of the OVW grant programs.
Program Changes or Adjustments
There are no program changes or adjustments for the estimates identified in Section 13 and in Section 14. This is an information collection that is necessary for OVW to make funding decisions.
16. Published Results of Information Collections
There will be no complex analytical techniques used in connection with the publication of
information collected under the request. Information will be gathered once a year during the solicitation process.
Display of the Expiration Date of OMB Approval
OVW will display the Expiration Date of OMB Approval in the upper right hand corner of the solicitations.
18. Exception to the Certification Statement
OVW is not seeking any exception to the certification statement identified in Item 19, Certification for Paperwork Reduction Act Submissions, of OMB Form 83-I.
| File Type | application/msword |
| Author | Cathy Poston |
| Last Modified By | catherinemposton |
| File Modified | 2012-10-17 |
| File Created | 2012-10-16 |