Justification

Request for Approval under the “Generic Clearance for the Collection of Routine Customer Feedback” (OMB Control Number: 1880-0542)

TITLE OF INFORMATION COLLECTION:

Feedback on IES FY 2015 Request for Applications (RFA) Documents

PURPOSE:

Through its research grants programs, the Institute of Education Sciences (IES) seeks to improve the quality of education for all students through research advancing the understanding of and practices for teaching, learning, and organizing education systems. During the Spring of 2014, IES released a Request for Applications (RFA) for funding in FY 2015 for the Special Education Research Grants program (CFDA # 84.324A).

Feedback regarding the clarity of the requirements and information provided in this RFA document will be requested from all grant applicants who submitted a proposal to the program for funding in FY 2015. IES will use the feedback from the survey to improve the clarity of the information provided to applicants in future RFA documents.

DESCRIPTION OF RESPONDENTS:

Respondents to the survey will be Principal Investigators of each grant application submitted to the Special Education Research Grants program (CFDA #84.324A). A link to the web-based survey will be e-mailed to all Principal Investigators. The survey will be accessible for 3-weeks from the date of the original e-mail. A follow-up e-mail will be sent to all Principal Investigators 2-weeks after the original e-mail date to remind applicants to complete the survey. No individual reminders/follow-ups will be conducted because survey submissions will be anonymous.

TYPE OF COLLECTION: (Check one)

[ ] Customer Comment Card/Complaint Form [X] Customer Satisfaction Survey

[ ] Usability Testing (e.g., Website or Software [ ] Small Discussion Group

[] Focus Group [ ] Other: ______________________

CERTIFICATION:

I certify the following to be true:

1. The collection is voluntary.

2. The collection is low-burden for respondents and low-cost for the Federal Government.

3. The collection is non-controversial and does not raise issues of concern to other federal agencies.

4. The results are not intended to be disseminated to the public.

5. Information gathered will not be used for the purpose of substantially informing influential policy decisions.

6. The collection is targeted to the solicitation of opinions from respondents who have experience with the program or may have experience with the program in the future.

Name: Kristen Rhoads

To assist review, please provide answers to the following question:

Personally Identifiable Information:

1. Is personally identifiable information (PII) collected? [ ] Yes [ X ] No

2. If Yes, is the information that will be collected included in records that are subject to the Privacy Act of 1974? [ ] Yes [ ] No

3. If Applicable, has a System or Records Notice been published? [ ] Yes [ ] No

Gifts or Payments:

Is an incentive (e.g., money or reimbursement of expenses, token of appreciation) provided to participants? [ ] Yes [ X ] No

BURDEN HOURS

Category of Respondent	No. of Respondents	Participation Time	Burden
Individuals – 84.324A Applicants	260	15 min	65

FEDERAL COST: The estimated annual cost to the Federal government is ___$0______

If you are conducting a focus group, survey, or plan to employ statistical methods, please provide answers to the following questions:

The selection of your targeted respondents

1. Do you have a customer list or something similar that defines the universe of potential respondents and do you have a sampling plan for selecting from this universe? [X] Yes [ ] No

If the answer is yes, please provide a description of both below (or attach the sampling plan)? If the answer is no, please provide a description of how you plan to identify your potential group of respondents and how you will select them?

Once a research grant application is submitted to IES, the name of the Principal Investigator along with their contact information is recorded in the grants.gov and G5 system. We will obtain the list of all applicants, including the name of the Principal Investigator and their e-mail address through the G5 system. All Principal Investigators who applied to the Special Education Research Grants program (CFDA # 84.324A) will be contacted via e-mail and asked to complete the web-based survey.

Administration of the Instrument

1. How will you collect the information? (Check all that apply)

[X ] Web-based or other forms of Social Media

[ ] Telephone

[ ] In-person

[ ] Mail

[ ] Other, Explain

2. Will interviewers or facilitators be used? [ ] Yes [ X ] No

Please make sure that all instruments, instructions, and scripts are submitted with the request.

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