Applicant Interview Guide

Form Approved

OMB No. 0920-0919

Exp. Date 1/31/2018

Assessing Customer Satisfaction with the

Extramural Research Program Services Office Serving NCCDPHP and NCBDDD

Interview Guide for Applicants

Public reporting of this collection of information is estimated to average 30 minutes per response, including the time for reviewing instructions, searching existing data sources, gathering and maintaining the data needed, and completing and reviewing the collection of information. An agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to a collection of information unless it displays a currently valid OMB control number. Send comments regarding this burden estimate or any other aspect of this collection of information, including suggestions for reducing this burden to CDC/ATSDR Reports Clearance Officer, 1600 Clifton Road NE, MS D-74, Atlanta, Georgia 30333; ATTN: PRA (0920-0919).

FOR INTERVIEWER USE ONLY

FOA

Name of Interviewee

Date

INTERVIEWER READS:

On behalf of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, thank you for agreeing to participate in this telephone interview. It will only take about 30 minutes of your time. Your participation is voluntary and you can stop at any time, for any reason, or skip any question.

My name is [ ] and I’m an independent consultant on organizational improvement. CDC asked me to speak openly with a few individuals who have recently interacted with the Extramural Research Program Services Office (“ERPOS”) for NCCDPHP and NCBDDD (“the Chronic Disease Center” and “the Birth Defects Center”).

To help me communicate your thoughts accurately, l plan to take a few notes during our conversation, but CDC will not have access to the notes. CDC will not know who completed the interviews, and I will not attribute specific comments to any individual in the summary report. CDC has asked me to prepare a de-identified summary so that they are clear about ways to improve services, without affecting your personal relationship with ERPOS, or your organization’s relationship with ERPOS. All interview notes will be destroyed after I prepare the summary report for CDC.

Do you have any questions before we start?

In thinking about ________________ FOA…

1. Did you participate in the webinar/information call for the FOA that you applied for?

2. Was the FOA clear or did you need clarification on any specific issues?

3. What were those issues?

4. Were your questions answered?

5. Were the responses clear and timely?

6. Did you have other interactions with ERPOS during the application process?

7. What could be done to improve the service/your interactions with ERPOS during the application process?

8. Did you know who to contact for information and could you reach that person?

9. Did they respond in a timely manner?

10. Was their response helpful?

11. Did you have any problems submitting your application? Did you call anyone? Were the problems resolved quickly?

Review Process

1. Were you kept apprised of the timeline of the review process?

2. Were you provided sufficient information to understand your score when you received it?

3. Did you think that the review scores were consistent with their assessment of your application?

4. Did you think the reviewer applied the stated review criteria in the assessment of your application?

5. Did you ask questions about your score?

6. Were your questions answered clearly and in a timely manner?

INTERVIEWER READS:

On behalf of CDC, thank you for helping us improve the services and guidance offered by ERPOS. If you’d like to add to the comments you’ve already provided, please feel free to contact me before [closing date].