Mini Supporting Statement A
Pilot Survey
the National Cancer Institute’s
(NCI) Communications Fellowship (NCF)
Program Application
Date: January 10, 2019
Sub-study under,
“A Generic Submission for
Formative Research, Pretesting, and
Customer Satisfaction of NCI’s Communication and Education Resources,
Expiration Date: 07/31/2019
Contact Information
Kelly Holliday
Office of Workforce Planning and Development (OWPD)
National Cancer Institute
Attachments
Attachment 1 – National Cancer Institute’s Communication Fellowship (NCF) Application
Attachment 2 – NCF Feedback Survey
Attachment 3 – NCF Reference Letter Module
Attachment 4 – NCF Auto Emails
Mini Supporting Statement A
A.1 Circumstances Making the Collection of Information Necessary
The National Cancer Institute’s Communications Fellowship (NCF) program gives highly-qualified graduate students and recent graduate degree recipients the opportunity to participate in vital communications projects in a one-year fellowship in one of many offices that make up the NCI. This information collection request is to pilot test the NCF application survey. This pilot survey will be used to assess the ease of usability of the NCF application. The data collected comes from a questionnaire focused on responses to application functionality. It is expected that the applicants will complete the NCF Feedback Survey and the NCF application process could be improved by their responses.
The National Cancer Institute’s Communications Fellowship (NCF) program fulfills the requirements of the National Cancer Institute (NCI) training authority as established under: Section 413 (b) (3) of the Public Health Service Act, 42 USC 285a-2 (b) (3), as amended pertaining to the NCI, which states that the NCI Director, in carrying out the National Cancer Program . . . shall . . . "support appropriate programs of education and training (including continuing education and laboratory and clinical research training)”. In addition, enhancing the diversity of the cancer research workforce in the nation is an NCI priority.
The purpose of the NCF Application (Attachment 1) is to assure that candidates for the NCF program meet basic eligibility requirements; to assess their potential as future communications professionals; to determine where mutual communications interests exist; and to make decisions regarding which applicants will be proposed and approved for fellowship awards. The information is for internal use to make decisions about prospective fellows who could benefit from the NCF program.
Participation in the NCF program includes U.S. citizens and U.S. permanent residents. Individuals from underrepresented populations, consistent with NIH's Notice of Interest and Diversity (NOT-OD-18-210), are encouraged to apply for the program.
The full-time fellowship program includes graduate degree-seeking individuals and graduate degree recipients.
This request is for a feedback survey (Attachment 2) involving approximately 120 applicants. The primary purpose of the pilot is to collect input on the application’s usability.
Prospective NCF fellows must apply directly to NCI. The NCF application (Attachment 1) is a web-based application. Once submitted, the application generates an email request to two references who are asked to submit a letter of recommendation on behalf of the applicant. The email links them to an online textbox where they can submit their reference letter (Attachment 3). Two reference letters are required for each applicant.
Automated system emails are sent out to applicants at various times throughout the application cycle, all the way to before the candidates begin their fellowship. There are 12 auto-generated emails are sent depending on the prospective fellow’s status in the application review (Attachment 4).
Submission of an NCF application is required to be considered for the program. The online application saves time and resources, and lessens the burden to the applicants, references, and government employees accessing the applications.
The application is web-based. The pilot survey will be administered to the applicant immediately following the submission of the application. The applicant will receive an automated email confirming submission and in this email a link to complete the feedback survey (Attachment 2) will be included.
The NCI Privacy Act Coordinator was consulted, and it was determined that a Privacy Impact Assessment (PIA) is needed. A PIA will be completed for the “New” Submission.
This information will not be collected anywhere else and is unique to the candidate’s application.
There is no impact on small businesses or other small entities.
This is a one-time annual information collection.
There are no special circumstances.
N/A
Neither payments nor gifts will be provided to respondents.
All information will be kept private to the extent provided by law. Only applicants will have the ability to initiate their applications using a password protected login of their choice.
Personal identifiable information (PII) will be collected on the NCF application. This includes: full name, phone number, email, citizenship status, home address, school name, and contact information for two references.
In addition, the NCF application asks applicants to fill out a Diversity Statement, where they are asked to explain how their participating would further the goal of the NCF to encourage diversity in NCI’s workforce, consistent with NIH's Notice of Interest and Diversity (NOT-OD-18-210),
Using this Diversity Statement, applicants may specify whether they are from an underrepresented population or if they are financially disadvantaged. If they qualify based on financial disadvantage, they must submit recent tax forms showing that their income is below guidelines issued annually by the Department of Health and Human Services and published in the Federal Register under the title, Low-Income Levels'' Used for Various Health Professions and Nursing Programs Authorized in Titles III, VII, and VIII of the Public Health Service Act.
The estimated total number of respondents is 360. The instruments are broken up into two sections. The first instrument is the burden hours it takes for an applicant to fill out and submit their application. It is estimated that 120 candidates will apply. The second instrument are the burden hours it takes the references to write and submit a reference letter for each applicant. Each applicant has 2 references, so it is estimated that there will be 240 respondents.
The application should take approximately 60 minutes to complete and the reference letter should take 30 minutes to complete. The total estimated burden hour included for this information collection is 246 hours (Table A.12-1) and the cost to the respondents is estimated to be $7,193.64 (Table A.12-2).
Table A.12-1 Estimated Annualized Burden Hours:
Category of Respondent |
Number of Respondents |
Number of Responses Per Respondent |
Average Time Per Response (in hours) |
Total Annual Burden Hours |
Individuals (Attachment 1 – Application) |
120 |
1 |
60/60 |
120 |
Individuals (Attachment 2 – Feedback Survey) |
120 |
1 |
3/60 |
6 |
Individuals (Attachment 3 – Reference Letter Module) |
240 |
1 |
30/60 |
120 |
Totals |
360 |
480 |
|
246 |
Table A.12.2 Annualized Cost to the Respondents
Category of Respondent |
Total Annual Burden Hour |
Hourly Wage Rate |
Respondent Cost |
Individuals (Attachment 1 & 2) |
120 |
$24.34* |
$3,066.84 |
Individuals (Attachment 3 – Reference Letter Module) |
120 |
$34.39** |
$4,126.80 |
Total |
|
|
$7,193.64 |
* The mean hourly wage rate for the ICRC applicants is cited from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, All Occupations, Occupation Code 00-0000. https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_nat.htm.
**The mean hourly wage rate for Postsecondary Teachers is cited from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupation code 25-1081. https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes251081.htm. Wages for teachers that do not generally work year-round, full time, are reported as annual salaries depending on how they are typically paid. Annual Mean Wage for college and university professors is $71,530. To determine the Hourly Wage Rate in the table above, the Annual Mean Wage was leveled over 40 hours per week, times 52 weeks per year (2,080). This amounts to $71,530 divided by 2,080, which equals $34.39.
There are no capital costs, operating costs, or maintenance costs to report.
The annualized cost to the Federal Government for the proposed data collection effort is estimated to be $61,228.28 (Table A.14.1). The NCF federal personnel are responsible for reviewing and distributing the applications. The contractor tasks include the design and management of the NCF application.
Table A.14.1 Annualized Cost to the Federal Government
Staff |
Grade/Step |
Salary** |
% of Effort |
Fringe (if applicable) |
|
Federal Oversight |
|
|
|
|
|
NCF Program Manager |
12/2 |
$84,266 |
20% |
|
$16,853.20 |
Chief, Workforce Development Branch |
14/7 |
$137,508 |
1% |
|
$1,375.08 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Contractor Cost |
|
|
|
|
|
Computer/Website Developer |
|
|
|
|
|
Travel |
|
|
|
|
$0 |
Other Cost |
|
|
|
|
$0 |
Total |
|
|
|
|
$61,228.28 |
**The Salary Table of a Federal Employee can be referenced at https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/pay-leave/salaries-wages/salary-tables/18tables/html/DCB.aspx
N/A
There are no plans for tabulation or publication of the NCF application. The information collected will be used to assess the appropriateness of applicants to the NCF program and to communicate accepted applicant’s qualifications to prospective NCI mentors for fellowship placement.
The results from the pilot survey will not be used to make broad, expansive conclusions.
The project’s proposed time schedule is outlined in Table A.16-1.
Table A.16-1. Proposed Time Schedule
Activity |
Estimated Date |
NCF Application Open Date |
January 14, 2019 |
NCF Application Close Date |
February 15, 2019 |
NCF Application Pilot Survey |
January 14-February 20, 2019 |
Assess Pilot Survey |
February 20-March 1, 2019 |
Submit full OMB submission for NCF Application |
Spring 2019 |
We are not requesting an exemption to the display of the OMB Expiration Date.
This survey will comply with the requirements in 5 C.F.R. 1320.9.
| File Type | application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.wordprocessingml.document |
| File Title | Supporting Statement 'A' Preparation - 04/05/2011 |
| Subject | Supporting Statement 'A' Preparation - 04/05/2011 |
| Author | OD/USER |
| File Modified | 0000-00-00 |
| File Created | 2021-01-15 |