Mini SSA

Mini Supporting Statement A

Pilot Study for:

The Center for Cancer Research (CCR) Faculty

Recruitment Application Website (NCI)

Sub-study under,

“A Generic Submission for Formative Research,

Pretesting, and Customer Satisfaction of

NCI’s Communication and Education Resources”

OMB No. 0925-0046

Expiration Date: 07/31/2019

June 13, 2019

Name: Lori Holliday

Address: 9000 Rockville Pike, 31/3A16E

Telephone: 240-760-7754

Email: [email protected]

ATTACHMENTS

Attachment 1 – Application Form

Attachment 2 – Survey

Attachment 3 - Reference Request

Attachment 4 - Auto-Generated Email Responses (three samples)

Attachment 5 - Auto-Generated Email Request for Reference Letter

Attachment 6 – Privacy Impact Assessment

Mini Supporting Statement A

A.1 Circumstances Making the Collection of Information Necessary

The National Cancer Institute’s (NCI) Center for Cancer Research (CCR) supports the NIH Intramural Research Program’s (IRP) goal of filling integral faculty level scientific/clinical positions (e.g., Assistant Clinical Investigator, Senior Clinician, Senior Scientist, Tenure Track Investigator, Senior Investigator, etc.) to support the mission of the NIH. The majority of these positions will be filled using appointing authority Title 42 of United States Code 209 (g) or (f). The Title 42 (g) appointing authority may be used to secure the services of scientists and clinicians on time-limited, but renewable appointments for health-related research, studies, and investigations where the nature of the work or the character of the individual’s services render customary employing methods impracticable or less effective. The authority is used in the NIH intramural programs for appointees who must be principally engaged in the development and conduct of original biomedical research, studies, and investigations, including associated clinical activities. The Title 42 (f) authority may be used to secure the services of experienced and talented scientists and clinicians in both the NIH intramural and extramural research programs who will be engaged in research, science management, science administration, or science policy where services cannot be obtained when needed through regular Civil Service appointments.

This information collection request is to pilot test the CCR faculty recruitment application study. The pilot study will be used to assess the effectiveness of advertisement strategies and to assess the ease of usability of the application system. The data collection is generated from a questionnaire focused on obtaining information on where the candidate located the vacancy information and the process of completing the application form. The questions will allow administrators to evaluate the effectiveness of advertisement strategies, the usability of the application form, and the efficiency of the system. It is expected that candidates will provide their feedback through the questions included at the end of the application form and that feedback would result in improvements to the advertisement strategies and the system used to collect application data.

A.2 Purpose and Use of the Information Collection

Identification of highly qualified candidates is generated from responses to application forms hosted on, and uploading of supporting documentation to, the CCR website. The purpose of the application (Attachment 1) is to ensure that faculty level candidates meet basic eligibility requirements; to assess each candidate’s potential for such positions; to determine where mutual research interests exist; and, to make decisions regarding which candidates are rated as highly qualified and referred to the selecting official for consideration. To receive full consideration, the candidate must complete all required fields.

The primary purpose of the pilot is to assess the effectiveness of advertisement strategies, the usability of the application form, and the efficiency of the system. This request will be completed by the feedback survey (Attachment 2) involving approximately 415 applicants. The feedback received from the survey will be used to improve or incorporate any changes needed to the system, it’s usability, and efficiency, prior to submitting a new ICR to OMB for approval.

Prospective candidates must apply directly to the CCR. The application form (Attachment 1) is a web-based application. Automated system emails are sent out to applicants at various times throughout the application cycle. There are up to three auto-generated emails sent depending on the candidate’s status in the application process (Attachment 4). If reference letters are required to complete the application, the system generates an email request to three references who are each asked to submit a letter of recommendation on behalf of the applicant (Attachment 5). The email links them to a defined URL where they can submit their reference letter (Attachment 3). Additionally, references also receive reminder requests, if applicable, and a confirmation receipt when a reference letter has been successfully uploaded (Attachment 5).

A.3 Use of Information Technology to Reduce Burden

Submission of applications for faculty positions occurs on an on-going basis as vacancies are created either through attrition of faculty staff or by the establishment of new positions as recommended by the Board of Scientific Counselors. The on-line application system was developed to save time and resources and to lessen the burden on applicants, referees, and government employees working directly with the application system.

The application system is web-based. The feedback survey questions will be included at the end of the application form (Attachment 2).

The NCI Privacy Act Coordinator was consulted and determined that a Privacy Impact Assessment (PIA) is needed. (Attachment 6).

A.4 Efforts to Identify Duplication

This information will not be collected anywhere else and is unique to the candidate’s application.

A.5 Impact on Small Businesses or Other Small Entities

There is no impact on small businesses or other small entities.

A.6 Consequences of Collecting the Information Less Frequently

This is a one-time information collection.

A.7 Special Circumstances Relating to the Guidelines of 5 CFR 1320.5

No special circumstances apply.

A.8 Comments in Response to the Federal Register Notice and Efforts to Consult Outside Agency

N/A

A.9 Explanation of Any Payment of Gift to Respondents

Neither payments nor gifts will be provided to respondents.

A.10 Assurance of Confidentiality 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 log-in of their choice. Search committee members will also be provided access to applications after creating log-in credentials and strong passwords that conform to standards used by the NIH Center for Information Technology. Access to application materials will be restricted to CCR-approved users only. References submit their letters to a defined URL.

A.11 Justification for Sensitive Questions

No sensitive questions are contained in this information collection. Personally Identifiable Information (PII) is collected including name, contact information, education, and employment history. Federal regulations for the protection of human subjects do not apply to this activity.

A.12 Estimates of Hour Burden Including Annualized Hourly Costs

There are three instruments requiring submission: the application; the survey questions; and, the reference letters. It is anticipated that approximately 415 applicants will spend approximately 20 minutes completing the application and uploading supporting documents. It is estimated that each applicant will spend approximately two minutes completing the four survey questions. Each applicant is required to have three references submitted; the estimated number of individuals submitting references would add up to 1245 (415 applicants X three references = 1245). It is estimated that uploading of a reference letter will take approximately five minutes per reference.

The total estimated burden for this information collection is 256 hours (Table A.12-1).

A.12-1 Estimated Annualized Burden Hours

Form Name	Type of Respondent	Number of Respondents	Number of Responses per Respondent	Average Time Per Response (in hours)	Total Annual Burden Hours
Application (Attachment 1)	Individuals	415	1	20/60	138
Feedback Survey (Attachment 2)	Individuals	415	1	2/60	14
Reference Letter Request (Attachment 3)	Individuals	1245	1	5/60	104
Total		2,075	2,075		256

A.12-2 Annualized Cost to the Respondents

The annualized cost to respondents is $19,297.28. The following table indicates the annualized cost to respondents

Type of Respondent	Total Annual Burden Hours	Hourly Wage Rate*	Respondent Cost
Individual: (Application)	138	$75.38	$10,402.44
Individual: (Feedback Survey)	14	$75.38	$1,055.32
Individual: (Reference Letter)	104	$75.38	$7,839.52
Totals	256		$19,297.28

*The hourly wage rates were derived from the 2018 Association of American Medical Colleges Summary Statistics on Medical School Faculty Compensation for All Schools, Table 4 (https://ohr.od.nih.gov/intrahr/Documents/title42/AAMC/MDBasicSciencesAllSchools.pdf). Applicants and referees for faculty level positions serve, on average, in positions equivalent to that of associate professor in academia. The mean salary for an associate professor is $156,800/annually. That figure was divided by 2080 hours to arrive at an hourly wage rate of $75.38.

A.13 Estimate of Other Total Annual Cost Burden to Respondents or Record Keepers

There are no capital costs, operating costs, or maintenance costs to report.

A.14 Annualized Cost to the Federal Government

The annualized cost to the Federal Government for the proposed data collection effort is estimated to be $11,480.45 (Table A.14-1). Federal personnel are responsible for reviewing and distributing the applications. The contractor tasks include the design and management of the faculty recruitment website.

A.14-1 Annualized Cost to the Federal Government

Staff	Grade/Step	Salary**	% of Effort	Fringe (if applicable)	Total Cost to Gov’t
Federal Oversight
Administrative Assistant	7/1	47,016	2.5%		$1175.40
Supervisory Program Analyst	14/0	159,101	5%		$7955.05
Contractor Cost					$2350.00
Travel					$0
Other Cost					$0
Total					$11,480.45

**The salary in the table above is cited from https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/pay-leave/salaries-wages/salary-tables/pdf/2019/DCB.pdf

A.15 Explanation for Program Changes or Adjustments

This is a generic sub-study request.

A.16 Plans for Tabulation and Publication and Project Time Schedule

There are no plans for tabulation or publication of faculty recruitment applications. The information collected will be used to asses the appropriateness of applicants to each vacancy announcement and to communicate qualified candidate’s credentials to prospective NCI selecting officials.

The results from the feedback survey will not be used to make broad, expansive conclusions but, instead, will be used to assess the effectiveness of advertisement strategies, to assess the ease of usability of the application system, and to make any necessary modifications prior to the full OMB submission.

The project time schedule is outlined in Table A.16-1.

Table A.16-1. Proposed Time Schedule

Activity	Estimated Date
Faculty Recruitment Site Open Date	~ May 15, 2019
Faculty Recruitment Site Close Date	~September 30,2019
Faculty Recruitment Site Feedback Survey	~ May 15 – September 30, 2019
Assess Feedback Survey	October 1 – October 31, 2019
Submit Full OMB Submission for Faculty Recruitment Site	November 15, 2019

A.17 Reason(s) Display of OMB Expiration Date is Inappropriate

We are not requesting an exemption to the display of the OMB Expiration date.

A.18 Exceptions to Certification for Paperwork Reduction Act Submissions

This survey will comply with the requirements in 5 CFR 1320.9.

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