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

TITLE OF INFORMATION COLLECTION:

Feedback Survey on IES FY 2020 Request for Applications (RFAs)

PURPOSE:

Through its discretionary 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 2019, the National Center for Education Research (NCER) and the National Center for Special Education Research (NCSER) within IES released Requests for Applications (RFAs) for discretionary grant funding in FY 2020. IES revised the FY 2020 RFAs to make it clearer, shorter, less restrictive, and accessible to a wider range of potential applicants. As part of the revisions, IES also released new RFAs for the Research Grants Focused on Systematic Replication (84.305R) and Research Grants Focused on Systematic Replication in Special Education (84.324R) programs.

The purpose of the attached surveys is to obtain feedback on the success of the revisions to the RFAs and whether further changes are necessary. IES will use the feedback from the surveys to improve the clarity of the information provided to applicants in future RFA documents. The specific RFAs targeted by the surveys are as follows:

• NCER Grants Program RFAs:

  • Education Research Grants program (CFDA # 84.305A)

  • Research Grants Focused on Systematic Replication program (CFDA# 84.305R)

• NCSER Grants Program RFAs:

  • Special Education Research Grants program (CFDA # 84.324A)

  • Research Grants Focused on Systematic Replication in Special Education program (CFDA # 84.324R)

  • Research Training Programs in Special Education (CFDA #84.324B)

DESCRIPTION OF RESPONDENTS:

Respondents to the survey include all Principal Investigators that submitted a grant application to the programs listed below for funding in FY 2020.

• NCER Grants Program RFAs:

  • Education Research Grants program (CFDA # 84.305A)

  • Research Grants Focused on Systematic Replication program (CFDA# 84.305R)

• NCSER Grants Program RFAs:

  • Special Education Research Grants program (CFDA # 84.324A)

  • Research Grants Focused on Systematic Replication in Special Education program (CFDA # 84.324R)

  • Research Training Programs in Special Education (CFDA #84.324B)

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:____Christina Chhin______________________________________

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 – NCER grant applications (84.305A; 84.305R)	448	20 min	149
Individuals – NCSER grant applicants (84.324A; 84.324B; 84.324R)	234	20 min	78
Totals	682	20 min	227

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 that applied to any of the following grants programs will be contacted via e-mail and asked to complete the web-based feedback survey:

• NCER Grants Program RFAs:

  • Education Research Grants program (CFDA # 84.305A)

  • Research Grants Focused on Systematic Replication program (CFDA# 84.305R)

• NCSER Grants Program RFAs:

  • Special Education Research Grants program (CFDA # 84.324A)

  • Research Grants Focused on Systematic Replication in Special Education program (CFDA # 84.324R)

  • Research Training Programs in Special Education (CFDA #84.324B)

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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