Supporting Statement A BHW Standardized Work Plan Revised_final

Supporting Statement A BHW Standardized Work Plan Revised_final.docx

Standardized Work Plan (SWP) Form

OMB: 0906-0049

⚠️ Notice: This form may be outdated. More recent filings and information on OMB 0906-0049 can be found here:

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Supporting Statement

Standardized Work Plan (SWP) Form for Use with Applications to the Bureau of Health Workforce (BHW) Research and Training Grants and Cooperative Agreements

OMB No. 0906-xxxx – New

Terms of Clearance: None

A. Justification

Circumstances Making the Collection of Information Necessary

HRSA is submitting this new information collection request to OMB for review/ approval of the Standardized Work Plan (SWP) Form for Use with Applications to all of the Bureau of Health Workforce’s (BHW) Research and Training Grants and Cooperative Agreements that require a work plan as part of the Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO). These programs have a maximum 5 year project period.

This information collection is necessary to evaluate applications for financial assistance and determine the relative merits of the projects for which such assistance is requested, as set forth in Sections 796 and 802 of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. §§ 295n-1, 296a). The SWP succinctly captures all required work plan information in an objective manner allowing reviewers to analyze critical project elements.

The SWP form is designed to be implemented on a variety of BHW’s programs that require a work plan as part of the NOFO. BHW programs have varying scopes entailing different requirements and assessment needs and the SWP form is tailed to BHW programs requesting a work plan. Each applicant will use the SWP form according to the instructions in the NOFO. Information on the grant applications is collected through the project narrative section of SF-424 (R&R) and OMB Control Number 4040-0001. As with other federal agencies, other required application information is collected in a narrative format as well as eligibility documentation in which all applicants must submit in order to be eligible for the competition and competitively reviewed. BHW currently collects this information as part of the application process through a work plan requirement; however, the current work plans are submitted in a non-machine readable format. SWP will replace the applicant-generated work plan format and collect the same information; however, now through itemized fields in a machine readable format in order to extract and synthesize the information.

Currently, applicants to BHW programs must individually format and develop a work plan to describe activities or steps that they will use to achieve each objective proposed during the entire period of performance. Most programs are also required to submit a detailed timeline. This current requirement requests work plans to include information regarding the specific activities, deliverables, and which staff in the organization are responsible. BHW will collect this information through a new common form (SWP form) that will assist BHW in making informed decisions about funding the best qualified candidates as well as assist in monitoring awardee progress in an objective manner.

Purpose and Use of Information Collection

The information to be collected in the SWP will be used by BHW to determine if an applicant has a feasible implementation plan from which to carry out a proposed project. Requiring applicants to complete the SWP as part of their funding application process will assist federal officers and objective review staff to make better informed decisions on whether an application proposal is thoroughly conceptualized, and to fund awards accordingly. The SWP will serve as a planning and implementation tool which requires applicants to map out their goals, objectives, activities, resources, and time frames for their projects. The SWP will be used on the front end during the objective review process, and by BHW project officers and staff throughout the grant period to compare projected objectives and activities against concrete accomplishments in order to assess grantees' progress.

Use of Improved Information Technology and Burden Reduction

Every effort was taken to design the tool to collect the least amount of data needed to construct a work plan that fulfills the requirements for BHW programs. The SWP was developed through extensive application reviews and identification of discordances and variance among work plan submissions. Use of the SWP will ensure each applicant has the same work plan format from which a more objective review can take place. This will reduce the burden on applicants who currently construct their own work plan formats while ensuring all necessary work plan elements are submitted for a competitive review before an award is made. All applicants will be required to submit this standardized SWP form one time electronically through www.grants.gov.

Efforts to Identify Duplication and Use of Similar Information

BHW has reviewed existing information collection instruments and has determined that there are no existing forms that can be used to meet BHW’s data collection needs. The SWP form will replace the equivalent requirement of submitting a work plan in the applicant’s own format as part of the application process. The same information will be collected; however, now through an electronic, standardized form.

Impact on Small Businesses or Other Small Entities

No small businesses will be involved.

Consequences of Collecting the Information Less Frequently

The SWP will be required one-time only (at time of application) and assists with assessing the grant or cooperative agreement applications for feasibility and merit pre-award; and if awarded, assists with project assessments throughout the award grant period.

Special Circumstances Relating to the Guidelines of 5 CFR 1320.5

All guidelines relating to 5 CFR 1320.5 are met. The request fully complies with the regulation. There are no special circumstances requiring these collections to be conducted in any manner.

Comments in Response to the Federal Register Notice/Outside Consultation

A 60-day Federal Register Notice was published in the Federal Register on June 19, 2019, Vol. 84, No. 118, pp.28560-28561 (see attachment). There was one public comment. See attached.

In addition to the Federal Register notice, HRSA conducted extensive internal review and requirements gathering with federal staff to determine appropriate collection items that mirrored current BHW program requirements. Participants conducted review and requirements gathering from September 1, 2016 through June 19, 2019. The federal staff that participated in internal requirements gathering and review were:

Daniel Vieira and National Center for Health Workforce Analysis Staff

Bureau of Health Workforce