fast track 2021 Survey to Assess Meeting Format and Review Quality Among NIH Grant Reviewers (CSR)

noRequest for Approval under the “Generic Clearance for the Collection of Routine Customer Feedback” (OMB#: 0925-0648 Exp., date: 05/2021)

TITLE OF INFORMATION COLLECTION: 2021 Survey to Assess Meeting Format and Review Quality Among NIH Grant Reviewers

PURPOSE: NIH depends on an objective and robust peer review process to ensure that all NIH grant applications receive fair, independent, expert, and timely reviews that are free from inappropriate influences. To help assess and maintain the quality and efficiency of peer review, NIH has developed a new process that includes, among other measures, surveys to hear reviewers’ opinions about the quality of the review in which they participated in. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic NIH had to shift all their review meetings online. The purpose of this data collection is to assess the quality of the review and determine whether there was any impact on the quality of the review due to the new online meeting format. Moreover, the survey will help to assess whether there has been any significant change in the quality of online review meetings given that many reviewers are now more experienced and more comfortable with online review meetings and virtual meetings in general (since our summer 2020 survey). Feedback from reviewers will help NIH further understand reviewers’ experiences with virtual review meetings and how virtual review meetings can be improved to ensure high quality reviews and reviewer satisfaction.

DESCRIPTION OF RESPONDENTS: Respondents will be approximately 5,000 NIH grant reviewers serving on review meetings from January to April of 2021. Most of these individuals are research scientists who work at academic universities across the U.S.

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: Hope Cummings________________________________________________

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

ESTIMATED BURDEN HOURS and COSTS

Category of Respondent	No. of Respondents	No. of Responses per Respondent	Time per Response (in hours)	Total Burden Hours
Individuals/households	5,000	1	4/60	333
Totals		5,000		333

Category of Respondent	Total Burden Hours	Hourly Wage Rate*	Total Burden Cost
NIH CSR Grant Reviewers	333	$37.28	$12,414.24
Totals			$12,414.24

*The wage rate was obtained from https://www.bls.gov/oes/2019/may/oes_nat.htm#19-0000

FEDERAL COST: The estimated annual cost to the Federal government is 2,668.94

Staff	Grade/Step	Salary*	% of Effort	Fringe (if applicable)	Total Cost to Gov’t
Federal Oversight
Health Scientist Administrator	GS-14/4	133,447	2%		2,668.94
Contractor Cost					N/A
Travel					N/A
Other Cost					N/A
Total					2,668.94

*the Salary in table above is cited from https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/pay-leave/salaries-wages/salary-tables/pdf/2020/DCB.pdf

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?

The customer list will consist of individuals who served the NIH Center for Scientific Review as grant reviewers on select review meetings held during January through April of 2021. The rosters from the review meetings will be used as the participant list. Most of these individuals are research scientists who work at academic universities across the U.S.

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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