Supporting Statement A_one time funding 06282024

Supporting Statement A

Applications for and Monitoring of New, One-Time Funding Programs Administered by the Health Resources and Services Administration

OMB Control No. 0906-XXXX - NEW

Terms of Clearance: None.

A. Justification

1. Circumstances Making the Collection of Information Necessary

This is a request for a new generic Umbrella information collection which will allow the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) to get OMB approval for applications for one-time funding as well as program monitoring forms.

Applying for HRSA funding is voluntary. When applying for HRSA funding, the first part of the application is typically the Standard Form (SF) 424 – Application for Federal Assistance. The application process may include additional SFs related to applications for funding. However, some programs may need to request additional data elements in the application that are not already collected through the SF-424 form. Examples of forms include:

• Employment Verification Forms

• Applications for payment or reimbursement

• Work plans showing how an applicant plans to complete a proposed project.

This collection would allow HRSA to quickly collect information from individual and site applicants and make selection determinations for one-time awards in a timely manner. This collection would also allow HRSA to conduct statutorily required program monitoring of funding recipients in a timely manner. This would be necessary if the legislation authorizing the one-time program has statutory deadlines that require the quick launch of a program. For example, if a pilot program is authorized by legislation that requires the pilot study results to be reported within two years of authorization, it would be advantageous to quickly award funding and set up performance measures.

The specific statutes authorizing these programs cannot be identified in advance but will be included as part of each submission request to OMB. HRSA would only request OMB approval for collections under this generic umbrella information collection if the collection is low-burden, uncontroversial, and is a one-time application. Application and reporting requirements are expected to be outlined in Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) Announcement, funding Terms and Conditions, Governing Statute/Regulation, or other documents related to funding announcements, when applicable. The fast-track memo for each individual information collection approved under this umbrella will include the type of collection, the statutory authority, how it will be submitted to HRSA, and how it will be announced. Public announcement of discretionary funding activities is required by 2 CFR § 200.204. Furthermore, the Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act (P.L. 119-282), required information about Federal awards to be posted on a single, searchable website that is open for public access. Data from funding applications are necessary for providing this information.

If Congress appropriates additional funding for such a program or HRSA plans to use the information from the applications for policy decisions not related to funding awards, HRSA will prepare a standard information collection request for that program, which will include the required 60- and 30-day Federal Register notices.

2. Purpose and Use of Information Collection

The information collected in applications for HRSA funding will be used to determine eligibility for funding as well as to determine which applicants would be best able to fulfill the goals of the funding opportunity. The information collected in program monitoring documents will be used to determine program compliance, technical assistance needs, and improvement areas.

The specific measures collected in applications and program monitoring documents identified in advance but copies of the instruments requiring OMB approval as well as standardized information about the collection will be included as part of each submission request to OMB (see Attachment A). Because the data collections approved under this collection will vary significantly, we do not have samples of the forms that will be approved under this Umbrella ICR. Furthermore, non-Standard Form (SF) applications and program monitoring reports for one-time funding will likely be significantly different from collections for ongoing funding (which have been approved through regular packages in the past).

3. Use of Improved Information Technology and Burden Reduction

HRSA requires applications for funding to be submitted electronically though grants.gov or another website outlined in the funding announcement. Program monitoring forms are typically also submitted electronically to the HRSA Project Officer through Electronic Handbooks or a similar online portal. This will also be outlined in the funding announcement and terms of the award.

4. Efforts to Identify Duplication and Use of Similar Information

The information collected in applications for HRSA funding and reporting requirements is unique to each funding opportunity. Where applicable, HRSA utilizes SF 424 – Application for Federal Assistance, and similar SFs for grant applications. HRSA will not duplicate information collected on these forms.

5. Impact on Small Businesses or Other Small Entities

To limit the burden imposed on respondents, HRSA requires the minimum information needed to award grants and determine program compliance, technical assistance needs, and improvement areas.

6. Consequences of Collecting the Information Less Frequently

This umbrella collection is for one-time funding. The specific data collection intervals cannot be identified in advance but will be included as part of each submission request to OMB. Without collecting this data, HRSA would not be able to collect the information required to evaluate applications for funding as well as determine program compliance, technical assistance needs, and improvement areas. There are no legal obstacles to reduce the burden.

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

The request fully complies with the regulation. HRSA will ensure that all collections of information under this umbrella collection comply with 5 C.F.R. § 1320.5.

8. Comments in Response to the Federal Register Notice/Outside Consultation

Section 8A:

A 60-day Federal Register Notice (FRN) was published in the Federal Register on March 22, 2024, vol. 89, No. 57; pp. 20484-85. A 30-day FRN was published in the Federal Register on June 24, 2024, vol. 89, No. 121, pp. 52479-80. There were no public comments.

Section 8B:

When developing the individual fast track packages, HRSA will make its best efforts to consult with other stakeholders outside of public comments received in response to the FRNs. HRSA intends to use its normal stakeholder engagement process, which includes consulting with its independent review contractors, other government agencies, and/or up to nine members of the public, depending on the nature of the application, budget, and timeline. The goal of these consultations is to help ensure the applications are as clear and easy-to-understand as possible.

9. Explanation of any Payment/Gift to Respondents

Respondents will not receive any payments or gifts.

10. Assurance of Confidentiality Provided to Respondents

Disclosures for data from funding announcements and program monitoring forms are only made in compliance with the Freedom of Information Act. Data will be kept private to the extent allowed by the law.

11. Justification for Sensitive Questions

The specific questions asked cannot be identified in advance but will be included as part of each submission request to OMB.

12. Estimates of Annualized Hour and Cost Burden

12A. Estimated Annualized Burden Hours

To estimate the burden for this collection, HRSA estimated how much time it would take for a respondent to complete a 2-page application with typical fields used in current collections that may fall under this generic umbrella information collection. HRSA then calculated the average burden estimate from these ICRs for the purpose of the estimate for this ICR. To estimate the burden for monitoring funding recipients, HRSA estimated how much time it would take for funding recipients to complete the average 2-page form used for program monitoring.

Total Estimated Burden Hours Over 3 Years:

Instrument Name	Estimated Number of Respondents	Average Number of Responses per Respondent	Estimated Total Responses	Average Burden per Response (in hours)	Total Burden Hours
Program Applications	5,000	1.5	7,500	1.75	13,125
Program Monitoring	2,500	1.0	2,500	2.00	5,000
Total	7,500		10,000		18,125

12B.

To estimate the cost on respondents, HRSA used the median wage for Medical and Health Services Managers, since they would be the profession type that would be most likely to fill out an application for HRSA funding. The median wage for Medical and Health Services Managers is $ 50.40 per hour. Doubling the median wage to account for overhead costs, the cost we will use to estimate the cost to respondents is $100.80 per hour.

Estimated Annualized Burden Costs

Type of Respondent	Total Burden Hours	Hourly Wage Rate (x2)	Total Respondent Costs
Medical and Health Services Managers	18,125	$100.80	$1,827,000
Total			$1,827,000

Hourly Wage Rate based on https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes119111.htm. The United States Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics (provide URL. Hourly wage doubled to account for overhead costs.

13. Estimates of other Total Annual Cost Burden to Respondents or Recordkeepers/Capital Costs

Other than their time, there is no cost to respondents.

14. Annualized Cost to Federal Government

Program Applications: Contractors are used to support application reviews as well as to administer the Reviewer Recruitment Module and Application Review Module. The total annual cost for contractor support for all application reviews is $6,334,736. Assuming that 5% of applications are for one-time funding, then we estimate the cost for contractor support would be $316,736 per year.

In addition, applications are reviewed through an Objective Review Committee (ORC). Each ORC consists of three HRSA staff members, each in the WASHINGTON-BALTIMORE-ARLINGTON, DC-MD-VA-WV-PA locality. Assuming 5% of their time is dedicated to reviewing one-time funding applications, the estimated annual cost is as follows (adjusting by 1.5 to account for overhead costs):

• DIR Review Administrator, GS-13, Step 1 level, 5% FTE: $8,847.15

• DGMO Grants Management Specialist at the GS-12, Step 1 level, 5% FTE: $7,440

• Program staff Project Officer at the GS-12, Step 1 level, 5% FTE: $7,440

We estimate the cost for government employee support would be $23,727.15

Program Monitoring: Assuming each response takes 2 hours to review by a GS-13, Step 1 (WASHINGTON-BALTIMORE-ARLINGTON, DC-MD-VA-WV-PA locality), the estimated cost to the federal government to review 2,500 responses would be approximately $318,075 ($42.41 per hour x 2 hours x 2,500 responses x 1.5 to adjust for overhead costs).

We estimate the total annual cost to the federal government to be $658,538.15 per year (rounded down to 658,538 per year).

If HRSA incurs any additional unique start-up or operational and maintenance costs with any information collections covered by this ICR, HRSA will include them in the accompanying fast track memo to OMB.

15. Explanation for Program Changes or Adjustments

This is a new information collection.

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

There are no plans for detailed statistical analyses or dissemination of application or program monitoring data. Generic umbrella information collections are not intended to be statistically rigorous or produce data for the public. However, data from program monitoring forms may be published in aggregate in documents such as reports to Congress.

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

The OMB number and Expiration date will be displayed on every page of every form/instrument.

18. Exceptions to Certification for Paperwork Reduction Act Submissions

There are no exceptions to the certification.