[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 211 (Tuesday, November 2, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 67366-67368]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-27571]
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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality
Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection;
Comment Request
AGENCY: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, HHS.
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: This notice announces the intention of the Agency for
Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) to request that the Office of
Management and Budget (OMB) approve the proposed information collection
project: ``AHRQ Grants Reporting System (GRS).'' In accordance with the
Paperwork Reduction Act, 44 U.S.C. 3501-3520, AHRQ invites the public
to comment on this proposed information collection.
This proposed information collection was previously published in
the Federal Register on August 31st, 2010 and allowed 60 days for
public comment. No comments were received. The purpose of this notice
is to allow an additional 30 days for public comment.
DATES: Comments on this notice must be received by December 2, 2010.
ADDRESSES: Written comments should be submitted to: AHRQ's OMB Desk
Officer by fax at (202) 395-6974 (attention: AHRQ's desk officer) or by
e-mail at [email protected] (attention: AHRQ's desk
officer).
Copies of the proposed collection plans, data collection
instruments, and specific details on the estimated burden can be
obtained from the AHRQ Reports Clearance Officer.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Doris Lefkowitz, AHRQ Reports
Clearance Officer, (301) 427-1477, or by e-mail at
[email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Proposed Project
AHRQ Grants Reporting System (GRS)
AHRQ seeks to renew the Agency's Grants Reporting System (GRS), a
systematic method for its grantees to report project progress and
important preliminary findings for grants funded by the Agency. This
system was first approved by OMB on November 10, 2004 (OMB Control
Number 0935-0122). The system addressed the shortfalls in the previous
reporting process and established a consistent and comprehensive grants
reporting solution for AHRQ. The GRS provides a centralized repository
of grants research
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progress and additional information that can be used to support
initiatives within the Agency. This includes future research planning
and support to administration activities such as performance
monitoring, budgeting, knowledge transfer as well as strategic
planning.
The overall intent of the GRS project is to establish and document
a systematic process that provides grantees with the ability to submit
critical information in a timely manner throughout the lifecycle of a
grant. In addition, the GRS project includes an infrastructure that is
scalable and flexible to support information exchange throughout the
Agency.
The GRS is based on a review of the previous processes that
supported the solicitation and submission of data associated with
patient safety grants. Following this review, a recommended process was
prepared and presented to AHRQ stakeholders. The project team developed
an initial system that addresses the immediate needs of the stakeholder
community.
The project team, in conjunction with the stakeholder community
will establish follow-on activities which will expand the capabilities
of the initial system to meet the longer term goals of the project as
directed by the executive management team of the agency. The specific
activities that were accomplished in the short term and those
established for the longer term are outlined below.
Short-Term Objectives
The following initial objectives for the GRS project have been:
Establish and document a systematic process which supports
the voluntary reporting of project progress and important preliminary
findings associated with patient safety research grants
Collect, document, and prioritize the long-term objectives
of the GRS
Establish an infrastructure that satisfies the short-term
objectives of the project and can be leveraged to meet the long-term
objectives and anticipated expansion
Establish an automated user-friendly resource that will be
used by grantees, regardless of mechanism, for reporting to AHRQ
Establish an automated user-friendly resource that will be
utilized by Agency staff for preparing, distributing, and reviewing
reporting requests to patient safety grantees
Ensure that the necessary security requirements are
established and implemented in order to maintain the intellectual
property or publication rights of grantees
Establish a solution that is consistent with the AHRQ
enterprise architecture model and aligned with AHRQ systems development
standards.
Long-Term Objectives
The AHRQ project team will continue to enhance the GRS to establish
a single, common reporting system for research related activities by:
Enhancing the initial system as necessary to accommodate
features not addressed by the short-term solution.
Modifying the short-term solution to address new
requirements and refine existing functionality for use across the
agency for other programs and mechanisms.
Expanding the deployment of the system to accommodate
additional grants programs and other agency information exchange
mechanisms.
Method of Collection
Grantees are required to enter data related to the progress of
their grant funded research quarterly through a secure online interface
which requires a user id and password.
Estimated Annual Respondent Burden
Exhibit 1 shows the estimated annualized burden hours for the
respondents. It will take grantees an estimated 10 minutes to enter the
necessary data into the Grant Reporting System (GRS) and reporting will
occur four times annually. The total annualized burden hours are
estimated to be 333 hours.
Exhibit 2 shows the estimated annualized cost burden for the
respondents. The total estimated cost burden for respondents is
$11,159.
Exhibit 1--Estimated Annualized Burden Hours
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Number of Number of responses
Form name respondents per respondent Hours per response Total burden
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Data entry into GRS............... 500 4.................... 10/60................ 333
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Total......................... 500 na................... na................... 333
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Exhibit 2--Estimated Annualized Cost Burden
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Number of Average hourly wage Total cost
Form name respondents Total burden hours rate * burden
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Data entry into GRS............... 500 333.................. $33.51............... $11,159
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Total......................... 500 333.................. na................... 11,159
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* Based upon the average wages for Healthcare Practitioner and Technical Occupations (29-0000), ``National
Compensation Survey: Occupational Wages in the United States, May 2009,'' U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of
Labor Statistics.
Estimated Annual Costs to the Federal Government
The annual cost to the government is $100,000 for licensing,
support and maintenance.
Request for Comments
In accordance with the above-cited Paperwork Reduction Act
legislation, comments on AHRQs information collection are requested
with regard to any of the following: (a) Whether the proposed
collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of
AHRQ healthcare research and healthcare information dissemination
functions, including whether the information will have practical
utility; (b) the accuracy of AHRQ's estimate of burden (including hours
and costs) of
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the proposed collection(s) of information; (c) ways to enhance the
quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; and
(d) ways to minimize the burden of the collection of information upon
the respondents, including the use of automated collection techniques
or other forms of information technology.
Comments submitted in response to this notice will be summarized
and included in the Agency's subsequent request for OMB approval of the
proposed information collection. All comments will become a matter of
public record.
Dated: October 19, 2010.
Carolyn M. Clancy,
Director.
[FR Doc. 2010-27571 Filed 11-1-10; 8:45 am]
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