[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 130 (Thursday, July 8, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Pages 41267-41268]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-15468]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

National Institutes of Health


Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request; Career Survey of 
Science-Oriented Scholars

SUMMARY: Under the provisions of Section 3507(a)(1)(D) of the Paperwork 
Reduction Act of 1995, the Office of Loan Repayment and Scholarship 
(OLRS), National Institutes of Health (NIH), has submitted to the 
Office of Management and Budget (OMB) a request to review and approve 
the information collection listed below.

[[Page 41268]]

This proposed information collection was previously published in the 
Federal Register on February 3, 2004, pages 7235-7236, and allowed 60 
days for public comment. No public comments were received. The purpose 
of this notice is to allow an additional 30 days for public comment. 
The NIH may not conduct or sponsor, and the respondent is not required 
to respond to, an information collection that has been extended, 
revised, or implemented on or after October 1, 1995, unless it displays 
a currently valid OMB control number.

Proposed Collection

    (1) Title: Career Survey of Science-Oriented Scholars (CSSOS).
    (2) Focus group of current and former participants in the 
Undergraduate Scholarship Program (UGSP) at NIH.
    Type of Information Collection Request: NEW.
    Need and Use of Information Collection: This survey and focus group 
are part of a comprehensive evaluation of the National Institutes of 
Health (NIH) Undergraduate Scholarship Program (UGSP), the purpose of 
which is to evaluate the success of the UGSP in achieving its 
intermediate goal of keeping scholars from disadvantaged backgrounds on 
track to eventually become tenured research scientists at the NIH. The 
CSSOS will collection information on undergraduate, graduate, and post-
graduate education and training; employment history, experiences with 
the NIH; career status and goals, and demographic data. The protocol 
for the focus groups will address the program application process; 
experiences during the school year, particularly relations with college 
mentors; experience during the summer internship; experiences during 
years spent in payback; perceptions of program effects; career plans; 
and potential program improvements. Such information can be used to 
gauge whether the program is meeting the expectations of program 
managers and how the program could be improved in the future. It will 
be used to address the outcome and impact study questions related to 
short- and long-term retention, both at NIH and in research generally.
    In addition to informing OLRS about the effectiveness of the UGSP 
program, the results of the evaluation will become the basis for 
recommendations on how the program could be modified to improve 
outcomes. Indeed, some of the findings may be useful to the Office of 
the Director, NIH, in terms of human resources policy in particular and 
NIH policy generally. Also, the information collection will help our 
Nation's leaders in setting policies to ensure a solid infrastructure 
for biomedical research. Encouraging the Nation's brightest minds to 
pursue careers in biomedical research, both in public service such as 
NIH and in private laboratories, is critical to this effort.
    Frequency of Response: One-time data collection.
    Affected Public: Individuals.
    Type of Respondents: Current and former NIH UGSP finalist 
applicants and scholars. The annualized cost to respondents is 
estimated at $6,687. There are no capital costs, operating costs, and/
or maintenance costs to report.

 
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                                         Approximate
                                          number of         Response per
         Type of respondent               completed          respondent     Hours per response  Total burden hours      Wage rate       Total hour cost
                                          responses
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College Students....................                 30                  1                 .50                15.0          $20.00/hr               $300
College Graduates...................                120                  1                 .75                90.0          $44.82/hr             $4,034
Focus Group Participants............                 35                  1                1.5                 52.5          $44.82/hr             $2,353
                                     --------------------
  Total.............................                185  .................  ..................               157.5  .................             $6,687
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Request for Comments: Written comments and/or suggestions from the 
public and affected agencies are invited, particularly with respect to 
one or more of the following points: (1) Whether the proposed 
collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of 
the function of the agency, including whether the information will have 
practical utility; (2) The accuracy of the agency's estimate of the 
burden of the proposed collection of information, including the 
validity of the methodology, and assumptions used; (3) Ways to enhance 
the quality, utility and clarity of the information to be collected; 
and (4) Ways to minimize the burden of the collection of information on 
those who are to respond, including the use of appropriate automated, 
electronic, mechanical, or other technological collection techniques or 
other forms of information technology.
    Direct Comments to OMB: Written comments and/or suggestions 
regarding the item(s) contained in this notice, especially regarding 
the estimated public burden and associated response time, shall be 
directed to the Office of Management and Budget, Office of Regulatory 
Affairs, New Executive Office Building, Room 10235, Washington, DC 
20503, Attention: Desk Officer for NIH. To request more information on 
the proposed project or to obtain a copy of the data collection plans 
and instruments, contact Dr. Alfred C. Johnson, Director, Undergraduate 
Scholarship Program, NIH, 2 Center Drive, Room 2E30, Bethesda, Maryland 
20892-0230, or call toll-free number (800) 528-7689 or e-mail your 
request including your address to: [email protected].
    Comments Due Date: Comments regarding this information collection 
are best assured of having their full effect if received within 30 days 
of the date of this publication.

    Dated: June 30, 2004.
Raynard S. Kington,
Deputy Director, National Institutes of Health.
[FR Doc. 04-15468 Filed 7-7-04; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4140-01-M