[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 169 (Thursday, September 1, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Pages 52104-52105]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-17430]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Office of the Secretary

[Document Identifier: OS-4040-0005]


Grants.gov Program Management Office; Agency Information 
Collection Activities: Proposed Collection; Comment Request

AGENCY: Office of the Secretary, Grants.gov Program Management Office, 
HHS.

ACTION: Notice of proposed requirement to establish Government-wide 
standard data elements for use by all Federal grant making agencies--
SF-424 Individual.

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    In compliance with the requirement of the Paperwork Reduction Act 
of 1995, the Grants.gov Program Management Office, one of the 26 E-
Government initiatives, managed by the Department of Health and Human 
Services is publishing the following summary of proposed collection for 
public comment. Interested individuals are invited to send comments 
regarding any aspect of this collection of information. including any 
of the following subjects: (1) The necessity and utility of the 
proposed information collection for the proper performance of the 
agency's functions; (2) the accuracy of the estimated burden; (3) ways 
to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be 
collected; and (4) the use of automated collection techniques or other 
forms of information technology to minimize the information collection 
burden.
    Type of Information Collection Request: Regular;
    Title of Information Collection: SF-424 Individual;
    Form/OMB No.: OS-4040-0005;
    Use: On March 24, 2005, the Grants.gov Program Management Office, 
one of the 26 E-Government initiatives, managed by HHS, published the 
proposed SF-424 Application for Federal Assistance, Individual (SF-424 
I) collection for public comment in the Federal Register (70 FR 15090).
    Interested individuals were invited to send comments regarding any 
aspect of this collection of information. This notice indicates request 
for extension of OMB clearance for the SF-424 (I), and also responds to 
comments received on the March 24, 2005, Federal Register notice.
    The SF-424 (I) is the government-wide data set and application 
cover page for use by Federal grant-making agencies that award grants 
to individuals. The SF-424 (I) is currently available for use as part 
of the electronic application process of Grants.gov, which was deployed 
in October 2003 and is part of the implementation of the Federal 
Financial Assistance Management Improvement Act of 1999 (Public Law 
106-107). The standard data set replaces numerous agency data sets and 
reduces the administrative burden placed on the grants community. 
Federal agencies are not required to collect all of the information 
included in the proposed data set. The agency will identify the data 
that must be provided by applicants through instructions that will 
accompany the application package.
    Comments sent to OMB by the public, questioned the need to collect 
the Social Security Number (SSN). Grants.gov responded to this comment 
by revising the application cover page to indicate that SSN is optional 
and adding the following statement, ``Disclosure of SSN is voluntary. 
Please see the application package instructions for the agency's 
authority and routine uses of the data''. In addition, OMB has also 
requested that Grants.gov, in consultation with other agencies, 
investigate options for a unique identifier other than SSN. Grants.gov 
plans to address this condition through its newly formed Agency User 
Group.
    The estimate of the total burden of the collection information has 
been updated based on the Paperwork Reduction Act Worksheets (OMB 83-C) 
received from the agencies. Currently, five agencies plan to use the 
SF-424 (I) instead of the SF-424 for eligible grant programs. 
Collectively, the agencies plan to receive 6,949 applications annually 
and estimate that it takes applicants 25 minutes on average to complete 
each

[[Page 52105]]

application. Cumulatively, these organizations report the total burden 
to applicants to be 2,863 hours.
    Frequency: Recordkeeping, Reporting, on occasion.
    Affected: Individuals.
    Total Annual Respondents: 5,827.
    Total Annual Responses: 6,949.
    Average Burden Per Response: 25 minutes.
    To obtain copies of the supporting statement and any related forms 
for the proposed paperwork collections referenced above, access the HHS 
Web site address at http://www.hhs.gov/oirm/infocollect/pending/ or e-
mail your request, including your address, phone number, OMB number, 
and OS document identifier, to [email protected], or call the Reports 
Clearance Office on (202) 690-6162. Written comments and 
recommendations for the proposed information collections must be mailed 
within 60 days of this notice directly to the OS Paperwork Clearance 
Officer designated at the following address: Department of Health and 
Human Services, Office of the Secretary, Assistant Secretary for 
Budget, Technology, and Finance, Office of Information and Resource 
Management, Attention: Naomi Cook (4040-0005), Room 531-H, 200 
Independence Avenue, SW., Washington DC 20201.

    Dated: August 18, 2005.
Robert E. Polson,
Office of the Secretary, Paperwork Reduction Act Reports Clearance 
Officer.
[FR Doc. 05-17430 Filed 8-31-05; 8:45 am]
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