[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 46 (Friday, March 9, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 10768-10769]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 07-1087]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

National Institutes of Health


Submissions for OMB Review; Comment Request; Evaluation of the 
Impact of the New Conflicts of Interest Regulations on the National 
Institutes of Health's Ability to Recruit and Retain Staff

    Summary: Under the provisions of Section 3507(a)(1)(D) of the 
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the Office of Human Resources (OHR), 
the National Institutes of Health (NIH) has submitted to the Office of 
Management and Budget (OMB) a request for review and approval of the 
information collection listed below. The purpose of this notice is to 
allow 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

    Title: Evaluation of the Impact of the New Conflicts of Interest 
regulations on the National Institutes of Health's Ability To Recruit 
and Retain Staff.
    Type of Information Collection Request: NEW.
    Need and Use of Information Collection: To assess the impact of new 
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) conflicts of interest 
regulations on the NIH's ability to continue to attract and recruit 
highly qualified scientific personnel. Gauging both the immediate and 
long-term impact of these new rules is crucial to NIH's ability to 
develop and maintain a world-class staff. This project will produce 
data that will help NIH and HHS leaders determine the impact of the 
regulations and how to minimize the effect of the regulations on NIH's 
ability to recruit and retain staff. NIH intends to survey potential 
applications for NIH employment from scientific organizations from 
which NIH has traditionally drawn leading scientific personnel, and 
those senior scientists and administrators who have voluntarily left 
NIH since February 2005. This will allow NIH to determine whether the 
regulations impact individuals' attitudes about employment at NIH and 
the likelihood of their joining and/or leaving the agency. This 
proposed one-time survey is part of a larger study that will provide 
OHR with the high-quality data needed to evaluate the impact of the new 
rules. Data will be collected on respondents' understanding of the new 
regulations, how they believe the regulations could impact them, and on 
their feelings about working at NIH in light of the regulations. Data 
will also be collected from current NIH employees and the combined data 
will be used in the review of the rules. The survey is planned to 
launch in early 2007 and to be in the field for eight weeks.
    Frequency of Response: Once.
    Affected Public: Individuals or households.
    Type of Respondents: Potential applicants for NIH positions and 
senior scientists and administrators who have voluntarily left NIH 
since February 2005.
    The annual reporting burden is as follows:

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                                                                                                     Estimated
                                                     Number of     Frequency of    Average time    total annual
               Type of respondent                   respondents      response      per response     hour burden
                                                                                     (minutes)        (hours)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Potential Applicants............................             400               1              15             100
Former NIH Employees............................             100               1              10           16.67
    TOTAL.......................................             500  ..............  ..............          116.67
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    Total Number of Respondents: 500.
    Total Number of Responses: 500.
    Total Hours: 116.67 hours.
    The annualized cost to respondents is estimated at: $3,850.
    There are no capital costs, operating costs, and/or maintenance 
costs to report.
    Request for Comments: Written comments and/or suggestions from the 
public and affected agencies are invited on 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 Comment 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, should be 
directed to the: Office of Management and Budget, Office of Regulatory 
Affairs, New Executive

[[Page 10769]]

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 
Mr. Richard M. Taffet, Director, Client Services Division; Office of 
Human Resources, Office of the Director, National Institutes of Health, 
Room 2-D234, East Jefferson Street, Bethesda, MD 20892-8503, or call 
the non-toll-free number 301-402-6627, or e-mail your comments or 
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 this publication.

    Dated: February 26, 2007.
Richard M. Taffet,
Director, Client Services Division, OHR, OD, National Institutes of 
Health.
[FR Doc. 07-1087 Filed 3-8-07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4140-10-M