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[Federal Register: August 31, 2010 (Volume 75, Number 168)]
[Notices]               
[Page 53305-53306]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr31au10-67]                         

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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.

DATES: Comments on this notice must be received by November 1, 2010.

ADDRESSES: Written comments should be submitted to: Doris Lefkowitz, 
Reports Clearance Officer, AHRQ, by e-mail at 
doris.lefkowitz@AHRQ.hhs.gov.
    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 
doris.lefkowitz@AHRQ.hhs.gov.

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 10th, 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 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:
    [cir] Establish and document a systematic process which supports 
the voluntary reporting of project progress and important preliminary 
findings associated with patient safety research grants.
    [cir] Collect, document, and prioritize the long-term objectives of 
the GRS.
    [cir] 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.
    [cir] Establish an automated user-friendly resource that will be 
used by grantees, regardless of mechanism, for reporting to AHRQ.
    [cir] Establish an automated user-friendly resource that will be 
utilized by Agency staff for preparing, distributing, and reviewing 
reporting requests to patient safety grantees.
    [cir] Ensure that the necessary security requirements are 
established and implemented in order to maintain the intellectual 
property or publication rights of grantees.
    [cir] 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:
    [cir] Enhancing the initial system as necessary to accommodate 
features not addressed by the short-term solution.
    [cir] Modifying the short-term solution to address new requirements 
and refine existing functionality for use across the agency for other 
programs and mechanisms.
    [cir] Expanding the deployment of the system to accommodate 
additional

[[Page 53306]]

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                          Total burden
             Form name                respondents      per  respondent      Hours per  response        hours
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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     Total burden   Average hourly wage rate    Total cost
               Form name                  respondents        hours                  *                 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 AHRQ's 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 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: August 16, 2010.
Carolyn M. Clancy,
Director.
[FR Doc. 2010-21501 Filed 8-30-10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4160-90-P
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