[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 240 (Monday, December 15, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 74101-74102]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-29294]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

National Institutes of Health


Submission for OMB Review; 30-Day Comment Request Evaluation of 
the NIH Academic Research Enhancement Award (NIH OD)

SUMMARY: Under the provisions of Section 3507(a)(1)(D) of the Paperwork 
Reduction Act of 1995, 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. This 
proposed information

[[Page 74102]]

collection was previously published in the Federal Register on July 9, 
2014, Vol. 79, page 38921, and allowed 60-days for public comment. No 
public comments were received during the 60-day period. The purpose of 
this notice is to allow an additional 30 days for public comment. The 
Office of the Director (OD), National Institutes of Health, 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.
    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, should be 
directed to the: Office of Management and Budget, Office of Regulatory 
Affairs, <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#7f30362d3e200c0a1d12160c0c1610113f10121d511a100f51181009"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="f7b8bea5b6a88482959a9e84849e9899b7989a95d9929887d9909881">[email protected]</span></a> or by fax to 202-395-6974, 
Attention: NIH Desk Officer.

DATES: Comment 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.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: To obtain a copy of the data 
collection plans and instruments or request more information on the 
proposed project, contact Michelle M. Timmerman, Ph.D., Director, AREA 
Program, Office of the Director, National Institutes of Health, 6705 
Rockledge Drive, Bethesda, Maryland 20892 or call non-toll-free number 
301-402-0672, or email your request, including your address to 
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#ff92969c979a93939ad18b9692929a8d929e91bf929e9693d1919697d1989089"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="84e9ede7ece1e8e8e1aaf0ede9e9e1f6e9e5eac4e9e5ede8aaeaedecaae3ebf2">[email protected]</span></a>. Formal requests for additional plans 
and instruments must be requested in writing.
    Proposed Collection: Evaluation of the NIH Academic Research 
Enhancement Award, 0925, NEW submission, Office of the Director (OD), 
National Institutes of Health (NIH).
    Need and Use of Information Collection: The Academic Research 
Enhancement Award (AREA) Program is a grant mechanism spanning most of 
the Institutes and Centers (ICs) of the National Institutes of Health 
(NIH). The AREA program was established by Congress in 1985 to provide 
support to scientists at public and private colleges and universities 
that receive relatively small amounts of NIH funding. The purpose of 
the program is to support meritorious research, expose undergraduate 
and graduate students to research, and strengthen the research 
environment of the institutions receiving the grants. In the past three 
years alone, the federal government has awarded approximately 78 
million dollars annually in AREA grants. The evaluation will allow NIH 
and Congress to assess the extent to which the AREA program is meeting 
its goals and make recommendations so that this significant investment 
of public funds may be used as effectively as possible.
    The evaluation will utilize the NIH's archived data on grants, 
institutions, Principal Investigators (PIs) and students funded with 
AREA monies. The evaluation will collect new data about (1) the 
quantity and quality of student participation in AREA projects, (2) 
records of PIs' subsequent funding histories, (3) applicants' 
experiences with the application process, (4) PIs' experiences 
implementing AREA Program objectives, and (5) the impact of AREA 
Program research participation on student career paths and outcomes.
    The results of the evaluation will indicate the extent to which the 
AREA Program is meeting its goals of supporting meritorious research, 
strengthening the research environment at institutions of higher 
education that are not research intensive, and recruiting and training 
subsequent generations of the United States' biomedical scientist 
workforce. Intended audiences include the United States Congress, staff 
at NIH's Institutes and Centers which make AREA awards, and staff at 
NIH's Office of the Director.
    OMB approval is requested for one year. There are no costs to 
respondents other than their time. The total estimated annualized 
burden hours are 458.

                                      Estimates of Annualized Burden Hours
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                     Number of    Average burden
               Type of respondents                   Number of     responses per   per response    Total annual
                                                    respondents     respondent      (in hours)     burden hours
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Web Survey_Awardees.............................             480               1              30             240
Interviews_Awardees.............................              50               1              45              38
Web Survey_Students.............................             301               1              20             100
Web Survey_Applicants...........................             240               1              20              80
                                                 ---------------------------------------------------------------
    Totals......................................           1,021  ..............             458
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    Dated: December 3, 2014.
Lawrence A. Tabak,
Principal Deputy Director, NIH.
[FR Doc. 2014-29294 Filed 12-12-14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4140-01-P


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