Supporting Statement for Paperwork Reduction Act Submissions
Application for the European Union-United States of America Atlantis Program of the Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education (New Grant Awards): #1840-0636
A. Justification
1. Consistent with the provisions of PL 96-374 (Title X of the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended, the Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education (FIPSE) works to improve postsecondary education through grants to postsecondary educational institutions and agencies. Such grants are awarded on the basis of competitively reviewed applications submitted to FIPSE under its Comprehensive and Special Focus Competition Program grant competitions. Continued funding for each grant is based on availability of funds and substantial progress in achieving project objectives. The Department of Education is requesting a new collection for three years. The present extension request includes the forms and guidelines used to apply for new grants under the Special Focus Program: European Union-United States of America Atlantis Program. Regulations governing this program are contained in 34 CFR Part 75 (Education Department General Administrative Regulations). Previous program regulations (34 CFR Part 630) were removed in a notice in the Federal Register on March 6, 1997 (62 FR 10397). Removal took effect on October 1, 1997.
2. The enclosed application forms and instructions are necessary to standardize applications and to ensure the information required to process and review them effectively is included. The attached forms request general and budgetary information, and have been used for FY 2006. We have recently cleared the standardized forms for budgets and title page used in this package. This package is being submitted in support of our request for a three-year extension.
The two criteria used in the FY 2006 guidelines have been retained. The selection criteria are drawn from the already cleared EDGAR list of general criteria. Approximately 50 applications are expected. From this group we anticipate making 10-12 new grants. FIPSE program staff and external reviewers will review these proposals. Without the information contained in this application package FIPSE staff would not have the information needed to make new grant funding decisions.
3. Applicants may download electronically all FIPSE application guidelines from www.grants.gov. For specific requests a prospective applicant may contact FIPSE electronically at the following e-mail address: fipse@ed.gov.
4. FIPSE staff have made every effort to insure that there is no duplication of data acquisition. The collection is unique to higher education cooperation between the United States and the European Union.
5. The collection of information does not impact small businesses or other small entities.
6. This application process occurs on an occasional basis (less than once each year) to enable applicants to compete for Federal funds that are appropriated by Congress. This application is the lowest frequency possible to award these appropriations.
7. No special circumstances apply.
8. This application has been used previously by FIPSE from FY 2003 to 2006 and was originally cleared by OMB in FY 1995. There are no changes made in the amounts or kinds of data collected, based on comments by applicants, external readers of applications, the European funding partners, and currently funded project directors in the United States and Europe.
ED does not provide any payment or gift to respondents.
10. No assurance of confidentiality is provided to respondents except as provided by the Privacy Act (5 USC 552a) and the Department of Education’s policies governing the review of discretionary grant applications.
11. There are no questions of a sensitive nature.
Estimates of Respondent Hour Burden:
Number of respondents: 50
Frequency of response: once annually or less for 50
Annual hour burden: 30 hours per application; total: 1,500 annual hour burden. Annual hour burden was estimated based on oral accounts of applicants and grantees.
Estimated Annualized Cost to Respondents of Hour Burdens:
Preparation of applications ($28.00 per hour x 1,500 burden hours)......................................................................................$42,000
Estimated Total Annual Cost Burden to Respondents:
Applications are done electronically in www.grants.gov. There are no additional costs to respondents
14. Estimated Annualized Cost to Federal government
Review by FIPSE program staff
(50 hrs. x. $40.00) 2/...............................................…............$ 4,000
Secretarial support
(40 hrs. x $25.00) 1/...........................................................…..$1,000
Review by outside readers 12/..........................................…....$7,500
____________
Total..........................$12,500
1/ Hourly rate includes 18% benefits.
2/ Based on actual costs in 2006. Assumes approximately 12 reviewers @ $75 per proposals and each proposal read twice.
15. The nature of the data requested and selected has not changed from previous years. The number of applicants in FY 2006 was 44 and in FY 2004 was 55. On that basis we estimate 50 proposals in 2007.
16. No data or results of this information collection are published.
We will display the expiration date for OMB approval of the collection.
We are not requesting any exception.
B. Collection of Information Employing Statistical Methods
FIPSE does not employ statistical methods in this collection of information.
forms/omb support statement 2006.doc
| File Type | application/msword |
| File Title | Supporting Statement for Paperwork Reduction Act Submissions |
| Author | epffrankfort |
| Last Modified By | joe.schubart |
| File Modified | 2006-09-08 |
| File Created | 2006-09-08 |