Mini SSA

Mini Supporting Statement A

Cancer Prevention Fellowship Program

Fellowship Program and Summer Curriculum Applications (NCI)

Sub-study under,

“Generic Clearance for Application Information for

Fellowship, Internships, Training Programs, and Specialty Positions

(National Cancer Institute)”

OMB No. 0925-0761

Expiration Date: 07/31/2022

August 19, 2019

Name: Hala Azzam, PhD, MPH

Address: 9609 Medical Center Drive, Room 2W-138
Bethesda, Maryland 20892-9776

Telephone: 240-276-5626

Fax: 240-276-7883

E-mail: cpfpcoordinator@mail.nih.gov

List of Attachments

Attachment 1: Fellowship application – applicant perspective

Attachment 2: NCI summer curriculum application – applicant perspective

Attachment 3: Fellowship application – referee perspective

Attachment 4: Fellowship application – advisor perspective

Attachment 5: Fellowship application – employer perspective

Attachment 6- System generated emails

Attachment 7- Privacy Act Memo

Attachment 8- PIA

Mini Supporting Statement A

A.1 Circumstances Making the Collection of Information Necessary

The CPFP supports NCI’s goal of training cancer researchers for the 21st century. The CPFP supports that goal by providing state-of-the-art training in cancer prevention and control to a cadre of scientists and clinicians. The legal authority granted to NIH to train future biomedical scientists comes from several sources.  Title 42 of the U.S. Code, Sections 241 and 282(b)(13) authorize the Director, NIH, to conduct and support research training for which fellowship support is not provided under Part 487 of the Public Health Service (PHS) Act (i.e., National Research Service Awards) and that is not residency training of physicians or other health professionals.  Sections 405(b)(1)(C) of the PHS Act and 42 U.S.C. Sections 284(b)(1)(C)] and 285-287 grant this same authority to the Director of each of the Institutes/Centers at NIH. 

The CPFP recruits’ fellows and participants on an annual basis through web-based application systems. The application systems are designed to allow people to apply to the fellowship program and to the NCI Summer Curriculum in Cancer Prevention. The application systems also provide tools to the NCI CPFP and the NCI Center for Global Health (CGH) to process applications and evaluate the applicant pools.

A.2 Purpose and Use of the Information Collection

Fellows and participants are identified and matriculated into the program through the CPFP application systems. The purpose of the applications (Attachment 1 and Attachment 2) is to assure that prospective trainees to the CPFP and the Summer Curriculum meet basic eligibility requirements; to assess their potential as future scientists; to determine where mutual research interests exist; and to make decisions regarding which applicants will be eligible and invited to attend each program. In order to receive due consideration, the prospective trainee must complete all required application fields (Attachment 1 and Attachment 2) and contributors must provide information about the applicant. The contributors will submit short forms and/or recommendations (Attachment 3, Attachment 4, and Attachment 5) for the program to assess applicant potential as cancer researchers. The contributor is typically a professor but can also be a dissertation committee member, advisor, or supervisor.

CPFP has been using the application forms to collect information since 2005. The CPFP and Summer Curriculum applications both utilize many of the following information fields:

• Personal information (name, date of birth, fluencies);

• Eligibility information (citizenship, certification questions, previous or current affiliation with NIH, trainee status);

• Contact information (mailing, e-mail, phone for current, permanent and future address);

• Training program selection;

• Scientific discipline interests (research interests, medical entity/disease);

• Educational history (university, academic major, attendance dates, degree awarded/anticipated, transcripts);

• Employment history and interests (type of employment, organization, department, address, title);

• Reference information (name, contact information);

• Resume components (CV, research experience, publications, presentations, awards/honors, extracurricular activities, personal statement/research proposal);

• Sensitive information (gender, race, ethnicity)

• Justification for applying to program(s)

• Identification information (passport biography, visa documentation)

Since 2016, we have received a total of 348 Fellowship Program applications and 679 Summer Curriculum applications. These applications came directly to the CPFP and allowed for circulation and review of applications by CPFP leadership, members of the CPFP Scientific Education Committee (SEC), and CGH. In addition to the review of application data for acceptance into our programs, data was used to inform programmatic marketing decisions, conduct qualitative and quantitative analyses of the personal statements and research interests, and to draft reports on the state of the programs to NCI leadership.

A.3 Use of Information Technology and Burden Reduction

Prospective trainees must apply directly to CPFP for admission. The applications are web based and accessible through the CPFP web site: www.cpfp.cancer.gov under the parent pages “Fellowship” and “Summer Curriculum.”

The applications are web-based. In both systems, the applicant will receive a series of automated emails confirming receipt and prompting further action (Attachment 6). In addition, the online application system triggers emails sent to the various contributors involved with the Fellowship Application (Attachment 6).

The NCI Privacy Act Coordinator was consulted, and it was determined that a Privacy Impact Assessment (PIA) is required. The PIA has been submitted to the NIH Privacy Act Coordinator for final approval and once received we will submit to OMB. (Attachment 8).

A.4 Efforts to Identify Duplication and Use of Similar Information

This information will not be collected anywhere else and is unique to this program.

A.5 Impact on Small Businesses or Other Small Entities

No small businesses or other small entities are affected.

A.6 Consequences of Collecting the Information Less Frequent

This information is collected on an annual basis. Without the approval to collect applications specific to the program’s needs, the CPFP and NCI Summer Curriculum would be compromised in their ability to identify highly qualified trainees and unable to carry out programmatic activities.

A.7 Special Circumstances Relating to the Guidelines of 5 CFR 1320.5

This information collection is consistent with these guidelines.

A.8 Comments in Response to the Federal Register Notice and Efforts to Consult Outside Agency

N/A

A.9 Explanation of Any Payment or Gift to Respondents

Neither payments nor gifts will be provided to respondents.

A.10 Assurance of Confidentiality Provided to Respondents

All information will be kept private to the extent allowable by law. Review committees within the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) will be able to have access to the applications. These individuals are assigned login credentials, including strong passwords that conform to standards used by the NIH Center for Information Technology (CIT), and the online tools these individuals use to access applicant data are restricted to CPFP-approved users. Applicants and contributors submit their information via password-protected platforms, as well.

The CPFP website, applicant data, and the online access tools are stored and hosted in the Information Management Services, Inc. (IMS) data center. The IMS data center and network are protected at all entry points by firewalls and intrusion detection devices. Physical controls such as user/group authorization, encryption of data at rest, and weekly security/virus scans are employed in the data center to ensure continued data security while at IMS. All IMS employees are required to complete yearly security trainings.

The Privacy Act is applicable as determined by the NIH Privacy Officer in the Privacy Act Memo (Attachment 7). The applicable System of Record Notice (SORN) is NIH Privacy Act SORN 09-25-0014; “Clinical Research: Student Records, HHS/NIH/OD/OIR/OE.”

A.11 Justification for Sensitive Questions

No sensitive questions are contained in this information collection. Personally Identifiable Information (PII) is collected including: name, contact information, education, citizenship/passport/visa information, and employment history. Federal regulations for the protection of human subjects do not apply to this activity. PII, such as passport information and employment verification letters, are purged at the end of each application cycle.

A.12 Estimated Annualized Burden Hours and Cost to Respondents

The total annual number of respondents is estimated at 860, with a total annual burden of 515 hours (Table A.12-1). Over a three-year information collection period this amounts to an estimated 2,580 respondents and approximately 1,545 hours.

Table A.12.1 Estimated Annualized Burden Hours

Form Name	Type of Respondent	Number of Respondents*	Number of Responses Per Respondent	Average Burden Per Response (in hours)	Total Annual Burden Hours
Fellowship Application	Student Applicants	116	1	1	116
Reference Recommendation Letters	Contributor - Referee	464	1	20/60	155
Letters of Assurance	Contributor - Advisor	52	1	20/60	17
Proof of Employment	Contributor - Employer	2	1	20/60	1
NCI Summer Curriculum Application	Student Applicants	226	1	1	226
Total			860		515

Table A.12.2 Annualized Cost to the Respondents

Type of Respondent	Total Annual Burden Hours	Hourly Wage Rate*	Respondent Cost
Student Applicants	116	$24.98	$2,897.68
Contributor - Referee	155	$50.06	$7,759.30
Contributor - Advisor	17	$50.06	$851.02
Contributor - Employer	1	$24.98	$24.98
Student Applicants	226	$24.98	$5,645.48
Totals			$17,178.46

*The Mean Hourly Wage Rate was obtained from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, for job code “All-Occupations” 00-0000, and job code “Life Sciences Teachers, Postsecondary” 00-0000, 25-1040, https://www.bls.gov/oes/2017/May/oes_nat.htm#00-0000.

A.13 Estimate of Other Total Annual Cost Burden to Respondents or Record Keepers

There are no additional costs to report.

A.14 Annualized Cost to the Federal Government

The annual cost to the Federal Government is estimated to be $21,064.26 (Table A.14.1). The federal personnel are responsible for the review of data collected via the application mechanisms. The contractor tasks include the design and implementation of the systems and maintenance of the active systems.

Table A.14.1. Annualized Cost to the Federal Government

Cost Descriptions	Grade/Step	Salary**	% of Effort	Fringe (if applicable)	Total Cost to Gov’t
Federal Oversight
Program Manager	15/7	$165,417	3%		$4,962.51
Scientist	14/6	$136,725	3%		$4,101.75
Contractor Cost					$12,000
Travel					$0
Other Cost					$0
Total					$21,064.26

**The Salary in the table above is cited from: https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/pay-leave/salaries-wages/salary-tables/19Tables/html/DCB.aspx.

A.15 Explanation for Program Changes or Adjustments

N/A

A.16 Plans for Tabulation and Publication and Project Time Schedule

Applications will be used to determine the eligibility of applicants for CPFP programs. The data from the application system will also be used for annual program assessments, reviews, and reports to NCI leadership. It is anticipated that the data may be analyzed to better understand the training needs of early career scientists. Analysis will include deidentification of data, data cleaning, and a statistical method that is not yet determined. If findings are relevant and advance the fields of postdoctoral and cancer prevention training, results may be published.

Table A.16.1. Project Time Schedule

Activity	Months after OMB Approval
Application system(s) accepting information	Months 0 – 10
Analysis of information received	Months 4 - 10
Summarize results	Months 11 - 12

A.17 Reason(s) Display of OMB Expiration Date Is Inappropriate

There is no request for exemption from displaying the expiration date for OMB approval.

A.18 Exceptions to Certification for Paperwork Reduction Act Submissions

There are no exceptions to the Certification for Paperwork Reduction Act Submissions.