SSB_Injury Control Research Center Annual Progress Report

SUPPORTING STATEMENT: PART B

October 22, 2024

Annual Progress Reports (APR) for Injury Control Research Centers (ICRC)

Point of Contact:

Ekta Choudhary

Lead, Injury Control Research Centers Program

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

National Center for Injury Prevention and Control

Division of Injury Prevention

Program Implementation and Evaluation Branch

B. COLLECTIONS OF INFORMATION EMPLOYING STATISTICAL METHODS 

B.1. Respondent Universe and Sampling Methods

Respondents will include all 11 grantees funded under CDC RFA CE24-001 — Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) Grants for Injury Control Research Centers (ICRCs). Grantees will report progress and activity information to CDC using the web-based Cooperative Agreement Management Platform (CAMP). No research design or human subjects will be involved. 100% of the population will report, so statistical sampling is unnecessary.

B.2. Procedures for the Collection of Information

Per the terms of the Notice of Award (NOA) and the FOA, CDC will require the submission of an Annual Progress Report (APR). Funded grantees will monitor and report progress on their goals, activities, and challenges using the web-based Cooperative Agreement Management Platform (CAMP). CAMP is an authenticated portal with role-based permissions/access. The Injury Control Research Centers (ICRC) Grant Platform is housed within the CAMP enterprise environment and will be available at CAMP.CDC.GOV/ICRC. On CAMP, grantees will fill out the majority of their APR (ICRC CAMP screenshots in Attachment 3; APR in Attachment 5a), and upload a Publication Table Excel spreadsheet (Attachment 5b). Grantees will submit their APR electronically. The APR is due to CDC ninety days after the end of the budget period.

The ICRC CAMP grant platform offers a user-centric interface that significantly enhances the grant management process. With its intuitive design, this platform outperforms traditional word document methods, offering speed and simplicity. The tools provided on this platform make recording and updating grant progress information straightforward, reducing the need for extensive grantee training.

There are significant advantages to collecting information using the CAMP ICRC APR grant platform:

• Valuable information collection: The data being collected provide crucial information about each grantee’s research, outreach, and training and education activities, including their progress, partnerships, successes, challenges, and publications during that reporting period.

• Efficient APR preparation: The APR will be pre-populated with some grantee data submitted in the funding application, such as a list of project personnel. After year 1, some static information collected on the year 1 report will be pre-populated to reduce data entry requirements in years 2-5. Additionally, the APR includes dichotomous and drop-down response options, where relevant. Furthermore, the APR is responsive, such that grantees will be skipped out of certain questions if those questions do not apply to them based on a previous answer in the information collection. These features increase grantee satisfaction and decrease time and burden.

• Data validation and guidance: The APR contains built-in data validation and guidance to allow for easy entry, review, and reporting of data. For example: certain questions are required; the system won’t let you enter a project start date that occurs after your project end date, etc. These features ensure that the data CDC receives from grantees is clean and usable. Furthermore, it reduces CDC employee burden that would go toward cleaning data, as well as reducing burden for both CDC and grantees if unclear responses need to be clarified.

• Uniform data capture for analysis: Capturing the required information uniformly will allow CDC to formulate ad hoc analyses and reports for program evaluation and manuscript development. 

• Relational database for immediate access and timeliness: The relational database structure in which the data are stored allows for CDC to gain immediate access to data, thereby improving timeliness. In addition, it allows for multiple awardees from each university to simultaneously enter information, which reduces the amount of collective time spent providing updates. 

• Security and compliance: The APR ensures robust data security and strict compliance with relevant standards, safeguarding sensitive grantee information.

• Integration capabilities: The APR seamlessly integrates with other platforms, such as PowerBI and Excel, facilitating a comprehensive and efficient data management experience.

• User training and support: Features built into the APR platform provide thorough training and continuous support for users (both grantees and CDC staff), ensuring they are well-equipped to utilize the platform effectively and resolve any issues.

Upon receiving information from each grantee, the CDC will utilize the CAMP platform's built-in reporting functions to aggregate and analyze the data. This platform will also act as a central repository for all grantee-reported information. The CAMP platform transforms the grantees' reports into intuitive and visually appealing dashboards, enabling easy review and analysis by CDC staff. For more advanced analytics needs, the CAMP platform can connect to PowerBI. This will allow CDC staff to query the data to extract individual or aggregate grantee-related data. This information will be used to support data-driven technical assistance and communication updates between NCIPC and grantees.

All information will be stored in the Injury Control Research Centers Grant Platform and on the Share Drive, in compliance with CDC security policy and procedures. Access to the platform's reports, PowerBI visualizations, and the CDC secured Share Drive will be limited to authorized CDC program staff and contractors.

B.3. Methods to Maximize Response Rates and Deal with Nonresponse

This APR is required annual reporting for grantees of CDC RFA CE24-001. Hence, response rates are expected to be 100%.

B.4. Tests of Procedures or Methods to be Undertaken

The APR has been tested with a combination of User Experience Testing and User Acceptance Testing strategies. The goal of this testing was to evaluate key aspects of the user interface such as ease of use, navigation, and overall user satisfaction. These elements are crucial to ensuring a smooth and positive user experience.

An ICRC APR that is similar to the version on CAMP is in use with ICRC grantees from the 2019 funding cycle on another platform. In early 2024, feedback on the 2019 funding cycle APR and platform was elicited from the ICRC grantees from that funding cycle. Four grantees provided detailed feedback, which was considered and incorporated into the development of the CAMP APR content, wording, and interface.

To confirm that the new CAMP APR works well, it was beta tested by CDC ICRC staff in August, 2024 and by volunteers from the 2024 funding cycle of ICRC grantees in September and October, 2024. The 2024 funding cycle grantees, whose funding started on August 1, 2024, helped to ensure that the user experience aligns with user needs and expectations. Four volunteers from three different ICRCs tested the CAMP site by following a test script, which walked them through all areas and functions of the APR. The goal of this testing was to evaluate key aspects of the user experience such as ease of use, navigation, and overall user satisfaction to ensure a smooth and positive user experience. Additionally, this testing sought to identify and rectify any potential issues that could negatively impact the user experience. The results from this beta testing directed necessary modifications with the goal of maximizing the user experience and ensuring that the APR meets the defined user acceptance criteria.

B.5. Individuals Consulted on Statistical Aspects and Individuals Collecting and/or Analyzing Data

The individuals responsible for design of the data collection system, and the management and reporting of data, include:

• Ekta Choudhary, Lead, NCIPC, CDC

• Megan Barry, Health Scientist (Program Evaluation), NCIPC, CDC

• Colin Regan, Solution Architect and Contractor, Deloitte and NCIPC, CDC