The bilateral awards are made through
the Funding Opportunity Announcement mechanism and administrative
supplements, meaning they are funded by set-aside funds that are
separate from the general pool of research program grant funds used
to support investigator initiated research at NIH. The bilateral
programs to be evaluated are the U.S.-China Program for Biomedical
Research Cooperation, U.S. – India Bilateral Collaborative Research
Partnerships on the Prevention of HIV/AIDS and Co-morbidities,
U.S.-Russia Bilateral Collaborative Research Partnerships on the
Prevention and Treatment of HIV/AIDS and Co-morbidities, and
U.S.-South Africa Program for Collaborative Biomedical Research.
While these programs differ, their underlying concept is the same;
they require U.S. scientists to collaborate with scientists from
other countries in order to conduct scientifically meritorious
investigations of mutual interest to both countries. The proposed
evaluation requests information about 1) accomplishments of the
awards, 2) unique findings or opportunities due to the
international collaborations, and 3) successes and challenges of
these collaborations. The information will be collected one year
into the award and at the end of the award, when possible. This
information is needed to evaluate the effectiveness of these
programs across NIH.
US Code:
42
USC 241 Name of Law: Public Health Service Act
On behalf of this Federal agency, I certify that
the collection of information encompassed by this request complies
with 5 CFR 1320.9 and the related provisions of 5 CFR
1320.8(b)(3).
The following is a summary of the topics, regarding
the proposed collection of information, that the certification
covers:
(i) Why the information is being collected;
(ii) Use of information;
(iii) Burden estimate;
(iv) Nature of response (voluntary, required for a
benefit, or mandatory);
(v) Nature and extent of confidentiality; and
(vi) Need to display currently valid OMB control
number;
If you are unable to certify compliance with any of
these provisions, identify the item by leaving the box unchecked
and explain the reason in the Supporting Statement.