Fast track - NIH Commons Credits_Secondary Metrics Survey

Request for Approval under the “Generic Clearance for the Collection of Routine Customer Feedback” (OMB#: 0925-0668 Exp. Date: 02/2019)

TITLE OF INFORMATION COLLECTION:

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) Commons Credits Pilot Secondary Metrics Survey (NIAID)

PURPOSE:

This survey will collect feedback and gauge the level of satisfaction of biomedical researchers who participated in the NIH Commons Credits Pilot. The Pilot is exploring the use of a novel mechanism for providing biomedical researchers with funded access to cloud computing resources. Participants in the pilot receive dollar-denominated credits that can be exchanged with major cloud service vendors for computing resources.

Information gathered in this survey will be used to gain insight into how participation in the pilot impacted scientific achievement, and determine which components of the Commons Credits funding model may require improvement. These insights are necessary to understand whether this approach to funding cloud computing services offers benefits compared with the current method researchers use to secure computing resources. Furthermore, insights gained through the results of this survey will assist the NIH in deciding whether to pursue full implementation of the piloted approach in the future.

DESCRIPTION OF RESPONDENTS:

The voluntary survey participants will be principle investigators and primary users who participated in the NIH Commons Credits Pilot.

TYPE OF COLLECTION: (Check one)

[ ] Customer Comment Card/Complaint Form [X] Customer Satisfaction Survey

[ ] Usability Testing (e.g., Website or Software) [ ] Small Discussion Group

[ ] Focus Group [ ] Other: ______________________

CERTIFICATION:

I certify the following to be true:

1. The collection is voluntary.

2. The collection is low-burden for respondents and low-cost for the Federal Government.

3. The collection is non-controversial and does not raise issues of concern to other federal agencies.

4. The results are not intended to be disseminated to the public.

5. Information gathered will not be used for the purpose of substantially informing influential policy decisions.

6. The collection is targeted to the solicitation of opinions from respondents who have experience with the program or may have experience with the program in the future.

Name: Nick Weber

To assist review, please provide answers to the following question:

Personally Identifiable Information:

1. Is personally identifiable information (PII) collected? [ ] Yes [X] No

If Yes, is the information that will be collected included in records that are subject to the Privacy Act of 1974? [ ] Yes [ ] No

2. If Applicable, has a System or Records Notice been published? [ ] Yes [ ] No

Gifts or Payments:

Is an incentive (e.g., money or reimbursement of expenses, token of appreciation) provided to participants? [ ] Yes [X] No

ESTIMATED BURDEN HOURS and COSTS

Category of Respondent	No. of Respondents	No. of Responses per Respondent	Time per Response (in hours)	Total Burden Hours
Private Sector (Life Scientists)	90	1	30/60	45
Totals	90	90		45

Category of Respondent	Total Burden Hours	Hourly Wage Rate*	Total Burden Cost
Private Sector (Life Scientists)	45	$79.88	$3,594.60
Totals	45	$79.88	$3,594.60

^*Source: “Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates May 2016,” U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics. http://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_nat.htm

FEDERAL COST: The estimated annual cost to the Federal government is $55,978

Staff	Grade/Step	Salary	% of Effort	Fringe (if applicable)	Total Cost to Gov’t
Federal Oversight
Contracting Officer’s Representative	GS-14/7	$134,426	0.5%		$672
Contractor Cost					$55,306
Travel
Other Cost
Total					$55,978

If you are conducting a focus group, survey, or plan to employ statistical methods, please provide answers to the following questions:

The selection of your targeted respondents

1. Do you have a customer list or something similar that defines the universe of potential respondents and do you have a sampling plan for selecting from this universe? [X ] Yes [ ] No

2. If the answer is yes, please provide a description of both below (or attach the sampling plan)? If the answer is no, please provide a description of how you plan to identify your potential group of respondents and how you will select them?

The survey participants will be principle investigators and primary users who participated in the Commons Credits Pilot. The link to the survey will be emailed to all pilot participants.

Administration of the Instrument

1. How will you collect the information? (Check all that apply)

[X] Web-based or other forms of Social Media

[ ] Telephone

[ ] In-person

[ ] Mail

[ ] Other, Explain

2. Will interviewers or facilitators be used? [ ] Yes [X] No

Please make sure that all instruments, instructions, and scripts are submitted with the request.

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