2020-07708. Submission for OMB Review; 30-Day Comment Request; Early Career Reviewer Program Online Application and Vetting System (Center for Scientific Review)

AGENCY:

National Institutes of Health, HHS.

ACTION:

Notice.

SUMMARY:

In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) has submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) a request for review and approval of the information collection listed below.

DATES:

Comments regarding this information collection are best assured of having their full effect if received within 30-days of the date of this publication.

ADDRESSES:

Written comments and recommendations for the proposed information collection should be sent within 30 days of publication of this notice to www.reginfo.gov/​public/​do/​PRAMain. Find this particular information collection by selecting “Currently under 30-day Review—Open for Public Comments” or by using the search function.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

To request more information on the proposed project or to obtain a copy of the data collection plans and instruments, contact: Dr. Hope Cummings, Project Clearance Liaison, Center for Scientific Review, NIH, Room 4134, 6701 Rockledge Drive, Bethesda, Maryland, 20892 or call non-toll-free number [phone] or Email your request, including your address to: [e-mail]. Formal requests for additional plans and instruments must be requested in writing.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

This proposed information collection was previously published in the Federal Register on January 31, 2020, pages 5677-5678 (85 FR 21) and allowed 60 days for public comment. No public comments were received. The purpose of this notice is to allow an additional 30 days for public comment. The Center for Scientific Review (CSR), National Institutes of Health, may not conduct or sponsor, and the respondent is not required to respond to, an information collection that has been extended, revised, or implemented on or after October 1, 1995, unless it displays a currently valid OMB control number.

In compliance with Section 3507(a)(1)(D) of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) has submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) a request for review and approval of the information collection listed below.

Proposed Collection: Early Career Reviewer Program Online Application and Vetting System—0925-0695, REVISION—expiration date 05/31/2020, Center for Scientific Review (CSR), National Institutes of Health (NIH).

Need and Use of Information Collection: The Center for Scientific Review (CSR) is the portal for NIH grant applications and their review for scientific merit. Our mission is to see that all NIH grant applications receive fair, independent, expert, and timely reviews—free from inappropriate influences—so NIH can fund the most promising research. To accomplish this goal, Scientific Review Officers (SRO) form study sections consisting of scientists who have the technical and scientific expertise to evaluate the merit of grant applications. Study section members are generally scientists who have established independent programs of research as demonstrated by their publications and their grant award experiences.

The CSR Early Career Reviewer program was developed to identify and train qualified scientists who are early in their scientific careers and who have not had prior CSR review experience. The goals of the program are to expose these early career scientists to the peer review experience so that they become more competitive as applicants as well as to enrich the existing pool of NIH reviewers. Currently, the online application software, the Early Career Reviewer Application and Vetting System, is accessed online by applicants to the Early Career Reviewer Program who provide information such as their name, contact information, a description of their areas of expertise, their study section preferences, and their professional Curriculum Vitae. This Information Collection Request (ICR) is to revise the Early Career Reviewer Application and Vetting System to include additional questions and be more user friendly. Additional questions are in line with NIH's renewed Interest in Diversity (NOT-OD-20-031) and include questions such as applicants' race, ethnicity, gender, disability, and disadvantage backgrounds. Applicants can choose if they would like to answer these additional questions (i.e. optional). Applicants are also now able to check their eligibility before applying to the program.

OMB approval is requested for 3 years. There are no costs to respondents other than their time. The total estimated annualized burden hours are 505.

Estimated Annualized Burden Hours

Type of respondent	Number of respondents	Number of responses per respondent	Average time per response (in hours)	Total annual burden hour
Research scientists	1212	1	25/60	505
Total		1212		505

Dated: March 30, 2020.

Hope M. Cummings,

Project Clearance Liaison, Center for Scientific Review (CSR), National Institutes of Health.