Contents
Acknowledgment
Ownership
Marketing
Press Releases
Journal Article Tracking
Impact Case Studies
Grant Final Progress Report
Product Titles
Quality Control
Technical Assistance
Websites
Accessibility
Privacy
Mailbox
Records Management
Linking
Security
Disclaimers
This document provides guidelines specific to grantee products and links to AHRQ’s Publishing and Communications Guidelines as appropriate. Grantees are assigned a project officer on the notice of award who can respond to questions and coordinate with AHRQ’s Office of Communications (OC) on matters related to product development and dissemination.
Acknowledgment
Grantees must include an acknowledgment of AHRQ’s support and a disclaimer, as appropriate, on any product, tool, or website developed under the auspices of the project. AHRQ tracks the output of its funded research projects, using the Agency name and the grant number.
Use the following statement, adapting to suit the needs of the project:
This project was funded under grant number _________ from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The authors are solely responsible for this document’s contents, findings, and conclusions, which do not necessarily represent the views of AHRQ. Readers should not interpret any statement in this report as an official position of AHRQ or of HHS. None of the authors has any affiliation or financial involvement that conflicts with the material presented in this report.
Grantees cannot use either the AHRQ or HHS logo on their products, including presentation slides, reports, research posters, and web banners. These logos can only be used on official Government products. Grantee products are not considered Government products.
Ownership
AHRQ does not own grantee products but retains a royalty-free, nonexclusive, and irrevocable license to reproduce, publish, or otherwise use grantee products and can authorize others to do so for Federal Government purposes. For example, the Agency can feature selected web-based resources that grantees develop under their projects.
AHRQ does not authorize the commercial resale of products funded products by the Agency. Grantees who find a commercial publisher or bookseller reprinting and reselling AHRQ-funded products should notify OC.
Before an AHRQ-funded grantee product can be posted on an AHRQ-supported website or otherwise promoted, the Agency must have written answers to the following questions in order to establish ownership and limitations of use:
- Who retains the copyright?
- Who has licenses for what purposes and uses?
- What are the constraints imposed?
- Who grants permission for further use or adoption?
Appendix 1-A, Copyright: Permission Forms and Licensing Agreement, provides needed forms and instructions.
Marketing
AHRQ grantees will coordinate all marketing and stakeholder outreach, including marketing fliers and other materials, through OC. For marketing and media-related questions, grantees will email OC representatives and cc their project officer:
- Marketing and Stakeholder Outreach: Kristie Kiser
- Data Resources, including the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project and Medical Expenditure Panel Survey: Bruce Seeman
- Primary Care and Practice Improvement: Kristie Kiser
- U.S. Preventive Services Task Force: Rachel Weinstein
- Patient Safety and Healthcare-Associated Infections: Kristie Kiser
Press Releases
Press releases issued by AHRQ grantees must follow a clearance process as outlined by HHS and coordinated through OC. If the grantee wants to create a press release:
- The press release must acknowledge AHRQ’s role.
- AHRQ must review and approve the press release, in particular, editing for any mention of funding or findings.
- The press release must go through HHS clearance if it includes a quote from a Federal spokesperson. OC Media Division staff will send the press release to HHS for clearance.
- The grantee’s press release must not be issued prior to any AHRQ press release.
Journal Article Tracking
OC tracks the publication of all AHRQ-funded research and assesses it for outreach potential, which can range from a press release to a mention in AHRQ News Now, AHRQ’s electronic newsletter.
When AHRQ-funded research findings have been accepted for publication in a peer-reviewed journal, the grantee must immediately send a copy of the manuscript (drafts are acceptable) and this completed fillable PDF form to journalpublishing@ahrq.hhs.gov. The form asks for:
- Title of article.
- Author names.
- Corresponding author contact.
- AHRQ grant or contract number.
- AHRQ project officer.
- AHRQ funding center.
- Other funding sources.
- Name of journal.
- Contact at journal (editor’s contact name, email, and phone number).
- E-publication date, with embargo time if applicable or print publication date.
- Embargo date (if known).
- Whether the paper resulted in additional papers or journal articles in the past 3 months.
- Whether the article is part of a journal supplement.
- Whether AHRQ paid for open access to the article or supplement.
AHRQ always honors embargo dates and coordinates with journals as needed.
Impact Case Studies
AHRQ’s Impact Case Studies show how AHRQ-funded research, products, and tools have influenced clinical practice, improved policies, and affected patient outcomes. Grantees whose AHRQ-funded research has had an impact on healthcare policy, clinical practice, or patient outcomes should review the criteria and fill out the form available on AHRQ’s Impact Case Studies web page. Email questions to ImpactCaseStudies@ahrq.hhs.gov.
Grant Final Progress Report
Submission of a grant final progress report is a requirement for grant closeout. The final grant progress report may not include any copyrighted, private, or proprietary information. The final progress report must be submitted as a Word document via email (grantfpr@ahrq.hhs.gov).
AHRQ provides guidance for the report’s structure. The report will not exceed 20 pages.
Product Titles
Grantees will coordinate product titles with the AHRQ project officer early in the development process. The name of the performing organization cannot be part of the title. Web-based tools need not have the same title as the grant. Tool titles should be concise (no more than five words) and be relevant to the purpose of the project. Titles also need to be distinct enough to differentiate among similar-sounding products if a grant is generating more than one product.
Quality Control
Grantees will perform an editorial review, including checking for spelling, grammar, formatting, general consistency, and style, before submitting any grant-related products that will be posted on the AHRQ website. Section 1 of the Publishing and Communications Guidelines provides guidance on AHRQ style.
Grantees will apply quality assurance standards to any information system development project or tool resulting from a grant. The product will be tested to ensure it is error free and achieves the original objective of the project. Grantees will provide the quality assurance process undertaken and document that independent verification and validation occurred, including usability testing.
Technical Assistance
When AHRQ agrees to post a grantee’s product, the grantee must provide the following information in writing, along with the product, to the project officer:
- Instructions on the use of the product and what to do if a user encounters problems accessing or using it
- A contact name, telephone number, and email address for technical assistance
- A feedback mechanism for errors, future updates, and revisions
For information technology products, include the information lifecycle management decisions, such as technical assistance and lifespan after the grant ends. Extending the product’s lifespan will entail AHRQ identifying support or a commitment for maintenance through the originating institution, a partnership or consortium, or a new sponsor.
Websites
Grantee should register their websites as .org, .net, or .edu domains. If AHRQ wants to feature a grantee’s website in an electronic newsletter or on an AHRQ-supported website, the Agency cannot link to a .com domain because, in most instances, these sites carry advertisements.
Accessibility
Grantees are subject to Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, which states that any entity that receives Federal funds must provide reasonable accommodations to people with disabilities. Because grantees might have to make their materials accessible if a person needs it under Section 504, they are strongly encouraged to make products accessible using Federal accessibility standards (Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act).
Privacy
Grantee websites must prominently display a privacy policy notice on the home page, and the website host must ensure that information is appropriately used and protected and that the privacy of personal information is maintained.
Mailbox
Every website should provide contact information for the sponsor and have a “Contact Us” link where users may submit comments or questions. Website email should be handled in a confidential manner as designated in the site’s privacy policy.
Records Management
All content on the site and email generated by the site should be archived electronically or in print and handled as records associated with the grant. This rule also affects website log files, statistical reporting on website use, and other evaluation metrics related to the project.
Linking
Grantees should perform a risk assessment of proposed external links to ensure that those links reflect favorably on their institution and project. They should post specific review and selection criteria for external links on the website. Grantees should clearly delineate all external links and provide a brief description of the content of each linked resource.
Once links are established, they should be reassessed periodically to ensure that they are still valid and continue to meet selection criteria.
Grantees may establish links to AHRQ web resources as long as those links are not displayed in a way that implies Agency endorsement of a specific product or service or advocacy of a particular political position.
Security
Grantees must monitor and protect their websites against intrusion and corruption or compromise of content. Grantees need to incorporate best practices and industry standards for security of web resources, establish a risk mitigation plan, and document any attacks or compromises of the website and how they are addressed.
Disclaimers
A disclaimer may not ultimately protect a site owner from liability and lawsuits. However, it is a best practice to include a disclaimer that delineates intended audiences and uses, the scope and limitations of the content provided, efforts to ensure the accuracy and completeness of information, and an inability to warrant or assume responsibility for loss or damage resulting from use of the information contained within or adaptations of the information by others. View AHRQ’s Website Disclaimers as an example.
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