FAQ

A. The survey is expected to take 15-20 minutes.

A. The survey will ask about the type of job you do, and in which Institute, Center, or Office (ICO) you work, but it will not ask about GS levels.

A. The survey will be conducted by email and sent to email addresses of members of the NIH workplace who have an email account.

A. Yes, all NIH personnel - including federal employees, contractors, students, postdocs, and volunteers – are encouraged take the COVID-19 impact survey, whether or not they have experienced difficulties related to COVID-19 or harassment. This will give us an accurate representation of the impact COVID-19 has had at NIH.

A. NIH has established a process to work with NIH Contracting Officers and Contracting Officer Representatives of onsite contractors to obtain approval from parent contractor companies. Once approval is obtained, contractors will be invited to take the survey through their NIH email address.

A. The Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey (FEVS) is an annual survey that measures perceptions of federal employees about whether, and to what extent, their agencies demonstrate conditions characteristic of successful organizations. The FEVS is administered only to federal employees, not to students or contractors.

A. An independent outside entity, Deloitte, will administer the survey and will use an independent cloud-based survey provider certified to be compliant with FedRAMP-moderate impact security standards to collect and store the responses (data). Limited personally identifiable information (PII), such as names and email addresses, will be used by Deloitte for the sole purpose of inviting you to participate in the survey; this information will be kept separate from your individual answers, and the PII will be destroyed at the end of the survey data-collection period. Deloitte will share de-identified response data for ongoing and future analyses. To protect individual anonymity, Deloitte will analyze and report findings to NIH in groups no smaller than five responses. NIH staff will not have access to individual answers to any questions at any time. NIH will only have access to de-identified data, which protects your confidentiality and anonymity.

A. An independent outside entity, Deloitte, will administer the survey and keep the data private. Limited personally identifiable information (PII), such as names and email addresses, will be used by Deloitte for the sole purpose of inviting you to participate in the study; this information will be kept separate from individual answers, and the PII will be destroyed at the end of the survey data-collection period. To protect individual anonymity, Deloitte will analyze and report findings to NIH in groups no smaller than five responses.

A. No. Your name and contact information will be used to send you a unique survey link. This means if you start the survey or complete the survey and then forward it to others to use, the link will not work for them.

A. You may stop taking the survey and resume where you left off by accessing the unique link provided to you by the independent outside entity, Deloitte, administering the survey. This unique link will be sent by email to your NIH email address.

A. The results of the survey will be used to inform potential strategies to improve NIH workplace issues and challenges that have emerged in relation to the COVID-19 pandemic and help address inequities and negative impacts on vulnerable groups in the workforce. They will also be used to educate NIH leadership and other NIH officials about areas that may warrant specific strategies to improve the workplace; and to develop potential targeted solutions to identified problems at the NIH-wide and Institute/Center/Office (ICO) levels.

A. An independent outside entity (Deloitte) has been contracted by the NIH to distribute the survey, collect responses, and present survey findings back to NIH. No identifiable data will be shared with NIH. Responses to the survey are confidential. Once you complete the survey, your personally identifiable information will be disconnected from your responses and will be securely deleted such that your identity will remain untraceable. The third party will share only de-identified data with NIH and will report findings to NIH in groups no smaller than 5.

A. Yes, the survey can be taken on a smartphone or tablet (work-provided or personal), while performing work at your duty station or an approved telework location.

A. Yes, although note that the survey can be taken on a smartphone or tablet (work-provided or personal), while performing work at your primary duty station or an approved telework location.

A. Yes, the survey should be taken during work hours and NIH has encouraged supervisors to permit dedicated work time for taking the survey.

A. Yes, the survey can be taken on a smartphone or tablet (work-provided or personal), while performing work at your primary duty station or an approved telework location.

A. Yes, the survey can be taken on a smartphone or tablet (work-provided or personal), while performing work at your primary duty station or an approved telework location.

A. No. In the interest of time and given the urgency of the impact COVID-19 may be having on the NIH workforce, it was determined that it was more important to administer the survey as soon as possible rather than spend additional weeks collecting and analyzing pilot data.

A. A high response rate, over 50%, will help NIH understand the impact COVID-19 has on the workforce and climate and develop potential targeted solutions for any identified problems.

A. Deloitte, an independent outside entity, will administer the survey and share reports about the findings with NIH. The results will be used to develop potential targeted solutions to any identified problems at the NIH-wide and Institute/Center/Office (ICO) levels.

A. Deloitte, an independent outside entity, administering the survey, and NIH will have access to de-identified individual survey response therefore they will not be able to trace the data to any single individual.

A. The results of the survey are expected to be shared to the NIH community from August to September as results from analyses are completed. A final comprehensive report will be completed in the fall. The report will be publicly available.

A. Yes. If you have concerns related to the survey, the Employee Assistance Program (EAP) is available to you; you can find the EAP phone number for your workplace here.

A. If you have questions about the NIH Workforce COVID-19 Impact Survey, please contact us at workclimate@od.nih.gov.

A. No publications are planned for the survey, however NIH may wish to share lessons learned and findings with the broader scientific community.

A. Yes, all NIH staff and contractors are encouraged to take the NIH Workforce COVID-19 Impact Survey, whether or not they have firsthand experience with COVID-19 as an individual or among friends or family members. By sharing the importance of taking the survey with your NIH friends and colleagues, you can make a difference. The survey is not a tool for reporting private health information. If you have any exposure and illness concerns individuals are encouraged to visit the NIH Employees COVID-19 Frequently Asked Questions about Exposures and Illness Concerns website.

A. Personally Identifiable Information (PII) will be destroyed at the end of the survey data-collection period. De-identified responses (data) will be stored indefinitely for the purposes of comparing trends over time.

A. Yes, the survey results will be made available to the entire NIH community via a report. No identifiable information will be shared. The survey report is expected to be available in the fall of 2020. Depending on the survey response rate, some information may not be available to Institute/Center/Offices (ICOs), to protect the privacy of survey respondents.

A. No. The survey will ask about the type of job you do, and in which Institute, Center, or Office (ICO) you work, but it will not ask about job titles or GS levels.

A. The survey can be taken on a smartphone or tablet (work-provided or personal), while performing work at your duty station or an approved telework location. Contact us at workclimate@od.nih.gov.

A. Please limit your responses to any workplace experiences that took place since NIH began maximum telework on March 16, 2020.

A. Yes, you are encouraged to take the survey if you are a current NIH federal employee, student, postdoc, volunteer, or a contractor from a parent contracting company that has given permission for your participation regardless of changes to your work unit at NIH.