Appendix 2-B. Web Instructions for Grantees

Grantee Guidance on Web Development Projects

Ownership and marketing

Products that grantees develop are not considered deliverables for the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ). Grantees are encouraged to register copyright for their products, manage their rights, and seek their own distribution channels and dissemination venues.

However, the Agency retains a royalty-free, non-exclusive, and irrevocable license to reproduce, publish, or otherwise use these products and authorize others to do so for Federal Government purposes. As a result, the Agency might choose to feature selected Web-based resources grantees develop under their projects. A Web content partnership agreement appears at the end of this document.

Grantee Web-based products that could subsequently be posted on AHRQ-funded Web sites or otherwise promoted by the Agency increase their opportunities for adoption by complying with the following guidance.

Grant final report

Submission of a grant final report is a requirement for grant closeout and is needed to describe the results of the research that AHRQ funds. The report will be made available to the public in print and electronic form and should not include any copyrighted, private, or proprietary information. The final report may be submitted as an electronic file attachment in Word, WordPerfect®, or ASCII by E-mail to grantfpr@ahrq.gov. PDF files are not acceptable. A template for the report can be found at Appendix 1-C and http://www.ahrq.gov/fund/reptemp.htm. A list of citations on publications and electronic resources generated by the grant should be included that follows the AHRQ Citation Style Format at: http://www.ahrq.gov/fund/refstyle.htm.

Web-Based tools

Titles of products

It is helpful to coordinate titles of products with the AHRQ project officer early in the development process. Web-based tools do not need to have the same title as the grant. To be effective in an electronic medium, tool titles need to be concise and relevant to the purpose of the project. Web-based tool titles should have no more than five words. Make every word count by eliminating initial articles such as "the" or "a." Titles need to be distinct enough to differentiate among similar-sounding products if more than one product is being generated from a grant. The name of the performing organization should not be part of the title.

Quality control/editorial review

Quality assurance standards should be applied to any information system development project or tool resulting from a grant. The product should be tested to ensure it meets requirements, is error-free, and achieves the original objective of the project. Products should be certified as to the quality assurance process undertaken and documented that independent verification and validation occurred, including usability testing.

Editorial review includes checking for spelling, grammar, formatting, general consistency, and style. This should be done by the AHRQ grantee prior to submission of the final product to AHRQ. AHRQ follows the Government Printing Office Style Manual, available electronically at http://www.gpoaccess.gov/stylemanual/browse.html.

Accessibility

As an agency of the Federal Government, AHRQ must ensure that anything posted on Agency-funded Web sites complies with requirements for information resources under Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act. The Access Board, which has legislative authority for creating standards that ensure the provisions of Section 508 are met, has numerous online resources to help developers meet technology requirements at http://www.access-board.gov/508.htm. The Center for Information Technology Accommodation in the U.S. General Services Administration has established a Web site with resources for understanding and implementing requirements under Section 508 at http://www.section508.gov.

In addition, federally funded resources need to be generally available to users in multiple formats or a platform-independent environment to ensure users are not excluded from access because a product is designed for a particular platform, operational system, or software package.

Intellectual property rights

Include a copyright notice on your product. Although you do not have to register the copyright to assert copyright as the originator, registration provides protection from infringement and simplifies the subsequent granting and transfer of rights. For information on copyrighting online works, go to http://www.copyright.gov/circs/circ66.html.

To register your product with the Copyright Office at the Library of Congress, go to: http://www.copyright.gov/eco. The current cost is $35 to file online or $45 to file by mail.

Before a product can be posted on an AHRQ-supported Web site or otherwise promoted, the Agency must have written answers to the following questions:

• 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?

Technical assistance

AHRQ cannot promote a tool without providing the following:

• Written instructions on the use of that tool and what to do if a user encounters problems in accessing and using it.
• A contact name, telephone number, and E-mail address for technical assistance.
• A feedback mechanism for errors, future updates, and revisions.

This information must be provided in writing along with the tool or product to be posted. Provision of technical assistance support from the performing organization should be included in the information lifecycle management decisions for the product, and this includes assessing the lifespan of value for the product once the grant is completed. This will normally entail finding subsequent support or a commitment for maintenance, either through the originating institution, a partnership or consortia, or a new sponsor.

Source code

AHRQ's intent is to make tools available to the public; clinicians; health planners and providers; and other Federal, State, and local government agencies as appropriate for their intended purposes. Any software and products resulting from these projects should be easily transportable to other users and developers. The best way to ensure adoption and implementation for these audiences is to have a Web-based final product that is platform independent. Grantees may coordinate with AHRQ on proposed application development technology for any robust back-end applications before they are developed.

Source code for any technical application should be included when submitting a product to the Agency. This provides AHRQ with the knowledge of how the application was created by the original developers and can facilitate subsequent corrections, updates, or conversions as necessary to keep pace with technological changes once the product is released.

Usability and version control

Web resources should include usability testing, evaluation, and modification as an integral and recurring part of the development effort to ensure they are effective for the electronic business processes they are designed to facilitate. A set of Research-Based Web Design and Usability Guidelines are available at: http://www.usability.gov/guidelines/index.html.

Beta testing prior to release is desirable to evaluate the product against usability heuristics. As feedback is received and products are updated, revisions should be designated by version number and date of release.

Privacy Act protections

Web resources of the Federal Government are subject to the Privacy Act, and this can affect both the development of Web-based tools and the users of those tools. Persistent cookies should not be programmed into the functionality of a Web-based tool, although session cookies are allowed. Registration for use is also problematic as this involves collection of individual identifiers from the users and requires a published Privacy Act Notice on the intended collection, safeguards, and distribution of collected information.

Submitting FAQs for the AHRQ Web site

The AHRQ Web site uses a customer relationship management system (or call center) that generates frequently asked questions (FAQs) with answers in a knowledge base for AHRQ to handle public inquiries. For the inquiry form, go to https://info.ahrq.gov.

Questions and answers for the FAQ portion of the AHRQ Web site are concise, and external links to resources are placed at the end of the answer. Proposed questions and answers are edited by AHRQ public inquiries agents according to the Department of Health and Human Services FAQ Style Guide, available at: http://www.hhs.gov/web/policies/faqstyleguide.html.

One of the subject categories in the Find Answers section is Partners. Grantees are encouraged to provide information about their tool and its availability in this section. To submit a proposed question and answer about a product, send the following information to Gerri.Michael-Dyer@ahrq.hhs.gov:

Subject: Proposed FAQ Submission—Grantee Product
Project Title:
Point of Contact for Inquiries
Name:
Organization:
E-mail Address:
Phone:
Question:
Answer:
Three related keywords:

Example Submission

Subject: Proposed FAQ Submission—Portal Partner
Project Title: Public Health Partners
Point of Contact for Inquiries
Name: Catherine R. Selden
Organization: National Library of Medicine
E-mail Address: selden@nlm.nih.gov
Phone: 301-435-2240

Question: Where can I find information and training materials to support public health workers in their daily responsibilities?

Answer: Partners in Information Access for the Public Health Workforce is a collaboration of U.S. Government agencies, public health organizations, and health sciences libraries which provides timely, convenient access to selected public health resources on the Internet. Go to: http://phpartners.org.

Three related keywords: public health, libraries, information access.

Web sites

The following highlights issues to consider when developing Web sites that will be publicly available. They are based on legal and policy requirements for federally funded information resources.

Domain names

Ideally, grantee Web sites should be registered as .org, .net, or .edu domains.

As a Federal agency, AHRQ is precluded by law from endorsing or appearing to endorse specific commercial services, commodities, or products; thus AHRQ's external linking policy excludes .com domains. If the Agency wants to feature a grantee's Web site in an electronic newsletter or on an AHRQ-supported Web site, the Agency would not be able to establish a link to a .com domain because, in most instances, these sites carry advertisements, and a link from AHRQ would drive traffic to that site, creating an unfair business advantage for the host company.

Editorial review

Once materials are uploaded to a publicly available site, they are considered published. Before it is uploaded, all Web site content should be reviewed for consistency in style for punctuation, spelling, capitalization, use of numerals, and file format. Acronyms and abbreviations need to be spelled out on first reference. Content should also be reviewed for quality assurance during production to ensure accuracy and completeness. Nothing marked "draft" should be posted on a public site, and Government-funded sites do not have sections designated "under construction."

Grantees should establish a process for regularly reviewing and updating content. Additional materials should undergo an editorial review process before they are uploaded. AHRQ follows the Government Printing Office Style Manual, available electronically at http://www.gpoaccess.gov/stylemanual/browse.html.

Accessibility

Under Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act, Federal agencies have an obligation to provide equal access to the disabled through their Web-based resources. For example, equivalent alternatives are required for auditory and visual information, such as providing alternative descriptive text for images for the blind and providing captions for audio-video files for the deaf. The preferred format for documents is HTML because of its cross-platform accessibility to all users. The Web Accessibility Initiative of the World Wide Web Consortium has guidelines and checklists for creation of accessible Web sites at http://www.w3.org/TR/WAI-WEBCONTENT/.

While Section 508 covers the Federal Government only, grantees are subject to Section 504, which states that any entity that receives Federal funds must provide reasonable accommodations to persons 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 Section 508 standards.

Privacy

A privacy policy notice for the Web site as a whole must be prominently displayed on the Web site home page, and the Web site host has to ensure that information is appropriately used and protected and the privacy of personal information is maintained.

The expectation of the public is that personal information and communications will be kept private unless consent to release the information is specifically granted or when disclosure otherwise is authorized by law. Research organizations and researchers may also be affected by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act Privacy Rule on privacy of personal health information. Information for the research community is available at: http://privacyruleandresearch.nih.gov/.

Web site mailbox

Every Web site should provide full contact information for the sponsor and have a "Contact Us" link for users to submit comments or questions. Web site E-mail should be handled in a confidential manner as designated in the site's privacy policy.

Records management

All content on the site and E-mail generated by the site should be archived electronically and/or in print and handled as records associated with your grant. This also affects Web site log files and statistical reporting on Web site use and other evaluation metrics related to the project.

Intellectual property

Copyright and trademark protections for others need to be observed on Agency-funded Web sites. Permissions for use must be granted for any copyrighted information included, and registered trademarks need to be reflected in copy. Any copyright or trademark constraints related to materials uploaded to a site must be specified for users.

Public domain does not extend outside the borders of the United States. Therefore, foreign countries must request specific permission for use of U.S. Government work that is considered in the public domain as well as any copyrighted materials. Given the global nature of the Internet, citing the source of content is a critical issue and allows others to cite or seek permission for use of the material.

Linking

External links imply endorsement and create a business advantage for the linked sites. Grantees should do a risk assessment of proposed external links to ensure links reflect favorably on their institution and project. Post specific review and selection criteria for external links on the Web site in the interests of full disclosure. External links should be clearly delineated as such and a brief description should be provided on the content of each linked resource. As a courtesy, notify Web sites of an intention to establish a link because Web links drive traffic to sites and create demands on servers. Once links are established, they need to be re-assessed periodically to ensure the links 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 commercial product or service, advocacy of a particular political position, or an otherwise inappropriate association for a Federal entity.

Security

Web sites need to be monitored and protected against intrusion and corruption or compromise of content. This is especially critical if there are any business processes involved or financial transactions conducted on the Web site with users. Incorporate best practices and industry standards for security of Web resources, establish a risk mitigation plan, and document any attacks or compromises of the Web site and how they are addressed.

Usability

Web resources should include usability testing, evaluation, and modification as an integral and recurring part of the development effort to ensure they are effective for the electronic business processes they are supposed to facilitate. A reference on best practices for development and design of Web resources is available at: http://www.usability.gov.

Disclaimer

A disclaimer may not ultimately protect a site owner from liability issues 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 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. For an example, go to http://www.ahrq.gov/news/disclaim.htm.

Grant sponsor identity

Grantees must include an acknowledgment of grant support and a disclaimer, as appropriate, on any tool or Web site developed under the auspices of the project, preferably on the bottom of the opening page.

The following statement can serve as a model:

"This research was supported by grant number _________ from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ). The contents of this product are solely the responsibility of (name of principal investigator and/or affiliated organization) and do not necessarily represent the official views of or imply endorsement by AHRQ or the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services."

Most Federal Government agencies need to track the outputs of their funded research projects, and the best identification for a standing search across resources is the Agency name coupled with the grant number.

The statement of support will suffice for credit and identity. Grantees cannot affix either the AHRQ or Department of Health and Human Services logo or Web banner to their information outputs. The logos and banners are the imprimaturs of the respective Government agencies and can only be used on official Government communication products. Grantee communication products are not construed to be Government communication products.

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Additional Information

To discuss specific issues or to get additional guidance on Web projects, contact:

Biff LeVee
AHRQ Web Site Manager
E-mail: biff.levee@ahrq.hhs.gov
Phone: 301-427-1897

Randie Siegel
Associate Director
Office of Communications and Knowledge Transfer
E-mail: randie.siegel@ahrq.hhs.gov
Phone: 301-427-1852

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Web Content Partnership Agreement

The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), and (Organization Name) enter into the following agreement regarding the use of AHRQ materials on the (Organization Name) Web site with the following stipulations:

Use of AHRQ materials will be for lawful purposes only.

An understanding of disclaimer exists that AHRQ assumes no responsibility or liability for loss or damage resulting from either the use of information or an inability to use these materials. Every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy and completeness of electronic versions of AHRQ materials, but the Agency makes no warranties regarding errors or omissions.

AHRQ materials are "current as of" the date specified on each electronic document, and this information must be included on content partner Web sites. Given changes in the state of scientific evidence and technology, these materials may become outdated, and they may be withdrawn or superseded. The Agency will attempt to notify official content partner organizations of deleted or updated materials and changed URL locations. However, it is the responsibility of partner organizations to periodically review the currency of the content resident to their Web servers and assume the obligation to update their holdings accordingly. AHRQ disclaims all express or implied liability for currency of such information.

As a Federal Agency, most information produced by AHRQ is in the public domain and cannot be copyrighted. However, public domain does not extend outside of the United States, so foreign countries and organizations that want to make electronic versions resident to their Web sites with global access need to designate the content is used with permission.

Some AHRQ products and information may contain copyrighted information, and further reproduction, in any form, print or electronic, is prohibited without the specific permission of copyright holders. Copyrighted and trademarked materials are the property of their respective owners. (Organization Name) is responsible for obtaining permission directly from copyright holders or owners of trademarked materials, with the understanding that they may charge fees for such use, prior to reproducing materials in any form. AHRQ will provide a list of the products that contain copyrighted information to (Organization Name).

All use of AHRQ information requires citation as to source. An Internet citation with the recommended format is provided at the end of each electronic document on the AHRQ Web site at http://www.ahrq.gov. This source note should be followed by the statement, "Used with permission of the U.S. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) and provided as a public service by (Organization Name)." Integrity of AHRQ information and publications may not be compromised and content cannot be changed. Should (Organization Name)choose to use a portion or portions of the information in newsletters, hand-outs, E-mail messages, or on its own Web sites, the following language must be used following the citation as to source: "Adapted from information produced by the U.S. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) and used with permission."

AHRQ materials (those without copyright) may be imported to content partner sites or linked to for informational and educational purposes only. AHRQ content may not be used to perform commercial solicitations, including the solicitation of users to subscribe to online services of (Organization Name).

(Organization Name) should not use or display AHRQ materials in any way that implies AHRQ's endorsement or promotion of any private company or its commercial products or services and should not be construed or conveyed as such by (Organization Name) in its advertising or in any other manner. Specifically, targeted advertisements for products or services related to the content must not be juxtaposed on the same Web page with AHRQ materials.

(Organization Name) understands that, should AHRQ information be displayed on Web sites of its partner or client organizations, those Web sites must adhere to the provisions of this agreement.

AHRQ has the right to request that (Organization Name) remove AHRQ material from its Web site if use of the material is in violation of these provisions.

(Organization Name) agrees to inform Gerri Michael-Dyer, AHRQ Electronic Dissemination Advisor, about what AHRQ content and materials are identified for use, as well as where and how the materials will be used on the Web site. Please E-mail this information to Gerri.Michael-Dyer@ahrq.hhs.gov

The Agency also appreciates statistics and anecdotal information about impact or use of AHRQ content by constituencies of content partner Web sites. AHRQ would appreciate it if (Organization Name) would submit any feedback to the Agency at https://info.ahrq.gov.

Thank you for your interest and cooperation. Questions regarding this agreement can be directed to:

Gerri Michael-Dyer
Electronic Dissemination Advisor
Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality
540 Gaither Road
Rockville, MD 20850
Phone: 301-427-1898
Fax: 301-427-1873
E-mail: gerri.michael-dyer@ahrq.hhs.gov

Please acknowledge your concurrence with the provisions of this agreement by signing below.

Authorized Signature: ____________________________   Date:____________

Contact Name:
Title:
Organization:
Mailing Address:
City, State and Zip:
Phone:
Fax:
E-mail:
Web Address:

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