Technical Assistance

For Transplant Programs and Organ Procurement Organizations

SRTR staff work diligently to answer questions from transplant programs and organ procurement organizations (OPOs) as part of standard community support. Requests are often received through the SRTR help desk or through direct contact with SRTR staff. Occasionally, the SRTR receives requests from transplant programs or OPOs to provide a more detailed educational presentation or onsite training. Historically, these have been handled on a case-by-case basis in consultation with the SRTR Contracting Officer Representative (COR).

Task 11.2 requires the SRTR contractor to provide technical assistance to transplant programs and OPOs. The SRTR provides technical assistance to transplant programs and OPOs through phone calls, emails, online webinars/virtual classrooms, and onsite, as needed. The amount of staff time required to support the technical assistance is not to exceed 1 business day annually. Additional support will be considered on a case-by-case basis, in consultation with the COR, and will be provided for a fee under a published cost schedule. Our approach is based on a framework similar to that of our support of requests for data and/or data analyses. 

Requests for Technical Assistance

Requests for technical assistance should be emailed to the SRTR at srtr@srtr.org. If SRTR receives a phone call requesting technical assistance, we ask the requestor to email a formal request. When submitting a request for technical assistance, be prepared to provide the following information:

  • Subject line should be: SRTR Technical Assistance Request
  • Contact information (ie, name, business/organization name, mailing address, phone number, and email address)
  • Detailed description of the technical assistance sought
  • Primary point of contact for this request (ie, name, email, and phone), if different from the person submitting the request
  • If the request is for training, a description of the type of training is requested

Technical Assistance Request Review Process

Requests for technical assistance are reviewed as they are received on a first-come, first-served basis. Once SRTR receives a request via email, we work with the requestor to fully understand their request and their needs and get a finalized request from them, if needed. After receipt of the finalized request, SRTR determines whether it can be fulfilled based on the level of technical assistance support requested and available resources at the time. After receiving a finalized request for technical assistance, SRTR sends a description of the request to the HRSA COR for review and approval (for requests exceeding 1 full business day). Pending HRSA review, if required, SRTR responds to the requestor to notify them of the request status, the approximate staff time needed, cost, and an estimated schedule of when it can be fulfilled. The request level, description, and fee structure for technical assistance support includes the following:

 

Assistance Level

Description

Fee-structure

Simple

A request for technical assistance that can be addressed in 1 business day email, phone, or web conference. No onsite consultation is offered. These requests are handled without need to consult the COR.

Free

Advanced

A request for technical assistance requiring more than 1 business day of staff time. Simple requests that become advanced requests are converted to advanced status. The first business day of support is not charged. Advanced requests may include onsite training requiring more than 1 business day, including time for staff travel.

Billing is quoted, agreed on, and paid before the materials to support the request are developed. Both development time and presentation time are billed according to the following schedule:

Masters-level support: Support provided by a staff member with an MPH or MS in epidemiology, biostatistics, or related field, or computer science for requests specific to software. Staff time is billed at $125/hour.

PhD- or MD-level support: Support provided by appropriate staff with a PhD in epidemiology, biostatistics, engineering or a related field, or an MD in the appropriate field of transplantation, per the request. Staff time is billed at $200/hour.

In addition, the requestor covers all travel expenses, consistent with generally accepted travel expenses, and staff time during travel.

 

Please Note

If the request is not clear or specific, you will be contacted for additional information, which could delay the review of the request as well as delivery of technical assistance.

Questions? Contact us.