[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 76 (Friday, April 19, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 23577-23578]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-09237]


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DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT

[Docket No. FR-5689-N-03]


Notice of Proposed Information Collection for Public Comment: 
Rental Assistance Demonstration Evaluation, Phase I

AGENCY: Office of the Assistant Secretary for Policy Development and 
Research, HUD.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The proposed information collection requirement described 
below will be submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) 
for review, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act. HUD is 
soliciting public comments on the subject proposal.

DATES: Comment Due Date: June 18, 2013.

ADDRESSES: Interested persons are invited to submit comments regarding 
this proposal. Comments should refer to the proposal by name and/or OMB 
Control Number and should be sent electronically to 
[email protected] or in hard copy to: Paul Joice, Office of Policy 
Development and Research, Department of Housing and Urban Development, 
451 7th Street SW., Room 8120, Washington, DC 20410-6000. Please use 
``RAD Evaluation PRA Comment'' in the subject line of any email.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Paul Joice at 202-402-4608 (this is 
not a toll-free number) or [email protected], for copies of the 
proposed forms and other available documents. Please use ``RAD 
Evaluation PRA Comment'' in the subject line of any email.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: HUD will submit the proposed extension of 
information collection to OMB for review, as required by the Paperwork 
Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. Chapter 35, as amended). This Notice 
is soliciting comments from members of the public and affected agencies 
concerning the proposed collection of information to: (1) Evaluate 
whether the proposed collection of information is necessary for the 
proper performance of the functions of the agency, including whether 
the information will have

[[Page 23578]]

practical utility; (2) evaluate the accuracy of the agency's estimate 
of the burden of the proposed collection of information; (3) enhance 
the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; 
and (4) minimize the burden of the collection of information on those 
who are to respond, including the use of appropriate automated 
collection techniques or other forms of information technology, e.g., 
permitting electronic submission of responses.
    This Notice also lists the following information:
    Title of Proposal: Rental Assistance Demonstration Evaluation, 
Phase I.
    OMB Control Number: Pending.
    Description of the Need for the Information and Proposed Use: HUD 
is conducting an evaluation of the Rental Assistance Demonstration 
(RAD), focused on the conversion of public housing developments to 
project-based rental assistance and project-based vouchers. The 
evaluation will study a sample of RAD sites and a carefully chosen 
group of comparison sites. Identification of comparison sites will rely 
heavily on analysis of existing data--including internal HUD data on 
public housing and public housing tenants, and neighborhood data from 
the American Community Survey. If there are significant differences 
between RAD sites and comparison sites that are not reflected in the 
data, the resulting evaluation will be biased. Therefore it is 
necessary to conduct limited information collection from local experts 
to learn about any ``unobservable'' characteristics that should 
influence the selection of comparison sites. This information will 
refine the comparison group and enable HUD to produce more rigorous 
estimates of program impacts.
    Agency Form Numbers: None.
    Members of the Affected Public: This information collection request 
will affect individuals involved with public and assisted housing 
programs in the 24 sites selected to be part of the RAD Evaluation. Up 
to five individuals per site will be interviewed by telephone. They 
will be asked to provide information about a specific public housing 
development undergoing conversion through RAD--specifically, they will 
be asked about the decision to utilize RAD at that particular 
development. They will also be asked to comment on other public housing 
properties identified by the research team as potential comparison 
sites. These interviews will be semi-structured, guided by an interview 
protocol comprising mostly open-ended questions. Interviews will take 
no longer than 30 minutes.
    Estimate of the total number of hours needed to prepare the 
information collection including number of respondents, frequency of 
response, and hours of response: The following chart details the 
respondent burden:

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                                                                     Number of       Hours per
                                                                     responses       response       Total hours
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Telephone interviews............................................             120              .5              60
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    Total.......................................................             120              .5              60
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    Status of the proposed information collection: Pending OMB 
approval.

    Authority:  Section 3506 of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, 
44 U.S.C. Chapter 35, as amended.

    Dated: April 12, 2013.
 Jean Lin Pao,
 General Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy Development and 
Research.
[FR Doc. 2013-09237 Filed 4-18-13; 8:45 am]
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