[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 21 (Friday, January 31, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 5459-5460]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-02084]


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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Employment and Training Administration


Comment Request for Information Collection for the Workforce 
Innovation Fund (WIF) Grant Program, New Collection.

AGENCY: Employment and Training Administration (ETA), Labor.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Department of Labor, as part of its continuing effort to 
reduce paperwork and respondent burden, conducts a preclearance 
consultation program to provide the general public and federal agencies 
with an opportunity to comment on proposed and/or continuing 
collections of information in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction 
Act of 1995 (PRA95) [44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)]. This program helps to 
ensure that requested data can be provided in the desired format, 
reporting burden (time and financial resources) is minimized, 
collection instruments are clearly understood, and the impact of 
collection requirements on respondents can be properly assessed. 
Currently, the Employment and Training Administration is soliciting 
comments concerning the collection of data about Workforce Innovation 
Fund (WIF) [SGA/DFA PY-11-05] grant program.

DATES: Written comments must be submitted to the office listed in the 
addressee's section below on or before April 1, 2014.

ADDRESSES: Submit written comments to Employment and Training 
Administration, Office of Workforce Investment, Division of WIA Adult 
Services and Workforce System, 200 Constitution Avenue NW., Room S-
4209, Washington, DC 20210, Attention: Wendy Slee. Telephone number: 
202-693-3046 (this is not a toll-free number). Individuals with hearing 
or speech impairments may access the telephone number above via TTY by 
calling the toll-free Federal Information Relay Service at 1-877-889-
5627 (TTY/TDD). Fax: 202-693-3817. Email: [email protected]. 
A copy of the proposed information collection request (ICR) can be 
obtained by contacting the person listed above.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background

    The WIF was created as a grant program by the Full-Year Continuing 
Appropriations Act, 2011 (in Sec. 1801, Title VIII, Div. B of Pub. L. 
112-10), and the first round of grants was awarded in June 2012, with 
service delivery beginning in 2013. According to this Act, the WIF was 
established to ``carry out projects that demonstrate innovative 
strategies or replicate effective evidence-based strategies that align 
and strengthen the workforce investment system in order to improve 
program delivery and education and employment outcomes for program 
beneficiaries.'' One of the purposes of the WIF grants is to contribute 
to the documentation of evidence-based practice within the field of 
workforce development.
    This document requests approval to collect information to meet the 
reporting and recordkeeping requirements of the WIF grant program. In 
applying for the WIF grant program, grantees agreed to submit quarterly 
reports--both narrative and performance reports--that describe

[[Page 5460]]

project activities and outcomes that relate to the project and document 
the training or labor market information approaches used by the 
grantee. The quarterly performance narrative report will provide a 
format for a detailed account of program activities, accomplishments, 
and progress toward performance outcomes during the quarter. These 
reports will collect aggregate information on participants' grant 
progress and accomplishments, grant challenges, grant technical 
assistance needs and success stories and lessons learned through five 
questions--four programmatic questions and one performance question. 
Because WIF grants tackle a range of employment and training services 
and strategies, each grant will have a unique set of performance goals 
and outcome measures designed by the grantee for the specific 
innovation and project being pursued in the grant. The fifth of the 
five questions in the quarterly performance narrative report will ask 
for performance data based on the unique grant performance measures and 
key project milestones identified by each grantee.
    The information from these reports will be used to evaluate the 
performance of the WIF projects; manage performance risk; and collect 
lessons that are learned in terms of processes, strategies, and 
performance from the projects. The Employment and Training 
Administration (ETA) will use the data to help inform policy about the 
workforce and possible changes in structures and policies that enable a 
closer alignment and integration of workforce development, education, 
human services, social insurance, and economic development programs. 
The data will also be used to determine what technical assistance needs 
the WIF grantees have so that ETA can provide such assistance to 
support improvement of grantee outcomes.
    The information provided in the quarterly performance narrative 
reports, including the lessons learned through innovative projects, is 
necessary for increasing the body of knowledge about what works in 
workforce development. This information collection maintains a 
reporting and record-keeping system for a minimum level of information 
collection that is necessary to hold WIF grantees appropriately 
accountable for the Federal funds they receive and to allow the 
Department to fulfill its oversight and management responsibilities.
    To reduce grantee burden, grantees will only report on performance 
measures they identify in their project that are specifically 
applicable to their grant. This approach minimizes the reporting burden 
on grantees and encourages grantees to identify and document a new set 
of achievements and performance measures that apply directly to the 
grant projects.

II. Review Focus

    The Department of Labor is particularly interested in comments 
which:
     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 practical utility;
     evaluate the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the 
burden of the proposed collection of information, including the 
validity of the methodology and assumptions used;
     enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the 
information to be collected; and
     minimize the burden of the collection of information on 
those who are to respond, including through the use of appropriate 
automated, electronic, mechanical, or other technological collection 
techniques or other forms of information technology, e.g., permitting 
electronic submissions of responses.

III. Current Actions

    Type of Review: New collection.
    Title: Workforce Innovation Fund grant program.
    OMB Number: 1205-0NEW.
    Affected Public: Workforce Innovation Fund grant recipients.
    Form(s): Quarterly narrative and performance reports.
    Total Annual Burden Cost for Respondents: $0.

                                          Estimated Total Burden Hours
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                                  Number of                            Total       Average time
   Data collection activity      respondents        Frequency        responses     per  response   Burden hours
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Quarterly Performance                      26   Quarterly.......             104              20            2080
 Narrative Report.
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    Comments submitted in response to this comment request will be 
summarized and/or included in the request for OMB approval of the ICR; 
they will also become a matter of public record.

    Signed at Washington, DC, this 30th day of December, 2013.
Eric M. Seleznow,
Acting Assistant Secretary for Employment and Training Administration, 
Labor.
[FR Doc. 2014-02084 Filed 1-30-14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4510-FN-P