[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 37 (Tuesday, February 25, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 10651-10652]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-03685]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

Economic Development Administration


Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request

    The Department of Commerce will submit to the Office of Management 
and Budget (OMB) for clearance the following proposal for collections 
of information under the provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 
U.S.C. chapter 35).
    Agency: Economic Development Administration (EDA), Department of 
Commerce.
    Title: Semi-Annual and Annual Data Collection Instruments for EDA 
Grant and Cooperative Agreement Award Recipients.
    OMB Control Number: 0610-0098.
    Form Number(s): ED-915, ED-916, ED-917, and ED-918.
    Type of Request: Revision of currently approved information 
collections (Forms ED-916, ED-917, and ED-918) and extension without 
revision of a currently approved information collection (Form ED-915).
    Number of Respondents: 2,150 (revised Forms ED-916, ED-917, and ED-
918: 550 semiannual respondents and 550 annual respondents; extended 
Form ED-915: 500 respondents).
    Average Hours per Response: 2.5 to 8 hours (revised Forms ED-916, 
ED-917, and ED-918: 2.5 hours semiannually and 6 hours annually; 
extended Form ED-915: 8 hours).
    Burden Hours: 10,050 hours (revised Forms ED-916, ED-917, and ED-
918: 2,750 hours semiannually and 3,300 hours annually; extended Form 
ED-915: 4,000 hours).
    Needs and Uses: EDA must comply with the Government Performance and 
Results Act of 1993 (Pub. L. 103-62) and the GPRA Modernization Act of 
2010 (Pub. L. 111-352), which require Federal agencies to develop 
performance measures and report to Congress and stakeholders the 
results of the agency's performance. EDA's diverse portfolio of 
programs, the changing economy, and advances in the field of program 
evaluation make updates to

[[Page 10652]]

EDA's methods for performance measurement and program evaluation 
necessary in order to ensure transparency, accountability, and 
effectiveness of EDA investments. The recently passed Foundations for 
Evidence-Based Policymaking Act of 2018 (Pub. L. 115-435) further 
emphasizes the importance of updating existing methodologies for 
performance measurement and program evaluation to align with evolving 
best practices.
    EDA proposes revising Forms ED-916, ED-917, and ED-918, which are 
currently used to collect limited performance information on sponsored 
activities and resulting outcomes from the grantees receiving 
assistance under just three of EDA's non-infrastructure programs: 
Partnership Planning, University Center, and the Trade and Adjustment 
Assistance for Firms, respectively. The revised Forms ED-916, ED-917, 
and ED-918 would instead comprehensively cover all of EDA's non-
infrastructure programs: Economic Adjustment Assistance (non-
infrastructure projects), including new Revolving Loan Funds; Planning, 
including Partnership Planning; Local Technical Assistance, including 
University Centers; Build to Scale (formerly Regional Innovation 
Strategies); Research and National Technical Assistance; and Trade 
Adjustment Assistance for Firms. The data on program-sponsored 
activities and associated outcomes will be collected on semi-annual and 
annual bases, respectively.
    The revised data collection instruments were developed through 
cooperative agreements with a number of leading research institutions, 
most notably SRI International. The methodology and applications for 
the instruments are described in the Innovative Metrics for Economic 
Development report and Toolkit for Economic Development Practitioners 
that are available on EDA's website at www.eda.gov/performance/.
    EDA does not propose to revise the remaining fourth form under this 
information collection, Form ED-915, which is used to collect 
information on infrastructure and existing revolving loan fund (RLF) 
projects funded through awards from EDA's Public works and Economic 
Adjustment Assistance programs. Form ED-915 would instead be extended 
without change; however, EDA plans to revise Form ED-915 in the future 
to update the information collected on infrastructure projects. Note 
that all RLF awards made after the implementation of the revised Forms 
ED-916, ED-917, and ED-918 will be required to report performance 
information using those Forms; this requirement may be extended to all 
RLF awards when Form ED-915 is revised.
    Affected Public: State and local governments; Development 
Organizations; Indian Tribes; Institutions of higher education; and 
Nonprofit organizations.
    Frequency: Semi-annual and Annual.
    Respondent's Obligation: Mandatory.
    This information collection request may be viewed at reginfo.gov. 
Follow the instructions to view Department of Commerce collections 
currently under review by OMB.
    Written comments and recommendations for the proposed information 
collection should be sent within 30 days of publication of this notice 
to [email protected] or faxed to (202) 395-5806.

Sheleen Dumas,
Department PRA Clearance Officer, Office of the Chief Information 
Officer, Commerce Department.
[FR Doc. 2020-03685 Filed 2-24-20; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3510-34-P