[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 182 (Friday, September 18, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 58343-58345]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-20222]


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CORPORATION FOR NATIONAL AND COMMUNITY SERVICE


Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the 
Office of Management and Budget for Review and Approval; Response to 
Comment Request; Civic Engagement and Volunteering: Current Population 
Survey Supplement

AGENCY: Corporation for National and Community Service.

ACTION: Notice; response to comments.

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SUMMARY: The Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS) 
published a document in the Federal Register on July 1, 2020 requesting 
public comment on a public information collection request (ICR) 
entitled The Civic Engagement and Volunteering Supplement (CEV) for 
review and approval in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act. 
This document provides the agency response to comments received during 
the 60-day comment period.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Amy Borgstrom, Associate Director of 
Policy, 202-422-2781.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Comments

    A 60-day Notice requesting public comment was published in the 
Federal Register on July 1, 2020 at Vol. 85 No. 127 FR 39537 39538. 
This comment period ended August 31, 2020. CNCS received 23 comments in 
response to the Notice. A majority of these comments (n = 18) supported 
the formal comments submitted by AL!VE, a national membership 
organization of over 500 leaders and professionals in volunteer 
engagement, and ASC, the association of the 52 Governor-supported state 
service commissions, which administer nearly 80% of AmeriCorps State 
and National Funding and support an ethic of service in their states 
and territories. The comments submitted by each organization and 
referenced by 16 other organizations are available at the Federal 
eRulemaking Portal at https://beta.regulations.gov/document/CNCS-2020-0011-0020. In summary, the comments and agency responses to these 
coordinated and thoughtful comments are as follows:
    Reinstate questions on types of activity, types of organization, 
who asked respondent to volunteer for the organization, and number of 
organizations volunteered with in past year. The re-designed supplement 
is intended to focus on the broader concept of civic engagement, of 
which volunteerism is one component. The re-designed supplement 
incorporates many of the recommendations made by the National Academy 
of Sciences, as well as recommendations made by experts in the field of 
civic engagement, social capital and volunteering. The agency reduced 
the number of questions based on Census recommendations to decrease 
burden and to increase response rates. The agency utilized statistical 
methods to validate the questions retained to ensure they measure 
desired constructs.
    Add two new questions about barriers to volunteering and knowledge 
about how to volunteer. The re-designed supplement is intended to focus 
on the broader concept of civic engagement, of which volunteerism is 
one component. The re-designed supplement incorporates many of the 
recommendations made by the National Academy of Sciences, as well as 
recommendations made by experts in the field of civic engagement, 
social capital and volunteering. The agency reduced the number of 
questions based on Census recommendations to decrease burden and to 
increase response rates. The agency utilized statistical methods to 
validate the questions retained to ensure they measure desired 
constructs. The agency is conducting other volunteer research through 
its grant program to explore more detailed questions about civic 
engagement and volunteering.
    Request that the balance of the questions be provided between the 
civic and volunteering questions. The re-designed supplement is 
intended to focus on the broader concept of civic engagement, of which 
volunteerism is one component. The re-designed supplement incorporates 
many of the recommendations made by the National Academy of Sciences, 
as well as recommendations made by experts in the field of civic 
engagement, social capital and volunteering. The agency reduced the 
number of questions based on Census recommendations to decrease burden 
and to increase response rates. The agency utilized statistical methods 
to validate the questions retained to ensure they measure desired 
constructs.
    Request that CNCS reinstate its practice of conducting a standard 
data analysis and report of data collected in the Volunteering and 
Civic Life Assessment, making results accessible and searchable to the 
general public. The agency has experienced staffing constraints in the 
Office of Research and Evaluation and the Office of Information 
Technology making it challenging to conduct analysis, reporting, and 
public access to the information.
    It is critical that CNCS does not lose sight of the volunteerism 
portion of its mission, which is how most Americans engage in giving 
back to their community . . . which includes a central focus on 
researching and promoting community volunteerism and volunteer 
engagement in America more broadly. The agency agrees and anticipates a 
continuation and future resourcing of its volunteer research program.
    It is important for CNCS to fix the 2019 supplement so future data 
is high quality and comparable to past federal data collections (2002 
to 2015).
    Over a decade of national trend data indicates relatively little 
variation in the national rates of civic behaviors, including 
demographic variations. As such the volunteer research program has been 
expanded to include more local examinations of civic behaviors and to 
explore the use of alternative data sources. Keeping the instrument 
relatively stable for a third administration of the combined supplement 
will help ensure data quality moving forward.
    Ensure that the federal government collects and reports annually on 
the trends in service and civic life. Over a decade of national trend 
data indicates relatively little variation in the national rates of 
civic behaviors, including demographic variations. As such the 
volunteer research program has been expanded to include more local 
examinations of civic behaviors and to explore the use of alternative 
data sources. Annual data on national service trends is collected via 
an annual member exit survey and is separate from this instrument which 
collects data from a nationally representative sample of the U.S. 
population who may or may not engage in civic behaviors like 
volunteering and who may or may not receive stipends like participants 
in national service programs. Statute and annual appropriations provide 
resources for this research--how is the agency using these resources? 
The agency uses Congressional appropriations to pay the U.S. Census 
Bureau to administer the VCLA/CEV supplement on a biannual schedule. 
When the CPS supplement is not being administered, the agency uses the 
appropriations to support its volunteer research grant program (for 
more information see https://www.nationalservice.gov/impact-our-nation/research-evaluation/research-competition). The agency has a different 
appropriations line for professional staffing which is the resource gap 
that has affected analysis, reporting, and access to the dataset.
    In addition to these comments, there were requests to move the 
order of the survey items, combine questions, remove questions, and 
expand upon questions. Two requests for adding COVID-19 related 
questions and two requests for adding questions specific to disasters 
were received. The items in their current order and structure have been 
tested and used for the 2017 and 2019 administrations of the survey.
    The agency's goal is to maintain relative stability in the 
instrument for a third administration to maintain the integrity and 
comparability of the data. Two new questions were added,

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however, to facilitate the transition from employment-related questions 
in the Current Population Survey to the questions in the CEV. These new 
questions address one request to add employment-based volunteering and 
civic engagement behaviors.
    Finally, two additional types of comments were received. One 
category of comments references the importance of including volunteer 
engagement practitioners in agency decision-making about this national 
survey. The other type of comment references the importance of 
considering the full continuum of volunteering and civic behaviors and 
not just the more formal types of civic engagement behaviors measured 
in this supplement.
    The agency remains committed to being responsive to the expertise 
and information needs of all public stakeholders. The agency's 
statutorily mandated volunteer research program will continue to 
evolve. The goal is continuous learning and improvement and this 
supplement is a key component of our overall volunteer research 
program.
    The CEV, however, comes with constraints in terms of number of 
survey items and time demands we can ask of respondents. Addressing the 
wide range of important questions about volunteering and civic 
engagement of interest to practitioners, researchers, and policymakers 
will require a comprehensive, multi-faceted strategy. The agency has 
begun designing and implementing this multi-dimensional approach and 
looks forward to building upon progress made to date in partnership 
with all interested stakeholders.

    Dated: September 9, 2020.
Mary Hyde,
Director, Office of Research and Evaluation.
[FR Doc. 2020-20222 Filed 9-17-20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6050-28-P