[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 230 (Monday, November 30, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 76543-76544]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-26356]


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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; Comment 
Request; Application Package for Renewal of Generic Information 
Collection for Pilot and Test Data

AGENCY: Corporation for National and Community Service.

ACTION: Notice of information collection; request for comment.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the 
Corporation for National and Community Service (operating as 
AmeriCorps) is proposing to renew an information collection.

DATES: Written comments must be submitted to the individual and office 
listed in the ADDRESSES section by January 29, 2021.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by the title of the 
information collection activity, by any of the following methods:
    (1) By mail sent to: Corporation for National and Community 
Service; Attention Amy Borgstrom; 250 E Street SW, Washington, DC 
20525.
    (2) By hand delivery or by courier to the AmeriCorps mailroom at 
Room 8100 at the mail address given in paragraph (1) above, between 
9:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. Eastern Time, Monday through Friday, except 
federal holidays.
    (3) Electronically through www.regulations.gov.
    Comments submitted in response to this notice may be made available 
to the public through regulations.gov. For this reason, please do not 
include in your comments information of a confidential nature, such as 
sensitive personal information or proprietary information. If you send 
an email comment, your email address will be automatically captured and 
included as part of the comment that is placed in the public docket and 
made available on the internet. Please note that responses to this 
public comment request containing any routine notice about the 
confidentiality of the communication will be treated as public comment 
that may be made available to the public notwithstanding the inclusion 
of the routine notice.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Amy Borgstrom, 202-606-6930, or by 
email at [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    Title of Collection: Generic Clearance for the Testing/Piloting of 
Survey Instruments.
    OMB Control Number: 3045-0163. Type of Review: Renewal.
    Respondents/Affected Public: Individuals and Households; Businesses 
and Organizations; State, Local or Tribal Governments.
    Total Estimated Number of Annual Respondents: 350.
    Total Estimated Annual Frequency: Annual.
    Total Estimated Average Response Time per Response: 7,500 minutes 
for 50 respondents to respond to test or pilot surveys. 300 minutes for 
50 participants to participate in five focus groups. 3,000 minutes for 
50 participants to participate in individual interviews.
    Total Estimated Number of Annual Burden Hours: 10,800.
    Total Burden Cost (capital/startup): None.
    Total Burden Cost (operating/maintenance): None.
    Abstract: AmeriCorps seeks to renew this generic information 
collection in order to conduct focus groups and pilot test planned 
surveys. The information collection activity will enable pilot testing 
of survey instruments in an efficient, timely manner, in accordance 
with the Administration's commitment to improving service delivery. By 
pilot testing we mean information that provides useful insights on how 
respondents interact with the instrument but are not statistical 
surveys that yield quantitative results that can be generalized to the 
population of study. This feedback will provide insights into customer 
or stakeholder perceptions, experiences, and expectations regarding 
prospective studies. It will also allow feedback to contribute directly 
to the improvement of research program management.
    AmeriCorps will only submit a collection for approval under this 
generic clearance if it meets the following conditions:
     The collections are voluntary;
     The collections are low-burden for respondents (based on 
considerations of total burden hours, total number of respondents, or 
burden-hours per respondent) and are low-cost for both the respondents 
and the federal government;
     The collections are non-controversial and do not raise 
issues of concern to other Federal agencies;
     Any collection is targeted to the solicitation of opinions 
from respondents who have experience with the program or may have 
experience with the program in the near future;
     Personally identifiable information (PII) is collected 
only to the extent necessary and is not retained;
     Information gathered will be used only internally for 
general service improvement and program management purposes and is not 
intended for release outside of the agency;
     Information gathered will not be used for the purpose of 
substantially informing influential policy decisions; and
     Information gathered will yield qualitative information; 
the collections will not be designed or expected to yield statistically 
reliable results or used as though the results are generalizable to the 
population of study.
    Feedback collected under this generic clearance provides useful 
information, but it does not yield data that can be generalized to the 
overall population. This type of generic clearance for qualitative 
information will not be used for quantitative information collections 
that are designed to yield reliably actionable results, such as 
monitoring trends over time or documenting program performance. Such 
data uses require more rigorous designs that address: The target 
population to which generalizations will be made, the sampling frame, 
the sample design (including stratification and clustering), the 
precision requirements or power calculations that justify the proposed 
sample size, the expected response rate, methods for assessing 
potential non-response bias, the protocols for data collection, and any 
testing procedures that were or will be undertaken prior to fielding 
the study. Depending on the degree of influence the results are likely 
to have, such collections may still be eligible for submission for 
other generic mechanisms that are designed to yield quantitative 
results.
    As a general matter, information collections will not result in any 
new system of records containing privacy information and will not ask 
questions of a sensitive nature, such as sexual behavior and attitudes, 
religious beliefs, or other matters that are commonly considered 
private.
    Comments submitted in response to this notice will be summarized 
and/or included in the request for OMB approval. Comments are invited 
on: (a) Whether the collection of information is necessary for the 
proper performance of the functions of the agency, including whether 
the information shall have practical utility; (b) the accuracy of the

[[Page 76544]]

agency's estimate of the burden of the collection of information; (c) 
ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to 
be collected; (d) ways to minimize the burden of the collection of 
information on respondents, including through the use of automated 
collection techniques or other forms of information technology; and (e) 
estimates of capital or start-up costs and costs of operation, 
maintenance, and purchase of services to provide information. Burden 
means the total time, effort, or financial resources expended by 
persons to generate, maintain, retain, disclose or provide information 
to or for a Federal agency. This includes the time needed to review 
instructions; to develop, acquire, install and utilize technology and 
systems for the purpose of collecting, validating and verifying 
information, processing and maintaining information, and disclosing and 
providing information; to train personnel and to be able to respond to 
a collection of information, to search data sources, to complete and 
review the collection of information; and to transmit or otherwise 
disclose the information. All written comments will be available for 
public inspection on regulations.gov.

    Dated: November 24, 2020.
Mary Hyde,
Director, Office of Research and Evaluation.
[FR Doc. 2020-26356 Filed 11-27-20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6050-28-P