[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 209 (Tuesday, November 2, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 60441-60443]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-23687]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE


Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the 
Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for Review and Approval; Comment 
Request; Identifying Actionable Opportunities To Advance Equity and 
Remove Barriers To Support Underserved Communities

AGENCY: Department of Commerce.

ACTION: Notice; request for comment.

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SUMMARY: The Department of Commerce (DOC), as part of its commitment to

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support the President's Executive Order, Advancing Racial Equity and 
Support for Underserved Communities, is announcing an opportunity for 
public comment on a new proposed information collection, ``Identifying 
Actionable Opportunities to Advance Equity and Remove Barriers to 
Support Underserved Communities''. In accordance with the Paperwork 
Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), we invite the general public and other 
Federal agencies to comment on proposed, and continuing information 
collections, which helps us assess the impact of our information 
collection requirements and minimize the public's reporting burden. The 
purpose of this notice is to allow for 60 days of public comment 
preceding submission of the collection to OMB.

DATES: To ensure consideration, comments regarding this proposed 
information collection must be received on or before January 3, 2022.

ADDRESSES: Interested persons are invited to submit written comments to 
the Department of Commerce PRA Clearance Officer at 
[email protected]. All comments received are part of the public 
record. Comments will generally be posted without change. All 
Personally Identifiable Information (for example, name and address) 
voluntarily submitted by the commenter may be publicly accessible. Do 
not submit Confidential Business Information or otherwise sensitive or 
protected information.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Requests for additional information 
should be directed to Attn: Sheleen Dumas, PRA Clearance Officer, 
Office of Policy and Governance, Commerce Headquarters, 1401 
Constitution Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20230; (202) 482-3306; or via 
email: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Abstract

    In January 2021, President Biden issued Executive Order 13985, 
`Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities', 
which established policy instructing the Federal Government to pursue a 
comprehensive approach to advancing equity for all, including people of 
color and others who have been historically underserved, marginalized, 
and adversely affected by persistent poverty and inequality, and tasks 
agencies with developing proactive policies, regulations, and guidance 
that affirmatively promote equity and speak to the needs of underserved 
communities. This will require agencies to review existing policies, 
rules, regulatory actions, and guidance. It will also require that 
agencies identify drivers of systemic inequities that are not currently 
being addressed and develop potential policies to address those 
inequities.
    This new information collection will enable the Department of 
Commerce to act in accordance with this Executive Order to improve both 
efficiency and mission delivery, and to remove systemic barriers to 
opportunities and benefits for underserved communities. To accomplish 
this mission effectively, Commerce needs ongoing feedback on its 
programs and services. This information collection item allows Commerce 
to solicit clients' opinions about the use of products, services, and 
events.
    Commerce will collect, analyze, and interpret information gathered 
through this information collection to identify gaps in equity and make 
improvements in accessibility, navigation, use, and service delivery 
based on insights gathered through developing an understanding of the 
user experience in underserved communities. Commerce will develop a 
question bank for all Bureaus to use to solicit information from both 
federal and non-federal individuals and organizations to develop 
policies and programs that deliver resources and benefits equitably to 
all.
    These data collection efforts may be either qualitative or 
quantitative in nature or may consist of mixed methods. Additionally, 
data may be collected via a variety of means, including but not limited 
to electronic or social media, direct or indirect observation (i.e., in 
person, video and audio collections), interviews, questionnaires, 
surveys, and focus groups. Steps will be taken to ensure anonymity of 
respondents in each activity covered by this request.
    As a general matter, these information collections will not result 
in any new system of records containing privacy information and will 
not ask questions of a sensitive nature and matters that are commonly 
considered private. Personally identifiable information (PII) is 
collected only to the extent necessary and is not retained.
    If this information is not collected, Commerce will be unable to 
systematically determine the actual and relative levels of performance 
for its programs and services to underserved communities and to provide 
clear, actionable insights for equitable intervention.

II. Method of Collection

    The Department of Commerce will collect this information by 
electronic means when possible, as well as by mail, fax, telephone, 
technical discussions; and customer experience activities such as 
feedback surveys, focus groups, user testing, and in-person interviews. 
Department of Commerce may also utilize observational techniques to 
collect this information.

III. Data

    OMB Control Number: 0690-NEW.
    Form Number(s): New.
    Type of Review: Regular submission.
    Affected Public: Collections will be targeted to the solicitation 
of opinions from respondents who have experience with the Commerce 
programs, services, or events or may have experience with the programs, 
services, or events in the future. For the purposes of this request, 
``customers'' are individuals, businesses, and organizations that 
interact with a Federal Government agency or program, either directly 
or via a federal contractor. This could include individuals or 
households; businesses or other for-profit organizations; not-for-
profit institutions; State, local or tribal governments; Federal 
government; and Universities.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 150,000.
    Estimated Time per Response: Varied, dependent upon the data 
collection method used. The possible response time to complete a 
questionnaire or survey may be 3 minutes or up to 2 hours to 
participate in an interview or focus group.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 32,875.
    Estimated Total Annual Cost to Public: $0 (This is not the cost of 
respondents' time, but the indirect costs respondents may incur for 
such things as purchases of specialized software or hardware needed to 
report, or expenditures for accounting or records maintenance services 
required specifically by the collection.).
    Respondent's Obligation: Voluntary.
    Legal Authority: Executive Order (E.O.) 13985.

IV. Request for Comments

    We are soliciting public comments to permit the Department/Bureau 
to: (a) Evaluate whether the proposed information collection is 
necessary for the proper functions of the Department, including whether 
the information will have practical utility; (b) Evaluate the accuracy 
of our estimate of the time and cost burden for this proposed 
collection, including the validity of the methodology and assumptions 
used; (c) Evaluate ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of 
the information to be collected; and (d) Minimize the

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reporting burden on those who are to respond, including the use of 
automated collection techniques or other forms of information 
technology.
    Comments that you submit in response to this notice are a matter of 
public record. We will include or summarize each comment in our request 
to OMB to approve this ICR. Before including your address, phone 
number, email address, or other personal identifying information in 
your comment, you should be aware that your entire comment--including 
your personal identifying information--may be made publicly available 
at any time. While you may ask us in your comment to withhold your 
personal identifying information from public review, we cannot 
guarantee that we will be able to do so.

Sheleen Dumas,
Department PRA Clearance Officer, Office of the Chief Information 
Officer, Commerce Department.
[FR Doc. 2021-23687 Filed 11-1-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-17-P