[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 49 (Tuesday, March 14, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 15731-15733]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-05132]


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DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY

[Docket Number DHS-2023-0012]


Agency Information Collection Activities: Generic Clearance for 
Pretesting Instruments and Procedures for Evaluation, Research, and 
Evidence Building

AGENCY: Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

ACTION: 60-Day notice and request for comments.

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SUMMARY: The Department of Homeland Security, will submit the following 
Information Collection Request (ICR) to the Office of Management and 
Budget (OMB) for review and clearance in accordance with the Paperwork 
Reduction Act of 1995.

DATES: Comments are encouraged and will be accepted until May 15, 2023. 
This process is conducted in accordance with 5 CFR 1320.1

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by docket number Docket 
#DHS-2023-0012, at:
    [cir] Federal eRulemaking Portal: https://www.regulations.gov. 
Please follow the instructions for submitting comments.
    Instructions: All submissions received must include the agency name 
and docket number Docket #DHS-2023-0012. All comments received will be 
posted without change to https://www.regulations.gov, including any 
personal information provided.
    Docket: For access to the docket to read background documents or 
comments received, go to https://www.regulations.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The U.S. Department of Homeland Security 
(DHS) intends to request approval from OMB for a generic clearance to 
pretest data collection instruments and procedures with more than nine 
participants to identify and resolve any question or procedural 
problems in DHS's survey administration. The Generic Clearance for 
Pretesting Instruments and Procedures for Evaluation, Research, and 
Evidence-Building is a new information collection request.

[[Page 15732]]

    The DHS studies its programs, and the populations they serve, 
through rigorous evaluation, research, and evidence-building 
activities. These include evaluations of existing programs, evaluations 
of innovative approaches to allow the Agency to respond to its evolving 
threat environment with effective strategies and operations that ensure 
a safe, secure, and prosperous Homeland, research syntheses, and 
descriptive and exploratory studies. To improve the development of its 
surveys used in evaluation, research, and evidence-building activities, 
the DHS intends to pretest data collection instruments and procedures 
through a variety of techniques including cognitive and usability 
laboratory and field techniques, behavior coding, exploratory 
interviews, respondent debriefing questionnaires, split sample 
experiments, focus groups, and pilot studies/pretests. These activities 
will allow the DHS to identify if and when a survey may be simplified 
for respondents, respondent burden may be reduced, and other possible 
improvements.
    The DHS will use the results of information collections internally 
to inform subsequent information collection requests. The information 
collected is not intended to be used as the principal basis for a 
decision by a federal decision-maker and is not expected to meet the 
threshold of influential or highly influential scientific information.
    The DHS will test a variety of instruments and procedures under 
this clearance. The exact nature of the instruments and the samples is 
dependent on each individual project and details will be provided for 
each individual information collection requests submitted. The 
particular samples included in future generic information collection 
requests will vary based on the content of the instrument being tested. 
The DHS and its contractors will collect information electronically 
and/or use online collaboration tools, as appropriate, to reduce the 
burden. Specific information regarding the use of technology will be 
submitted with each individual information collection request. 
Following standard OMB requirements, the DHS will submit a change 
request for each individual data collection activity under this generic 
clearance. Each request will include the individual instrument(s), a 
justification specific to the individual information collection, and 
any supplementary documents. OMB should review within 10 days of 
receiving each change request.
    Respondents include participants in DHS programs being evaluated; 
participants in DHS pilots and demonstrations; recipients of DHS grants 
and individuals served by DHS grantees; comparison group members; and 
other relevant populations, such as individuals eligible for DHS 
services. Small business or other small entities may be involved in 
these efforts but the DHS will minimize the burden on them of 
information collections approved under this clearance by sampling, 
asking for readily available information, and using short, easy-to-
complete information collection instruments.
    This may include one-time collections or iterative testing, based 
on the specific situation. In all cases, without the proposed 
information collection activities, the quality of the data collected 
for DHS studies would suffer. Pretesting of the scale envisioned here 
would not be done under other circumstances due to the time constraints 
of seeking clearance for each individual survey's pretesting plan. The 
efficient and timely pretesting and piloting efforts allow feedback to 
contribute directly to more targeted and improved study designs. 
Conversely, the failure to engage in pretesting and pilot data 
collection limits the DHS's ability to improve the quality of evidence 
about programs, pilots, initiatives, and services while reducing 
administrative burden to the public.
    If the Privacy Act does apply to a collection, the DHS will provide 
a Privacy Act statement, System of Record Notices (SORN), or other 
associated documentation, as appropriate. Participation in any 
formative data collection effort will be voluntary, and personally 
identifiable information will only be collected to the extent 
necessary. Respondents will be informed of all planned data uses, that 
their participation is voluntary, and that their information will be 
kept private to the extent permitted by law. All data collection shall 
protect respondent privacy to the extent permitted by law and will 
comply with all Federal and Agency regulations for private information. 
If a confidentiality pledge is deemed necessary, the Agency will only 
include a pledge of confidentiality supported by authority established 
in statute or regulation, supported by disclosure and data security 
policies that are consistent with the pledge.
    The primary purpose of data collected under this generic clearance 
is not for publication. However, because the pretesting and piloting 
data collection efforts are intended to inform the DHS's decision-
making related to evidence-building and programmatic activities, 
results of these methodological studies may be made public through 
methodological appendices or footnotes, reports on instrument 
development, instrument user guides, descriptions of respondent 
behavior, and other publications or presentations describing findings 
of methodological interest. The results of these pretesting activities 
may be prepared for presentation at professional meetings or 
publication in professional journals. Although not anticipated, the DHS 
may receive requests to release the information (e.g., congressional 
inquiry, Freedom of Information Act requests) and will disseminate the 
findings when appropriate, following the Agency's guidelines. Results 
will be labeled as exploratory in nature and any limitations will be 
described.
    The Office of Management and Budget is particularly interested in 
comments which:
    1. 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;
    2. 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;
    3. Enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to 
be collected; and
    4. 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.

Analysis

    Agency: Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
    Title: Generic Clearance for Pretesting Instruments and Procedures 
for Evaluation, Research, and Evidence Building.
    OMB Number: OMB Control Number.
    Frequency: One-time collections or iterative testing, based on the 
specific situation.
    Affected Public: Participants in DHS programs being evaluated; 
participants in DHS pilots and demonstrations; recipients of DHS grants 
and individuals served by DHS grantees; comparison group members; and 
other relevant populations, such as individuals eligible for DHS 
services.
    Number of Respondents: 3,590.

[[Page 15733]]

    Estimated Time per Respondent: 64 minutes.
    Total Burden Hours: 3,825.

Robert Dorr,
Executive Director, Business Management Directorate.
[FR Doc. 2023-05132 Filed 3-13-23; 8:45 am]
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