[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 134 (Friday, July 12, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 57127-57128]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-15183]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

Economic Development Administration


Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission for OMB 
Review; Comment Request; Regional Economic Development Data Collection 
Instrument

AGENCY: Economic Development Administration, Department of Commerce.

ACTION: Notice of information collection, request for comment.

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SUMMARY: The Department of Commerce will submit the following 
information collection request to the Office of Management and Budget 
(OMB) for review and clearance in accordance with the Paperwork 
Reduction Act of 1995, on or after the date of publication of this 
notice. 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.

ADDRESSES: Interested persons are invited to submit written comments 
via email to Hallie Davis, Tech Hubs Program Analyst, Economic 
Development Administration, at [email protected] or [email protected]. 
Do not submit Confidential Business Information or otherwise sensitive 
or protected information.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Requests for additional information or 
specific questions related to collection activities should be directed 
to Tech Hubs, Economic Development Administration, at [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Abstract

    The Economic Development Administration (EDA) leads the Federal 
economic development agenda by promoting innovation and 
competitiveness, and preparing American regions for growth and success 
in the worldwide economy. Guided by the basic principle that 
sustainable economic development should be driven locally, EDA works 
directly with communities and regions to help them build the capacity 
for economic development based on local business conditions and needs. 
Section 28 of the Stevenson-Wydler Technology Innovation Act of 1980 
(Regional Technology and Innovation Hub Program (15 U.S.C. 3722a) is 
the legal authority under which EDA awards financial assistance and 
designee status under the Fiscal Year (FY) 23 Regional Technology and 
Innovation Hub Program (``Tech Hubs''). Under Tech Hubs, EDA seeks to 
strengthen U.S. economic and national security through place-based 
investments in regions with the assets, resources, capacity, and 
potential to become globally competitive, within approximately ten 
years, in the technologies and industries of the future--and for those 
industries, companies, and the good jobs they create to start, grow, 
and remain in the U.S. in order to support the growth and modernization 
of U.S. manufacturing, improve commercialization of the domestic 
production of innovative research, and strengthen U.S. economic and 
national security. Tech Hubs is a two-phase program: in Phase 1, EDA 
funded Strategy Development grants and designated 31 regions as Tech 
Hubs. In Phase 2, designated Tech Hubs are eligible to compete for 
funding for implementation projects. Further information on Tech Hubs 
can be found at www.eda.gov.
    Public comments were previously requested via the Federal Register 
on April 19, 2024 during a 60-day comment period (89 FR 28732). This 
notice allows for an additional 30 days for public comments. The 
purpose of this notice is to seek comments from the public and other 
Federal agencies on a request for a new information collection for 
designated Tech Hubs to help ensure that Tech Hub investments are 
evidence-based, data-driven, and accountable to participants and the 
public.
    Lead consortium members of the 31 designated Tech Hubs will submit 
identified program metrics and qualitative information to help assess 
specific program objectives. A one-time questionnaire will be sent to 
each of the Tech Hubs consortium leads, which will gather the relevant 
data and stories for each of the 31 Tech Hubs designee consortia, 
resulting in consortia regional impact evaluation, resources, and tools 
for regional economic development decision-makers. The 31 designated 
Tech Hubs will provide information on the following objectives:
    (1) Accelerating technology innovation, commercialization, 
demonstration, and deployment, which may include information on the 
number of patents filed, licensing agreements, approximate levels of 
research and development expenditures, adoption of new technologies, 
and acceleration of current technologies.
    (2) Enabling infrastructure and advancing manufacturing, which may 
include information on specific facility information.
    (3) Integrating an agile workforce system, which may include 
information on skills needed by employers, available training, hard-to-
fill vacancies, policies and strategies for worker retention, and 
strategies for engagement with underserved workers.
    (4) Increasing business and entrepreneurial capacity, which may 
include assessing employer competitiveness, relationships with Federal, 
State, and local entities, current partnerships, and information about 
sources of capital to start and grow businesses and to adopt innovative 
approaches and technologies.

[[Page 57128]]

    (5) Strengthening national security, which may include information 
on procurement processes, critical inputs, sourcing, supply chains, and 
strategic implications of technologies and their use cases.
    Tech Hubs designees must submit this data one time to provide a 
baseline status of the Tech Hub and to help assess the results of 
designee status as well as potential future federal investments.
    EDA is particularly interested in public comment on how the 
proposed data collection will support the assessment of job quality, 
including in ways that rely on pairing this information administrative 
data for analysis and other ways to minimize burden, or if alternative 
information should be considered.

II. Method of Collection

    Data will be collected electronically.

III. Data

    OMB Control Number: None: new information collection.
    Form Number(s): None: New information collection.
    Type of Review: Regular submission: new information collection.
    Affected Public: Tech Hubs designees, which may include a(n): 
Institution of higher education, including Historically Black Colleges 
and Universities, Tribal Colleges or Universities, and Minority-Serving 
Institutions; State, territorial, local or Tribal governments or other 
political subdivisions of a State, including State and local agencies, 
or a consortium thereof; Industry groups or firms in relevant 
technology, innovation, or manufacturing sectors; Economic development 
organizations or similar entities that are focused primarily on 
improving science, technology, innovation, entrepreneurship, or access 
to capital; Labor organizations or workforce training organizations, 
which may include State and local workforce development boards; 
Economic development entities with relevant expertise, including a 
district organization; Organizations that contribute to increasing the 
participation of underserved populations in science, technology, 
innovation, and entrepreneurship; Venture development organizations; 
Organizations that promote local economic stability, high wage domestic 
jobs, and broad-based economic opportunities, such as employee 
ownership membership associations and State or local employee 
ownerships and cooperative development centers, financial institutions 
and investment funds, including community development financial 
institutions and minority depository institutions; Elementary schools 
and secondary schools, including area career and technical education 
schools; National laboratories; Federal laboratories; Manufacturing 
extension centers; Manufacturing U.S.A. Institutes; Transportation 
planning organizations; A cooperative extension services; Organizations 
that represent the perspectives of underserved communities in economic 
development initiatives; and Institutions receiving an award under the 
National Science Foundation's (NSF) Regional Innovation Engines 
Program.
    Preliminary Estimated Number of Respondents: Consortium Lead 
Members/Tech Hubs Designee Consortia: 31 respondents, responding once.
    Estimated Time Per Response: Consortium Lead Members/Tech Hubs 
Designee Consortia: 3 hours.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 93 hours.

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                                                                                     Number of         Total
          Type of respondent (one time)              Number of       Hours per     responses per  estimated time
                                                    respondents      response          year           (hours)
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Lead Consortium Members/Tech Hubs Designee                    31               3               1              93
 Consortia......................................                                          (Once)
                                                 ---------------------------------------------------------------
    Total.......................................              31               3               1              93
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    Estimated Total Annual Cost to Public: $ 5,769.72 (cost assumes 
application of U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics second quarter 2022 mean 
hourly employer costs for employee compensation for professional and 
related occupations of $62.04).
    Respondent's Obligation: Mandatory for Consortium Lead Members.
    Legal Authority: Stevenson Wydler Technology Innovation Act of 
1980, section 28 (15 U.S.C. 3722a).

IV. Request for Comments

    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 submitted within 30 days of the publication of 
this notice on the following website www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain. 
Find this particular information collection by selecting ``Currently 
under 30-day Review--Open for Public Comments.''

Oliver Wise,
Chief Data Officer and Acting Under Secretary for Economic Affairs, 
Commerce Department.
[FR Doc. 2024-15183 Filed 7-11-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-34-P