Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposed eCollection; eComments Requested; Substantive Revision of Previously Approved Collection OJP Solicitation Template, 27724-27725 [2017-12468]

Agencies

• Department of Justice
• Office of Justice Programs

[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 115 (Friday, June 16, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 27724-27725]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-12468]


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DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

Office of Justice Programs

[OMB Number 1121-0329]


Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposed eCollection; 
eComments Requested; Substantive Revision of Previously Approved 
Collection OJP Solicitation Template

AGENCY: Office of Justice Programs, Department of Justice.

ACTION: 60-Day notice.

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SUMMARY: The Department of Justice (DOJ), Office of Justice Programs 
(OJP), will be submitting the following information collection request 
to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval in 
accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.

DATES: Comments are encouraged and will be accepted for 60 days until 
August 15, 2017.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: If you have additional comments 
especially on the estimated public burden or associated response time, 
suggestions, or need a copy of the proposed information collection 
instrument with instructions or additional information, please contact 
Maria Swineford, (202) 616-0109, Office of Audit, Assessment, and 
Management, Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice, 810 
Seventh Street NW., Washington, DC 20531 or maria.swineford@usdoj.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Written comments and suggestions from the 
public and affected agencies concerning the proposed collection of 
information are encouraged. Your comments should address one or more of 
the following four points:

--Evaluate whether the proposed collection of information is necessary 
for the proper performance of the functions of the Bureau of Justice 
Statistics, including whether the information will have practical 
utility;
--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;
--Evaluate whether and if so how the quality, utility, and clarity of 
the information to be collected can be enhanced; and
--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 
submission of responses.

    Overview of this information collection:
    1. Type of Information Collection: Substantive Revision to 1121-
0329.
    2. The Title of the Form/Collection: OJP Solicitation Template.
    3. The agency form number, if any, and the applicable component of 
the Department sponsoring the collection: No form number available. 
Office of Justice Programs, Department of Justice.
    4. Affected public who will be asked or required to respond, as 
well as a brief abstract: The primary respondents are

[[Page 27725]]

state agencies, tribal governments, local governments, colleges and 
universities, non-profit organizations, for-profit organizations, and 
faith-based organizations. The purpose of the solicitation template is 
to provide a framework to develop program-specific announcements 
soliciting applications for funding. A program solicitation outlines 
the specifics of the funding program; describes requirements for 
eligibility; instructs an applicant on the necessary components of an 
application under a specific program (e.g., project activities, project 
abstract, project timeline, proposed budget, etc.); outlines program 
evaluation and performance measures; explains selection criteria and 
the review process; and provides registration dates, deadlines, and 
instructions on how to apply within the designated application system.
    The substantive revision to this collection include three items: 
(1) The OJP Budget Detail Worksheet; (2) the Coordinated Tribal 
Assistance Solicitation (CTAS) Tribal Narrative Profile, Budget Detail 
Worksheet and Demographic Form; and (3) the Financial Management and 
System of Internal Controls Questionnaire (FCQ).
    The now mandatory OJP Budget Detail Worksheet (BDW) will be 
streamlined and automated with the intent of reducing the burden on 
public submissions. The current PDF format will be converted to Excel, 
providing ease of entry and more accurate detail of budget information. 
Additionally, the BDW has taken the ``consultant/contracts'' section 
and broken the details out into two separate sections, ``subrecipient/
subgrants'' and ``procurement contracts'' to better categorize the 
details of proposed consultants. Updated and clearer guidance will also 
be added to better explain how to complete the BDW and the level of 
detail required in each section.
    The Coordinated Tribal Assistance Solicitation (CTAS) Tribal 
Community and Justice Profile is designed to allow the tribe to 
describe its community strengths, resources, challenges, and needs. The 
applicant may enter as much or as little text as needed to fully 
describe the community. The CTAS BDW and Demographics Form will be 
updated to align with the BDW streamlining and automation efforts. In 
addition to those revisions, the Demographics section of the CTAS BDW 
is designed to capture the unique characteristics of each tribe in 
order to paint a more detailed picture of each tribe's strengths and 
challenges. It requests applicants to provide information regarding 
tribe information; Uniform Crime Report data; law enforcement 
information; and facilities, capacities, and capabilities information.
    The revised FCQ will include five new questions: Three which are 
required by legislation regarding nonprofit status; one which is simply 
a clarification of an existing approved question regarding subawards 
and procurement contracts; and one regarding executive compensation 
that is also required by legislation and was already part of the 
approved OJP solicitation template but was requiring a separate email 
submission to OJP. Adding it to the FCQ will save the applicant time 
and effort.
    The primary respondents for all three revisions are the same, as 
listed above. While use of the CTAS BDW and Demographics form is not 
mandatory, it is required that all applicants ensure that all budget 
and demographic information requested in the form is included in 
whichever format the applicant choses to use. OJP intends to require 
the same with the OJP BDW. The FCQ is also required of all application 
submissions that do not already have an updated FCQ on file within the 
last 3 years.
    5. An estimate of the total number of respondents and the amount of 
time estimated for an average respondent to respond: It is estimated 
that information will be collected annually from approximately 10,000 
applicants. Annual cost to the respondents is based on the number of 
hours involved in preparing and submitting a complete application 
package. Mandatory requirements for an application under the OJP 
Standard Solicitation Template include a program narrative; budget 
details and narrative, via the OJP standard BDW; Applicant Disclosure 
of Pending Applications; Applicant Disclosure of High Risk Status; and 
the FCQ. With the exception of the Tribal Narrative Profile and added 
Demographic form, the mandatory requirements for an application under 
the CTAS Solicitation Template are the same as those for OJP. Optional 
requirements can be made mandatory depending on the type of program to 
include, but not limited to: Project abstract, indirect cost rate 
agreement, tribal authorizing resolution, timelines, logic models, 
memoranda of understanding, letters of support, resumes, and research 
and evaluation independence and integrity. Public reporting burden for 
this collection of information is estimated at up to 32 hours per 
application. The 32-hour estimate is based on the amount of time to 
prepare a research and evaluation proposal, one of the most time 
intensive types of application solicited by OJP. The estimate of burden 
hours is based on OJP's prior experience with the research application 
submission process.
    6. An estimate of the total public burden (in hours) associated 
with the collection: The estimated public burden associated with this 
application is 320,000 hours.
    If additional information is required contact: Melody Braswell, 
Department Clearance Officer, United States Department of Justice, 
Justice Management Division, Policy and Planning Staff, Two 
Constitution Square, 145 N Street NE., 3E.405A, Washington, DC 20530.

    Dated: June 12, 2017.
Melody Braswell,
Department Clearance Officer for PRA, U.S. Department of Justice.
[FR Doc. 2017-12468 Filed 6-15-17; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4410-18-P