Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the Office of Management and Budget for Review and Approval; Comment Request, 34332 [2019-15228]

Agencies

• Agency for International Development

[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 138 (Thursday, July 18, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Page 34332]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-15228]


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                                                Federal Register
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Federal Register / Vol. 84, No. 138 / Thursday, July 18, 2019 / 
Notices

[[Page 34332]]



AGENCY FOR INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT


Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the 
Office of Management and Budget for Review and Approval; Comment 
Request

AGENCY: U.S. Agency for International Development.

ACTION: Notice of information collection.

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SUMMARY: U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), as part of 
its continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, 
invites the general public and other Federal agencies to take this 
opportunity to comment on the following new information collection, as 
required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, Public Law 104-13. 
Comments are requested concerning (1) Whether the proposed collection 
of information is necessary for the sustaining USAID-funded programming 
beyond USAID funding; (2) the accuracy of USAID's estimate of the 
burden of the proposed collection of information; (3) ways to enhance 
the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; 
and (4) ways to minimize the burden of the collection of information on 
respondents.

DATES: All comments should be submitted within 60 calendar days from 
the date of this publication.

ADDRESSES: Interested persons are invited to submit comments regarding 
the proposed information collection to Elena Walls, USAID, Bureau of 
Economic Growth, Education and Environment (E3)/Office of Education at 
[email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Elena Walls, USAID, Bureau of Economic 
Growth, Education and Environment (E3)/Office of Education at 
[email protected] or 202-468-3810.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Abstract

    While the field of international education has made great strides 
in recent years with raising the number and the quality of impact 
evaluations, their results are incomplete without cost data for these 
interventions. Policy makers and donors cannot make fully informed 
decisions about the best way to invest limited resources without 
information about the costs of achieving desired outputs and outcomes 
through different interventions or delivery strategies. Evidence on the 
cost of interventions is also critical for making responsible decisions 
about scaling and sustaining programs within country systems. The USAID 
Office of Education is working to address this gap through systematic 
efforts to measure costs of USAID interventions. The proposed form is 
intended to collect such data. The form includes a section for 
collecting data on the amount and details of contributions of partner 
governments and non-governmental entities (private companies, NGOs, 
individuals) toward achieving objectives of USAID-funded education 
activities, and a section on collecting information on details of 
interventions. ``Intervention'' is defined as a discreet set of tasks 
performed by the USAID awardee that is expected to lead to specific 
education-related outcomes. The ``contributions'' are in-kind or 
monetary donations by the host government or non-governmental entity 
valued at or over $1,000 and essential to achieving activity 
objectives. ``Dosage'' refers to the amount of intervention a 
beneficiary receives. The data will be collected by USAID/Missions from 
USAID implementing partners using worksheets in the form which will be 
adjusted according to the scope of work of the USAID-funded activity. 
Implementing partners will be submitting data in a spreadsheet file. 
USAID/Washington and USAID/Missions will use the data collected through 
this form used alongside expenditure data in cost analyses of education 
activities to calculate cost-efficiency and cost-effectiveness of 
USAID-funded education interventions. The main purpose is to enable a 
transfer of effective education interventions to host governments. The 
secondary purpose is to improve future planning and budgeting by USAID 
Missions. These objectives are aligned with Congressional requirements 
under Foreign Aid Transparency and Accountability Act of 2016 and under 
Reinforcing Education Accountability in Development Act or the READ Act 
of 2018. They are also closely aligned with the Journey to Self-
Reliance for countries where USAID operates.

Method of Collection

    Electronic.

II. Data

    Title: USAID Education Cost Reporting Form.
    OMB Number: Not assigned, new information collection.
    Expiration Date: Not yet known.
    Type of Request: New collection.
    Affected Public: US and foreign-based organizations receiving 
funding for education programming from USAID.
    Estimated Number of Respondents per Year: 90.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours per Respondent: Between 2 and 
14 hours per respondent per year, average 8 hours.

III. Request for Comments

    Comments are invited on: (1) Whether the proposed collection of 
information is necessary for the sustaining USAID-funded programming 
beyond USAID funding; (2) the accuracy of USAID's estimate of the 
burden of the proposed collection of information; (3) ways to enhance 
the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; 
and (4) ways to minimize the burden of the collection of information on 
respondents. Comments submitted in response to this notice will be 
summarized and included in the request for OMB approval of this 
information collection. The comments will also become a matter of 
public record.

Benjamin Sylla,
Evidence Team Lead, Engagement, Policy and Planning Division, Office of 
Education, U.S. Agency for International Development.
[FR Doc. 2019-15228 Filed 7-17-19; 8:45 am]
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