Agency Information Collection Activities: Generic Clearance for Formative Data Collections for Evaluations, Research, and Evidence Building, 38879-38881 [2023-12658]

Download as PDF ddrumheller on DSK120RN23PROD with NOTICES1 Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 114 / Wednesday, June 14, 2023 / Notices 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 The primary purpose of data collected under this generic clearance is not for publication.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 evidencebuilding 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 VerDate Sep<11>2014 19:24 Jun 13, 2023 Jkt 259001 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. 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. There is no change or adjustment to the burden associated with the collection of information associated with the DHS complaint form. DHS is not proposing to make any changes to PO 00000 Frm 00071 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 38879 the DHS compliant form. This request is a renewal of the current ICR collection expiring in 60 days. Analysis Agency: Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Title: Generic Clearance for Formative Data Collection for Evaluation, Research, and Evidence Building. OMB Number: 1601–New. Frequency: One-time collection. Affected Public: Individuals and households. Number of Respondents: 3,590. Estimated Time Per Respondent: 64 minutes. Total Burden Hours: 3,825. Robert Dorr, Executive Director, Business Management Directorate. [FR Doc. 2023–12659 Filed 6–13–23; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 9112–FL–P DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY [Docket Number DHS–2023–0011] Agency Information Collection Activities: Generic Clearance for Formative Data Collections for Evaluations, Research, and Evidence Building Department of Homeland Security (DHS). ACTION: 30-Day notice and request for comments; generic clearance for formative data collections for evaluations, research, and evidence building. AGENCY: The Department of Homeland Security, DHS 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. DHS previously published this information collection request (ICR) in the Federal Register on 03/14/2023, for a 60-day public comment period. No comments submitted. SUMMARY: Comments are encouraged and will be accepted until July 14, 2023. This process is conducted in accordance with 5 CFR 1320.10. ADDRESSES: Written comments and recommendations for the proposed information collection should be sent within 30 days of publication of this notice to www.reginfo.gov/public/do/ PRAMain. Find this particular information collection by selecting ‘‘Currently under 30-day Review—Open DATES: E:\FR\FM\14JNN1.SGM 14JNN1 ddrumheller on DSK120RN23PROD with NOTICES1 38880 Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 114 / Wednesday, June 14, 2023 / Notices for Public Comments’’ or by using the search function. 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 EvidenceBuilding is a new information collection request. The DHS studies its programs, and the populations they serve, through rigorous evaluation, research, and evidencebuilding 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 VerDate Sep<11>2014 19:24 Jun 13, 2023 Jkt 259001 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 PO 00000 Frm 00072 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 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 evidencebuilding 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. 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 E:\FR\FM\14JNN1.SGM 14JNN1 Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 114 / Wednesday, June 14, 2023 / Notices 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. There is no change or adjustment to the burden associated with the collection of information associated with the DHS complaint form. DHS is not proposing to make any changes to the DHS compliant form. This request is a renewal of the current ICR collection expiring in 60 days. Analysis (HCFAC) meeting and sets forth the proposed agenda. The HCFAC meeting will be held on Thursday, June 29, 2023. The meeting is open to the public and is accessible to individuals with disabilities. The hybrid meeting (virtual and in-person meeting) will be held on Thursday, June 29, 2023, starting at 10:30 a.m. Pacific Daylight Time (PDT). FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Virginia F. Holman, Housing Program Technical Specialist, Office of Housing Counseling, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development; telephone number 540–894–7790 (this is not a tollfree number); email virginia.f.holman@ hud.gov. HUD welcomes and is prepared to receive calls from individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing, as well as individuals with speech and communication disabilities. To learn more about how to make an accessible telephone call, please visit: https://www.fcc.gov/consumers/guides/ telecommunications-relay-service-trs. Individuals may also email HCFACCommittee@hud.gov for information. DATES: Agency: Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Title: Generic Clearance for Formative Data Collection for Evaluation, Research, and Evidence Building. OMB Number: 1601–New. Frequency: One-time collection. Affected Public: Individuals and households. Number of Respondents: 22,750. Estimated Time per Respondent: 33 minutes. Total Burden Hours: 12,488. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Robert Dorr, Executive Director, Business Management Directorate. Draft Agenda—Housing Counseling Federal Advisory Committee Meeting HUD is convening a hybrid meeting (virtual and in-person meeting) of the HCFAC on Thursday, June 29, 2023, from 10:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. (PDT). The virtual meeting will be held via ZOOM. The inperson meeting will be held at the Japanese American National Museums 100 N Central Avenue Los Angeles, California 90012. This meeting notice is provided in accordance with the Federal Advisory Committee Act, 5. U.S.C. app. 10(a)(2). Thursday, June 29, 2023 [FR Doc. 2023–12658 Filed 6–13–23; 8:45 am] I. Welcome II. Presentations and HCFAC Member Discussion III. Public Comment IV. Next Steps V. Adjourn BILLING CODE 9112–FL–P DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT [Docket No. FR–6403–N–01] Registration Announcement of the Housing Counseling Federal Advisory Committee; Notice of Public Meeting Office of the Assistant Secretary for Housing—Federal Housing Commissioner, Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). ACTION: Notice of housing counseling federal advisory committee public meeting. ddrumheller on DSK120RN23PROD with NOTICES1 AGENCY: This gives notice of a Housing Counseling Federal Advisory Committee SUMMARY: VerDate Sep<11>2014 19:24 Jun 13, 2023 Jkt 259001 The public is invited to attend this 5 hour hybrid meeting (virtual and inperson meeting) using ZOOM for the virtual meeting. Advance registration is required to attend. To register, please visit https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/ register/WN_ R8OCHT7RTdSdfcjX08rAyw and complete the registration form no later than June 22, 2023. Registration will be closed after June 22, 2023. After submitting the registration form, registrants for the virtual meeting will PO 00000 Frm 00073 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 9990 38881 receive a confirmation email with the meeting link and passcode needed to attend. Registrants asking to attend inperson will receive details about the meeting location and how to access the building. If you have any questions about registration, please email HCFACCommittee@ ajantaconsulting.com. Public Comments The public will have an opportunity to give written and oral comments relative to agenda topics for the HCFAC’s consideration. Written comments can be provided on the registration form or by emailing HCFACCommittee@ ajantaconsulting.com. All written comments must be provided by June 22, 2023. Please note, written comments will not be read during the meeting, but will be provided to the HCFAC members. Oral comments may be provided during the meeting. Comments from the public will be received at the end of the meeting to ensure all agenda items can be completed. Each person providing oral comments will be allocated two minutes. This time will be allocated on a first-come first-served basis by HUD. The meeting registration confirmation will contain additional instructions for providing oral comments, virtually or in-person. The HCFAC will not respond to individual written or oral statements during the meeting but will take all public comments into account in its deliberations. Meeting Records Records and documents discussed during the meeting, as well as other information about the work of the HCFAC, will be available for public viewing as they become available at https://www.facadatabase.gov/FACA/ apex/FACAPublicCommittee?id= a10t0000001gzvQAAQ. Information on the Committee is also available on hud.gov at https:// www.hud.gov/program_offices/housing/ sfh/hcc and on HUD Exchange at https://www.hudexchange.info/ programs/housing-counseling/federaladvisory-committee/. Julia R. Gordon, Assistant Secretary for Housing—FHA Commissioner. [FR Doc. 2023–12656 Filed 6–13–23; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE P E:\FR\FM\14JNN1.SGM 14JNN1

Agencies

[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 114 (Wednesday, June 14, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 38879-38881]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-12658]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY

[Docket Number DHS-2023-0011]


Agency Information Collection Activities: Generic Clearance for 
Formative Data Collections for Evaluations, Research, and Evidence 
Building

AGENCY: Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

ACTION: 30-Day notice and request for comments; generic clearance for 
formative data collections for evaluations, research, and evidence 
building.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: The Department of Homeland Security, DHS 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. DHS previously published this 
information collection request (ICR) in the Federal Register on 03/14/
2023, for a 60-day public comment period. No comments submitted.

DATES: Comments are encouraged and will be accepted until July 14, 
2023. This process is conducted in accordance with 5 CFR 1320.10.

ADDRESSES: Written comments and recommendations for the proposed 
information collection should be sent within 30 days of publication of 
this notice to www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain. Find this particular 
information collection by selecting ``Currently under 30-day Review--
Open

[[Page 38880]]

for Public Comments'' or by using the search function.

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.
    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.
    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

[[Page 38881]]

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.
    There is no change or adjustment to the burden associated with the 
collection of information associated with the DHS complaint form. DHS 
is not proposing to make any changes to the DHS compliant form. This 
request is a renewal of the current ICR collection expiring in 60 days.

Analysis

    Agency: Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
    Title: Generic Clearance for Formative Data Collection for 
Evaluation, Research, and Evidence Building.
    OMB Number: 1601-New.
    Frequency: One-time collection.
    Affected Public: Individuals and households.
    Number of Respondents: 22,750.
    Estimated Time per Respondent: 33 minutes.
    Total Burden Hours: 12,488.

Robert Dorr,
Executive Director, Business Management Directorate.
[FR Doc. 2023-12658 Filed 6-13-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 9112-FL-P
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