Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for Review and Approval; Comment Request; Recompete Pilot Program Implementation Data Collection Instrument, 89947-89948 [2024-26365]

Agencies

• DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
• Economic Development Administration

[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 220 (Thursday, November 14, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 89947-89948]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-26365]


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Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 220 / Thursday, November 14, 2024 / 
Notices

[[Page 89947]]



DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

Economic Development Administration


Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the 
Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for Review and Approval; Comment 
Request; Recompete Pilot Program Implementation 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, in accordance with the Paperwork 
Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), invites 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. The 
purpose of this notice is to allow for 60 days of public comment 
preceding submission of the collection to OMB.

DATES: To ensure consideration, comments regarding this proposed 
information collection must be received on or before January 13, 2025.

ADDRESSES: Interested persons are invited to submit written comments 
via email to Sathiyan Sivakumaran, Program Manager and Analyst, U.S. 
Department of Commerce, 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 Sathiyan Sivakumaran, Program Manager and Analyst, U.S. Department 
of Commerce, 1401 Constitution Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20230 at 
[email protected] or 202.738.0420.

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 29 of 
the Stevenson-Wydler Technology Innovation Act of 1980 (Distressed Area 
Recompete Pilot Program (15 U.S.C. 3722b) is the legal authority under 
which EDA awards financial assistance and designee status under the 
Fiscal Year (FY) 23 Distressed Area Recompete Pilot Program 
(``Recompete''). Under Recompete, EDA seeks to address deep economic 
distress across the U.S. through place-based investments in communities 
where the prime-age (25-54 years old) employment rate significantly 
trails the national average. Recompete is a two-phase program. In Phase 
1, EDA funded 24 strategy development grants, which were approximately 
$500,000 each. Additionally, 22 communities were selected as Recompete 
Finalists, signifying their eligibility to apply for implementation 
funding in Phase 2 of the competition. In Phase 2, EDA selected 6 of 
the 22 Finalists (``Recompete Awardees'') to receive implementation 
funding which ranged from $20 million-$40 million per community. 
Further information on Recompete can be found at www.eda.gov.
    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 six Phase 2 Awardees to help ensure that Recompete investments are 
evidence-based, data-driven, and accountable to participants and the 
public.
    Lead coalition members of the six Recompete Awardees will submit 
identified program metrics and qualitative information to help assess 
specific program objectives. A recurring questionnaire will be sent to 
each of the Recompete coalition leads every six months for a total of 
five years to gather the relevant data and stories from each of six 
Recompete Awardees, resulting in community impact evaluation, 
resources, and tools for place-based economic development 
decisionmakers. The six Recompete Awardees will provide information on 
the following areas related to Recompete objectives:
    (1) Employment among prime-age individuals who interact with 
Recompete programming, which may include information on success 
stories, employment, and wage outcomes for participants in EDA-funded 
activities.
    (2) Economic distress in Recompete service areas, which may include 
information on success stories, changes in local employment rates, 
changes in local income and wage rates, and other place-based metrics.
    (3) Effectiveness of workforce development programming, which may 
include information on enrollment, completion, placement, retention, 
and attrition for individuals participating in EDA-funded activities, 
in addition to the examples of outcomes metrics in objective #1.
    (4) Effectiveness of entrepreneurship and small business supports, 
which may include information on enrollment, completion, business 
launch, and business success for entrepreneurs and small/mid-size 
enterprises participating in EDA-funded activities, as well as their 
impact on local employment.
    (5) Local economic development capacity, which may include 
assessing relationships with Federal, State, and local entities, 
current partnerships, and information about sources of capital and 
commitments to continue to ensure economic well-being in the Recompete 
community.
    Recompete Awardees must submit data on a semi-annual basis (i.e., 
every six months) for five years to provide an update on the status of 
the coalition's efforts and to help assess the results of receiving 
Phase 2 Recompete funding.
    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 with 
administrative data for analysis and other ways to minimize burden, or 
if alternative information should be considered.

[[Page 89948]]

II. Method of Collection

    Data will be collected electronically.

III. Data

    OMB Control Number: This is a new information collection.
    Form Number(s): None.
    Type of Review: Regular submission.
    Affected Public: Phase 2 Recompete Awardees, which may include: A 
unit of local government; the District of Columbia; a territory of the 
United States; a Tribal government; political subdivision of a State or 
other entity, including a special-purpose entity engaged in economic 
development activities; a public entity or nonprofit organization, 
acting in cooperation with the officials of a political subdivision of 
a State or other entity; an economic development district (as defined 
in section 3122 of title 42); and a consortium of any of the specified 
entities described in this paragraph which serve or are contained 
within the same eligible area.
    Preliminary Estimated Number of Respondents: Six teams comprised of 
13 unique entities, responding every six months for five years.
    Estimated Time per Response: 4 hours.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 104 hours.
    Estimated Total Annual Cost to Public: $6,452.16 (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 Recompete Awardees.
    Legal Authority: Stevenson Wydler Technology Innovation Act of 
1980, section 29 (15 U.S.C. 3722b).

IV. Request for Comments

    We are soliciting public comments to permit the Department/Bureau 
to: (a) Evaluate whether the proposed information collection is 
necessary for the proper functions of the Department, including whether 
the information will have practical utility; (b) Evaluate the accuracy 
of our estimate of the time and cost burden for this proposed 
collection, including the validity of the methodology and assumptions 
used; (c) Evaluate ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of 
the information to be collected; and (d) Minimize the reporting burden 
on those who are to respond, including the use of automated collection 
techniques or other forms of information technology.
    Comments that you submit in response to this notice are a matter of 
public record. We will include or summarize each comment in our request 
to OMB to approve this ICR. Before including your address, phone 
number, email address, or other personal identifying information in 
your comment, you should be aware that your entire comment--including 
your personal identifying information--may be made publicly available 
at any time. While you may ask us in your comment to withhold your 
personal identifying information from public review, we cannot 
guarantee that we will be able to do so.

Sheleen Dumas,
Departmental PRA Clearance Officer, Office of the Under Secretary of 
Economic Affairs, Commerce Department.
[FR Doc. 2024-26365 Filed 11-13-24; 8:45 am]
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