08 TRP PRA DOC C1 Supporting Statement

3

Paperwork Reduction Act Submission

Supporting Statement for the
Thomas R. Pickering Foreign Affairs Fellowship Program

OMB Control No. 1405-0143

Form DS-3091

A. JUSTIFICATION

1. This collection is necessary for the process of identifying students interested in, and qualified for, the Thomas R. Pickering Foreign Affairs Fellowship Program. It is authorized by 22 U.S.C. Section 2719 (and 22 CFR Part196).

2. This information is provided by individuals applying for the Pickering Fellowship Program. The Department relies on the applicants’ information to select individual Fellowship recipients. The Thomas R. Pickering Foreign Affairs Fellowship Program provides undergraduate and graduate funding to participants from all ethnic and social backgrounds as they prepare academically and professionally to pursue a Foreign Service career in the U.S. Department of State. In FY 2007, the Department selected 40 Pickering fellows out of approximately 500 applicants. Since its inception in 1992, the Department has awarded these fellowships to 367 qualified American citizens.

3. Beginning in 2006, applicants are now able to prepare and submit this collection, and submit its supporting documentation (personal statement, Employment Data Form; SAT or GRE form; certification of citizenship; two letters of recommendation; 2 page resume; Student Aid Report (SAR), which indicates Estimated Family Contribution (EFC); official academic transcript and a financial aid transcript), entirely on-line through the Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation (WWNFF)(www.woodrow.org). On-line completion and submission of the basic DS3091 collection form establishes an electronic file to which the additional documentation can be added. Hard copies of supporting documentation can be scanned to be sent to the file with on-line available forms completed and sent to the file. The WWNFF staff monitors this process. It is estimated that automation of this process has reduced the amount of respondent time necessary to complete this collection by 50%.

4. This data needs to be obtained for each applicant and is otherwise not available to the Department of State. There is no duplication.

5. This collection does not affect small businesses.

6. The Pickering Fellowship program requires this information collection. Without it, the Department would be unable to gather applicant information from which it annually selects program participants and thus would be unable to award Fellowships.

7. There are no special circumstances affecting this collection of information.

8. The Department published a 60-day notice for public comments in the Federal Register on April 7, 2008 (vol. 73, No. 67, PP18849-18850). One non-substantive comment was received that did not address the intent of the information collection. The department will publish a 30-day notice for public comment in the Federal Register.

9. The Department does not provide payment or gifts to respondents.

10. This electronic application form for Pickering Fellowships includes a Privacy Act statement, as required by 5 U.S.C. 552a.

11. There are no questions of a sensitive nature.

12. Total Burden to public

• Number of Respondents: 500

• Frequency of Response: On Occasion

• Annual Hour Burden: 2,500 hours. This number was derived by multiplying the number of annual respondents (500) by the average response time per applicant (5 hours). This is based on inquiries from fewer than ten recent applicants.

13. The total annual cost to respondents in this collection process is $2,000. This figure is derived by multiplying the number of annual respondents by the average cost of official transcripts and miscellaneous costs associated with scanning hard documents for electronic transmission.

14. Total cost of the collection process to the Department of State: The estimated total annual cost to the Department of State is $202,450. The increase in cost to the Department of State (DOS) represents the impact of 3% annualized inflationary increases to the WWNFF 2004 budget base for this process ($185.280) offset by elimination of the direct DOS salary costs for staff time no longer devoted to procuring, packaging, and distribution of the hard copies of the form ($11,600). This represents the portion of the funds provided to the Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation (WWNFF) to manage the collection process, including follow up with applicants to assure that packages are complete and fully assembled for review by the Fellowship Selection Committees.

15. This is an existing information collection. The decrease in costs to respondents is due to elimination of the need to photocopy the application form plus supporting documents as well as the postage cost of submitting the entire package. The savings in time is due to the elimination of the need to complete, and/or correct the application form by hand (estimated two hours) and the ability to submit the complete application with one keystroke versus the former need to gather and package the paper application and then prepare it and deliver it for mail or courier submission (est. 3 hours).

16. The results of this information collection will not be published.

17. The application form will show the expiration date for OMB approval.

18. There are no exceptions to the certification statement.

B. COLLECTION OF INFORMATION EMPLOYING STATISTICAL METHODS

This collection does not employ statistical methods.

2008/30D/f