Supporting Statement for BTL (2011)

SUPPORTING STATEMENT FOR
PAPERWORK REDUCTION ACT SUBMISSION

Sports and Culture Evaluation, Between the Lines (BTL) Survey

SV2011-0011

OMB Control Number: 1405-XXXX

1. Justification

1. The Department of the State’s (DOS) Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA), Office of Policy and Evaluation, Evaluation Division (ECA/P/V) is requesting a new information collection to evaluate select sports and culture programs. This collection will include a survey of participants from the Between the Lines (BTL) Program conducted between 2008 and 2009. This survey is one part of a larger Evaluation looking at select ECA Sports and Cultural Programs overall.

The data captured will help DOS and ECA Bureau successfully meet organizational performance and accountability goals established through the following mandates.

Further information can be found at the following links:

• Government Performance and Results Act of 1993 (GPRA)

http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/mgmt-gpra/gplaw2m.html

• President’s Management Agenda (PMA)

http://www.state.gov/s/d/rm/rls/perfrpt/2005/html/56281.htm

• OMB’s Program Assessment Rating Tool (PART)

http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/performance_past

• OMB’s Memorandum on Increased Emphasis on Program Evaluations

http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/omb/assets/memoranda_2010/m10-01.pdf

As stated in the memo, “OMB will work with agencies to make information readily available online about all Federal evaluations focused on program impacts that are planned or already underway” as part of a three-pronged effort to strengthen government-wide program evaluation efforts. The guidance noted that public availability of program evaluation information will promote transparency, since agency program evaluations will be made public regardless of the results.

• Mutual Educational and Cultural Exchange Act of 1961, as amended, 22 U.S.C. 2451 et seq.

http://exchanges.state.gov/jexchanges/regs_and_resources.html

2. The primary purpose of this information collection is to provide ECA/P/V with the ability to determine the overall effectiveness of ECA programs in meeting GPRA, PMA and PART legislative requirements, as well as OMB mandates. The data collected will inform and support budgeting, program management and future design, program planning, results reporting, information dissemination and outreach initiatives.

Data collected through this collection will be derived from a survey of participants of the BTL Program conducted between 2008 and 2009.

3. The information collection will be entirely web-based; via an online surveying application (Zoomerang) to ease any burden on the participant.

4. Currently, no duplicative information exists and there is no other reliable method for ECA to collect the information needed to fulfill the requirements of the Department’s annual strategic planning and reporting process and the annual Congressional budget process as part of the GPRA, PART and PMA mandates.

5. Information collected under this collection will have no impact on small businesses and other small entities.

6. If the information is not collected, the Bureau, and the Department of State, will be unable to document the effectiveness, impacts or outcomes of its vital exchange programs. In addition, ECA will not be able to meet accountability requirements or to assess the degree to which programs are meeting their goals. Moreover, the Department will be unable to comply fully with its congressional and executive mandates, including OMB’s mandate to evaluate and report the results of exchange programs.

7. There are no special circumstances.

8. ECA/P/V has solicited public comments on this collection via a 60-day Notice published in the Federal Register seeking public comments. No comments were received. ECA/P/V has consulted with an external contractor [Management Systems International (MSI)] about the surveys design, methodology, analysis, and data collection approach.

9. No gifts or payments will be made to the respondents.

10. There is no assurance of confidentiality to respondents, other than that provided in applicable statutes.

11. No questions of a sensitive nature are asked in the survey.

12. It is estimated that the annual hour burden for respondents will be 18 hours for 31 respondents. Because this survey will only be conducted once, the three year total is the same as the annual total.

	ITEM	ANNUAL TOTAL	3 YEAR TOTAL
Sports and Culture Evaluation BTL Survey	Estimated Number of Respondents	31	31
	Estimated Number of Responses	31	31
	Average Hours Per Response	35 Minutes	35 Minutes
	Total Hours	18	18

The average time to complete this survey is estimated to be 35 minutes. Burden hours took into account the total number of questions and the number of open-ended questions, as well as experience on previously conducted evaluations.

13. There are no costs incurred by respondents.

14. The data collection budget for the entire Evaluation of select ECA Sports and Culture programs is approximately $56,600. Of which, there will be eight total surveys. This information collection consists of one of these eight surveys, therefore the estimated costs to the Federal Government associated with the implementation of this information collection is approximately $7,075 (this includes contractor labor for drafting surveys as well as the actual survey administration/data collection and software/server expenditures.)

15. This is a new collection.

16. Data collection is estimated to begin immediately after OMB clearance approval is received, which will follow after the 60 and 30 day public comment periods. It is estimated the data collection period will take approximately 6 weeks. Once approved by the Assistant Secretary of the Bureau, ECA/P/V will release the final evaluation report to the public. Results for this evaluation will be tabulated by an external contracting firm, and is estimated to conclude about 9 months after the data collection period has ended.

17. ECA/P/V will display the OMB expiration date.

18. There are no exceptions requested for this collection.

2. Collections of Information Employing Statistical Methods

1. The potential respondent universe will be 31 exchange participants from the BTL program. The anticipated response rate for this collection is 65%.

2. This information collection will consist of one set survey that will be administered to participants from the BTL programs conducted between the years of 2008 and 2009. The statistical methodology used will be via census.

3. All data collection methods are tailored to fit the prevailing political, cultural, safety, security, and accessibility conditions in each country in which participants are located. Initial contact with prospective respondents is conducted through e-mails or letters, and, when possible, telephone calls are also made. Follow-up reminders sent periodically to non-respondents encourage them to respond. Using such methods has in our previous experiences stimulated response rates.

ECA/P/V also is utilizing methods, procedures, and specific data collection questions when applicable that have been used on previous information collections. The purpose is to ensure clarity, brevity, relevance, user-friendliness, understandability, and sensitivity to a respondent’s culture and the political climate in which they live. This has been useful for clarifying instructions and questions, refining the response categories, and adding new questions when necessary. We believe that each of these activities help to achieve higher response rates.

Additionally, ECA/P/V data is only representative of the evaluation’s respondents and therefore all analysis of results and future reports will be clearly linked to only the universe that was surveyed.

4. Currently, there are no tests of procedure or methods in place.

5. The ECA/P/V individual managing this evaluation’s external contractor who will be collecting the data and analyzing the information is Melinda Pitts, 202-632-6317.

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