This request is for clearance of the
Annual Arts Benchmarking Survey (AABS) to be conducted by the U.S.
Census Bureau as a supplement to the Bureau of Labor Statistic's
Current Population Survey. The AABS would be conducted for the
first time in February 2013, and annually thereafter in years that
the National Endowment for the Arts' (NEA) Survey of Public
Participation in the Arts (SPPA) is not conducted. One of the
strengths of the AABS survey is that it will both complement and
supplement the information collected in the SPPA. The SPPA is the
field's premiere repeated cross-sectional survey of individual
attendance and involvement in arts and cultural activity, and
conducted approximately every five years. The AABS questionnaire
will be much shorter than the SPPA, consisting of ten to twelve
questions that will be used to track arts participation over time.
As with the SPPA, the AABS data will be circulated to interested
researchers and will be the basis for a range of NEA reports and
independent research publications. The AABS will provide annual
primary knowledge on the extent and nature of participation in the
arts in the United States.
US Code:
20
USC 954 Name of Law: National Foundation on the Arts and
Humanities Act
There is no net change in
burden. The 300 respondents that will be involved in the pilot
study are now associated with the Pilot Study Instruments, and the
full-scale instruments are now associated with 18,000 respondents.
(The total number of respondents remains 18,000+300=18,300.)
On behalf of this Federal agency, I certify that
the collection of information encompassed by this request complies
with 5 CFR 1320.9 and the related provisions of 5 CFR
1320.8(b)(3).
The following is a summary of the topics, regarding
the proposed collection of information, that the certification
covers:
(i) Why the information is being collected;
(ii) Use of information;
(iii) Burden estimate;
(iv) Nature of response (voluntary, required for a
benefit, or mandatory);
(v) Nature and extent of confidentiality; and
(vi) Need to display currently valid OMB control
number;
If you are unable to certify compliance with any of
these provisions, identify the item by leaving the box unchecked
and explain the reason in the Supporting Statement.