2434ss45 Cincinnati Justification

Request for Approval under the “Generic Clearance for the Collection of Routine Customer Feedback” (OMB Control Number: 2010-0042)

TITLE OF INFORMATION COLLECTION: In person focus group soliciting feedback on indoor and outdoor air issues in Cincinnati.

PURPOSE:

The focus group is part of a region 5 Air and Radiation Division (ARD) approach to community based environmental protection, enabling division-wide teams to successfully attain tangible results, significant health benefits, and improved ambient air quality in a limited number of underserved communities. 

ARD is requesting approval to conduct 3 separate focus groups in Cincinnati, OH. We would like to gauge Cincinnati Technical College students’ knowledge about indoor and outdoor air issues, as well as gather a list of potential projects for students and/or region 5 to get involved in locally.

DESCRIPTION OF RESPONDENTS:

3 separate focus groups hosted by region 5 ARD staff will be held at Cincinnati State Technical and Community College. Flyers promoting the focus group will be distributed throughout the college. Students in 3 environmental engineering and technology classes will be requested by their professors to attend.

TYPE OF COLLECTION: (Check one)

[ ] Customer Comment Card/Complaint Form [ ] Customer Satisfaction Survey

[ ] Usability Testing (e.g., Website or Software) [ ] Small Discussion Group

[ X] Focus Group [ ] Other: ______________________

CERTIFICATION:

I certify the following to be true:

1. The collection is voluntary.

2. The collection is low-burden for respondents and low-cost for the Federal Government.

3. The collection is non-controversial and does not raise issues of concern to other federal agencies.

4. The results are not intended to be disseminated to the public.

5. Information gathered will not be used for the purpose of substantially informing influential policy decisions.

6. The collection is targeted to the solicitation of opinions from respondents who have experience with the program or may have experience with the program in the future.

Name :____Megan Gavin

Air Toxics and Assessment Branch/Indoor Voluntary Program Section

R5 Air and Radiation Division

To assist review, please provide answers to the following question:

Personally Identifiable Information:

1. Is personally identifiable information (PII) collected? [ ] Yes [ X] No

2. If Yes, is the information that will be collected included in records that are subject to the Privacy Act of 1974? [ ] Yes [ ] No

3. If Applicable, has a System or Records Notice been published? [ ] Yes [ ] No

Gifts or Payments:

Is an incentive (e.g., money or reimbursement of expenses, token of appreciation) provided to participants? [ ] Yes [X ] No

BURDEN HOURS

Category of Respondent	No. of Respondents	Participation Time	Burden Hours
University Students	40 x 3 sessions=120	1 hr	120
Totals	120	1	120

FEDERAL COST: The estimated annual cost of having 3 GS 13 employees conduct the focus group is 3 hrs for 3 people at $50/hr = $450 + 2 hrs to transcribe and summarize notes: 1 person x 2 hrs ($50/hr) = $100

Total approx. cost: $550

If you are conducting a focus group, survey, or plan to employ statistical methods, please provide answers to the following questions:

The selection of your targeted respondents

1. Do you have a customer list or something similar that defines the universe of potential respondents and do you have a sampling plan for selecting from this universe? [ X ] Yes [ ] No

If the answer is yes, please provide a description of both below (or attach the sampling plan)? If the answer is no, please provide a description of how you plan to identify your potential group of respondents and how you will select them?

Students at Cincinnati Technical College, specifically students from the environmental engineering and technology programs are the target audience for the focus group.

Administration of the Instrument

1. How will you collect the information? (Check all that apply)

[ ] Web-based or other forms of Social Media

[ ] Telephone

[X] In-person

[ ] Mail

[ ] Other, Explain

2. Will interviewers or facilitators be used? [ ] Yes [X ] No

Please make sure that all instruments, instructions, and scripts are submitted with the request.

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