1670-NEW OEC_Supporting Statement B_Final_8-8-17

Supporting Statement B for Paperwork Reduction Act Submissions

Title: The Department of Homeland Security, Office of Emergency Communications

SAFECOM Nationwide Survey

OMB Control Number: 1670-NEW

B. Collections of Information Employing Statistical Methods.



1. Describe (including numerical estimate) the potential respondent universe

and any sampling or other respondent selection method to be used. Data on the number of entities (e.g., establishments, State and local government units, households, or persons) in the universe covered by the collection and in the corresponding sample are to be provided in tabular form for the universe as a whole and for each of the strata in the proposed sample. Indicate expected response rates for the collection as a whole. If the collection has been conducted previously, include the actual response rate achieved during the last collection.

Respondent Universe - The Office of Emergency Communications (OEC) is required by statue to conduct an assessment on State, local, and tribal governments that defines the emergency communications needs for emergency response providers and relevant government officials. Therefore, the respondent’s universe will include:

1. State/Territorial Level government entities/agencies that have a role in emergency response. These entities/agencies will include State and Territorial Emergency Management Agencies, State and Territorial National Guard Bureaus, State and Territorial Law Enforcement Agencies, and State and Territorial Departments of Transportation.

2. All federally recognized Tribal Nations

3. All first responder entities, to include law enforcement, fire, emergency medical services, and public safety answer point(s), at the local level of government across the United States and Territories

Sampling Method(s)

1. State/Territory Stratum - OEC will not utilize a sampling method for the State/Territory stratum. OEC will invite the entire population to participate

2. Tribal Stratum - OEC will not utilize a sampling method for the Tribal stratum. OEC will invite the entire population to participate

3. Local Stratum – OEC will utilize a mixed-method approach for the local level of government to include stratified random sampling while simultaneously inviting the entire population to participate to collect data on self-selected non-sampled respondents.

Data on Number of Entities

Universe as a whole = 56,683

Strata:

State/Territories=224

T

Local Sub-Strata

	Metro	Urban	Rural
Law Enforcement	3511	4359	3570
Fire	6845	9191	7213
EMS	6539	7468	4746
PSAPs	818	839	792

ribal=567

Local=55,892 Local Stratum: Metro=17,714 Urban=21,857

Rural=16,321

Response Rate

OEC estimates the response for the collection as whole to be 25 to 30%.

Previous Collection

This information collection was previously conducted in 2006. The response rate for the 2006 collection was 30%.¹

2. Describe the procedures for the collection of information including:

• Statistical methodology for stratification and sample selection,

Stratification: The Local Population will be stratified into three sub-strata: Metro, Urban and Rural. The strata is based on the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Urban-Rural Continuum. ² This allows OEC to assess the “first responder” disciplines emergency communications capability needs based on the geographic area in which they serve (population density and metro/rural influence). Therefore, each sub-strata will be further stratified by the disciplines:

• Law Enforcement

• Fire

• EMS

• PSAPs

Sample Selection: the sampling model includes considerations for the geographic unit, options include the United States as a whole, states, and jurisdictions, with the primary sampling consideration being based on jurisdiction size and type (Metro, Urban, Rural). In each of these options, law enforcement, fire, EMS, and PSAP agencies are to be sampled as distinct populations based on their proportional representation in the Local Stratum population size.

• Estimation procedure,

OEC plans to employ a confidence interval as its estimation procedure. Using the population of emergency response providers at the local level of government, OEC will sample based on its intent to report at a 95-percent confidence level, with a 5-percent confidence interval. In addition, as part of the overall sampling plan, OEC intends to apply generally accepted statistical methods such as standard error and covariance measurements, to determine important statistics, such as the standard deviation of the sampling distribution, and the extent to which random variables change concurrently.

• Degree of accuracy needed for the purpose described in the justification,

OEC will base the Local level sampling plan on a 95 percent confidence level, a ±5 point confidence interval, and a .5 standard deviation

• Unusual problems requiring specialized sampling procedures, and

None

• Any use of periodic (less frequent than annual) data collection cycles to reduce burden.

The emergency communications assessment is required by state (6 U.S.C. § 573) to be conducted not less than every five years. OEC may consider executing the survey earlier than the five year mark if the emergency communications eco-system and the community writ large determine it is necessary.

3. Describe methods to maximize response rates and to deal with issues of

non-response. The accuracy and reliability of information collected must be shown to be adequate for intended uses. For collections based on sampling, a special justification must be provided for any collection that will not yield “reliable” data that can be generalized to the universe studied.

OEC will utilize an ongoing communications approach to build awareness and anticipation for the NCBA. We will leverage existing working groups/partnerships such as the National Council of Statewide Interoperability Coordinators (NCSWIC) and SAFECOM, Statewide Communication Interoperability Plans (SCIPs), Technical Assistance offerings, OEC Outreach distribution lists, existing internal and external Stakeholder Working Groups, Professional law enforcement, fire, emergency medical services, and 9-1-1 Associations/Organizations and social media outreach vie OEC Twitter, SAFECOM blog, NCSWIC and SAFECOM meetings scheduled from August through October 2017. Once the survey is deployed, OEC’s strategy for mitigating non-response includes:

1. Monitoring response rates and respondents:

   1. Compare respondents to the population strata

   2. Compare respondents to non-respondents per stratum

   3. Follow-up on non-respondents per strata

2. Re-engage stakeholders through strategic communication initiatives to bolster participation and ensure the target number of participants is met

   1. Execute a mass communications reminder campaign on the 10^th, 20^th, and 28^th day during the open period through pre-coordinated communication modes, such as industry specific/targeted social media channels, websites, blogposts, and distribution lists

   2. OEC will also stand up an OEC-wide Call Center “mid-way” during the open period and call key participants per strata

If the initial 30 day period passes and the sampling targets for the Local stratum and sub-strata have not been met, OEC will 1) consider keeping the survey open for an additional amount of time and; 2) repeating our communications campaign targeted only to those groups where non-response is problematic.

4. Describe any tests of procedures or methods to be undertaken. Testing is encouraged as an effective means of refining collections of information to minimize burden and improve utility. Tests must be approved if they call for answers to identical questions from 10 or more respondents. A proposed test or set of tests may be submitted for approval separately or in combination with the main collection of information.

OEC will conduct testing of the SAFECOM Nationwide Survey (SNS). Will utilize small groups (3/4 respondents per group) to test portions of the survey. The survey will be broken up into 3 parts. No more than two groups (less than 10 respondents) will test the same questions.

5. Provide the name and telephone number of individuals consulted on statistical aspects of the design and the name of the agency unit, contractor(s), grantee(s), or other person(s) who will actually collect and/or analyze the information for the agency.



Booz Allen Hamilton, Deanna Ramon Muratore (361)701-0384

Booz Allen Hamilton, Graham DeJong (240)472-6209

1 Source: 2006 SAFECOM National Interoperability Baseline Survey Report. Website: http://www.npstc.org/resourceCD/2006%20National%20Interoperability%20Baseline%20Survey.pdf.

2 Source: U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural-Urban Continuum Codes (RUCC). Website: https://www.ers.usda.gov/data-products/rural-urban-continuum-codes/

3