Survey Justification

Request for Approval under the “Generic Clearance for the Collection of Routine Customer Feedback” (OMB Control Number: 1559-0041)

T ITLE OF INFORMATION COLLECTION: CDFI Fund Framework for the Future Survey

PURPOSE:

The “CDFI Fund Framework for the Future Survey” is part of a multi-pronged effort by the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Community Development Financial Institutions Fund (CDFI Fund) to inform the development of a new strategic framework. The goal of the strategic framework is to optimize the accomplishment of the CDFI Fund’s mission over the next five years. The framework will serve as both an external articulation of the key priorities of the CDFI Fund, as well as an internal guide for allocating administrative resources and establishing team level goals and objectives.

The “CDFI Fund Framework for the Future Survey” will allow insight from the CDFI Fund’s customers into potential areas of prioritization for the framework, as well as providing insight into the CDFI Fund’s customer service practices. The survey will not be the only instrument used to inform the framework, however; it will also be informed by the perspectives of Treasury officials, including the Office of Financial Institutions (OFI) and the Office of Small Business, Community Development, and Housing Policy (SBCDHP); the CDFI Fund staff; the CDFI Fund’s Community Development Advisory Board; and a series of field-based listening sessions with the CDFI Fund Director.

The primary purpose of the survey instrument is to receive initial feedback from Community Development Financial Institutions, Community Development Entities, and trade organizations on broad areas of inquiry around the framework. This initial feedback will provide the CDFI Fund with areas of focus as they have their deeper policy discussions and strategic planning sessions internally and with Treasury officials.

DESCRIPTION OF RESPONDENTS:

Respondents to the survey will be CDFI Fund-certified institutions (Community Development Financial Institutions and Community Development Entities) and CDFI Fund program applicants and awardees (under the Community Development Financial Institutions Program, Bank Enterprise Award Program, Capital Magnet Fund, New Markets Tax Credit Program, Native Initiatives, and CDFI Bond Guarantee Program.)

TYPE OF COLLECTION: (Check one)

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

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

[ ] 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:_____Kimberly Beauman___________________________________________

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

3. If Yes, has an up-to-date System of Records Notice (SORN) 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

No. of Respondents	Participation Time	Burden
1050	15-30 Min	525

FEDERAL COST: The estimated annual cost to the Federal government is $300 for a one-year survey subscription to SurveyMonkey.

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?

The CDFI Fund will e-mail a link to the survey to the organizations registered in its internal database; registration in this database is required to apply to the CDFI Fund’s programs, so the CDFI Fund will be able to directly target those groups that actively participate in its programs and interact with it on a regular basis. Since the field of certified CDFIs is small (950), and the CDFI Fund wants the benefit of the perspective of all applicants (as CDFIs are very unique organizations in general serving different constituencies and providing different business services), all certified CDFIs will be contacted.

The CDFI Fund will also provide the link to the survey publically on its website, so there is the potential that members of the public or other non-targeted respondents may also respond.

Administration of the Instrument

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

[ X ] Web-based or other forms of Social Media

[ ] Telephone

[ ] 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.

Instructions for completing Request for Approval under the “Generic Clearance for the Collection of Routine Customer Feedback”

TITLE OF INFORMATION COLLECTION: Provide the name of the collection that is the subject of the request. (e.g. Comment card for soliciting feedback on xxxx)

PURPOSE: Provide a brief description of the purpose of this collection and how it will be used. If this is part of a larger study or effort, please include this in your explanation.

DESCRIPTION OF RESPONDENTS: Provide a brief description of the targeted group or groups for this collection of information. These groups must have experience with the program.

TYPE OF COLLECTION: Check one box. If you are requesting approval of other instruments under the generic, you must complete a form for each instrument.

CERTIFICATION: Please read the certification carefully. If you incorrectly certify, the collection will be returned as improperly submitted or it will be disapproved.

Personally Identifiable Information: Provide answers to the questions. Note: Agencies should only collect PII to the extent necessary, and they should only retain PII for the period of time that is necessary to achieve a specific objective.

Gifts or Payments: If you answer yes to the question, please describe the incentive and provide a justification for the amount.

BURDEN HOURS:

Category of Respondents: Identify who you expect the respondents to be in terms of the following categories: (1) Individuals or Households; (2) Private Sector; (3) State, local, or tribal governments; or (4) Federal Government. Only one type of respondent can be selected per row.

No. of Respondents: Provide an estimate of the Number of Respondents.

Participation Time: Provide an estimate of the amount of time (in minutes) required for a respondent to participate (e.g. fill out a survey or participate in a focus group)

Burden: Provide the Annual burden hours: Multiply the Number of Respondents and the Participation Time then divide by 60.

FEDERAL COST: Provide an estimate of the annual cost to the Federal government.

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. Please provide a description of how you plan to identify your potential group of respondents and how you will select them. If the answer is yes, to the first question, you may provide the sampling plan in an attachment.

Administration of the Instrument: Identify how the information will be collected. More than one box may be checked. Indicate whether there will be interviewers (e.g. for surveys) or facilitators (e.g., for focus groups) used.

Submit all instruments, instructions, and scripts are submitted with the request.

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