Supporting Statement A

Supporting Statement for Paperwork Reduction Act Submissions

New Collection

FBI Special Agent Application Process Review

OMB Control # 1110-xxxx

Part A. Justification

1. Necessity of Information:

This collection is part of an on-going project by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to better understand the experience of applicants to the FBI Special Agent position, as well as to comply with EEOC recommendations to conduct barrier analyses. With the information gathered in this collection we hope to improve the ease and transparency of our application process, eliminate systematic barriers to success for applicants, and to better understand applicant’s experiences of the FBI Special Agent application process.

2. Needs and Uses:

This is a new collection. The information from this collection will be used by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to improve the FBI Special Agent application process. All responses to the collection will be kept confidential and statistical analyses will be run on the data to compose generalized conclusions. Data will broadly be used to increase the ease and transparency of the FBI Special Agent application process, to eliminate any systematic barriers to success for applicants to the FBI Special Agent position, and to better understand the experience of applicants.

3. Use of Technology:

This collection will be conducted using 100% technological collection techniques. The electronic survey will be sent to recent applicants using email addresses they released upon creating an account at FBIJobs.gov, applying to the FBI Special Agent position, attending recruitment events, or at other FBI applicant events where email was collected. Data will be collected through an electronic web-based survey instrument.

4. Efforts to Identify Duplication:

At this time the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) does not have any information collected on the experiences of applicants to the Special Agent position, specifically those who did not successfully achieve the position. To understand the process of applying to become an FBI Special Agent from all perspectives we have already launched an effort to collect similar information from successful applicants (onboard employees) but without this collection we will be unable to secure that information from unsuccessful or pending applicants.

5. Methods to Minimize Burden on Small Businesses:

This information will have no significant impact on small entities. Small businesses will not be affected by this collection.

6. Consequences of Less Frequent Collection:

If the collection is not conducted, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) will be unable to complete its barrier analysis of the Special Agent application process. As a result of not completing the analysis, the FBI will not be able to use scientific methods to inform the creation and revision of policies and practices to improve the Special Agent application process. As such, any current barriers to success and lack of understanding of the experience may remain.

7. Special Circumstances Influencing Collection:

We are not conducting this collection in a manner inconsistent with any OMB guidelines.

8. Public Comments and Consultations:

A 60- day and 30-day Federal Register notice was published in order to solicit comments from the public and no comments were received.

9. Payment of Gift to Claimants:

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) does not, and will not, provide any payment or gift to respondents/participants.

10. Assurance of Confidentiality:

Although no personally identifying information will be collected, respondents will receive the following informed consent/privacy information, in accordance with standard research practice:

“To improve the applicant experience to the FBI Special Agent position, we are reaching out to recent applicants to gain an understanding of their experience. The survey will ask you to share your thoughts about the application process, your preparation techniques and experience in completing the application, as well as information about your personal background, including some demographic information.

We anticipate this survey will take no more than 10 minutes to complete. The survey is entirely optional and confidential, and it will in no way impact your current or future employment prospects with the FBI.

Release of any information gathered in this collection is subject to agency regulations and procedures.

If you have any questions about this study, you may contact the research team at HQ_4320_Research_Adm@fbi.gov”

11. Justification for Sensitive Questions:

Because current evidence from successful applicants to the Special Agent position suggests that certain groups of people may experience the application process differently, we will be asking a variety of demographic questions including: Gender, Race, Ethnicity, Sexuality, Disability Status, Veteran Status, Age, Marital and Family Status, Education Level, Income, General Employment, and General Location information.

Participants will be reminded that all questions, including demographic questions, are voluntary at the beginning of the demographic section, additionally each of these questions will include a “prefer not to answer” option.

The information from these questions will be used in combination with the questions from the body of the survey to determine if different groups of individuals (based on gender, race, or other demographic characteristics) experience the FBI Special Agent application process differently or experience additional barriers to success. This information will help the FBI ensure an application process that is equal for all applicants, regardless of demographic background.

12. Estimate of Hour Burden:

Anyone who has filled out any part of the FBI Special Agent Application in the previous three (3) years or otherwise been recruited may be contacted for this collection. Internal records from previous annual applicant counts allow us to estimate that roughly 60,000 individuals have applied to the Special Agent position at the FBI in the previous three (3) years, we reserve the right to solicit this entire population to participate in the voluntary survey though it is unlikely all 60,000 will respond. Based on estimates of survey length to question ratio, the survey will take approximately 10 minutes to complete. There are no known costs to respondents for this data collection given the voluntary nature of the collection and the brief amount of time required.

Number of respondents: 60,000

Frequency of response: As Needed

Total annual responses: 60,000

Minutes per response: 10

Annual hour burden: 10,000

Annualized cost: $0.00

13. Estimate of Cost Burden:

There are no known costs to respondents for this data collection given the voluntary nature of the collection and the brief amount of time required. Respondents will not incur any costs, other than their time, to respond.

Cost to respondents: $0.00

Cost to record-keepers: $0.00

Total annual cost burden: $0.00

14. Estimated Annualized Costs to Federal Government:

No new systems, software, or materials will be purchased to accommodate this collection, therefore there is no predicted cost to the Federal Government.

Total capital and start-up cost: $0.00

Total operation and maintenance: $0.00

Total annual cost to Federal Govt: $0.00

15. Reasons for Change in Burden:

This is a new ICR request with no previous burden.

16. Plans for Publication:

Personal data from this collection will not be made public, although aggregate data may be made public. Access to the raw data will be restricted to limited members of the research team and will be held in confidence. No identifiable data will be collected or published.

Raw data will undergo transformation and be analyzed using statistical software programs such as, but not limited to, R or SPSS. Relevant statistical tests including, but not limited to, (M)ANOVA, z-tests, t-tests, regressions, or correlations will be used to draw generalizable conclusions from the raw data.

The generalized conclusions of this collection will be published internally within the FBI in a comprehensive report and will be available to FBI employees, executive management, and others with approved access to FBI systems (such as approved government contractors). Additional versions of this report may be made available in a limited capacity to peers within the intelligence community. There are no plans at this time to make this report available to the general public.

Timeline:

• The collection is predicted to begin in January 2020 though it may be as late as March 2020, and will complete after three weeks of collection.

• Data analysis will begin immediately after the collection finishes.

• The report is predicted to be completed by July 2020.

• The report is predicted to be published (internally) by January 2021.

17. Expiration Date Approval:

NA

18. Exceptions to the Certification Statement:

There are no exceptions to the certification statement.

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