Private/Commercial Industry Responsive

Appendix D.2 Industry Experts Recruitment Email 1

To: [SELECTED INDUSTRY EXPERT]

From: 2M Study Team

Subject: U.S. Department of Agriculture Study: Industry Expert Participation Request

Dear [FIRST NAME] [LAST NAME]:

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) respectfully requests your participation in a national study on data security called “How States Safeguard Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) Participants’ Personally Identifiable Information (PII).” This study examines State agencies’ (SAs) practices and procedures for safeguarding participant and applicant PII. To further supplement our knowledge, we are interviewing leading industry experts in the field of data security. USDA FNS and the 2M Research (2M) study team have identified you as an industry expert because of your experience and contributions to data security. Attached is an official letter from USDA FNS along with a frequently asked questions (FAQ) document.

Your participation is critical to understanding the evolving field of data security and how States can improve their security systems. Your insights and knowledge are invaluable sources of information that States can learn from. By participating, you can help assure millions of needy individuals that their privacy is safely protected. These individuals face many challenges; the theft of PII should not be another challenge to overcome. With your participation, you can help prevent it.

We understand that you are very busy, but please let us know if you can participate in this 60-minute semi-structured interview. If you are unable/choose not to participate, and are willing, please provide us with another colleague’s information (name and email) whom you feel is a leading/knowledgeable expert in data security.

To expedite the scheduling process, please fill in the table below by placing an X in the cells for the times/dates that you are most available for the semi-structured interview. Then, email the table back to me. A member of the study team will follow up with you shortly to confirm your interview time or discuss other times convenient for you.

Time (ET)	Date	Date	Date
##:00 am/pm
##:00 am/pm
##:00 am/pm
##:00 am/pm
##:00 am/pm

If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact us any time by either calling (toll-free) 1-877-230-3035 or emailing SNAPPII@2mresearch.com (or simply reply to this email). For planning purposes, a printable version of the FAQs can also be found here: [Link to IEI FAQ PDF]. If you require further information, our Project Director, Dr. Dallas Elgin, can be reached at delgin@2mresearch.com, and our USDA FNS Project Officer/Contracting Officer's Representative, Andrew Burns, can be reached at andrew.burns@usda.gov.

Thank you for your time, support, and effort for this important study.

Sincerely,

(INTERVIEWER [RECRUITER NAME])

According to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, an agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to, a collection of information unless it displays a valid OMB control number. The valid OMB control number for this information collection is 0584-XXXX. The time required to complete this information collection is estimated to average 3 minutes per response, including the time for reviewing instructions, searching existing data sources, gathering and maintaining the data needed, and completing and reviewing the collection of information.

OMB Number: 0584-#### 1231981BF0081 | Appendix G-1

Expiration Date: ##/##/####