ICR Supporting Statement_BIFADSupport PART A

SUPPORTING STATEMENT FOR REQUEST FOR APPROVAL UNDER

THE PAPERWORK REDUCTION ACT AND 5 CFR 1320

Collection Title: Participant Feedback for the Board for International Food and Agricultural Development (BIFAD)

PART A. JUSTIFICATION

1. Explain the circumstances that make the collection of information necessary.

Collection of information around participant experiences is necessary to accurately and efficiently monitor progress made toward the objectives and purpose of the BIFAD Support Contract, and ultimately to strengthen the ability of the Board for International Food and Agriculture Development (BIFAD) to make informed and relevant recommendations to USAID. Every facet of support to BIFAD requires targeted and accurate information to effectively implement BIFAD programs and to collect an evidence base through information collection that informs BIFAD’s adaptive management approach. Information gathering is an necessary component of the BIFAD Support Contract’s plans to 1) generate knowledge, evidence, and analysis to improve outcomes; 2) measure achievements, identify shortcomings, and exercise flexibility for adaptive management; and 3) leverage collaboration and stakeholder engagement to enhance activity outcomes—especially support of thought leadership and technical participation over the life of the project.

Information will be reported at the aggregate level during the Contract’s semi-annual reporting and presented and discussed at least quarterly with members of BIFAD to realistically inform timely adjustments to outreach and program approaches.

2. Indicate how, by whom, and for what purpose the information is to be used. Except for a new collection, indicate the actual use the agency has made of the information received from the current collection.

This information will be collected by the BIFAD Support Contract implementer, Tetra Tech (as required in the Activity Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning Plan) and maintained by Tetra Tech systems for the stakeholder database and to better understand the types of participants reached through BIFAD activities. This information is important as BIFAD and USAID strive to diversify outreach of these activities. BIFAD stakeholders typically include individuals from U.S and international universities, U.S. government agencies particularly USAID and USDA, international donor organizations, university students, and international development program implementers.

Survey 1. Stakeholder Opt-In: The purpose of this form is to facilitate the opt-in process for individuals electing to join the stakeholder database for the Board for International Food and Agricultural Development (BIFAD), to receive occasional updates about BIFAD-led events and resources.

Survey 2. Event Registration Form: The purpose of this form is to facilitate the registration process for events hosted or co-hosted by the Board for International Food and Agricultural Development (BIFAD).

Survey 3. Event Participant Feedback: The purpose of this form is to collect participant feedback following events hosted or co-hosted by the Board for International Food and Agricultural Development (BIFAD), related to participant reactions/level of satisfaction and intent to apply information to their work.

Survey 4. New Member Orientation Survey: The purpose of this form is to measure participant feedback before and after the new member orientation process for the Board for International Food and Agricultural Development (BIFAD). The surveys will be administered to new BIFAD members with data collected by the BIFAD Support Contract implementer, Tetra Tech (as required in the Activity Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning Plan) and maintained by Tetra Tech according to privacy and information protection protocols. This information is important as BIFAD and USAID strive to strengthen the new member orientation experience for the Board.

Survey 5. Speaker Information Form: The purpose of this form is to collect information necessary when coordinating with speakers and authors for BIFAD-supported events and reports, while also collecting data to understand how well BIFAD is engaging a diverse community of experts. This information is important as BIFAD and USAID strive to diversify engagement and to consistently collect information needed for planning and coordination with event speakers. Information in Section I of this form will be used to communicate with BIFAD stakeholders and to ensure speakers’ name, position, and other information are communicated accurately and according to their preference on the event flyer, website, presentation, post-event report, and any pre and post event products related to the event.

Survey 6. Intent to Use: The purpose of this form is to collect information about event participants or report/product users’ intent to use the information presented to inform their work, teaching, or research.

3. Describe whether, and to what extent, the collection of information involves the use of automated, electronic, mechanical, or other technological collection techniques or other forms of information technology.

In most cases, information will be collected using online forms (i.e. Microsoft Forms and event registration platforms) with results stored in Tetra Tech’s secure server. This reduces the time burden on respondents and is the most cost-effective approach for the U.S Government. Forms are printable by respondents using their web browser’s ‘print’ function. Survey results are not provided to the public or to respondents.

4. Describe efforts to identify duplication. Show specifically why any similar information already available cannot be used or modified for use for the purposes described in item 2 above.

This information is unique to the participant experience of BIFAD events and products, and is therefore not available through other sources.

5. If the collection of information impacts small businesses or other small entities, describe any methods used to minimize burden.

Not applicable.

6. Describe the consequence to Federal program or policy activities if the collection is not conducted or is conducted less frequently, as well as any technical or legal obstacles to reducing the burden.

Not collecting this information would cause a significant blind spot in BIFAD’s programming, particularly hindering the Board’s ability to ensure programs and products are reaching more diverse audiences and measuring whether or not, and how, users are applying the products shared by BIFAD to have meaningful impact in the international food and agriculture space. The frequency of collection has also been carefully considered, with data collection limited to annual submission where possible. However, collection of participant details and experiences is anticipated about once quarterly, around BIFAD events. This frequency is necessary to ensure feedback is specific to a particular event.

7. Special Circumstances

No special circumstances exist for this request.

8. If applicable, provide a copy and identify the date and page number of publication in the Federal Register of the agency's notice, required by 5 CFR 1320.8(d), soliciting comments on the information collection prior to submission to OMB.

The 60-day notice was published in the Federal Register on 5/27/2022 on p. 32110 (see link), and the 30-day notice was published in the Federal Register on 08/18/2022 on p. 50826 (see link).

9. Explain any decision to provide any payment or gift to respondents, other than remuneration of contractors or grantees.

No payment or gift to respondents will be provided.

10. Describe any assurance of confidentiality provided to respondents and the basis for the assurance in statute, regulation, or agency policy.

All speakers and authors will be asked to complete the survey with data collected by the BIFAD Support Contract implementer, Tetra Tech (as required in the Activity Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning Plan) and maintained by Tetra Tech according to privacy and information protection protocols outlined in the Contract’s Activity Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning Plan.

11. Provide additional justification for any questions of a sensitive nature, such as sexual behavior and attitudes, religious beliefs, and other matters that are commonly considered private.

Questions of a sensitive nature are not included. All demographic survey items (i.e. gender, racial or ethnic identity, age range) allow for non-response or for respondents to note “prefer not to say”.

12. Provide estimates of the hour burden of the collection of information.

Form	No.	No. of Respondents	No. of Responses per Respondent	Average Burden per Respondent (hours)	Total Annual Burden (hours)	Average Hourly Wage Rate	Total Annual Respondent Cost ($)	Total $
Stakeholder Opt-In	1	1000	1	0.05	50	$45*	$2.25	$2,250
Event Registration	2	1000	1	0.08	80	$45*	$3.60	$3,600
Event Participant Feedback	3	500	1	0.08	40	$45*	$3.60	$1,800
New Member Orientation	4	14	1	0.15	2.1	$60**	$9.00	$126
Speaker Information	5	30	1	0.15	4.5	$60**	$9.00	$270
Product Feedback Form	6	500	1	0.05	25	$45*	$2.25	$1,125
					201.6		Total:	$9,171

*Hourly rate based on an average mid-level university salary

**Hourly rate based on an average senior-level university salary

13. Provide an estimate for the total annual cost burden to respondents or record-keepers resulting from the collection of information.

No respondent costs, beyond the estimated labor burden described in item 12 are anticipated. There are no capital and start-up costs anticipated. There is also no total operation and maintenance and purchase of services component anticipated. The total number of annual hours to respondents is 201.6 hours.

14. Provide estimates of annualized costs to the Federal Government.

There are no costs anticipated beyond the normal labor costs budgeted in the BIFAD Support Contract as data collection, analysis, and reporting are necessary for the Contract’s Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning Plan as part of normal Contract performance monitoring and evaluation.

15. Explain the reasons for any program changes or adjustments reported on the burden worksheet.

No changes.

16. For collections of information whose results will be published, outline plans for tabulation and publication. Address any complex analytical techniques that will be used. Provide the time schedule for the entire project, including beginning and ending dates of the collection of information, completion of report, publication dates, and other actions.

Results are not anticipated to be published publicly.

17. If you are seeking approval to not display the expiration date for OMB approval of the information collection, explain the reasons that display would be inappropriate.

Not applicable.

18. Explain each exception to the topics of the certification statement identified in Certification for Paperwork Reduction Act Submissions.

No exception requested.