Appendix B - Mini ICR Template with Instructions

File Name: Appendix B (template and instructions for mini-ICRs 07.23.2023 07.30.2023

Supporting Statement A

U.S. Department of Commerce

National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration

Generic Clearance for Citizen Science and Crowdsourcing Projects

OMB Control No. 0648-NEW

Appendix B

Mini ICR Template with Instructions for NOAA CSC Projects

Note: The instructions are highlighted. DO NOT SUBMIT INSTRUCTIONS WITH YOUR FINAL REQUEST (i.e., mini-ICR..

Request for Approval under the “Generic Clearance for NOAA Citizen Science and Crowdsourcing Projects”

OMB Control No.: 0648-NEW

Expiration Date: XX/XX/2026

Project Title: Enter project title.

Program Office Sponsoring or Conducting this CSC Project: Enter program office.

Authority for the Scientific Activities of this CSC Project: Enter the authority under which the associated scientific activities are conducted.

Purpose of this CSC Project: Explain how this project meets the mission of the program office.

Type(s) of Information Collected and From Whom It Is Collected: Enter the type(s) of information collected and from whom it is collected.

Use of the Information: Enter the use(s) of the information.

Method(s) of Information Collection: Enter all that apply, where examples include: paper or digital questionnaires, data forms and surveys; focus groups or interviews; new and existing online collaboration tools; fields in a cell or smart phone applications (apps); online web-based forms or interactive computer interfaces that elicit information; social media platforms; text or SMS messages; readings from sensors (personal, mobile, stationary or portable) or other mobile, portable or stationary instruments readings either sent back to NOAA in real-time, through an online data collection site, or through another acceptable mode listed here; analog or digital audio or video recordings; digital or analog photographs; and information collected automatically through an app, computer, the metadata accompanying a digital photograph, or a mobile sensor.

Affected Public: Identify those who will provide the information (e.g., Individuals or households; Business or other for-profit organizations; Not-for-profit institutions; State, Local, or Tribal government; Federal government; and Farms].

Estimated Average Annual Number of Participants: Enter a reasonable estimate of the average annual number of participants (i.e., citizen scientists participating in this CSC project). Use Table 1 below to make the estimate needed here.

Estimated Average Annual Number of Responses per Participant: Enter a reasonable estimate. For example, if on average each citizen scientist is expected to submit information 5 times per year, the entry should be 5. If the project includes two or more activities with different numbers of participants and responses per participant, use Table 1 below to make the estimate needed here.

Estimated Average Minutes per Response: Enter a reasonable estimate. For example and continuing the previous example, if on average you expect the citizen scientists to take 10 minutes for each time they submit information, including the time required to read instructions and to collect, check and submit the information, the entry should be 10 minutes. If the project includes two or more activities with different minutes per response, use Table 1 below to make the estimate needed here.

Estimated Average Annual Burden Hours: This is the product of the average annual number of participants, the estimated average annual number of responses per participant, the estimated average minutes per response, and 1/60. If the project includes two or more activities, use Table 1 below to make the estimate needed here...

Estimated Total Annual Cost to Participants in this CSC Project: (This includes start-up and miscellaneous costs excluding labor costs. Use Table 2 below to make the estimate needed here.

Estimated Average Annual Costs to the Federal Government: Include the cost of staff (including benefits), travel, grants, contracts, postage, supplies, and equipment for developing and conducting this project). Use Table 3 below to make the estimate needed here.

Estimated Average Annual Number of Federal Government Employees (FTEs): Enter a reasonable estimate based on the number of federal employees involved with this project and the percent of time each spends on the project. Use Table 3 below to make the estimate needed here.

Recruitment and Retention Methods for Voluntary Participants (SSA item 1): Briefly describe the recruitment and retention methods this CSC project will use to ensure there will be a sufficient number of voluntary participants.

Gifts or Payments (SSA Item 9): We do not plan to provide a gift or payment to the voluntary participants. If that statement is not correct, delete it and both explain and justify the planned gifts or payments.

Annual and Multi-Year Schedules (SSA Item 16): Specify the annual and multi-year schedules for this PCSC project, including beginning and ending dates of the collection of information, completion of report(s), publication dates, and other actions.

Display OMB Control No. and Expiration Date (SSA Item 17): This information will be provided when individuals sign up to participate in this CSC project. If this statement is not correct, delete it and either indicate that all written and electronic information collections will display the OMB Control No. and expiration date or explain why displaying that information would be inappropriate.

Statistical Methods: This CSC project will not employ statistical methods. If this CSC project will employ statistical methods to collect information or extrapolate that information to an entire population, delete the previous sentence, explain the statistical methods to be employed and provide a response to each of the following five questions.

1. Who will be surveyed and why is it appropriate to survey that group?

2. How was the survey developed including consultation with interested parties, pretesting, and responses to suggestions for improvement?

3. How will the survey be conducted, how will the population be sampled if not all the population will be surveyed, what is the expected response rate, and what actions does NOAA plan to take to improve the response rate?

4. How will NOAA analyze the results of the survey and generalize the results to the entire population?

5. What is the contact information for individuals consulted on the statistical aspects of the design, and for the agency unit, contractor(s), grantee(s), or other person(s) who will actually collect and/or analyze the information for the agency? The contact information should include name, title, affiliation, email address, and telephone number.

If that statement is correct, delete those five questions.

Approval for Pretesting: This CSC project will not require additional pretesting with more than nine members of the public. If that statement is not correct, delete it and say, “The project will require additional pretesting with more than nine members of the public and approval for that pretesting will be requested with a separate mini-ICR for OMB review under this generic clearance.”

Supplemental Documents: One or more supplemental documents are required for this CSC project. The required documents include any paper or electronic forms used to collect information (e.g., application and data forms or screenshots of the app or webpage used to collect information), scripts for interviews, and recruitment information used (e.g., what is posted on a NOAA website or social media to recruit voluntary participants).

CERTIFICATION: I certify the following are 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. NOAA designed this project to contribute to research and science, not to collect highly influential scientific information, which is information NOAA or OMB determines: (i) could have a potential impact of more than $500 million in any year, or (ii) is novel, controversial, or precedent setting or has significant interagency interest.

5. The collection complies with 5 CFR 1320.9 and the related provisions of 5 CFR 1320.8(b)(3).

6. The collection will provide qualitative and quantitative data that help inform scientific research and monitoring, validate models or tools, support STEM learning, and enhance the quantity and quality of data collected to support NOAA’s mission.

Name: ________________________________________________

Sign your name to certify those statements are correct.

Tables 1 – 3 are part of the instructions; therefore, do not include them with your final request (i.e., mini-ICR).

Table 1. Burden Hour Estimates
Please provide the requested information for the activities that best fit this project. If the appropriate activity is not listed, please enter the type of activity and requested information in one of the “Other” rows. If a specific type of listed activity does not apply to this project, please enter a "0" in column B and move to the next row. The objective is to cover all types of activities but without double counting. Your entries should be your best estimates of the average annual values for the next three years (e.g., October 1, 2022 - September 30, 2025).
In column C, a "response" refers to a submission of information. For example, if on average each citizen scientist is expected to submit information 5 times per year for a specific type of activity, the entry should be 5 for that activity; and, if on average you expect the citizen scientists to take 10 minutes for each such response, the entry should be 10 is column D for that activity. The entries for column E, the blacked out column, will be calculated automatically using your entries in columns B-D.
If the project uses or will use the 301 Forms to collect information about the citizen science volunteers, please do not include the burden estimates associated with collecting that information in this table. This table should only include the burden hours associated with collecting scientific information.
Estimated Annual Reporting Burden
Type of Activity	Average Annual Number of Participants (i.e., citizen scientists participating in the project)	Average Annual Number of Responses per Participant	Average Time per Response (minutes unless otherwise noted)	Total Annual Burden Hours
Participant registration, screening, initial login, and reading guidelines
Participant training (estimate X% of those who register will undergo training)
Observing, classifying/problem-solving and reporting
Individual In-Depth Interview Screening
Individual In-Depth Interviews
Focus Group Small Group Screening
Focus Group Small Group Discussion
Other (specify)
Other (specify)
Total annual burden hours
Total Average Annual Number of Participants *
* Note: The total average annual number of participants will be less than the sum for all activities if some volunteers participate in multiple activities.

Table 2. Other Burden Costs
Please complete the following two-part table for this project. Your entries should be your best estimates of the average annual values for the next three years (e.g., October 1, 2022 - September 30, 2025). Your estimates should not include purchases of equipment or services, or portions thereof, made either for reasons other than to provide information for the government or as part of customary and usual business or private practices. Therefore, your estimates should be only for equipment and services you expect citizen scientists to purchase or maintain principally to participate in this project. Most projects will have no such costs because the equipment and service costs will be paid principally for other reasons and not principally to participate in this project. If this is true for this project, just enter "0" in column B for each row in each part of the table. For the projects that have such costs, the correct value for each cell in column D, the blacked out column, will be calculated automatically using the data you enter in columns B and C.
In the first part of the table, the entry for row 9 column B (i.e., the average annual "Total Capital (Purchase) and Start-Up Costs” per participant can be approximated as the sum of the purchase price and start-up cost of the equipment divided by the expected useful life of the equipment. For example, if the purchase and start-up cost for the equipment is $200 per participant and the expected useful life of the equipment is 5 years, the entry for row 9 column B would be $40 (i.e., $200/5).
Total Capital (Purchase) and Start-Up Costs (annualized over its expected useful life)
	Estimated average annual cost per participant (i.e., citizen scientist) who acquires the equipment	Estimated average annual number of participants expected to acquire this equipment	Average Annual Cost
Equipment
Total Capital and Start-Up Costs Over 3 Years
Operations & Maintenance (O&M) Costs Paid by the Participants
	Estimated average annual cost per participant who maintains and operates this equipment or technology	Estimated average annual number of participants expected to use this equipment or technology	O&M costs
Low-tech equipment
Low-cost personal or portable technology (1)
Total annual O&M costs
Total O&M costs over 3 years
(1) For example, this includes any cell phone data transmission costs due to the project.
OMB instructions for these tables
Provide an estimate for the total annual cost burden to respondents or record keepers resulting from the collection of information. Do not include the cost of any hour burden already reflected on the burden worksheet.
• The cost estimate should be split into two components: (a) a total capital and start-up cost component (annualized over its expected useful life) and (b) a total operation, maintenance, and purchase of services component. The estimates should take into account costs associated with generating, maintaining, and disclosing or providing the information. Include descriptions of methods used to estimate major cost factors including system and technology acquisition, expected useful life of capital equipment, the discount rate(s), and the period over which costs will be incurred. Capital and start-up costs include, among other items, preparations for collecting information such as purchasing computers and software; monitoring, sampling, drilling and testing equipment; and record storage facilities.
• If cost estimates are expected to vary widely, agencies should present ranges of cost burdens and explain the reasons for the variance. The cost of purchasing or contracting out information collections services should be a part of this cost burden estimate. In developing cost burden estimates, agencies may consult with a sample of respondents (fewer than 10), utilize the 60-day pre-OMB submission public comment process and use existing economic or regulatory impact analysis associated with the rulemaking containing the information collection, as appropriate.
• Generally, estimates should not include purchases of equipment or services, or portions thereof, made: (1) prior to October 1, 1995, (2) to achieve regulatory compliance with requirements not associated with the information collection, (3) for reasons other than to provide information or keep records for the government, or (4) as part of customary and usual business or private practices.

Table 3. Cost to the Federal Govt.

After reading the following, please complete the table for this citizen science project. Your entries should be your best estimates of the average annual values for the next three years (e.g., October 1, 2022 - September 30, 2025). You should include only costs going forward and exclude project development costs etc. that have already occurred. Therefore, in those three-year annual averages, please include any future development costs, the costs of conducting the citizen science project, the costs of assisting in preparing this generic ICR, and the costs of preparing the mini-ICR for this citizen science project.

The loaded salary cost is the cost for one FTE, including salary and benefits. Often it is about 150 % of the annual salary.

To estimate the wage and benefit costs for federal employees, we are asking for information by type of activity and GS grade/pay band, but not by individual. For example, if two ZP-3 employees are involved in data collection/analysis and the average annual amount of time they will spend on the project are 10% for one employee and 15% for the other employee, you would enter ZP-3 and 25% in columns B and D respectively, in the data collection/analysis row.

Please add rows to cover additional activities or GS grades/pay bands. If that is not necessary, you just need to provide the requested information for columns B, D and F. The entry for row 30 column F (i.e., the average annual "Purchase and start-up costs for equipment and services” can be approximated as the sum of the purchase and start-up costs of the equipment divided by the expected useful life of the equipment. For example, if the purchase and start-up cost to the government for the equipment citizen scientists will use to collect and/or transmit information for this project is $10,000 and the expected useful life of the equipment is 5 years, the entry for row 30 column F would be $2,000 (i.e., $10,000/5).

If the project uses or will use the 301 Forms to collect information about the citizen science volunteers, please do not include the Fed Govt costs associated with collecting that information in the following table. That table should include only the Fed Govt costs associated with collecting scientific information.

The requested information covers the actual costs the agency will incur as a result of implementing the information collection. The estimate should cover the entire life cycle of the collection (generally, the 3-year period) and include the following costs, if applicable:

• employee labor and materials for overseeing the development and full execution of the project

• employee labor and materials for developing, printing, storing forms

• employee labor and materials for developing computer systems, screens, or reports to support the collection

• employee labor and materials for collecting the information

• employee labor and materials for analyzing (excluding regulatory analyses), evaluating, summarizing, and/or reporting on the collected information

• employee travel costs

• cost of contractor services or other reimbursements to individuals or organizations assisting in the collection of information

• cost of payments to and Incentives for citizen scientists

• purchase and start-up costs for equipment and services paid by the project and used by citizen scientists to collect and/or submit information to the project

• maintenance costs for equipment and technology paid by the project and used by citizen scientists to collect and/or submit information to the project

 

Table of the average annual Fed Govt Costs for a three-year period (e.g., October 1, 2022 - September 30, 2025)
Cost Descriptions	GS Grade/Pay Band	Loaded Salary Cost	% of Effort	Average Annual Cost to Government
Federal oversight			%
Data collection/analysis			%
Administrative			%
Some other duty			%
Travel
Printing/postage
Cost of payments to and incentives for citizen scientists
Purchase and start-up costs for equipment and services (1)
Maintenance costs for equipment and technology (2)
Contractor cost and partner cost funded by NOAA
Other costs (specify)
Other costs (specify)
TOTAL (Average annual)
THREE-YEAR TOTAL
(1) These are purchase and start-up costs for equipment and services paid by the project and used either by citizen scientists to collect and/or submit information to the project or by the project.
(2) These are the maintenance costs for equipment and technology paid by the project and used either by citizen scientists to collect and/or submit information to the project or by the project.