Supporting Statement A.
Introduction
This request is for clearance of the 2008 Survey of Public Participation in the Arts (SPPA) to be conducted by the Census Bureau in May 2008 as a supplement to the Bureau of Labor Statistic’s Current Population Survey. The SPPA is the only source of high quality, national estimates of individual attendance and involvement in arts and cultural activity. The data are circulated to interested researchers, and they are the basis for a range of NEA reports and independent research publications. The SPPA provides primary knowledge on the extent and nature of participation in the arts in the United States. Earlier SPPA surveys were conducted in 1982, 1985, 1992, 1997, and 2002, all of which were conducted by the Census Bureau except the 1997 study, which was conducted by a private contractor, Westat Inc.
Justification
A.1. Necessity of Information Collection
The NEA, pursuant to its mandate “to develop and implement a practical system of national information and data collection and public dissemination on the arts and their audiences, including trends in audience participation” (20 USC, Section 954 (q)), has entered into an interagency agreement with the Bureau of the Census to conduct the Survey of Public Participation in the Arts (SPPA). The Census Bureau is authorized to collect data under Title 13, United States Code, Section 182.
As a national survey, the SPPA will serve as a sound base from which to make estimates of participation rates in the various arts and leisure activities addressed by this study. National data from the SPPA have appeared regularly in the Statistical Abstract of the United States. The SPPA provides information on the characteristics of the population participating in the arts through attendance at live performances or watching or listening to performances using the TV, Radio, Computer, or other portable media devices. In addition, the SPPA gathers information on the characteristics of adults not participating in the arts.
A.2. Needs and Uses of the Data
The 2008 SPPA will provide measures of participation in the arts and other leisure activities from a nationally representative sample of adults ages 18 and older. The information to be collected from adults includes attendance at live arts events, participation through broadcast and recorded media, personal participation in arts activities, and current and past training in the arts. Since access to the arts is a major agency goal, measuring the depth and length of arts participation is of critical importance.
The sample design is such that, in addition to the capability of making national estimates, it will also be possible to generate estimates for sub regions of the nation and for individual states and large metropolitan areas. Thus, policymakers and arts administrators at the national, regional, state, and local level are able to study the patterns of participation across various population subgroups and to look for correlates of participation in artistic and other cultural activities. The data from this study will better enable arts administrators to make essential policy based on such things as the size and characteristics of the current and potential arts audience in 2008.
The 2008 SPPA will be the sixth such study spanning more than two decades which allows for ongoing assessment of the arts leisure-time activities that began with the 1982 SPPA and was followed with the 1985, 1992, 1997, and 2002 SPPA surveys. These data allow arts administrators to assess how the demand for the arts is changing over time, and how the nature of adults’ participation in the arts changes over time. Data from previous SPPA surveys have been widely used by policymakers and scholars because of their unique scope and statistical precision. The agency has produced 20 research reports and numerous research notes based on analysis of the SPPA results. See the agency’s web site for a detailed list (http://www.nea.gov/research/ResearchReports.html#Audiences).
A.3. Use of Information Technology
The supplemental questions are designed to obtain the required information while keeping respondent burden to a minimum. The proposed items and interviewer procedures were developed over years of consultation with the Census Bureau, the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), and other government agencies. The use of computer-assisted personal and telephone interviewing is deemed the most appropriate collection methodology.
A.4. Efforts to Identify Duplication
There are no other surveys that provide the extent of detail on Americans’ participation in the arts or have as large a sample as the SPPA. The General Social Survey (sponsored by the National Science Foundation) does periodically include a handful of questions regarding participation in the arts in its survey. However, only the SPPA can produce reliable estimates of arts participation for detailed demographic groups and geographic subgroups.
A.5. Minimizing Burden in Small Businesses or Small Entities
Not applicable. The collection of public participation in the arts information does not involve small businesses or other small entities.
A.6. Consequences of Less Frequent Data Collection
The goal of NEA is to conduct the SPPA once every five years to coincide with the Economic Census, which provides data on the supply side, specifically on the budgets of arts organizations (Dance companies, Symphonies, Operas, etc.). Since the Census Bureau will be undergoing a major software conversion in 2007, they are unable to conduct the SPPA as a supplemental survey in 2007. The SPPA advisory committee felt strongly that the Census Bureau contributes greatly to the quality (high response rates, low standard errors, and consistent administrative procedures) of the arts participation estimates and so they recommended waiting until 2008 to conduct the sixth SPPA study rather than attempting to use an alternative survey vehicle or conduct the SPPA as a stand-alone survey. Conducting the 2008 SPPA is particularly critical given the concerns that the 2002 SPPA arts estimates may have been affected by the events of September 11, 2001.
A.7. Special Circumstances
There are no special circumstances that apply to the 2008 SPPA.
A.8. Public Comment and Consultations Outside the Agency
A notice was published in the Federal Register (71-FR-65007) on November 6, 2006 to solicit comments on the 2008 SPPA prior to submission of this 0MB clearance request. No public comments were received in response to this notice.
To inform the development of the 2008 SPPA, a planning study was conducted in 2005 and 2006. The study involved interviews with current and prospective users of their earlier SPPA data sets. Participants in this study included arts researchers and representatives of local, state, and regional arts agencies, arts organizations and grant - making organizations supporting the arts. These participants were asked to evaluate the effectiveness of SPPA data for measuring participation in arts and leisure activities, and to provide suggestions for changes to existing questions. The results indicated the overall satisfaction with the SPPA data was quite high and suggested only minor refinements to the previous SPPA questions.
An advisory panel was also established to help guide decisions about the final design of the 2008 SPPA. This panel is composed of arts researchers, administrators, and practitioners and survey experts. The panel members outside the NEA are shown on next two pages. The panel members have been consulted several times during the 2008 SPPA questionnaire design phase. Their suggestions helped us shorten the survey while still being able to add a few questions that were important to updating the SPPA.
2008 SPPA Advisory Panel:
Kelly J. Barsdate, Director of Research, Policy and Evaluation, NASAA
National
Assembly of State Arts Agencies
1029 Vermont Avenue, NW, 2nd
Floor
Washington, DC 20005
202-347-6352 ext. 107
Paul DiMaggio, Professor of Sociology, Princeton University
Princeton University, Center for Arts and Cultural Policy Studies
Robertson Hall
Princeton, NJ 08544-1013
(609) 258-1235
Mary McIntosh, Principal and President of PSRA
Princeton Survey Research Associates International
1211 Connecticut Avenue N.W.
Washington, DC 20036
(202) 293-4710
Francie Ostrower, Senior Research Associate, Urban Institute
Center on Nonprofits and Philanthropy
2100
M Street, N.W.
Washington, DC 20037
(202)
261-5543
Ken Prewitt, former Director of the U.S. Census Bureau,
Carnegie Professor of Public Affairs
School of International and Public Affairs
Columbia University, 1315 IAB
420 West 118th St.
New York, NY 10027
(212) 854-1746
John Robinson, Professor of Sociology, University of Maryland
Department of Sociology
2112
Art-Sociology Building
College Park, MD 20742
(301) 405-5734
Marc Scorca, President and CEO of OPERA America
OPERA
America
1156 15th Street NW, Suite 810
Washington, DC
20005
202-293-4466 ext. 211
Peter Hildick-Smith, President, Codex-Group LLC
Codex-Group LLC
16 W 16th St.
New York, NY 10011
(212) 255-0405
Daniel Swenson, Research Associate, Urban Institute
Center on Nonprofits and Philanthropy
2100
M Street, N.W.
Washington, DC 20037
(202) 261-5607
Steven Tepper, Associate Director of the Curb Center at Vanderbilt University
204
Alumni Hall
Nashville, TN 37240
[email protected]
(615) 322-7211
Timothy Triplett, Survey Associate, Urban Institute
Assessing the New Federalism
2100
M Street, N.W.
Washington, DC 20037
(202)
261-5579
A.9. Paying Respondents
The Census does not make any payments or provide any gifts to individuals participating in the CPS or its supplements.
A.10. Assurance of Confidentiality
The Census Bureau will collect the supplement data in compliance with the Privacy Act of 1974 and the 0MB Circular A-130. Each sample household receives an advance letter approximately one week before the start of the initial CPS interview. The letter includes the information required by the Privacy Act of 1974, explains the voluntary nature of the survey, and states the estimated time required for participating in the survey. Interviewers must ask if the respondent received the letter and, if not, provide a copy and allow the respondent sufficient time to read the contents. Also, interviewers provide households with the pamphlet How the Census Bureau Keeps Your Information Strictly Confidential, which further states the confidentiality assurances associated with this data collection effort and the Census Bureau’s past performance in assuring confidentiality. All information given by respondents to Census Bureau employees is held in strict confidence under Title 13, United States Code, Section 9. Each Census Bureau employee has taken an oath to that effect and is subject to a jail penalty or substantial fine if he/she discloses any information given to him or her.
A.11. Questions of a Sensitive Nature
The 2008 SPPA does not include any questions of a sensitive nature.
A.12. Estimate of Hour Burden
The estimated respondent burden is 3,333 hours for fiscal year (FY) 2008. This is based on an average 10-minute interview for each of the 20,000 persons age 18 years and older in the supplement universe. This estimate was based on the time required to answer similar questions in past Public Participation in the Arts Supplements.
The actual respondent burden is dependent upon the size of the household and the characteristics of its occupants. In some households two supplement questionnaires will be asked.
A.13. Estimate of Cost Burden
There are no costs to respondents other than that of their time to respond.
A.14. Cost to Federal Government
The estimated cost to the federal government for this supplement on public participation in the arts is $571,290, which will be borne by the NEA. The entire CPS program costs approximately $38 million in FY 2007. Those costs are borne by the Census Bureau, the BLS, and other government agencies.
A.15. Reasons for Program Changes
The 2008 SPPA is a new data collection that will provide data for comparison with prior SPPA surveys.
A.16. Project Schedule
The SPPA will be tested in approximately 300 households in April of 2007. Main data collection will occur in May 2008, since the 2008 SPPA will be a supplement to the May 2008 CPS. Processing of this supplement will commence in June 2008. The public use file will be released in the spring of 2009. A summary report from NEA will be available in the fall of 2009.
A.17. Request to Not Display Expiration Date
We do not wish to display the assigned expiration date of the information collection. The CPS requires two OMB control numbers and two expiration dates because the survey consists of two parts: the basic questionnaire and a supplemental questionnaire, which differs from month to month. The OMB control number and expiration date for conducting the Basic CPS will be included in the survey’s advance letter. To avoid confusion, the expiration date of the supplemental questionnaire is not included in the letter.
A.18. Exceptions to the Certification
There are no exceptions to the certification.
| File Type | application/msword |
| File Title | The SPPA provides information on the extent to which the adult population participates in the arts |
| Author | TTriplet |
| Last Modified By | neaprofile |
| File Modified | 2007-01-25 |
| File Created | 2007-01-25 |