Emergency Justification

§ 1320.13 Emergency processing.

An agency head or the Senior Official, or their designee, may request OMB to authorize emergency processing of submissions of collections of information.

(a) Any such request shall be accompanied by a written determination that:

(1) The collection of information:

(i) Is needed prior to the expiration of time periods established under this Part; and

(ii) Is essential to the mission of the

agency; and

(2) The agency cannot reasonably comply with the normal clearance procedures under this part because:

(i) Public harm is reasonably likely

to result if normal clearance procedures are followed;

(ii) An unanticipated event has occurred; or

(iii) The use of normal clearance procedures is reasonably likely to prevent or disrupt the collection of information or is reasonably likely to cause a statutory or court ordered deadline to be missed.

(b) The agency shall state the time period within which OMB should approve

or disapprove the collection of information.

1. Request for emergency processing of submission of collection of information, rationale, and requested OMB approval time period.

The NASA-sponsored Classroom of the Future (COTF) housed at the Wheeling Jesuit University Center for Educational Technologies petitions that OMB authorize emergency processing of the COTF submission for the NASA-TV User Survey collection of information. The use of normal clearance procedures would prevent collection of information because of the dates of the COTF contracted period of performance (October 2006-June 2007). The NASA TV Survey is a deliverable that was assigned and must be completed within this period of performance. (There is a possible extension through September 30, 2007 for the final report.) To meet the June ‘07 deadline, the collection of contact information and survey data must begin in March ‘07. Therefore, the agency cannot reasonably comply with normal clearance procedures and requests approval or disapproval of this data collection by February 28, 2007.

2. Documentation supporting how the collection of these data is essential to the mission of the NASA agency:

NASA’s founding legislation, the Space Act of 1958, directs the agency to expand human knowledge of Earth and space phenomena and to preserve the role of the United States as a leader in aeronautics, space science, and technology. High achievement in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education is essential to the accomplishment of NASA’s mission. The Strategic Management of Human Capital initiative under the President’s Management Agenda requires agencies to “build, sustain, and effectively deploy the skilled, knowledgeable, diverse, and high-performing workforce needed” to meet agency core competencies. NASA’s education investments will contribute to the agency’s human capital needs.

All of NASA’s education efforts are part of an integrated agencywide approach to human capital management. Within the NASA Strategic Plan, education is identified as a cross-cutting function that supports all of the agency’s strategic goals and objectives. NASA delivers a comprehensive agency education portfolio—a collection of investments and strategies, such as research and development, managed to further common goals—implemented by the Office of Education, the NASA mission directorates, and the NASA centers. Through the portfolio NASA contributes to our nation’s efforts in achieving excellence in STEM education. Three outcomes serve to align all agency education activities:

• Outcome 1: Strengthen NASA and the nation’s future workforce—NASA will identify and develop the critical skills and capabilities needed to achieve the Vision for Space Exploration. To help meet this demand, NASA will continue contributing to the development of the nation’s future STEM workforce through a diverse portfolio of education initiatives that target America’s students at all levels, especially those in traditionally underserved and underrepresented communities.

• Outcome 2: Attract and retain students in STEM disciplines—To compete effectively for the minds, imaginations, and career ambitions of America’s young people, NASA will focus on engaging and retaining students in STEM education programs to encourage their pursuit of educational disciplines critical to NASA’s future engineering, scientific, and technical missions.

• Outcome 3: Engage Americans in NASA’s mission—NASA will build strategic partnerships and linkages between STEM formal and informal education providers. Through hands-on, interactive, educational activities, NASA will engage students, educators, families, the general public, and all agency stakeholders to increase Americans’ science and technology literacy.

As the United States begins the second century of flight, the nation must maintain its commitment to excellence in STEM education to ensure that the next generation of Americans can accept the full measure of their roles and responsibilities in shaping the future.

COTF will collect information on the use of NASA-TV to make recommendations to NASA Education to increase the effectiveness of the network to support science, technology, engineering, and mathematics literacy and pipeline achievement. Educational programming will be used to support outcomes 2 and 3.

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NASA TV User Survey Request for Emergency Processing of Data Collection Submission