OMB Just Pkg Part A - CCF IE Process Study REV 5-14-08

Historically, faith-based and community organizations (FBCOs) have played valuable roles in providing social services to individuals and families in need. However, despite their contribution, it has often been difficult for FBCOs to access government funding to support the services they provide. Recognizing the critical role faith-based and community organizations play in their communities, President George W. Bush launched a national initiative to expand opportunities for FBCOs to compete for federal funds through the establishment of the White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives and designated Centers in ten federal Cabinet agencies, including the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).

In support of the Initiative, the Compassion Capital Fund (CCF) was established by Congressional appropriation in 2002 and continued each year thereafter. The CCF program is administered by the Administration for Children and Families (ACF), Office of Community Services (OCS), within HHS. The CCF is intended to build the organizational and service delivery capacity of FBCOs to serve those in need in their communities. There are three components in the CCF program: the Demonstration program, the Targeted Capacity Building program and the Communities Empowering Youth program. The CCF Demonstration program provides direct funding to experienced intermediary organization which in turn assist FBCOs to increase their effectiveness, enhance their ability to provide social services, expand their organizations, diversify their funding sources, and create partnerships to better serve those most in need.

To build the organizational capacity of FBCOs, OCS has awarded CCF Demonstration grants to intermediary organizations each year of the CCF program to work as a bridge between the federal government and FBCOs. Intermediaries support the capacity building efforts of FBCOs in three ways: direct funding, through sub-awards; technical assistance (TA); and workshops/training.

This proposed information collection is for interview protocols for a process study that is part of the ongoing impact evaluation of the CCF Demonstration program. The evaluation allows for an examination of changes in FBCOs’ organizational capacity that result from services received from CCF funded intermediary organizations. Previously, OMB approved the baseline and follow up survey instruments being used in the evaluation (OMB No. 0970-0293) and a survey of intermediaries (OMB No. 0970-0316). The evaluation is being conducted through a contract to Abt Associates, Inc. and their sub-contractor, Branch Associates, Inc.

The impact study is being conducted with the CCF intermediary grantees selected by OCS in FY 2006 and the FBCOs that applied for services from them. The FBCOs were randomly assigned to a treatment group that receives assistance from the intermediaries or to a control group that does not. Through the proposed process study interviews with key informants, information will be obtained directly from CCF intermediaries to document the approaches and methods they use to provide services to FBCOs and from directors and key staff within the FBCOs to document their experiences as recipients of services from intermediaries. This information is the only source to document the interaction between intermediaries and the FBCOs they assist and the variation and commonalities in approaches taken by CCF supported intermediaries in the impact study. This information is important in and of itself but it will also be used and useful in helping to interpret survey results in the impact study.

A.2 How the Information Will Be Collected, by Whom, and For What Purpose

The approved interview protocols will be used by contractor staff to obtain similar information during on-site visits to each of the 2006 CCF Demonstration program intermediaries included in the CCF impact study and selected FBCOs that receive their services. Interviews will be conducted with directors and key staff at each of the ten intermediary organizations and key staff at two grassroots organizations served by each intermediary. To the extent time and resources allow, a third FBCO may be included during some site visits if the organizations are in close geographic proximity. Most intermediaries serve grassroots organizations that are within a fairly narrowly defined geographic area. However, there are some cases where the FBCOs are geographically quite spread out.

The two (or three) FBCOs to be visited, in most cases, will be selected randomly from among the group receiving sub-awards and technical assistance. Because of limits on resources available, the on-site interviews with FBCO staff are to be conducted the same day or the day after interviews with intermediary staff, therefore, FBCOs included in the process study must be in close proximity to the intermediary and each other. If visits cannot be arranged on the schedule needed with randomly selected FBCOs from the total group of FBCOs served, the selection of FBCOs for the process study will be limited to those in closest proximity to the intermediary. The inclusion of FBCOs in the process study is not intended to provide statistically representative information but rather to provide additional context and perspectives about the processes and approaches used by intermediaries. We propose to conduct the site visits between March 2008 and August 2008.

The interviews protocols and information obtained will address the following research questions within the impact evaluation.

Research Questions

What range and types of services do intermediaries offer to FBCOs as part of CCF?
How do intermediaries differ in their approach to providing capacity building services?
What approaches and practices of intermediaries are associated with the greatest gains in FBCO organizational capacity?

The proposed site visits and interviews will supplement basic, standardized information about the intermediaries that will be obtained through an intermediary survey (already approved by OMB). The survey provides for the collection of information related to organizational size and type (e.g., faith-based or secular), organizational experience in providing capacity building services, and basic information about their technical assistance, sub-awards, and group training workshops. The proposed in-person interviews will supplement this by delving more fully into the rationale and decisions related to practices and services provided by intermediaries as well as more detailed information about how their services are provided. The interviews with intermediaries also will focus on the challenges they have faced and solutions identified in working with grassroots organizations on organizational capacity building and on the kind of support and assistance they need to help them meet the objectives of their grant. The information from intermediaries will be supplemented further by the information from selected FBCOs about the services received from the intermediary and their opinions about those services and interactions with the intermediary.

A.3 Use of Improved Information Technology to Reduce Burden

The kind of information being sought through this collection is not routinely recorded in any electronic information medium. Thus, technology cannot be used to substantially reduce burden. However, the contractor will collect information about the organizations electronically prior to the site visits to the extent available (e.g., from websites, data files key staff can make available, etc.).

A.4 Efforts to Identify and Avoid Duplication

We are not aware of similar prior or ongoing data collection that duplicates the efforts of the proposed process study. While intermediary grantees report some similar information through progress reports to ACF, the information is not uniform or consistent. Intermediaries will also be asked to complete a survey as a part of the evaluation (OMB number: 0970-0316); however, the intent of this proposed information collection is to build on information obtained through the survey, not duplicate it. We expect to have surveys completed prior to on-site visits being conducted. The proposed data collection for the process study will not ask the same questions as those on the survey, but will probe similar topics in an in-depth manner.

A.5 Efforts to Minimize Burden on Small Business or Other Entities

No small businesses will be involved. This information collection will, however, involve gathering information from other small entities, including faith-based and community nonprofit organizations. Every effort will be made to minimize the burden on these organizations. Site visits will be scheduled at the respondents’ convenience and information about the purpose and scope of the visits will be provided in advance. We will attempt to schedule interviews with executive and/or program directors and other key staff who are familiar with the activities carried out under the CCF grant. We anticipate that there will be little information sought about which these key respondents will not have direct knowledge.

A.6 Consequences of Less-Frequent Data Collection

There will be a single round of data collection. If this data collection was eliminated from the CCF impact evaluation, we would lack in-depth information about differences in approaches used by CCF-funded intermediaries and about the experiences and opinions of recipients of their services.

A.7 Special Circumstances Requiring Collection of Information in a Manner Inconsistent with Section 1320.5(d)(2) of the Code of Federal Regulations

There are no special circumstances associated with this data collection.

A.8 Federal Register Comments and Persons Consulted Outside the Agency

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, ACF published notice in the Federal Register announcing the intention to obtain information about the approaches and methods used by intermediaries and to request an OMB review of data collection protocols. The first notice was published on October 22, 2007 in volume 72, number 203, pages 59535-59536, and provided a 60-day period for public comments. There were no public comments received in response to the first notice prior to this submission. A second notice will be published upon expiration of the first notice period.

The interview protocols were developed by research team members at Abt Associates and Branch Associates who are integrally involved in the ongoing CCF evaluation and are very knowledgeable about the roles and functioning of intermediary organizations. Researchers with primary responsibility for protocol development include: JoAnn Jastrzab, Abt Associates, Inc, 617-349-2372; Barbara Fink,

Branch Associates, Inc., 215-731-9980; and Cynthia Sipe, Branch Associates, Inc., 215-731-9980.

A.9 Payments to Respondents

There will be no payments made to respondents. Experience on previous studies indicates that payments are not needed for this type of research.

A.10 Assurance of Confidentiality

A.10 Assurance of Confidentiality

Every effort will be made to maintain the privacy and/or confidentiality of respondents, using several procedural and control measures to protect the data from unauthorized use. Other than name, no personal identifying information is proposed to be collected. The confidentiality procedures for this study during data collection, data processing, and analysis activities are as follows:

All respondents included in the study sample will be informed that the information they provide will be kept private and/or confidential, to the best of our ability using several procedural and control measures to protect the data from unauthorized use, and will be used by researchers only for the purpose of this study.
All individuals hired by Abt Associates and Branch Associates are required to adhere to strict standards and sign an oath of confidentiality as a condition of employment.

Hard-copy data collection forms will be delivered to a locked area for receipt and processing. Branch Associates and Abt Associates maintain restricted access to all data preparation areas (receipt, coding, and data entry.) All data files on multi-user systems will be under the control of a database manager, with access limited to project staff on a “need to know” basis only.
Any individual identifying information will be maintained separately from completed data collection forms and from computerized data files used for analysis. No respondent identifiers will be contained in public use files made available from the study.

A.11 Questions of a Sensitive Nature

The questions included on the data collection instruments for this study do not involve sensitive topics.

A.12 Estimates of Respondent Burden

Exhibit 1 presents our estimate of the burden for all respondents. Time estimates are based on experience with similar instruments in other studies involving comparable types of organizations.

Exhibit 1: Estimates of Annualized Burden Hours and Cost
Respondent	Number of Respondents^a	Minutes Per Respondent	Response Burden in Hours	Estimated Cost Per Hour^b	Costs per Respondent	Total Burden (Costs)
Total Intermediary Staff	40		80
Executive/Project Director	10	120	20	$24.73	$49.46	$494.60
Key Personnel	30	120	60	$24.73	$49.46	$1,483.80
Total FBCO Staff	90		180
Executive/Project Director	30	120	60	$24.73	$49.46	$1,483.80
Key Personnel	60	120	120	$24.73	$49.46	$2,967.60
Total All Respondents	130		260			$6,429.80

Notes:

a Assumes 100 percent response rate.

b U.S. Dept of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, National Compensation Survey: Occupational Wages in the United States, June 2006, Managers, social and community service organizations.http://www.bls.gov/ncs/ocs/sp/ncbl0910.pdf

A.13 Estimates of the Cost Burden to Respondents

There are no annualized capital/startup or ongoing operation and maintenance costs associated with collecting the information. Other than their time to complete the interview, which is estimated in Exhibit1, there are no direct monetary costs to respondents.

A.14 Estimates of Annualized Government Costs

The information collection activity and associated forms have been developed in the performance of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Contract Number: 233-02-0088, task order 12. The total cost to the Federal government for the Compassion Capital Fund Evaluation is $2,990,534. Of that total, approximately $188,206 will be used for the process study data collection, analyses and reporting activities.

A.15 Changes in Hour Burden

No change in burden is requested. This submission to OMB is for an initial request for approval.

A.16 Time Schedule, Publication, and Analysis Plan

The schedule shown below in Exhibit 4 displays the sequence of activities required to conduct these information collection activities and includes key dates for activities related to instrument design, data collection, analysis, and reporting.

Exhibit 4 Time Schedule
Activities and Deliverables	Date
Site Visit Protocol development	October – November 2007
Site visits to Intermediaries and FBCO organizations	March – August 2008
Findings included in Report on Impact Study	Early 2009

A.17 Display of Expiration Date for OMB Approval

ACF is not requesting a waiver for the display of the OMB approval number and expiration date on the data collection instruments.

A.18 Exceptions to Certification Statement

This submission does not require an exception to the Certificate for Paperwork Reduction Act (5 CFR 1320.9).

File Type	application/msword
Author	Nancye C. Campbell
Last Modified By	Nancye C. Campbell
File Modified	2008-05-15
File Created	2008-05-15