Paperwork_Reduction_Act_3112-0001Supporting_Statement_A_Revision_22_Oct_2010

SUPPORTING STATEMENT A

AUDIENCE AND PROGRAM RESEARCH ACTIVITY FOR

BROADCASTING BOARD OF GOVERNORS,

OFFICE OF CUBA BROADCASTING

OMB NO. 3112-0001

A. JUSTIFICATION

1-2 Radio Marti was created by Public Law 98-111, the Radio Broadcasting to Cuba Act, “to provide for the broadcasting of accurate information to the people of Cuba, and for other purposes.” This act was amended (by PL 101-246), which established the authority for TV Marti. The Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG) fulfills this mandate through the Office of Cuba Broadcasting. In order to inform Radio and TV Marti’s programming planning, to evaluate the effectiveness of strategies for meeting this mandate and to guide implementation of necessary changes, BBG seeks the best available information on habits of listeners and viewers and qualitative feedback on program reactions and preferences. Because of the closed nature of Cuban society and the practical limitations on gathering such detailed, sensitive information from Cubans on the island, BBG commissions research with convenience samples of recently-arrived immigrants to South Florida. BBG makes use of and shares such information making clear that it cannot be used to estimate behaviors or opinions of larger populations in Cuba, including the size or characteristics of audiences in Cuba for Radio and TV Martí. Nonetheless, there exist no comparable sources of such feedback to inform decisions on transmission means, program scheduling, content and structure.

3. This qualitative research necessitates personal interaction, and structured evaluations or surveys are conducted among a relatively small number recently-arrived Cuban immigrants under circumstances (e.g. lack of access to or experience with Internet) that preclude the use and/or negate any cost efficiencies of automated or electronic collection of the kinds and amount of information gathered.

4. Attempts have been made to identify public and private entities conducting current research on Cuban media habits and preferences. To the best of BBG’s knowledge, there is no public or private entity conducting Cuban audience research that would meet Radio and TV Marti’s information needs either in type or volume. Cuba is subject to a totalitarian state that controls mass media access to information, and carefully limits news and information that might reflect negatively on the political leadership. The lack of significant commercial uses of such information—given Cuba’s socialized and impoverished economy—means that little or no market research infrastructure exists there (except for state-controlled operations).

5. Not Applicable. No data is collected from small businesses.

6. The BBG and Office of Cuba Broadcasting have the need for a variety of information from its target audience that can be used to evaluate and improve its news, information and other programming services in order to meet its congressional mandate. Should information gathering activities be conducted less frequently, Radio and TV Marti would run the risk of losing even indirect touch with their audience and the situation in which they live, resulting in a deterioration of Marti’s effectiveness and ability to fulfill its mission.

7. Respondents participate only once in any collection and submit no documents or trade information of any kind. Collections do not involve personal records or statistical methods. All BBG research contracts provide for contractors to follow industry-standard ethical guidelines (International Chamber of Commerce/ESOMAR), which require that respondents’ personal identity be withheld from the client (BBG) without his/her explicit request or consent. All personally-identifying information collected by the contractor as a part of recruitment is securely disposed of immediately after conclusion of projects. Contractors conducting research for BBG communicate to respondents these guidelines to which they are contractually bound.

8. Feedback on the way the information is gathered is regularly solicited from the recent immigrants participating in program testing panels, structured surveys, focus groups, and from outside experts on Cuba participating in monitoring panels. Outside market research contractors are required to search for sources of information responsive to the needs underlying these collections.

9. Respondents who participate in monitoring panels, program testing panels, and focus groups may receive an incentive payment of $50.00 in line with market research industry standard practice, while respondents to structured surveys may receive $20.00.

10. All BBG research contracts provide for contractors to follow industry-standard ethical guidelines (International Chamber of Commerce/ESOMAR), which require that respondents’ personal identity be withheld from the client (BBG) without his/her explicit request or consent. All personally-identifying information collected by the contractor as a part of recruitment is securely disposed of immediately after conclusion of projects. Contractors conducting research for BBG communicate to respondents these standards to which they are contractually bound. The pledge of confidentiality made by BBG contractors to respondents is based on their contractual obligations, not on statute. The BBG's adherence to industry standards on confidentiality of respondent identities in all the research it contracts for is based on policy, not statute. All the research under this request is done subject to this policy, which never puts such identifying information into the possession of the BBG.

11. Respondents are not asked questions of a private, sensitive nature. Respondents are asked questions concerning their use of radio and television while in Cuba and their reaction to Radio and TV Marti programming. Basic demographic data (age, gender, education, occupation) are also gathered. While use of foreign media remains a sensitive topic inside Cuba, this is not the case among Cubans who have immigrated to the United States.

12. In providing research for the Office of Cuba Broadcasting, BBG utilizes four types of research to gather information from convenience samples of Cuban immigrants who left the island no more than six months prior to their recruitment, focusing on media habits of listeners and viewers and qualitative feedback on program reactions and preferences. These include focus group studies, program testing panels, monitoring panels, and structured surveys.

a. Focus Group Studies – BBG contracts for the conduct of focus group studies with recently arrived Cuban immigrants on their media behavior and preferences and on reactions to programming. Focus Groups are conducted at professional research facilities in the greater Miami, Florida area. Discussions are led by an independent, professional moderator, include exposure to some sample program material and some brief open-ended individual written responses to questions on sample materials. In some cases, respondents are asked to watch particular programs (maximum one hour in length) at home via TV before attending the groups. Each project consists of four discussion groups of 10-12 participants each, lasting approximately two hours each (estimates below do not include travel time to the facility where groups are conducted, which can vary). Two projects are conducted each year.

Number of Respondents 96
Number of Responses per Respondent 1
Total Annual Responses 96
Hours per Response 3

Total Annual Hours (SUB-TOTAL) 288

b. Program Testing Panels – BBG contracts for the conduct of program testing panels with recently arrived Cuban immigrants on their reactions to sample programs to which they are exposed during a gathering at a commercial focus group facility. Respondents complete a brief written questionnaire after seeing each sample program, then are allowed to share any brief oral comments they wish. Each project consists of one group of 8-10 participants, lasting approximately two hours each (estimates below do not include travel time to the facility where groups are conducted, which can vary). Seven projects are conducted each year.

Number of Respondents 70
Number of Responses per Respondent 1
Total Annual Responses 70
Hours per Response 2

Total Annual Hours (SUB-TOTAL) 140

c. Monitoring Panels – BBG contracts for the conduct of monitoring panels with recently arrived Cuban immigrants (7 for each project) and U.S.-based Cuba experts (2 for each project), which require panelists to monitor up to two hours of programming—individually via live TV or recordings supplied by BBG’s contractors—before completing a detailed standard questionnaire on their reactions to the programs, which takes up to four hours in total to complete (monitoring and completion of questions relevant to each program is done over four days). Two projects are conducted each year.

Number of Respondents 18
Number of Responses per Respondent 1
Total Annual Responses 18
Hours per Response 4

Total Annual Hours (SUB-TOTAL) 72

d. Structured Surveys — BBG contracts for the conduct of two structured surveys each year among convenience samples of recently-arrived Cuban immigrants, with 300 self-completion or guided-completion questionnaires administered in each survey. Respondents are contacted at various locations (immigrant acculturation classes, other public places frequented by recently-arrived Cuban immigrants) and those who have left Cuba within the prior six months and express interest in participating are given self-completion questionnaires or in one third of cases are guided through the questionnaire. The questionnaire gathers basic demographic information, plus recall of media use during respondents’ last 12 months in Cuba and, for those who listened to Radio Martí or saw TV Martí, questions on how they tuned in, how well they could receive the signal, and brief evaluative questions on the programs they heard or saw.

Number of Respondents 600
Number of Responses per Respondent 1
Total Annual Response 600
Hours per Response 0.5

Total Hours (SUB-TOTAL) 300

Cumulative - Annual estimated collection burden for BBG-sponsored research with immigrants the Office of Cuba Broadcasting:

Number of Respondents 784
Number of Responses per Respondent 1
Total Annual Response 784
Average Hours per Response 1.02
Total Hours - 800

13. There is no quantifiable cost to the respondents aside from the time that they spend in a discussion or completing a questionnaire. Survey questionnaires are administered in person by interviewers during the respondent’s non-work hours and with his or her consent. Participants in focus groups attend voluntarily and at their convenience, may be given a $50.00 cash incentive (survey respondents may be provided $20.00) in accordance with prevailing research industry standards, and are provided free transportation.

14. This data-collection activity involves no capital or start-up costs that are not part of customary and usual agency activities. All costs derive from operations, maintenance, and purchase of services. Estimates of annual cost to the Federal Government aas of FY 2010 are as follows.

Contracts:

Focus Groups (2) $95,039

Program Testing Panels (7) $40,250

Monitoring Panels (2) $35,060

Structured Surveys (2) $62,650

TOTAL COST TO GOVERNMENT $232,999

15. The figures reported in items 13 and 14 reflect inclusion of all research with recent Cuban immigrants commissioned by BBG for the Office of Cuba Broadcasting (OCB), which as of FY 2010 is overseen by the BBG International Broadcasting Bureau Office of Research, and conducted through both the International Audience Research Program contract and a separate contract now managed by the Office of Research.

16. Focus groups, program testing panels, and monitoring panels are essentially qualitative in nature, requiring minimal tabulation of respondent profiles and a small number of numerical scores solicited from participants as an adjunct to verbal feedback. Structured surveys of convenience samples of immigrants are coded and entered into a statistical analysis program by the Office of Research, and tables of frequencies are supplied to the contractor. Reports for all qualitative research are written by contractors and reviewed by the Office of Research. Focus group projects and monitoring panels typically take from 8-12 weeks from design to final reporting, program testing panels from 6-10 weeks, and surveys from 12-15 weeks. These and any written analyses or reports on structured surveys are designed to inform BBG/OCB management decisions and are disseminated within BBG and, as requested, shared with other executive agencies or with Congress. Neither statistical methods nor complex analyses are involved in any immigrant research project commissioned by BBG.

17. Not applicable.

18. Not applicable.