Part A - NRBS OMB Justification 2011-May

The U.S. Coast Guard’s National Recreational Boating Safety (NRBS) program objective is to ensure the public has a safe, secure, and enjoyable recreational boating experience by implementing programs that minimize loss of life, personal injury, and property damage while cooperating with environmental and national security efforts. The National Recreational Boating Survey information collection project enables the Coast Guard to better identify safety priorities, coordinate and focus research efforts, and encourage consistency in the information that is collected as well as the applied analysis methods.

A NRBS program requirement as set forth in Title 46, United States Code, § 13101, is to “encourage greater State participation and uniformity in boating safety efforts, and particularly to permit the States to assume the greater share of boating safety education, assistance, and enforcement activities”. As coordinator of the NRBS program, the Coast Guard provides support for safety initiatives in every jurisdiction (States and Territories) by making available timely, relevant information on boating activities that occur in each respective jurisdiction. Working in partnership with State Boating Law Administrators (BLAs), the boating information provided by the Coast Guard enables each State agency to tailor and implement safety initiatives that address the needs of boaters in each respective jurisdiction.

Due to differing State policies about boat operation as well as the unique waterways in each State where boating takes place, reporting individual State-level estimates of boating activity and operation rather than grouping similar States is required so that safety advocates can better address the diverse needs of boaters in each respective State. Thus, a primary objective of the information collection effort is to capture sufficient data for each State in order to yield precise State-level estimates of boat use, operator age, boating safety instruction levels, and safety measures taken; this information is critical to State program direction and policy development.

Personally Identifiable Information (PII)

The study will produce a measure of boating exposure that is reliable at both national and state levels and measure incidence of participation, incidence of boat ownership, boating safety awareness and behavior, economic impact of recreational boating, incidence of negative events and risk, and general boating statistics.

The NRBS Survey will collect first names, street addresses, phone numbers, email addresses in addition to general boating information (e.g. type of boat used, frequency of use, duration of a boating trip, boating safety courses completed, years of experience operating a boat, usage of safety equipment, type of boating activity engaged in, etc.) of individuals who participate in recreational boating activities as well as the boats used by the population.

Information will be collected directly from recreational boating participants via mail, telephone or web-form. Prior to the collection, recreational boating participants will be provided a Privacy Act Statement and advised on how information will be collected, maintained, and disseminated and given the option to decline participation without reprisal. The Coast Guard will use the collected data to produce state and national summary statistics. The Coast Guard will not use nor share personal data with any organization or entity. Only individual data pertaining to boats and boating activities will be shared with the Coast Guard boating partners in the industry and academia. The shared data items do not include any names, street addresses, email addresses, telephone numbers or any other PII data collected during interviews.

All survey administrators must complete training and sign a Confidentiality and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Non-Disclosure Agreements before the beginning of the data collection phases. Safeguards will be implemented to mitigate unauthorized access, disclosure, or breach of PII. Moreover, PII will only be collected and maintained for the NRBS survey and only aggregate data may be shared with boating partners from industry and academia.

Overview of the Data Collection System

It is anticipated that the NRBS will be used to gather information on boating activity for 2011 and 2013. The data collection system used during each iteration has been designed to gather information at three distinct analysis levels:

Participant: Someone in a household who has participated in any activity on any privately-owned recreational or rented boat during the reference period, whether the boat was docked or not.
Boat: Vessels owned in the United States that are either not used at all or used at least 50 percent of the time for recreational purposes.
Trip: Recreational boat trips involving the use of a recreational boat where the boat either does not leave the launch site at all or launches from the United States.

There are three core sources of sample for the NRBS:

A generated Random Digit Dial (RDD) list of landline telephone numbers will be the basis for obtaining information regarding participants, including boat ownership, exposure to boating activities on rented vessels, safety awareness, behaviors, and demographics.
Recognizing the impact of mobile phone adoption on telephone survey coverage, lists of mobile telephone numbers will be purchased for a complementary telephone effort which is critical for ensuring representation of key demographic groups.
State vessel registry lists are available for most States, making it possible to sample boats for a mail study to determine the economic impact of boating as well as gather boat statistics. States will contact registered boat owners asking them if they want to take the CG’s survey. Those willing to participate will receive a mail survey. For boats which would not be listed in a purchased list, this data will be obtained during telephone interviews with boat owners.

The data collection effort utilizes a multi-stage structure illustrated in Figure 1. A national Boat Survey, conducted by RDD phone and mail, will collect information about owned boats and recruit boats to a panel. A multi-mode Trips Survey of boats will collect information about individual trips. A national Participant Survey will be conducted by RDD phone to collect information from all boating participants.

It is expected that approximately 10,314 mail surveys and 89,056 telephone surveys will be conducted each year to profile the incidence of boats. This level of effort should result in data from 30,000 boat owners based on information provided by InfoLink, a commercial sample provider specializing in lists of boat owners. The geographic distribution of interviews targets +/-4% precision for boat-level statistics within most states. Mail surveys will be the basis for sampling where lists of registered boat owners are available. Telephone surveys will be used to ensure coverage, to address the inadequacy or unavailability of state-level boat frames. At least 200 interviews are targeted within each geographic stratum.

It is expected that approximately 16,640 telephone surveys will be conducted each year to gauge boating participation. This will provide 320 interviews in each of the 52 geographic regions covered by the survey (50 states, Washington DC, Puerto Rico). We anticipate this will measure the incidence of boating participants within +/-5% for each geographic strata.

It is expected that there will be a panel of about 19,500 boats. This assumes that 65% of the 30,000 boat owners will agree to be on the panel, consistent with ICF Macro’s prior experience with a panel study of recreational anglers.

It is expected that approximately 36,163 trips will be profiled each year using this panel of boats. On average, each panelist will be invited to participate in the study once every three months during their region’s boating season. We assume a 65% participation rate for each effort.

It is estimated that 35% to 40% of data regarding trips will be provided by panelists via a web-based reporting option. Currently, about 70% of American households have home internet access (http://www.census.gov/population/socdemo/computer/2009/tab01.xls). ICF has assumed that this figure holds for the boat panelists, the number of households with access will continue to rise over the next several years (http://www.census.gov/population/socdemo/computer/2009/Appendix-TableA.xls), and half of the panelists will respond via web.

Figure 1 - Overview of the Data Collection System

Survey	Mode(s)	Sample source(s)	Universe		Respondent	Analytic Goals
Boat Survey	Phone	RDD	Privately owned recreational boats	Unregistered recreational boats	Member of boat-owning household	2-Ownership and participation 4-Economic impact of boating 6-Boat statistics 1-Exposure (2010 only)
				Registered recreational boats in all states	Member of boat-owning household
	Mail	Registry Lists	Privately owned recreational boats	Registered recreational boats in states sharing lists	Registered boat owner
Trip Survey	Web, Phone	Panel	Privately owned recreational boats		Boat owner panelist	1-Exposure
						3-Safety awareness and behaviors
						4-Economic impact of boating
						5-Negative events
Participant Survey	Phone	RDD	Boating participants	U.S. households	Any adult household member	2- Ownership and participation 3- Safety awareness and behaviors
				U.S. child (<16) boating population	Any adult household member (proxy)
				U.S. adult boating population	Adult boater
			Rented boats		Adult boater: rented boat	1-Exposure
						3-Safety awareness and behaviors
						4-Economic impact of boating
						5-Negative events

Items of Information to be Collected

The NRBS will capture information at four levels:

Boat level,

Boat trip level, and

Recreational boating participant level.

Personal level

Questions have been formed to address the six purposes of the NRBS:

Boat and boater exposure (as measured in hours),

Boating participation and boat ownership,

Boating safety awareness and behaviors,

Economic impact of recreational boating,

Negative event incidence and risk, and

Boat statistics including the type and size of the vessel.

To elucidate each area, questions are formed around the following:

Boat and boater hours on the water,

Boat hours in docked recreation,

Total annual participation overall,

Total annual participation by boat type,

Total boat ownership,

Lifejacket use,

Motivations for participating in recreational boating activities,

Alcohol use and boat operation,

Money spent to own and maintain a boat,

Money spent in communities on boat trips,

Actual and reported accidents that cause injury and boat damage, and

Features of boats such as hull material and propulsion systems.

Identification of Website(s) and Website Content Directed at Children Under 13 Years of Age

Once boats are identified during the Boat Survey, selected owners will be re-contacted each month to provide information regarding recent trips aboard the vessels. When an e-mail address for a boat owner is available, an invitation will be sent to complete the survey via the Internet. A keyed link will permit the recipient to access collection forms directly via a secure server. Information regarding the identified vessel, such as its type, may be identified in the survey script but identifying information regarding the owner will not be displayed.

It is presumed that minors will not be listed as boat owners. While a minor may inadvertently gain access to the Web survey, questions regarding recent trip activity are considered to be minimally sensitive.

Purpose and Use of Information Collected

Purpose of Information Collection

The purposes of the NRBS, in order of priority, are to measure:

Exposure,

Boat and boater hours on the water,

Boat hours in docked recreation,

Boating participation and boat ownership,

Total annual participation overall,

Total annual participation by boat type,

Total boat ownership,

Boating safety awareness and behaviors,

Lifejacket use,

Motivations for participating in recreational boating activities,

Alcohol use and boat operation,

Economic impact of recreational boating,

Money spent to own and maintain a boat,

Money spent in communities on boat trips,

Negative Event Incidence and Risk,

Actual and reported accidents that cause injury and boat damage,

Boat statistics including the type and size of the vessel, and

Features of boats such as hull material and propulsion systems.

Anticipated Uses of Results by the Coast Guard

This information collection supports the following strategic goal of the Coast Guard’s NRBS program:

Safety: To reduce the number of deaths, the number and severity of injuries, and the amount of property damage associated with the use of recreational boats.

Recreational boating is important from many different perspectives, including being a very popular recreational pursuit that also represents a major source of economic stimulus and community development. Boating experienced dramatic increases in participation and facility development from the 1960s thru the 1990s. However, recreational boating agencies, organizations, and different industry sectors are confronting a wide array of complex issues and challenges. These include:

Changing demographics that are influencing recreational boating participation levels, behaviors, and expectations;

Recruiting new boaters who represent the changing diversity of the U.S. population;

Assessing boating needs and forecasting boating participation;

Developing new boating products, facilities, and services in response to changing preferences of existing and potential boaters;

Developing policies and regulations that enhance both the quality (e.g., safety, environmental protection) and sustainability of boating; and

The need to focus and coordinate the investments and combined efforts (e.g. recruitment, boater safety, service enhancement) of different recreational boating agencies, organizations, and businesses.

The majority of these challenges and issues require reliable, valid information. Information that is continuously required for policy investment/budgeting, educational and evaluation decisions includes:

Numbers and characteristics of boating participants (i.e., boat owners and non-owners);

Perceptions of boaters;

Participation rates (i.e., boating trips, “boat days”) and behaviors;

Boater preferences;

Numbers and types of boats (i.e., registered, documented, unregistered); and

The effectiveness of boating information, education, safety, and enforcement programs.

In summary, the information collection is critical because it:

(1) Gathers reliable, consistent data to develop valid safety performance measures;

(2) Collects information about the changing demographics of boaters, the numbers of boats, and type of boating activity essential for NRBS program direction and policy; and

(3) Provides the data necessary to better define and measure the effectiveness of State program activities aimed at reducing the number of boating fatalities. This in turn will support States in their efforts to reach specific performance goals and objectives.

Anticipated Uses of Results by Other Federal Agencies and Departments

NRBS survey statistical data may be shared with the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), US Arm y Corps of Engineers (USACE), the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Forest Service.

Use of Results by Those Outside Federal Agencies

The National Marine Manufacturers Association (NMMA), the National Association of States Boating Law Administrators (NASBLA), West Marine, US Sailing Association, Recreational Boating and Fishing Foundation, Boat US, American Canoe Association, Department if Natural Resources and more, have expressed interest in the NRBS Survey results in their ongoing efforts to improve their understanding of the boating community.

Personal Identifiable Information

Please see section 1, b. Personal Identifiable Information on page Error: Reference source not found.

Use of Improved Information Technology and Burden Reduction

The NRBS system includes five questionnaires combined in various ways to collect information at three levels: boat level, boat trip level, and recreational boating participant level. These five questionnaires include a telephone phone and mail version of a Boat Survey, a telephone/web and mail version of the Trip Survey, and a telephone version of the Participant Survey.

The most efficient method for sampling boats is by utilizing State registry information. It is anticipated that over three-quarters of the nation’s registered vessels can be sampled using these databases. However, the coverage for this proposed approach is affected by issues such as local registration requirements and access to the lists themselves. Supplemental telephone studies will ensure the probability of selection for boat owners not listed in the obtained registries. Boat owners agreeing to participate in follow-up surveys will be asked for their e-mail addresses.

In order to build exposure measures, a subsample of boat owners will be re-contacted every month to detail recent boat trip activity. The selection algorithm will ensure that any owner who has agreed to participate in the follow-up effort is selected no more than twice to provide trip information about a particular boat. Invitations to complete Web-enabled Internet forms will be provided when e-mail addresses are available (all others will be contacted by telephone). Web surveys will be programmed using specialized software that will ensure accurate capture of data in a secure environment.

Information regarding boating participation will be collected via telephone only. As with other telephone efforts, the survey will be conducted using Computer Assisted Telephone Interviewing (CATI) software. CATI software will allow for quality checks to be built into the programming, providing virtually error-free data collection. It is anticipated that up to 15,000 interviews nationwide will be conducted specifically among cell phone users across three iterations of the study. This stratum attempts to include the growing population of households that are cell phone-only and may be missed in traditional RDD landline surveys. Recent studies indicate that close to 20 percent of U.S. households are cell phone-only and disproportionately represent younger households and low SES/poverty^¹ individuals, characteristics which may be correlated to distinct boating behavior. By including cell phone numbers as part of the frame, the growing use of information technology beyond the traditional bounds of RDD surveys will be addressed.

Efforts to Identify Duplication and Use of Similar Information

The Coast Guard did an extensive search of available information on boats, boaters, and boating activities to determine if the critical need for recent boating information could be met. No comprehensive national boating data source was identified. Since our most recent information collection (which ended in September 2002), no information collections have been conducted from which the Coast Guard could obtain reliable up-to-date estimates on the number of recreational boats, boating households, boaters, and activities at the national and State levels.

Impact on Small Business or Other Small Entities

The NRBS is a social survey primarily designed to collect data from individual recreational boating participants. Because the study focuses on the residential population, the data collection effort will not place an undue response burden on small businesses or similar entities. Additionally, this survey is voluntary, and only those who express the desire to participate will be included.

Consequences of Collecting the Information Less Frequency

If reliable boating data are not collected, the Coast Guard will be unable to perform the following:

Measure the effectiveness of various boating safety programs;

Identify and satisfy recreational boater needs;

Improve the effectiveness of the boating safety programs by setting well-defined goals and developing targeted strategies in support of those goals; and

Make prudent resource allocation decisions and provide program oversight using the most meaningful performance measures.

Special Circumstances Relating to the Guidelines of 5 CFR 1320.5

The information collection activities discussed in this ICR comply with all Paperwork Reduction Act regulatory guidelines. No special circumstances are anticipated in this collection of information.

Comments in Response to the Federal Register Notice and Efforts to Consult Outside the Agency

Federal Register Announcement

The 60-day Federal Register notice of the proposed data collection was published in the Federal Register on July 16, 2007; Vol. 72, Number 135, pages 38839-38840 (Appendix B). The 30-day Federal Register notice of the proposed data collection was published in the Federal Register on December 4, 2007; Vol. 72, Number 232, pages 68171-68174 (Appendix B). Please refer to the appendices for copies of the notice and corresponding feedback published in the Federal Register.

New 60-day and 30-day notices will be published in the Federal Register during the spring of 2010.

Consultations

The NRBS has evolved from the National Recreational Boating Safety Survey which involved 25,547 interviews with recreational boaters who operated boats between September 2001 and September 2002. A Scientific Advisory Committee (SAC), and a Collaboration of Partners (COP) have facilitated the incorporation of feedback from data users, stakeholders, and industry leaders during the development of the current protocol.

Current and former SAC members include:

Pr. Edward Mahoney (MSU), Pr. Dan Stynes (MSU), Dr. Steven Heeringa (Survey Research Center, University of Michigan), Dr. Karol Krotki (RTI International)

Current and former COP members include:

Nancy M. Gogle (Representing Ohio DNR), Captain Richard Moore (Representing Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission, NASBLA), William C. Naumann (Representing National Marine Manufacturers Association), Julie M. McQuade (Representing Ohio Department of Natural Resources),

L. Daniel Maxim (Representing Coast Guard Auxiliary), Robert Burgess (Representing West Marine and Recreation Boating Retailers), James Patrick Muldoon (Representing U.S. Sailing Association),

Marla Hetzel (Representing the Recreational Boating and Fishing Foundation), Nancy S. Michelman (Representing BOATUS), Pamela S. Dillon (Representing American Canoe Association and National Safe Boating Council), Dr. Deborah Gona (Representing NASBLA), Van Snider (Representing Michigan Boating Industries Association, National Marine Trades Council and Marine Retailers Association of America),

David Ray (Representing Marine Industries Association of Florida and Marine Retailers Association of America), Jerry Mona (Representing National Marine Manufacturers Association and Grow Boating Campaign)

Explanation of Any Payment or Gift to Respondents

Panel Incentives

We will offer $5 as an incentive to panelists for each trip-level survey they complete. This incentive will minimize panel and survey attrition and promote prompt survey response. Prompt survey response is important because accurate recall of hours on the water is critical to achieving accurate exposure estimates. Respondents who have sold their boats and are ineligible will not receive the incentive because they will not complete a survey. Respondents on the panel will be incentivized regardless of recent boating activity levels. This will help minimize panel attrition while maintaining unbiased responses.

The motivation for using incentives for the boat owner panel survey is to improve panel recruitment and retention and ultimately improve data quality. Boat owners who participate in the boat survey will be recruited to participate in a longitudinal study (rotating panel). Incentives will encourage panel participants to respond to the trip survey during subsequent waves of data collection. The use of incentives for the boat owner panel is justified for a number of reasons:

Repeated measures design: The research design is based on repeated measures of the same subject to increase the reliability of the survey estimates (e.g. Cochran, pp 348-355). The reliability of the survey estimates is greatest when we are able to measure change (such as change in boat exposure) on an individual subject basis. The use of incentives will increase the number of individuals who provide responses at multiple time points.

Reducing survey costs: The cost to contact a boat owner panel participant for the second (and third and so on) time is less expensive than contacting a boat owner panel participant for the first time. Offering an incentive will increase repeat participation and lessen reliance on newly recruited boat owners.

Participant burden: The burden for each panel participant is the boat survey and up to four additional trip surveys. Panelists will recount up to two boating trips during each trip survey. Our use of incentives will recognize their effort with positive reinforcement and encourage future participation.

Cell phone Incentives

The AAPOR Cell Phone Task Force Report issued in 2010 recommends some form of remuneration for expenses incurred by the respondent. However, given the relatively new emergence of cell phone interviewing, no one best practice for remuneration has emerged. The AAPOR Cell Phone Task Force Report states:

“Much more experimentation with the use of remuneration and incentives in cell phone surveys will be needed before researchers can be confident of the effects these may have on response rates, data quality, and/or nonresponse bias. This research should include factorial designs in which some of the conditions use both a remuneration and a contingent incentive. The experimentation also should include varying the manner in which the purpose of the remuneration and/or incentive is explained (i.e., characterized) to the respondent.” (AAPOR Cell Phone Task Force Report, pp 91)

Our proposed experiment was to test the benefit of offering remuneration using a case/control design where a random sample of respondents will not be offered. Evidence that suggests that remuneration provides no response benefits will support the argument to eliminate the use of incentives for the cell phone survey.

Assurance of Confidentiality Provided to Respondents

Individuals contacted will be assured of the confidentiality of their responses under 5 U.S.C. 552a (Privacy Act of 1974) applied to the National Recreational Boating Survey. This survey is covered by an existing SORN: DHS/ALL-002-Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Mailing and Other Lists System November 25, 2008, 73 FR 71659.

During telephone interviews, respondents are read the Privacy Act Statement and told during the initial screening that the information they provide will be kept confidential. Verbal consent will be elicited from participants. A call-back telephone number will be provided to anyone who wishes to speak with a supervisor or the client. As part of interviewer training, prior to commencement of data collection, the project director will review all IRB-approved procedures for the protection of human subjects. The training will include procedures for reporting respondent complaints and unanticipated problems. Also, all interviewers will be required to sign a statement of confidentiality and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Non-Disclosure Agreement on the date of hire, and concepts related to confidentially will be reinforced at training. In addition, interviewers will be instructed to discontinue a call if they feel someone is listening on another line. Such discontinued calls will result in an unscheduled call-back at a later date.

Mail survey items will display OMB approval numbers and statements assuring confidentiality, and contact information will be provided so that a respondent’s questions can be answered by a knowledgeable member of the project team. A returned form will imply consent.

Precautions also are taken in how the data are handled to prevent a breach of confidentiality. Survey data and all identifying information about respondents will be handled in ways that prevent unauthorized access at any point during the study. To maintain confidentiality, only a sub-string of the telephone numbers associated with each completed call is included in the final data, so a respondent's answers cannot be connected to a specific person or telephone number. Data will be housed on a secure server. Access to mail information will be limited and on a need-to-know basis. If reports or tabular data are submitted, the data will be reviewed to determine if the subject(s) can be identified when small cell counts occur. If there is the potential for the identification of these subject(s), the data in these cells will be removed.

Personal Identifiable Information

Please see section 1, b. Personal Identifiable Information.

Justification for Sensitive Questions

No sensitive information will be collected.

Estimates of Annualized Burden Hours and Costs

Estimates of Total Annual Cost Burden to Respondents or Record Keepers

The NRBS is a survey of boating activity and participation. State-supplied boat registration data will be used as the sampling frame for selecting boating households. However, the content of State boat registration databases is limited to recreational vessels that owners are required by law to register, which are typically power boats or boats of a certain size. It is also anticipated that State confidentiality laws will prevent some States from providing their registration data to the Coast Guard. Consequently, we will need to select a RDD sample of boating households to cover the portion of the boating population not included in the State’s boat registration databases. In States that provide boat registration data, only households that do not own any registered or documented recreational vessel will be eligible for inclusion in the RDD sample. In States for which boat registration data are not available, all boating households will be eligible for selection in the sample.

While the State’s boat registration databases will allow for the targeting of specific boats in order to obtain precise boat statistics, the RDD sample will allow for the collection of data on unregistered recreational vessels and their owners, operators, or passengers. In States not providing boat registration data, statistics specific to registered boats will still be produced, although their precision will be inferior to that of mail survey statistics.

Table 1 illustrates different cost estimates associated with the 2011 NRBS. A cost estimate of $25.15 per respondent hour was calculated by dividing the median U.S. household income of $50,303^² by 2,000 annual labor hours. :

Table 1: Cost Evaluation of the Surveys

Cost Element	BOAT Mail	BOAT Telephone	TRIP Phone, Web	PARTICIPANT Telephone	ALL SURVEYS
Initial Contacts	28,650	223,705	18,375	41,600
Response Rate	40%	40%	40%	40%
Completed Surveys	11,460	89,482	35,014	16,640
Eligibility Rate	90%	22%	90%	100%
Number Eligible	10,314	19,686	31,513	16,640
Survey Duration (min)	12.6	9.0	7.8	6.0
Annual Burden (hrs)	2,166	2,953	4,097	1,664	10,880
Cost/hr	$25.15	$25.15	$25.15	$25.15
Total Annual Cost	$54,475	$74,268	$103,040	$41,850	$273,633

Overall, survey participants will spend about 10,880 hours filling out the different questionnaires for the 2011 NRBS, represented as an estimated cost burden of $273,633. Note that Table 1 is based upon the assumption that all States will make their boat registration databases available to the Coast Guard.

Annualized Cost to the Government

Under section13106(c) of title 46 U.S.C., funding is made available for payment of expenses of the Coast Guard for activities directly related to coordinating and carrying out national recreational boating safety programs. In August 2009, Blanket Purchase Agreement HSCG23-09-A-M01012 was awarded to Macro International, enabling them to conduct alternating annual surveys. The estimated cost for the five year contract as set forth in the solicitation was $15,267,105, resulting in an average annual cost of $3,053,421.

Explanation for Program Changes or Adjustments

Not applicable. This is a new information collection.

Plans for Tabulations and Publications and Project Time Schedules

Tabulation Plans

The contractor selected to conduct the survey will use advanced statistical software such as SAS or SPSS to generate frequencies of responses, cross-tabulations on key variables using weighted data. Fundamental measures for observation include:

Numbers and characteristics of boating participants (i.e., boat owners and non-owners);

Perceptions of boaters;

Participation rates (i.e., boating trips, “boat days”) and behaviors;

Boater preferences;

Numbers and types of boats (i.e., registered, documented, unregistered); and

The effectiveness of boating information, education, safety, and enforcement programs.

Publication Plans

National, Coast Guard regional, and statewide estimates of recreational boats, boating households, boaters, boating exposures, practices, and activities during the boating season will be published in a report and disseminated to boating safety officials.

Time Schedule for the Project

Exhibit 1 shows the schedule of data collection. The NRBS is a biannual survey designed to collect data about boating participation and boat activities for 2011, 2013, and beyond.

Exhibit 1: Survey program schedule

		Boat Survey	Trips Survey	Participant Survey
2010	Q1
	Q2
	Q3
	Q4	x
2011	Q1		x	X
	Q2		x
	Q3		x
	Q4		x
2012	Q1			X
	Q2
	Q3
	Q4	x
2013	Q1		x
	Q2		x
	Q3		x
	Q4		x
2014	Q1			X

The Boat Survey collects information about how many and what kinds of boats are owned as well as some information about how much boat owners spend on their boats. The survey will be conducted in the fourth quarter of the year preceding the target year. This staggered data collection schedule will ensure that the panel of boats to participate in the Trips Survey is established before the target year begins.

The Trips Survey will proceed monthly during the survey year. This survey samples individual trips that boats have taken and collects information about what happened on those trips: how long they lasted, what safety events occurred, and what money was spent. The sample for the Trips Survey will be boats that have responded to the Boat Survey.

The Participant Survey collects information about who has spent time boating during the year. We will conduct this survey in the first quarter of the year following the target year. The first Participant Survey will refer to 2010 and will provide some data to meet immediate needs at the Coast Guard. Subsequently, the Participant Survey will concern the survey years 2011 and 2013.

Reason(s) Display of OMB Expiration Date is Inappropriate

We are not seeking such approval. The OMB number will appear in appropriate Paperwork Reduction Act disclosure information.

Exceptions to Certification for Paperwork Reduction Act Submissions

There are no exceptions to the certification statement.

Appendices

Authorizing Legislation

Title 46, Subtitle II, Part I, Chapter 131, §13102:State recreational boating safety programs

(a) To encourage greater State participation and uniformity in boating safety efforts, and particularly to permit the States to assume the greater share of boating safety education, assistance, and enforcement activities, the Secretary shall carry out a national recreational boating safety program. Under this program, the Secretary shall make contracts with, and allocate and distribute amounts to, eligible States to assist them in developing, carrying out, and financing State recreational boating safety programs.

(b) The Secretary shall establish guidelines and standards for the program. In doing so, the Secretary—

(1) shall consider, among other things, factors affecting recreational boating safety by contributing to overcrowding and congestion of waterways, such as the increasing number of recreational vessels operating on those waterways and their geographic distribution, the availability and geographic distribution of recreational boating facilities in and among applying States, and State marine casualty and fatality statistics for recreational vessels;

(2) shall consult with the Secretary of the Interior to minimize duplication with the purposes and expenditures of the Land and Water Conservation Fund Act of 1965 (16 U.S.C. 460l–4—460l–11) the Federal Aid in Sport Fish Restoration Act of 1950 (16 U.S.C. 777–777k), and with the guidelines developed under those Acts; and

(3) shall maintain environmental standards consistent with the Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972 (16 U.S.C. 1451–1464) and other laws and policies of the United States intended to safeguard the ecological and esthetic quality of the waters and wetlands of the United States.

(c) A State whose recreational boating safety program has been approved by the Secretary is eligible for allocation and distribution of amounts under this chapter to assist that State in developing, carrying out, and financing its program. Matching amounts shall be allocated and distributed among eligible States by the Secretary as provided by section 13104 of this title.

30-Day Federal Register Notice

60-Day Federal Register Notice Comments

Mapping of Survey Sections with Survey Goals

Boat Survey

Section	Data Use	Public Release
1. Boat enumeration	b) Boating participation and boat ownership	Yes
2. Registration information	i) Boat statistics	Yes
3. Kind of boat	i) Boat statistics	Yes
4. Boat usage	b) Boating participation and boat ownership	Yes
5. 2010 Exposure Module, for administration in the 2011 survey (q4 2010) only	a) Exposure: boating hours	Yes
6. Boat details	i) Boat statistics	Yes
7. Boat operation	i) Boat statistics	Yes
8. Economic Impact of Recreational Boating		Yes
8.1. Module—boat expenditures corollary questions	g) Economic impact of recreational boating	Yes
8.2. Boat expenditures	g) Economic impact of recreational boating	Yes
9. Recruit for Boat Panel	Maintain survey structure	Yes

Trip survey

Section	Data Use	Public Release
1. Identify water recreation days	a) Exposure: boating hours	Yes
2. First water day		Yes
2.1. Obtain qualified respondent	Maintain survey structure	Yes
2.1.1. Trip report hand-off module	Maintain survey structure	Yes
2.2. Trip Exposure		Yes
2.2.1. States where boated	a) Exposure: boating hours	Yes
2.2.2. People on the boat	a) Exposure: boating hours	Yes
2.2.3. Boat Hours	a) Exposure: boating hours	Yes
2.2.4. Types of water	a) Exposure: boating hours	Yes
2.3. Boating safety awareness and behaviors		Yes
2.3.1. Boat operation	c) Boating safety awareness and behaviors	Yes
2.3.2. Alcohol	f) Boating safety awareness and behaviors	Yes
2.3.3. Life jackets	d) Boating safety awareness and behaviors	Yes
2.3.4. Module: Reasons for Lifejacket Use	d) Boating safety awareness and behaviors	Yes
2.3.5. Other safety equipment	c) Boating safety awareness and behaviors	Yes
2.4. Negative event incidence and risk		Yes
2.4.1. Negative Events	h) Negative event Incidence and risk	Yes
2.4.2. Damage to people and vessels	h) Negative event Incidence and risk	Yes
2.5. Economic impact of recreational boating		Yes
2.5.1. Module: boat expenditure corollary questions	g) Economic impact of recreational boating	Yes
2.5.2. Trip expenditures	g) Economic impact of recreational boating	Yes
3. Second water day		Yes
Structure similar to first day. Two days are collected to increase statistical power.		Yes
4. Identify Docked recreation days	a) Exposure: boating hours	Yes
5. First docked day		Yes
5.1. Trip Exposure		Yes
5.1.1. States where boated	a) Exposure: boating hours	Yes
5.1.2. People on the boat	a) Exposure: boating hours	Yes
5.1.3. Boat Hours	a) Exposure: boating hours	Yes
6. Second docked day		Yes
Structure similar to first day. Two days are collected to increase statistical power.

Participant Survey

Section	Data Use	Public Release
1. Household Participation	b) Boating participation and boat ownership	Yes
2. Household Participant enumeration
2.1. Demographics	b) Boating participation and boat ownership	Names, street addresses, telephone numbers, and emai addresses are not released to the public. Only State of residence and states visited on a boating trip are released to the public.
2.2. Participation	b) Boating participation and boat ownership	Yes
2.3. Module: Lifetime participation	e) Boating participation and boat ownership	Yes
3. Boating safety awareness and behaviors		Yes
3.1. Lifejackets in the household	d) Boating safety awareness and behaviors	Yes
3.2. Safety behaviors of a boating child	c) Boating safety awareness and behaviors	Yes
4. 2010 exposure estimation—administered in 2011 only		Yes
4.1. Kind of boat	a) Exposure: boating hours	Yes
4.2. Boat usage	a) Exposure: boating hours	Yes
5. Survey of an individual participant		Yes
5.1. Activities	b) Boating participation and boat ownership	Yes
5.2. Boating safety awareness and behaviors	c) Boating safety awareness and behaviors	Yes
5.3. Alcohol	c) Boating safety awareness and behaviors	Yes
5.4. Module: Rented Boats		Yes
5.4.1. Trip Report—for administration 2011 forward	Same structure as in Trip Survey (Goals 1, 3, 4, 5)	Yes
6. Closing

Confidentiality Agreement Signed by Interviewers

Statement of Policy

ICF MACRO is firmly committed to the principle that the confidentiality of individual data obtained through ICF MACRO surveys must be protected. This principal holds whether or not any specific guarantee of confidentiality was given at the time of interview (or self-response), or whether or not there are specific contractual obligations regarding confidentiality have been entered into, they may impose additional requirements which are to be adhered to strictly.

Procedures for maintaining Confidentiality

All ICF MACRO employees and field workers shall sign this assurance of confidentiality. This assurance may be suspended by another assurance for a particular project.
Field workers shall keep completely confidential the names of respondents, all information or opinions collected in the course of interviews, and any information about respondents learned incidentally during fieldwork. Field workers shall exercise reasonable caution to prevent access by other to survey data in their possession.
Unless specifically instructed otherwise for a particular project, an employee or files worker, upon encountering a respondent or information pertaining to a respondent that s/he knows personally, shall immediately terminate the activity and contact her/his supervisor for instructions.
Survey data containing personal identifiers in ICF MACRO offices shall be kept in a locked container or a locked room when not being used each working day in routine survey activities. Reasonable caution shall be exercised in limiting access to survey data to only those persons who are working on the specific project and who have instructed in the application confidentiality requirements for that project. Where survey data has been determined to be particularly sensitive by the Corporate Officer in charge of the project or the President of ICF MACRO, such survey data shall be kept in locked containers or in a locked room except when actually being used and attended by a staff member who has singed this pledge.
Ordinarily, serial numbers shall be assigned to respondents prior to creating a machine-processible record and identifiers such as name, address, and social security number shall not, ordinarily, be a part of the machine record. When identifies are part of the machine data record, ICF MACRO’S Manager of Data Processing shall be responsible for determining adequate confidentiality measures in consultation with the project director. When a separate file is set up containing identifiers or linkage information, which could be used to identify data records, this separate file, shall be kept locked up when not actually being used each day in routine survey activities.
When records with identifies are to be transmitted to another party, such as for keypunching or key taping, the other party shall be information of these procedures and shall sign an Assurance of Confidentiality form.
Each project director shall be responsible for ensuring that all personnel and contractors involved in handling survey data on a project are instructed in these procedures, have signed this pledge and comply with these procedures throughout the period of survey performance. When there are specific contractual obligations to the client regarding confidentiality, the project director shall develop additional procedures to comply with the project in these additional procedures. At the end of the period of survey performance, the project director shall arrange for proper storage or disposal of survey data including any particular contractual requirements for storage or disposition. When required to turn over survey data to our clients, we must provide proper safeguards to ensure confidentiality up to the time of delivery.
Project directors shall ensure that survey practices adhere to the provisions of the US Privacy Act o f1974 with regards to surveys of individuals for the Federal Governments. Project directors must ensure that procedures are established in each survey to inform each respondent of the authority for the survey, the purpose and use of the survey, the voluntary nature of the (where applicable) and the effects of the respondents if any, of not responding.

PLEDGE

I herby certify that I have carefully read and understand the aforementioned policies and procedures and will cooperate fully with them. I will keep completely confidential all information arising from surveys concerning individual respondents to which I gain access. I will not discuss, disclose, disseminate, or provide access to survey data and identifiers except as authorized by ICF MACRO. In addition, I will comply with any additional procedures established by ICF MACRO for a particular contract. I will devote my best efforts to ensure that there is compliance with the required procedures established by ICF MACRO for a particular contract. I understand that violation of the privacy rights of individuals through such unauthorized discussion, disclosure, dissemination, or access may make me subject to criminal or civil penalties. I give my personal pledge that I shall abide by this assurance of confidentiality.

______________________________________

Print Name (Clearly Please)

______________________________________ ____/____/2009

Signature Date

______________________________________ ____/____/2009

Witness Signature Date

Please return this form to your supervisor after reviewing and signing.

1 http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nhis/earlyrelease/wireless200905.htm

2 http://www.census.gov/prod/2009pubs/p60-236.pdf

File Type	application/msword
Author	Seth H. Muzzy
Last Modified By	KATyler
File Modified	2011-06-27
File Created	2011-06-27

Part A - NRBS OMB Justification 2011-May

Part A - NRBS OMB Justification 2011-May.doc

The National Recreational Boating Survey

OMB: 1625-0089

Table of Contents

Justification

Why Information Collection is Necessary

Background

Personally Identifiable Information (PII)

Overview of the Data Collection System

Items of Information to be Collected

Identification of Website(s) and Website Content Directed at Children Under 13 Years of Age

Purpose and Use of Information Collected

Purpose of Information Collection

Anticipated Uses of Results by the Coast Guard

Anticipated Uses of Results by Other Federal Agencies and Departments

Use of Results by Those Outside Federal Agencies

Personal Identifiable Information

Use of Improved Information Technology and Burden Reduction

Efforts to Identify Duplication and Use of Similar Information

Impact on Small Business or Other Small Entities

Consequences of Collecting the Information Less Frequency

Special Circumstances Relating to the Guidelines of 5 CFR 1320.5

Comments in Response to the Federal Register Notice and Efforts to Consult Outside the Agency

Federal Register Announcement

Consultations

Explanation of Any Payment or Gift to Respondents

Panel Incentives

Cell phone Incentives

Assurance of Confidentiality Provided to Respondents

Personal Identifiable Information

Justification for Sensitive Questions

Estimates of Annualized Burden Hours and Costs

Estimates of Total Annual Cost Burden to Respondents or Record Keepers

Annualized Cost to the Government

Explanation for Program Changes or Adjustments

Plans for Tabulations and Publications and Project Time Schedules

Tabulation Plans

Publication Plans

Time Schedule for the Project

Reason(s) Display of OMB Expiration Date is Inappropriate

Exceptions to Certification for Paperwork Reduction Act Submissions

Authorizing Legislation

30-Day Federal Register Notice

60-Day Federal Register Notice Comments

Mapping of Survey Sections with Survey Goals

Confidentiality Agreement Signed by Interviewers