Supporting Statement FRCoP Rev20120729

SUPPORTING STATEMENT

First Responder Communities of Practice

(OMB No. 1640-0016)

A. Justification

1. The Department of Homeland Security Science and Technology (S&T) Directorate First Responder Communities of Practice (FRCoP) program is responsible for providing a collaborative environment for the first responder community to share information, best practices, and lessons learned. Section 313 of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (PL 107-296) established this requirement.

2. The FRCoP web based tool collects profile information from first responders and select authorized non-first responder users to facilitate networking and formation of online communities. All users will be required to authenticate prior to entering the site. The tool offers members the ability to create wikis, write and read discussion threads and blog posts; upload documents; create and view user profiles; instantly message other members and send email. Members are allowed to enter and upload content in accordance with the site’s Rules of Behavior (https://communities.firstresponder.gov/web/guest/rules-of-behavior).

3. FRCoP is solely a web-based tool and thus only employs web-based technology to collect information from users to both reduce the burden and increase the efficiency of connecting an otherwise widespread and disparate group. FRCoP can be accessed at https://communities.firstresponder.gov

4. Currently, there is no other entity identified which serves the same level of professional networking and collaboration among First Responders providing a similar function or stores similar data. If an entity is identified in the future, FRCoP will work with the identified collection agent to leverage a cooperative partnership.

5. It has not been determined that the collection of this data impacts small business or any small entities. The FRCoP web-based tool is a voluntary program and thus does not impose any mandatory burden on any entity.

6. No consequences have been identified. The collection of information from first responders is voluntary. There is no established increment or frequency for collecting information.

7. No special circumstances have been identified. The collection of information from first responders is voluntary. Data shared via the tool is simply for networking and collaboration.

8. By notice in the Federal Register on April 27, 2012 (77 FR 25185), DHS S&T notified the public that it was requesting comments on this information collection for a 60-day period. DHS S&T then by notice in the Federal Register on July 9, 2012 (77 FR 40371), notified the public during a 30-day public comment period. DHS S&T did not receive any comments on the information collection.

DHS S&T consulted with First Responders regarding requiring participants to register at the site and the related collection of registration information. The First Responders are very much in favor of requiring users to register so that everyone knows who they are talking to.

The Communities of Practice system is unique and while there may be other similar systems, there are none focused on connecting First Responders using a professional Web_2.0 social networking platform and providing them the collaboration tools in a secure environment.

9. DHS S&T does not provide payments or gifts to respondents in exchange for a benefit sought.

10. A Privacy Threshold Analysis and a Privacy Impact Assessment have been conducted for this collection (Privacy Impact Assessment for the Department of Homeland Security

Web Portals dated June 15, 2009).

DHS may release this information of an individual on a case-by-case basis as described in: DHS ALL/002 – Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Mailing and Other Lists System, http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2008-11-25/html/E8-28053.htm, November 25, 2008, 73 FR 71659; and DHS ALL/004 Department of Homeland Security/ALL-004 General Information Technology Access Account Records System of Records, http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2009-09-29/html/E9-23513.htm, September 29, 2009, 74 FR 49882; System Of Records Notice.

There is no pledge of confidentiality provided to the respondents

11. There are no questions of a sensitive nature in this information collection. There is

12. Estimated Annualized Burden Hours and Costs

Form Name	User Registration Form
No. of Respondents	2000
No. of Responses per Respondent	1
Avg. Burden per Response (in hours)	.50 (30 minutes)
Total Annual Burden (in hours)	1000
Average Hourly Wage Rate	$50
Total Annual Respondent Cost	$50,000

Annual Reporting Burden and Respondent Cost: The total estimated ICR Public Burden in hours is 1000. This figure was derived by summing the total annual burden hours from all forms. The total annual number of respondents is 2000. This figure was derived by summing the number of respondents to each form.

Public Cost

The estimated annual public cost is $50,000. This figure was derived by summing the estimated annual respondent costs for all forms.

13. There are no capital or start-up costs associated with this information collection.

14. Government Cost

The estimated average annual cost to the federal government in relation to this information collection is approximately $504,348. This cost includes equipment and staffing costs for .25 Project Manager,.25 FTE developers, .25 FTE Tester/Requirements Analyst, .5 FTE Information System Security Officer (ISSO), 10 %program management, and data center hosting costs. 

Summary of Costs (FY)	2013	2014	2015	Total
Planning
Acquisition Costs
Operations and Maintenance costs	$98,028	$98,028	$98,028	$294,084
Government FTE costs	$221,388	$221,388	$221,388	$664,164
Total	$319,416	$319,416	$319,416	$958,248
IT Security Costs	$184,932	$184,932	$184,932	$554,796
Total yearly Cost	$504,348	$504,348	$504,348	$1,513,044
Average yearly cost				$504,348

Assumptions:

• Government FTE Costs includes all labor associated with systems development labor including project management, testing and requirements

• IT Security Costs consist of all security related activities including annual security assessments and ongoing security requirements (such as monthly security scans).

• Operations and Maintenance Costs include all hosting related costs (~$5500/month) and license renewal ($32K per year) costs

• For FY 2013 and beyond it is assumed the system will move into O&M with minimal new development.

15. This is a renewal of an information collection. There is a reduction in burden for this collection due to an adjustment. The original approved burden was based on the website being a new collection and an anticipated number of new users to register for the FRCoP services. The system has now been in operation for almost 2 years and the activity has dropped to an average of slightly less than 200 collections per month. Our burden estimates have been updated to reflect the adjusted estimated burden of the system to the First Responder Community.

16. DHS S&T does not intend to employ the use of statistics or the publication thereof for this information collection.

17. DHS S&T displays the expiration date of OMB approval for this information collection.

18. DHS S&T does not request an exception to the certification of this information collection.

5