BR Surveys_Supporting Statement part B_4 11 2013

PART B- JUSTIFICATION

Information Collection: Section 3 Certified Business and Recipient Surveys

1. Respondent Description.

This information request involves two surveys. The intent of both surveys is to collect information and conduct data analysis using descriptive statistics which will allow the Department to obtain insights into outcomes from the Section 3 Business Registry pilot program and assess the feasibility of expanding it nationally. HUD only intends to use the data obtained from these surveys to provide anecdotal and/or qualitative information regarding the Section 3 Business Registry Pilot program and will make this clear in any reports using these data.

The respondents of the first survey are current employees at agencies that receive HUD funding that is subject to the requirements of Section 3 of the Housing and Urban Development act of 1968 (i.e., Public Housing Authorities and units of local government) located in each of the five pilot areas—Miami, Detroit, Los Angeles, New Orleans, and Washington, DC. There are 151 recipients of HUD-funding located in the pilot areas. The entire universe will be contacted regarding the survey in an attempt to generate the greatest amount of responses. Participation is voluntary. HUD anticipates that approximately 30% of agencies contacted (45) will participate.

The respondents for the second survey are businesses that have self-certified their status as Section 3 businesses and are listed in HUD’s Section 3 Business Registry database. These businesses are also located in the five pilot areas listed above. There are currently 600 businesses that have self-certified their status in the Section 3 business registry. HUD will not select a random sample self-certified of businesses. Instead, the survey will be sent to all self-certified firms found in the Department’s registry in an attempt to generate the greatest amount of responses. Participation in the survey is voluntary. The Department anticipates that approximately 20% of businesses (120) will respond to the survey.

2. Procedures for collecting the information.

The following is an estimate of the procedures that HUD will take to implement these surveys:

Estimated Timeframe	Action	Duration
Days 1-5	Design and build online survey tool in web-based system (e.g., survey monkey, )	5 days
Day 6	Send initial notification to covered grantees and certified businesses about the survey to the entire universe of potential respondents via email	45 day response period
Day 15	Monitor response rates and send reminder emails to businesses and recipients	2 days
Days 16-21	Make follow-up reminder phone calls to HUD recipient agencies that have not submitted surveys	5 days
Day 30	Monitor response rates and send reminder emails to businesses and recipients	2 days
Days 31-36	Make follow-up reminder phone calls to HUD recipient agencies that have not submitted surveys	5 days
Day 45	Survey response period closes
Days 46-67	Data analysis and descriptive statistic methods implemented	21 days
Days 68-	Findings and recommendations presented to Senior Management and policy decisions made

3. Methods to maximize response rates and to deal with statistical issues of non-response.

Potential respondents will be notified by an email notification from HUD’s Section 3 Division Director containing a link to access the questions via the Internet (attached). The first survey will be sent to the Executive Director or Director of Housing and Community Development for each grantee to ensure that the survey is sent to the appropriate individual at the agency that has responsibility for ensuring that the requirements of Section 3 of the Housing and Urban Development Act are met. The primary owner of each certified Section 3 business will receive the survey notification for the second survey.

Both surveys will be available for approximately 45 days. To ensure maximum participation, reminder emails will be sent to potential all respondents in 15 day increments during that timeframe. Additionally, HUD will make two rounds of follow-up reminder telephone calls to recipient agencies that have not submitted surveys to encourage their participation.

4. Tests or procedures.

The questions to be asked will be similar to those used by other Federal agencies to measure program effectiveness. HUD will use descriptive statistical methods to identify the median, mode, and average for responses to each question. This data will be used to produce charts, graphs, and other visual representations that to provide insights into the effectiveness of the pilot program during its initial implementation period. HUD only intends to use the data obtained from these surveys to provide anecdotal and/or qualitative information regarding the Section 3 Business Registry Pilot program and will make this clear in any reports based on these surveys.

Results of these surveys will provide useful insights for the Department to assess the success of the pilot program; identify challenges/barriers to implementation; and help inform subsequent policy decisions. To ensure quality while the data are being collected, special attention will be paid to (a) questionnaire completion rates, (b) response rates of individual survey questions, and (c) comments submitted to the Department.

5. Name and telephone number of individual most involved with the information collection.

The Director of HUD’s Economic Opportunity Division, Staci Gilliam, should be contacted at (202) 402-3468 or [email protected] regarding any questions about the surveys.