Restoration Supporting Statement B_11-4-13

Supporting Statement B

Economic Contribution of Federal Investments in Restoration of Degraded, Damaged, or Destroyed Ecosystems.

OMB Control Number 1028-NEW

Collections of Information Employing Statistical Methods

The agency should be prepared to justify its decision not to use statistical methods in any case where such methods might reduce burden or improve accuracy of results. When the question “Does this ICR contain surveys, censuses, or employ statistical methods?” is checked "Yes," the following documentation should be included in Supporting Statement B to the extent that it applies to the methods proposed:

1. Describe (including a numerical estimate) the potential respondent universe and any sampling or other respondent selection method to be used. Data on the number of entities (e.g., establishments, State and local government units, households, or persons) in the universe covered by the collection and in the corresponding sample are to be provided in tabular form for the universe as a whole and for each of the strata in the proposed sample. Indicate expected response rates for the collection as a whole. If the collection had been conducted previously, include the actual response rate achieved during the last collection.

Selection of Case Study Projects

There is currently no comprehensive, centralized database that includes all restoration projects across the DOI agencies (i.e., the universe is unknown). Therefore, it is infeasible to develop a sampling approach that would allow us to adequately draw a diverse variety of restoration projects from which to create statistics generalizable to the larger population. Instead, case studies will be done of a wide range of current DOI restoration projects, including varying affected resources, types of activities, sizes, locations, and bureaus. Such projects will be selectively sampled to reflect the diversity of DOI restoration projects. Potential restoration projects will be identified by the NRDA restoration program and will be selected only if the project manager is interested in participating.

Within Each Case Study

All of the contracting firms that worked on each case study project will be asked to complete the expenditure survey. Our goal is to have a near 100% response rate on the expenditure survey within each project. However, we expect that some contractors will not be willing, able, or available to complete the expenditure survey. We will use expenditure profiles from the best-matched IMPLAN sectors to model the expenditures for these contractors. The IMPLAN software has 440 defined sectors with built-in expenditure profiles. If an expenditure survey is not completed, one of these predefined sectors from the software will be used to best represent that contractor’s expenditures.

2. Describe the procedures for the collection of information including:

* Statistical methodology for stratification and sample selection,

* Estimation procedure,

* Degree of accuracy needed for the purpose described in the justification,

* Unusual problems requiring specialized sampling procedures, and

* Any use of periodic (less frequent than annual) data collection cycles to reduce burden.

For each case study restoration project, information from the individual expenditure surveys will be combined to develop an overall expenditure profile for that restoration project. This expenditure profile will be used to develop an IMPLAN input/output model to estimate the economic impacts of that restoration project.

The economic impacts estimated for each case study will be specific to that case study. Because we do not know the universe of restoration projects and are not drawing a representative sample, we will not make generalizations about the economic impacts of the population of restoration projects.

3. Describe methods to maximize response rates and to deal with issues of non-response. The accuracy and reliability of information collected must be shown to be adequate for intended uses. For collections based on sampling, a special justification must be provided for any collection that will not yield "reliable" data that can be generalized to the universe studied.

Since we are not generating statistics and there are enough choices of representation for the various kinds of projects, nonresponse bias is not an issue.

We expect a high response rate on the expenditure survey. Each respondent will be contacted by phone prior to receiving the survey. Respondents that have not replied to the survey will receive two follow-up contacts. The first will be an email reminder. The second will be a personal phone reminder. We will use expenditure profiles from the best matched IMPLAN sectors to model the expenditures for contractors that are unable or unwilling to complete the expenditure survey.

4. Describe any tests of procedures or methods to be undertaken. Testing is encouraged as an effective means of refining collections of information to minimize burden and improve utility. Tests must be approved if they call for answers to identical questions from 10 or more respondents. A proposed test or set of tests may be submitted for approval separately or in combination with the main collection of information.

We conducted several initial case-studies with federal staff to help develop and refine the survey instruments.

5. Provide the names and telephone numbers of individuals consulted on statistical aspects of the design and the name of the agency unit, contractor(s), grantee(s), or other person(s) who will actually collect and/or analyze the information for the agency.

Statistical components of this project were consulted on by:

Dr. Stephen Koontz

Associate Professor

Colorado State University

Person collecting and analyzing data:

Cathy Cullinane Thomas

Economist

U.S. Geological Survey