ICR - 0704-0332 Supporting Statement 20130813

OMB Information Collection 0704-0332

DFARS Appendix I

DoD Pilot Mentor-Protégé Program

SUPPORTING STATEMENT

A. Justification.

1. Requirement. This is a request for extension of OMB Control Number 0704-0332, that will expire on August 31, 2013. DoD proposes that OMB extend its approval for use through August 31, 2016. In order to evaluate whether the purposes of the DoD Pilot Mentor-Protégé Program (established under Section 831 of Public Law 101-510, the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1991, 10 U.S.C. 2302 note, as amended) have been attained, Appendix I of the Defense FAR Supplement requires that contractors participating in the program as mentors keep records and report on progress in achieving the developmental assistance objectives under each mentor-protégé agreement. A supplemental information collection requirement is imposed on protégé firms to report on progress made under the mentor-protégé agreements. Participation in the Program is voluntary.

2. Purpose. The information collections under OMB Control No. 0704-0332 are used by the Government to assess whether the objectives of the DoD Pilot Mentor-Protégé Program have been attained. These collections also provide the source data for several reports to Congress required by Section 822 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1998 and Section 811 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2000. Mentors must semiannually report on the progress made under active mentor-protégé agreements. Protégés must annually report on the progress made during the prior fiscal year and participation in DoD contracts during each fiscal year of the Program participation term and each of the two fiscal years following the expiration of the Program participation term.

3. Information technology. Use of improved information technology would not reduce the burden of providing this information because standardized or repetitive data is not involved. However, contractors may submit the reports in formats that are compatible with their automated systems.

4. Duplication. The DoD Pilot Mentor-Protégé Program is unique to the Department; similar data collections from other Government sources or agencies do not exist. As a matter of policy, we review the Federal Acquisition Regulation, in this case Part 19, to determine if adequate language already exists. The language in DFARS Appendix I applies solely to DoD and is not considered duplicative of the language in FAR Part 19.

5. Small business.

The collection is not expected to have a significant impact on a substantial number of small businesses because the requirements for the information collection are only occasional (semiannually for the mentor and annually for the protégé). The burden applied to small business is the minimum consistent with applicable laws, Executive Orders, regulations, and prudent business practices.

6. Consequences for Non-collection. Without the mentor's semiannual reports and the protégé’s annual report, DoD would not be able to assess the effectiveness of the DoD Pilot Mentor-Protégé Program, nor would it be able to comply with the Congressionally mandated reporting requirement identified in Item 2 above.

7. Special circumstances. There are no special circumstances for the collection. Collection of this information is consistent with the guidelines at 5 CFR 1320.5(d)(2).

8. Public comments and consultation. Collection is consistent with the guidelines in 5 CFR 1320.6. Public comments were solicited in the Federal Register at 78 FR 19467 on April 1, 2013. The comment closing date was May 31, 2013. No comments were received.

9. Payment to respondents. No payment or gift will be provided to respondents, other than remuneration of contractors under their contracts.

10. Confidentiality. This information is disclosed only to the extent consistent with prudent business practices and current regulations and statutory requirements.

11. Sensitive questions. No sensitive questions are involved.

12. Estimates of Public Burden Hours and Associated Annualized Cost. The estimate of public burden is based on the number of mentor firms (40), plus the number of protégé firms (75) participating in the Program as of 03/19/2013. The hours per response and per record keeper have not changed since the last request for clearance. However, the number of respondents has decreased since the last submission for clearance. The response per respondent is a weighted average. Mentor firms report twice a year on each protégé firm and protégé firms report once a year. Therefore, there are a total of (75) reports (75 times 2 for mentor firms plus (75) X 1 for protégé firms = 225), or 1.96 reports per respondent.

1. ^{Estimates of the hour burden:}

	Note
Number of respondents		115
Responses per respondent		1.96
Total annual responses		225
Hours per response		1
Total hours		225
Number of record keepers		115
Hours per record keeper		3.1
Total recordkeeping hours*		357
Total public burden hours		582

*The number of record keepers and respondents is the same. Total recordkeeping hours = 115 * 3.1.

2. Estimate of the hour burden of the annual cost to the public

	Note
Total annual hours		582
Cost per hour	**	$37.00
Total annual cost to the public		$21,534

**Cost per hour is based on a GS-11 Step 5 hourly rate for 2012 with a 36.25% burden rate applied. The burden rate is based on the current

OMB Circular A-76, as updated by OMB Memorandum dated March 11, 2008: ($27.31 * $36.25% = $37.21) rounded to $37.

13. Estimated Nonrecurring Costs. None.

14. Estimated Annual Cost to the Government. The time required for Government is based on receiving, reviewing, and analyzing the information submitted by the contractor. The time estimate is (1) hour per response.

	Note
Number of responses		225
Average hours per response		1
Total Hours		225
Cost per hour	**	$37.00
Total annual cost to the Government		$8,325

**Cost per hour is based on a GS-11 Step 5 hourly rate for 2012 with a 36.25% burden rate applied. The burden rate is based on the current

OMB Circular A-76, as updated by OMB Memorandum dated March 11, 2008: ($27.31 * $36.25% = $37.21) rounded to $37.

15. Program Changes. This is a request for extension of a currently approved collection. There is a reduction in the number of total public burden hours due to a change in the number of firms participating in the program. The total public burden hours are reduced from 961 to 582 hours.

16. Publication. Results of this collection will not be published.

17. Expiration Date. We do not seek approval to not display the expiration dates for OMB approval of the information collection.

18. Certification. There are no exceptions to the certification accompanying this Paperwork Reduction Act submission.

B. Collections of Information Employing Statistical Methods.

Statistical methods will not be employed.

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