BR Surveys_Supporting Statement part B_rev October 2013

PART B- JUSTIFICATION

Information Collection: Surveys for Section 3 Certified Businesses and Recipients of HUD Funding

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. HUD only intends to use the data obtained from these surveys to provide anecdotal and/or qualitative information regarding the Section 3 Business Registry. Additionally, the data will be used to help understand overall customer satisfaction with the Section 3 Business Registry, and to determine whether it is a viable tool for notifying Section 3 businesses about the availability of local HUD-funded contracts.

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). There are 4,300 recipients of HUD-funding nationwide. 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 20% of agencies contacted (860) 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. HUD estimates that approximately 10,000 businesses with self-certify 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 HUD’s Section 3 Business Registry in an attempt to generate the greatest amount of responses. Participation in the survey is voluntary. However, the Department anticipates that approximately 10% of businesses (1,000) 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	60 day response period
Day 15	Monitor response rates and send reminder emails to businesses and recipients	2 days
Day 30	Monitor response rates and send reminder emails to businesses and recipients	2 days
Day 45	Monitor response rates and send reminder emails to businesses and recipients	2 days
Day 60	Survey response period closes
Days 61-82	Data analysis and descriptive statistic methods implemented	21 days
Days 90-	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 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 agency that administers covered HUD funding. The primary owner of each certified Section 3 business will receive a similar the notification about the survey from HUD’s Section 3 Division.

Both surveys will be available for approximately 60 days. To ensure maximum participation, reminder emails will be sent to potential all respondents in 15 day increments during that timeframe.

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 to provide insights into the effectiveness of HUD’s Section 3 Business Registry. HUD only intends to use the data obtained from these surveys to provide anecdotal and/or qualitative information regarding the Section 3 Business Registry 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 effectiveness of HUD’s Section 3 Business Registry; 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.

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