Supporting Statement B - 5_30_2014_V2

B. Collections of Information Employing Statistical Methods.

1. Describe (including a numerical estimate) the potential respondent universe and any sampling or other respondent selection methods 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.

DOE believes that the total number of unduplicated responses it will receive under the EV Workplace Charging Challenge Program (Challenge, or Program) on an annual basis will be 400. This figure represents the number of voluntary online questionnaires expected to be submitted voluntarily to DOE on an annual basis under this voluntary program. The total number of completed online questionnaires represents the expected number of participating employers, which is based on the number of participating employers in any given year in this Program, which is scheduled to end in 2018.

The goal of the Challenge is to increase to over 500 the number of employers offering workplace charging to their U.S. employees by 2018, the scheduled end of the program. Individual employers that make available at least one electric vehicle supply equipment (EVSE), or charger, to their employees at one employer location will count towards this goal, regardless of whether or not the employer is a partner in the Challenge.

The Program does not endeavor to engage an exhaustive number of employers, but rather will work with self-identified employers committed to leading the way in reducing petroleum consumption through the deployment of plug-in electric vehicles (PEV) and associated charging infrastructure. The Program’s survey effort of the volunteer respondent entities is not being done by random sampling. DOE will not be extrapolating the results of this survey effort to estimate progress at the national level.

In January 2013, relying on employers’ public records and communications, DOE began identifying employers that might be interested in becoming voluntary partners to the Program. To measure progress towards the Workplace Charging Challenge goal of more than 500 employers through 2018, DOE will be monitoring some employers directly and others through data DOE can gather from available online resources, including the Alternative Fuels Data Center. For those employers DOE is monitoring directly through the Program, DOE will develop an annual progress update and will publish the generalized results gathered. To generate this annual update, DOE will collect annually from these Workplace Charging Challenge Partners, or employers, data and narratives associated with their PEV charging program and infrastructure. The total number of completed Challenge submittals represents the expected number of participating employers. This value is 400.

DOE does not plan to shut down the Program or questionnaire once the total number of questionnaires and employer submittals (not to exceed 400 annually) are submitted.  Nor does DOE expect to shut down this information collection at the end of three years, but rather DOE plans to continue the program through 2018, at which point DOE intends to end the Program.

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 describe in the justification, unusual problems requiring specialized sampling procedures, and any use of periodic data collection cycles to reduce burden.

For the voluntary Challenge effort, DOE will issue a solicitation letter to self-identified employers and others DOE may identify through data available through online sources, including DOE’s Alternative Fuel Data Center. A broadcast email will not be sent, but rather solicitation will be made of a defined and limited audience, each member of which will be solicited. Once respondents are identified, each will be asked to access the online collection instrument and undertake steps to complete the questionnaire.

DOE also may ask Clean Cities Coordinators and Clean Cities staff from DOE Headquarters and national laboratories, all of whom are knowledgeable of the efforts of their stakeholders, who include employers, to deploy the relevant EVSE, to suggest potential employers who may be interested in joining the Challenge and then DOE will issue the solicitation letter to these candidate respondents through each candidate’s point of contact.

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 base 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.

The DOE Vehicle Technologies Office has extensive experience related to outreach and specific working relationships with stakeholders involved in various Clean Cities programs regarding deployment of alternative fueling infrastructure. DOE is confident that through its well-established experience and existing network that it will be able to obtain the participation necessary to ensure a strong and viable Challenge program. Through direct outreach to employers to discuss workplace charging and the Challenge, DOE will develop a scope of likely-to-participate employers based on geographic regions and industry sectors. DOE expects components for this focused effort may include candidate employers that value sustainability efforts and are otherwise located in high-PEV adoption areas, seek to incentivize low-carbon commuting options, and might also have shown a penchant for employee workplace benefits. If necessary, DOE may hold one of its regularly scheduled monthly webinars for Clean Cities Coordinators specifically focused on the Challenge, and otherwise promote the initiative through its regular communications with Coordinators, including the annual Coordinator meetings, at conferences, and through social media. With this foundation in place, DOE believes that additional participation through the planned email solicitations will be sufficient to ensure DOE reaches its participation goal. Moreover, because participation in the initiative is voluntary, there is no specific harm if an employer does not participate.

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 the call for answers to identical questions from 10 or more respondents.

A proposed test or set of test may be submitted for approval separately or in combination with the main collection of information.

For the Challenge Program, each survey question has been thoroughly vetted with subject matter experts at DOE, National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Argonne National Laboratory, Idaho National Laboratory, Oak Ridge National Laboratory and UC Davis. The reviewer stakeholders included experts familiar with vehicle technology data collection and assessment.

DOE does not plan to compare results between specific employers. No one employer has been identified as the standard for optimal EVSE deployment. The questionnaire has been developed to represent the issues DOE and other reviewer stakeholders contacted for review of the questionnaire have found to be most relevant, while attempting to ensure the questionnaire was not so lengthy or burdensome so as to preclude the voluntary participation sought. Many of the questions have specific issues associated with them, which DOE has identified as relevant to identifying successes. Participants/respondents will be able to learn from what steps other employers have taken, and thereby obtain a fuller understanding of the options available in the context of workplace charging infrastructure deployment.

5. Provide the name and telephone number 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.

Self-explanatory.

For the Workplace Charging Challenge initiative, the design of the collection instrument and materials, as well as the design of the database that will sort the information was undertaken by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), under the guidance of Caley Johnson, Transportation Market Analyst, Market Transformation Group, Transportation Systems Center. (303) 275-3607; [email protected]. NREL will be responsible for collecting and/or analyzing the information for DOE.