2700-0148 SuppStmt June 20 2014

SUPPORTING STATEMENT
OMB Control Number 2700-0148
Type of Information Collection: Extension
A.

Justification

1. Explain the circumstances that make the collection of
information necessary. Identify any legal or administrative
requirements that necessitate the collection.
NASA, as a Federal agency providing financial assistance through
grant awards and cooperative agreements, is required to receive a
signed NASA Form1206/Assurance of Civil Rights Compliance from all
applicants for Federal financial assistance, e.g., grant awards and
cooperative agreements. This requirement is pursuant to the U.S.
Department of Justice (DOJ) Civil Rights Division regulations for
coordination and enforcement of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of
1964 and other grant-related civil rights laws (28 C.F.R. Sec.
42.407(d)(4)) as well as NASA’s own Title VI and related regulations
at 14 C.F.R. Parts 1250-53, 1260.
DOJ regulations requirements specifically state that all Federal
agencies offering financial assistance to grants and cooperative
agreements obtain the following:
- information regarding: any lawsuit filed against the applicant or
recipient alleging discrimination on the basis of race, color or
national origin, and
- a statement by the applicant describing any civil rights
compliance reviews regarding the applicant, and information
concerning the agency or organization performing the review.
28 C.F.R. Sec. 42.407(d)(1),(3).
In addition, guidance provided to Federal agencies on efforts to
strengthen enforcement of Title VI (Assistant Attorney General’s

Memorandum on August 19, 2010) included a model for civil rights
assurance forms, which NASA adopted.

2. Indicate how, by whom, how frequently, and for what
purpose the information will be used. Except for a new collection,
indicate the actual use the agency has made of the information
received from the current collection.
The NASA Office of Equal Opportunity will collect information from
institutions applying for a grant and/or a cooperative agreement award,
e.g., universities and colleges, museums, science centers, research
institutes grant to ensure regulatory requirements are met.
The NASA Form 1206/ Assurance of Civil Rights Compliance with
NASA Regulations Pursuant to Nondiscrimination in Federally
Assisted Programs will serve as the information collection instrument:

- Section 1 requires respondents/applicants to:
o Acknowledge their understanding of the conditions
associated with the receipt of financial assistance from
NASA
o Agree to cooperate with any compliance review or
investigation conducted by NASA
o Maintain associated records/documentation.
- Section 2 requires institutions/respondents selected for
grants and cooperative agreement awards to either state that
no accusations of discrimination have occurred during the
past three years, or provide information related to accusations
of discrimination on the grounds of race, color, national
origin (including limited English proficiency), sex, age, or
disability arising out of a science, technology, engineering or
mathematics (STEM.) The information collected includes a
list of:
o all applicable proceedings, pending or completed,
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and the outcome
o all discrimination complaints filed directly with a
Federal agency, such as the U.S. Dept. of
Education Office for Civil Rights.
Should the timeline for the NASA award exceed three years, NASA
will require proposed grant/cooperative agreement selectees to provide
the information described above every three years. In this manner, the
institutions selected for grant/cooperative agreement awards, e.g.,
universities and colleges, museums, science centers, research institutes,
will resubmit information regarding their institutions, tri-annually or
the next time they apply for a grant, whichever comes first.
The information provided will be used to help make a pre-award
determination of civil rights compliance of proposed grant selectees
and cooperative agreements consistent with DOJ regulations stating:
“[p]rior to approval of federal financial assistance, the federal agency
s hall make written determination as to whether the applicant is in
compliance with Title VI.” 28 C.F.R. 42.407(b).
NASA will maintain compliance review records in accordance with NASA
Records Retention Schedule 5/27A.

3.
Describe whether, and to what extent the collection of
information involves the use of automated, electronic, mechanical,
or other technological collection techniques or other forms of
information technology. Also describe any consideration of using
information technology to reduce burden.
The NASA Form 1206/Assurance of Civil Rights Compliance is
available in a PDF format that can be filled and signed electronically.
It is available to the public via the NASA Electronic Forms System
(NEFS).
NASA expects many grant selectee institutions will state that no
accusations or findings of discrimination occurred.
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To the extent that respondents do find the two items applicable, NASA
expects that records or files relating to the information requests will be
kept in electronic form, either by the respondent’s Human Resources
Office or another administrative office within the institution, by the
respondent’s legal officer, or possibly all. NASA allows the institution
to submit “scanned” or PDF versions of documentation, and will allow
the documents/responses to be submitted by email.
4.

Describe efforts to identify duplication.

NASA is taking steps to ensure the information collected will not be
duplicated through communication/coordination with the other U.S.
Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division, Federal Compliance and
Coordination Section (FCCS).
5. If the collection of information impacts small businesses or
other small entities (Item five of form OMB 83-I, the Paperwork
Reduction Act Submission form), describe any methods used to
minimize burden.
NASA may provide a small number of grants and cooperative
agreements (less than 25) annually to small businesses. The vast
majority of NASA grant awards are extended to large educational
institutions, and other non-profits, e.g., research institutes, museums
and planetariums. The methods used to minimize burden are outlined
in #3 above.

6. Describe the consequence to Federal program or policy
activities if the collection is not conducted or is conducted less
frequently.
NASA cannot award federally funded grants and cooperative
agreements to institutions that are not compliant with civil rights laws.
NASA, as a Federal agency providing financial assistance through
grant awards and cooperative agreements, is required to receive a
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signed NASA Form 1206/Assurance of Civil Rights Compliance from
all applicants for Federal financial assistance, e.g., grant awards,
etc. This requirement is pursuant to the U.S. Department of Justice
(DOJ) Civil Rights Division regulations for coordination and
enforcement of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and other
grant-related civil rights laws (28 C.F.R. Sec. 42.407(d)(4)) as well as
NASA’s own Title VI and related regulations at 14 C.F.R. Parts 125053, 1260.
The information collected from the impacted members of the public is
necessary to enable NASA to make a determination regarding the
applicant’s compliance with Federal civil rights laws.

7. Explain any special circumstances that would cause an
information collection to be conducted in certain manners (as
listed).
There are no special circumstances. The collection of information is
conducted in a manner consistent with the guidelines in 5 CFR 1320.6.

8. If applicable, provide a copy and identify the date and page
number of publication in the Federal Register of the agency’s
notice, required by 5 CFR §1320.8 (d), soliciting comments on the
information collection before submission to OMB.
60-day FRN: Federal Register Volume 79, No 14, on January 22, 2014
A comment was received from the University of California and NASA
responded to that comment.
30-day FRN: Federal Register Volume79, No 117, on June 18, 2014.
No comments received.
9. Explain any decision to provide any payment or gift to
respondents, other than remuneration of contractors or grantees.
No payments, gifts, or other remuneration will be provided to
respondents.
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10. Describe any assurance of confidentiality provided to
respondents and the basis for the assurance in statute, regulation,
or agency policy.
Privacy protected data is not collected as part of this information
collection.
11. Provide additional justification for any questions of a
sensitive nature, such as sexual behavior and attitudes, religious
beliefs, and other matters that are commonly considered private.
N/A
12. Provide estimates of the hour burden of the collection of
information.
NASA estimates an annual burden of 1,000 hours.

Number of
Respondents
250

Estimated Burden per
Response
4 hours (240 minutes)

Estimated Burden
Hours
1000

13. Provide an estimate of the total annual cost burden to
respondents or record-keepers resulting from the collection of
information.
The estimate of the total cost burden per respondent is approximately
$120.00, which is based on an estimate of 4 hours of effort multiplied
by $30 (the estimated average hourly wage of the professional,
administrative, and clerical salaries.)
14. Provide estimates of annualized cost to the Federal
government. Also, provide a description of the method used to
estimate cost, which should include quantification of hours,
operational expenses, and any other expense that would not have
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been incurred without this collection of information.
The NASA cost to process the information collected is estimated at 2
hours of labor at $50 per hour for a total of $100 per respondent.
15. Explain the reasons for any program changes or adjustments
reported in Items 13 or 14 of the OMB Form 83-I.
Changes were made to accurately reflect potential costs based on
historical knowledge/experience.
16. For collections of information intended for publication,
outline plans for tabulation and publication.
There are no plans for tabulation and/or publication.
17. If seeking approval to not display the expiration date for
OMB approval of the information collection, explain the reasons
that display may be inappropriate.
The expiration date is displayed within the PRA statement that appears
on the last page of the NASA Form 1206.
18. A. Explain each exception to the certification statement
identified in item 19, “Certification for Paperwork Reduction Act
Submissions” of OMB Form 83-I.
NASA does not seek exceptions to the following statements:

The proposed collection of information –
(a) is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of
NASA, including that the information to be collected will have
practical utility;
(b) is not unnecessarily duplicative of information that is
reasonably accessible to the agency;
(c) reduces to the extent practicable and appropriate the burden on
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persons who shall provide information to or for the agency,
including with respect to small entities, as defined in the
Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C.
601(6)), the use of such techniques as:
(1) establishing differing compliance or reporting
requirements or timelines that take into account the
resources available to those who are to respond;
(2) the clarification, consolidation, or simplification of
compliance and reporting requirements; or
(3) an exemption from coverage of the collection of information,
or any part thereof;
(d) is written using plain, coherent, and unambiguous terminology and
is understandable to those who are targeted to respond;
(e) indicates for each recordkeeping requirement the length of time
persons are required to maintain the records specified;
(f) has been developed by an office that has planned and allocated
resources for the efficient and effective management and use of the
information to be collected, including the processing of the information
in a manner which shall enhance, where appropriate, the utility of the
information to agencies and the public;
(g) when applicable, uses effective and efficient statistical survey
methodology appropriate to the purpose for which the information is to
be collected; and
(h) to the maximum extent practicable, uses appropriate information
technology to reduce burden and improve
data quality, agency efficiency and responsiveness to the public; and
(i) will display the required PRA statement with the active OMB control
number, as validated on www.reginfo.gov

B. Collections of Information Employing Statistical Methods.
This collection does not employ statistical methods.

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