MTSE SS 121114 Part A

SUPPORTING STATEMENT

The Ocean Enterprise: A study of US business activity in ocean measurement, observation, and forecasting

OMB CONTROL NO. 0648-xxxx

A. JUSTIFICATION

1. Explain the circumstances that make the collection of information necessary.

This request is for a new information collection supported by Section 12302 (3) of the Integrated Coastal and Ocean Observation System Act (ICOOS Act), part of the Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009 (Pub. L. 111-11). The purpose of the survey and overall project is to gather data to articulate the collective and derived value of the IOOS enterprise, and to create a profile of businesses and organizations who are involved with providing services in support of the IOOS Ocean Observation system, or utilizing the data for other specific end uses. This is the first survey of its kind on a national scale.

2. Explain how, by whom, how frequently, and for what purpose the information will be used. If the information collected will be disseminated to the public or used to support information that will be disseminated to the public, then explain how the collection complies with all applicable Information Quality Guidelines.

The project is funded by NOAA and is being conducted on its behalf by the contractor, ERISS Corporation. The project contract spans three years, with the first portion of the contract mainly involved with researching and selecting appropriate businesses to include in the study database. The web survey will be the main data collection piece of the project and is necessary in order to collect demographic, financial, and functional information for each organization with regards to their involvement with IOOS. The final deliverable of this project is an analytic report detailing the findings of the web survey and the analysis of the employer database. This will be a one-time survey.

3. Describe whether, and to what extent, the collection of information involves the use of automated, electronic, mechanical, or other technological techniques or other forms of information technology.

This is a web-based survey; however, respondents may answer survey questions over the telephone if they prefer.

4. Describe efforts to identify duplication.

This is the first survey of its kind on a national scale. A similar study on a smaller scale was done two years ago and focused only on San Diego. It was sponsored by the Maritime Alliance.

5. If the collection of information involves small businesses or other small entities, describe the methods used to minimize burden.

The majority of business will have fewer than 100 employees, but the percentage is unknown. It is recognized that the burden of responding to a survey can take a special toll on small businesses where resources can often be scarce. To minimize this burden for businesses of all sizes, extra care was taken to design a survey that in most cases will take 25 minutes to complete. Additionally, businesses will be able to save their progress on the survey and come back to it at a later time. Finally, the web survey format enables survey respondents to complete the survey at a time of their choosing. Most significantly, the survey asks for information that should be readily at hand and take no special research.

6. Describe the consequences to the Federal program or policy activities if the collection is not conducted or is conducted less frequently.

The marine technology industry is an important partner and stakeholder within IOOS; however, without the baseline that this study will provide, IOOS is unable to articulate its collective and derived value. The results will demonstrate the size and economic impact of IOOS data to the United States marine ocean sector. That information can be used to understand the value of export sales and the identification of potential growth and/or new international markets which would further the Department of Commerce (DOC) strategic goal for better environment intelligence and translate into better programs by the DOC International Trade Administration in ocean observing industries in international trade.

7. Explain any special circumstances that require the collection to be conducted in a manner inconsistent with OMB guidelines.

None.

8. Provide information on the PRA Federal Register Notice that solicited public comments on the information collection prior to this submission. Summarize the public comments received in response to that notice and describe the actions taken by the agency in response to those comments. Describe the efforts to consult with persons outside the agency to obtain their views on the availability of data, frequency of collection, the clarity of instructions and recordkeeping, disclosure, or reporting format (if any), and on the data elements to be recorded, disclosed, or reported.

A Federal Register Notice published on September 16, 2014 (79 FR No. 179 (55431)) solicited public comments. No comments were received.

9. Explain any decisions to provide payments or gifts to respondents, other than remuneration of contractors or grantees.

None.

10. Describe any assurance of confidentiality provided to respondents and the basis for assurance in statute, regulation, or agency policy.

Survey respondents will be informed of the uses of the data and also informed the level of confidentiality the data will be treated with: all raw survey data will be accessible only by NOAA and designated entities who will be analyzing the data and providing summary reporting. Results of the survey data will be published at the aggregate, summary level. Therefore no individual responses will be provided, and nothing attributable to any single company will be

reported. The raw survey database will be the property of NOAA, and will not be shared with any external organizations.

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.

None.

12. Provide an estimate in hours of the burden of the collection of information.

The survey is estimated to take 25 minutes per respondent. We expect 300 respondents to complete the survey. The total estimated burden is 125 hours.

13. Provide an estimate of the total annual cost burden to the respondents or record-keepers resulting from the collection (excluding the value of the burden hours in Question 12 above).

There are no recordkeeping/reporting costs.

14. Provide estimates of annualized cost to the Federal government.

There are no annualized costs to the Federal government.

15. Explain the reasons for any program changes or adjustments.

This is a new program.

16. For collections whose results will be published, outline the plans for tabulation and publication.

No complex hypothesis testing or statistical tests are planned. Our analysis will be descriptive, describing proportions of respondents who chose each specific answer. 

 

Data collection will take place between March and April 2015. Data analysis and creation of the descriptive report will take place May through July of 2015.  Delivery of the report draft is scheduled for August of 2015.  Finalization of report is scheduled for September 2015.

The final report will be available on the IOOS website at www.ioos.noaa.gov.

17. If seeking approval to not display the expiration date for OMB approval of the information collection, explain the reasons why display would be inappropriate.

N/A.

18. Explain each exception to the certification statement.

None.

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