Request for Approval

Request for Approval under the “DOI Generic Clearance for the Collection of Qualitative Feedback on Agency Service Delivery”

OMB Control Number: 1090-0011

TITLE OF INFORMATION COLLECTION: Formative Evaluation of Interpretive Design and Restoration for the Carter G. Woodson Home using Focus Groups

PURPOSE:

The National Park Service (NPS) and the Association for the Study of African American Life and History, Inc. (ASALH) have been working cooperatively to restore the circa 1870's home of Dr. Carter G. Woodson. The completed site will provide a unique opportunity for visitors to experience the very place where Dr. Woodson lived and worked as he and ASALH brought African American history to life.

In addition to the restoration of floors 1 through 3 of the Carter G. Woodson Home, which was completed in Phase 1 of the project, the two adjacent properties will be rehabilitated for public use, office space and interpretive exhibits. Site improvements include the development, fabrication, and installation of interpretative exhibits; new accessible access and efficient circulation throughout the space.

To that end, the NPS and its architectural and exhibit contractor, Mills + Schnoering Architects, LLC have determined that a formative evaluation to gather information related to visitor use, experience and expectations will provide the best information to move forward in the exhibit design phase. Formative evaluations are generally conducted before or during the design stages in order to determine if the directives and content will be understood by the public as they were intended by the content specialists and designers. Formative evaluations have also been proven to be very effecting in guiding the development of exhibit interpretive strategies and identifying ways to increase awareness and relevance to a variety of audiences.

This request is to conduct a series of focus groups at the Carter G. Woodson (CAWO) National Historic Site. The intent of the focus groups is to identify architectural and exhibition techniques that will increase awareness of the impact and modern relevance of Carter G. Woodson’s life and work and make the Home a responsive and successful resource for the community.

The results from this collection will be used to inform the design and development phase of the restoration process. In order to provide timely feedback to the design process data that addresses questions raised during the evaluation, the evaluation must be completed by March 16, 2018.

DESCRIPTION OF RESPONDENTS:

The Focus Groups will consist of targeted individuals having experience with similar historic sites and/or their visitors including: educators, museum/historic site professionals, tour groups, and multigenerational community members museum/historic site professionals. The list of invitees was compiled based on suggestions from the project team (NPS, ASALH and contractors), as well as known members of professional and interpretive associations whose work relates to the project. The group categories are as follows:

1. Educators: This group will include teaching professionals local to the Washington D.C. area with experience in methods to reach elementary, middle and high school age students. This category is also important its input on managing group tours with large numbers of students visiting the site.

2. Tour group vendors and guides: The opinions of these professionals will be used to gain an understanding of what makes cultural sites successful and popular parts of their itineraries. This group will be able to provide insights regarding the best ways to accommodate large groups of scheduled visitors.

3. Multigenerational community members: This group will consist of individuals, ranging in age from 16 to 80. Ages 16 and 17 will be accompanied by their parents. The intended purpose is to gather information from local community members that may have personal stories about Dr. Woodson or who may have lived in the neighborhood during his lifetime. Additionally, it is important to understand the thoughts and opinions local community members may have about CAWO being a valuable asset to their community and Washingtonians.

4. Museum and historic site professionals: This group will be drawn from non-National Park Service staff to provide comparative experiences related to process and visitor expectations.

TYPE OF COLLECTION: (Check one)

[ ] Customer Comment Card/Complaint Form [ ] Customer Satisfaction Survey

[ ] Usability Testing (e.g., Website or Software) [ ] Small Discussion Group

X Focus Group Other:

CERTIFICATION:

I certify the following to be true:

1. The collection is voluntary.

2. The collection is low-burden for respondents and low-cost for the Federal Government.

3. The collection is non-controversial and does not raise issues of concern to other federal agencies.

4. The results are not intended to be disseminated to the public.

5. Information gathered will not be used for the purpose of substantially informing influential policy decisions.

6. The collection is targeted to the solicitation of opinions from respondents who have experience with the program or may have experience with the program in the future.

Name: Jeremy "Bret" Nickels, MS, PE, PMP CDR,

US Public Health Service Project Manager,

Denver Service Center National Park Service

To assist review, please provide answers to the following questions:

Personally Identifiable Information:

1. Is personally identifiable information (PII) collected? [ ] Yes [ X ] No

2. If Yes, is the information that will be collected included in records that are subject to the Privacy Act of 1974? [ ] Yes [ X] No

3. If Applicable, has a System or Records Notice been published? [ ] Yes [X ] No

Gifts or Payments:

Is an incentive (e.g., money or reimbursement of expenses, token of appreciation) provided to participants? [ ] Yes [ X] No (If yes, please explain.)

BURDEN HOURS

The focus group will be facilitated by the research team.

Category of Respondents Individuals/General Public	Total No. of Respondents	Participation Time** (minutes)	Annual Burden (hours)
Focus Groups 4 groups of 12*	48	60	48

* Average between 10 and 12 members per group

**Time includes 1 minute to complete initial contact

FEDERAL COST:

Federal Employee Cost*

Position	Grade/ Step	Hourly Rate*	Hourly Rate incl. benefits (1.5 x hourly pay rate)	Total Estimated time per task (hours)**	Annual Cost
NPS Staff	GS-5
Focus Groups Support	1	$16	$24	8	$192

*Based upon Salary Table 2018-DCB (Effective January 2018)

**Estimated time is based on 8 hr days for each day open to the public in the sampling period. Total time may not be needed if target response numbers are achieved in less time.

Operational Expenses (non-federal)

	Estimated Cost
Non-Federal Employees (Focus group facilitators, based on 8 hrs.) Project Manager (M+Sa) Exhibit Designer (content) (H+R) Exhibit Designer (content) (H+R)	$890 $660 $660
Travel Transportation and lodging (2)	$1,000
Total	$12,480

If you are conducting a focus group, survey, or plan to employ statistical methods, please provide answers to the following questions:

The selection of your targeted respondents

1. Do you have a customer list or something similar that defines the universe of potential respondents and do you have a sampling plan for selecting from this universe? [ X ] Yes [ ] No

If the answer is yes, please provide a description of both below (or attach the sampling plan). If the answer is no, please provide a description of how you plan to identify your potential group of respondents and how you will select them.

Respondent Universe and Sampling Plan:

Focus Group

Anticipated Date: March 17, 2018

To recruit participants for the focus groups, NACE staff will contact community leaders, tour group operators and local educators and school teachers via telephone and email, to explain the purpose of the study and to determine availability. A selected group of individuals who have been identified by the project team as the following:

• Specialist having experience with similar historic sites and/or their visitors,

• Educators specializing in black history themes and content,

• Community members who may have firsthand experiences with Woodson or his era.

The goal is to recruit at least 48 people to participate in 4 focus groups of no more than 12 persons per group. If a target of 48 participants is not met, the selection process will continue until a target of 48 eligible individuals will agree to participate.

Administration of the Instrument

1. How will you collect the information? (Check all that apply)

[ ] Web-based or other forms of Social Media

[ ] Telephone

[X ] In-person 4 Focus Group Sessions

[ ] Mail

[ ] Other, Explain –

Instrument Administration:

Focus Group

Each focus group participant will attend a one-hour session at NPS National Capital Parks –East (NACE) headquarters. There will be 4 respondent groups (educators, tour group vendors and guides, multigenerational community members, museum and historic site professionals) and the participants will attend the session based upon their predetermined respondent group. The research team (Architect and Engineering team) will introduce the study and will be responsible for facilitation each session. Each focus group will have two segments. The first segment will consist of questions that will be administered in all respondent groups, the second segment will have questions that will be specific to each respondent group.

During each session there will be two questions will involve a voting activity in which participants will be asked to use stickers to rate their responses to a series of statements. The responses from this activity will be quantified and included in the report. The facilitator will use a script to ensure a balanced conversation, while the data collector will record all responses and manage time-keeping. Information relating to the PRA and the NPS contact for further questions will be made available to participants upon arrival.

2. Will interviewers or facilitators be used? [ X ] Yes [ ] No

How many facilitators will be in each focus group and explain their roles

There will be (2) Facilitator to lead the discussion and ensure responses from all participants and (1) Data collector to record and manage time. The same individuals will conduct each of the four of the focus groups.

Please make sure that all instruments, instructions, and scripts are submitted with the request.

ATTACHED

1. Focus Group Script and Questions

INSTRUCTIONS

TITLE OF INFORMATION COLLECTION: Provide the name of the collection that is the subject of the request. (e.g., Comment card for soliciting feedback on xxxx)

PURPOSE: Provide a brief description of the purpose of this collection and how it will be used. If this is part of a larger study or effort, please include this in your explanation.

DESCRIPTION OF RESPONDENTS: Provide a brief description of the targeted group or groups for this collection of information. These groups must have experience with the program.

TYPE OF COLLECTION: Check one box. If you are requesting approval of other instruments under the generic, you must complete a form for each instrument.

CERTIFICATION: Please read the certification carefully. If you incorrectly certify, the collection will be returned as improperly submitted or it will be disapproved.

Personally Identifiable Information: Provide answers to the questions.

Gifts or Payments: If you answer yes to the question, please describe the incentive and provide a justification for the amount.

BURDEN HOURS:

Category of Respondents: Identify who you expect the respondents to be in terms of the following categories: (1) Individuals or Households; (2) Private Sector; (3) State, local, or tribal governments; or (4) Federal Government. Only one type of respondent can be selected.

No. of Respondents: Provide an estimate of the Number of respondents.

Participation Time: Provide an estimate of the amount of time required for a respondent to participate (e.g., fill out a survey or participate in a focus group)

Burden: Provide the Annual burden hours: Multiply the Number of responses and the participation time in minutes and divide by 60.

FEDERAL COST: Provide an estimate of the annual cost to the Federal government.

If you are conducting a focus group, survey, or plan to employ statistical methods, please provide answers to the following questions:

The selection of your targeted respondents. Please provide a description of how you plan to identify your potential group of respondents and how you will select them. If the answer is yes, to the first question, you may provide the sampling plan in an attachment.

Administration of the Instrument: Identify how the information will be collected. More than one box may be checked. Indicate whether there will be interviewers (e.g., for surveys) or facilitators (e.g., for focus groups) used.

Please make sure that all instruments, instructions, and scripts are submitted with the request.

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