SUPPORTING STATEMENT – PART A
A. JUSTIFICATION
1. Need for the Information Collection
The Department of Defense invests resources in building partner nations’ capacity, humanitarian assistance programs, other civil-military projects (small-scale development), as well as emergency relief funds. This research will help inform those efforts. It includes a general population survey on youths’ (18-30 years old) views of their current social, economic and political situations. As a precursor to the general population survey, we also plan to conduct three focus groups and 9-12 cognitive interviews to validate the survey questions. The survey will be collected on a statistically random and nationally-representative basis. It will be used for program evaluation and improvement.
Primary Objectives. The primary objective of this research, broadly speaking, is to inform future US government efforts to countering violent extremism. More specifically, the focus groups and surveys will identify what factors dissuade individuals from supporting violent extremist groups or inhibit support for violence more generally.
Reasons the Information is Necessary. This information collection is necessary because previous research in this area is limited, outdated, and/or not specific to the objectives of this information request. This information collection will be used in conjunction with previous research conducted on this topic in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. The collection of this information will allow informed evaluation of policy, program, and other efforts to undermine popular support for violent extremism.
2. Use of the Information
The results of the research will be summarized and incorporated into a written report. This report will provide new insights on policies and programs designed to counter violent extremism, such as building partnership capacity, humanitarian assistance, and emergency relief funds. As a federally funded research and development center, RAND Corporation will make this report available to the research sponsors, as well as the public via its website.
The respondents for this information collection are foreign nationals. The consent protocols, recruitment screeners and survey instruments have been reviewed and approved by the full committee of RAND Corporation’s Internal Review Board, referred to as the Human Subjects Protection Committee (HSPC). The Department of Defense also conducted a secondary review of the research protocols. Please see Part B, below, for more information on the survey methods and protocols.
3. Use of Information Technology
The purpose of the focus groups and cognitive interviews is to obtain direct, face-to-face interaction with individuals in order to ascertain how they interpret or potentially misinterpret the questions. The survey instrument will be implemented face-to-face in households in order to allow us to access rural populations with limited access to information technology.
4. Non-duplication
The proposed information collection supplements but does not duplicate past surveys conducted on behalf of the US government and non-governmental organizations. To ascertain this, RAND Corporation in partnership with the sponsors queried other DOD components, as well as other US government agencies, to determine if other relevant studies were ongoing. We also reached out to other academic institutions, such as think tanks or universities. No similar research exists in the recent past or is ongoing.
5. Burden on Small Business
Small businesses will not be burdened by this research.
6. Less Frequent Collection
This represents a one-time collection. Not collecting this information will harm DoD and others’ ability to effectively counter violent extremism in the Middle East. Past and ongoing surveys of this nature emphasize ways to measure support for violent extremism. But, in fact, this is an impossible task without a “control group.” This research provides that control group and, thus, should help inform not only DoD programs but also others within the US government.
7. Paperwork Reduction Act Guidelines
The ongoing violence in Yemen provides the context for emergency approval of this research.
8. Consultation and Public Comments
a. The collection is being submitted as an emergency request and as such the requirement for public comments was waived. IRB approval was obtained from the RAND Corporation Human Subjects Protection Committee for this data collection activity as well as from Ms Francine Jones and Maj Brandi Ritter, in the Research Regulator Oversight Office, Readiness Division, Defense Health Agency, 703-681-6522.
b. To explore the viability of this study, the RAND study team consulted with a number of stakeholders within the US government, as well as outside the US government, including extensive outreach to academic experts and survey professionals both inside and outside Yemen.
Focus group participants will be provided with a meal and/or small, culturally-appropriate, gift during their group session, but will receive no other payments. Survey respondents will not be provided with a payment or gift.
10. Confidentiality
Section 11, below, “Sensitive Questions” and the Supporting Statement, Part B, describe our methods in greater detail. The RAND research team has worked closely with the RAND HSPC and DOD Secondary Review Office to scope the study in such a way to minimize risk. The surveys will be conducted privately and inside households. The focus groups will also be non-intrusive. It will be made clear to all respondents that cooperation is voluntary both in the recruitment screen and, subsequently, at the initiation of the surveys or focus group discussions. Researchers will not collect or use personally identifiable information. Only geographic information at the village level will be collected for the surveys. And, thus, no identifiable information will be transmitted to any federal agency. The information collection also does not ask respondents to submit proprietary, trade secret, or confidential information to DoD.
11. Sensitive Questions
The data collection instruments contain some limited questions of a sensitive nature. These questions relate to religious beliefs or, specifically, measures of degree of religiousity. These questions are necessary for the outcome of the study. The RAND research team has worked closely with RAND HSPC and DOD Secondary Review Office to minimize risk or discomfort. As discussed above, the surveys will be conducted privately and inside households. The focus groups will also be non-intrusive. It will be made clear to all respondents that cooperation is voluntary. Researchers will not collect or use personally identifiable information and, thus, no identifiable information will be transmitted to any federal agency.
Specifically for the focus groups, the recruitment screener itself will include the purpose of the focus groups as well as the voluntary nature of participation. This will be repeated at the beginning of the focus group session. Participants will be asked to orally consent to participation and to the audio recording after this description has been provided. Participants will be reminded that they are welcome to leave the discussion at any point if they so choose.
The survey procedures also are expected to involve minimal risk to participants. Names will not be used for respondents. Responses will be maintained by a local partner on a password-protected computer and encrypted using a 256-bit encryption (PGP or equivalent). The data will be transferred to dropbox.com and then RAND will transfer the data to a secure teamspace site. Within RAND, RAND’s network sites are secure and password protected. Security is strictly enabled by using physical and software access restrictions. All servers are physically located in locked rooms with access permitted only to Technical Services staff through the use of a security card system. Access to the network is allowed only through a login account and password. In addition, employees use password protected screen savers at workstations to protect their systems while they are away from their desks.
12. Respondent Burden, and its Labor Costs
a. Estimation of Respondent Burden
Response Burden:
(1) Foreign Nationals
Total annual respondents: |
2000 |
Frequency of response: |
1 |
Total annual responses: |
2000 |
Burden per response: |
60 minutes (average across respondents) |
Total burden hours: |
120,000 minutes/60 = 2000 hours |
Explanation of How Burden was Estimated: The anticipated number of respondents is based on the goal for the number of participants. The burden per response of 60 minutes is an estimated average: it is expected that focus groups and surveys will last between 45 and 90 minutes. We arrived at these numbers based on a previous study conducted in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
b. Labor Cost of Respondent Burden
b. Total cost: $1000
13. Respondent Costs Other Than Burden Hour Costs
a. Total Capital and Start-up Cost: There are no capital/startup costs.
b. Operation and Maintenance Cost: There are no operation and maintenance costs.
14. Cost to the Federal Government
This effort is part of a larger research and analysis effort the estimated start-up cost is $339,000 which includes:
FFRDC costs to select the country, create the survey, vet the survey through the collections management process, conduct the survey, and synthesize the information, and provide recommendations |
$335,000 |
Direct government labor to incorporate synthesized information (1 GS-14 for 5 days) |
$3,247 |
Other government administrative labor (1GS-15 for one day) |
$764 |
15. Reasons for Change in Burden
This is a new collection. There have been no appreciable changes in burden.
16. Publication of Results
We expect to publish findings from the analysis of approximately six months after the study has been completed.
17. Non-Display of OMB Expiration Date
This approval is not being requested.
18. Exceptions to "Certification for Paperwork Reduction Submissions"
No exceptions to the Certification Statement are being requested.
| File Type | application/msword |
| Author | Patricia Toppings |
| Last Modified By | Frederick Licari |
| File Modified | 2015-11-03 |
| File Created | 2015-11-03 |