New Form 20 Supporting Statement 11-3-15

SUPPORTING STATEMENT

U.S. Small Business Administration

Outreach Event Survey

A: JUSTIFICATION

1. Circumstances necessitating the collection of information

The U.S. Small Business Administration (“SBA”) has statutory authority to conduct events which it cosponsors with other entities, and also does outreach on its own. But how do we know that these events satisfy the audience we are trying to reach – small business owners? SBA currently has no mechanism by which to measure whether the events we stage, and the presenters we use, are giving our customers what they expect of us. The proposed Form 20 will provide us with that feedback, and in addition help us discover what subjects the small businesses we serve want us to cover, Finally, it will provide us with demographic information so that we may be sure that we are serving the entire small business community.

2. How, by whom, and for what purpose information will be used

The purposes of Form 20 are (a) to inform SBA, in as specific a way as possible, what its customers thought about the outreach events SBA staged; (b) give SBA a better idea of what events its customers want it to stage in the future; and (c) tell SBA whether it is serving all segments of the small business community with the events that it stages. Local and program offices which stage the events will use this information, as will SBA’s Office of Communications and Public Liaison, which has Agency-wide responsibility over outreach.

3. Technological collection techniques

SBA anticipates that it will hand Form 20 out at the conclusion of each event, and that those who elect to respond will do so on the spot. This is both less burdensome for small businesses than a subsequent e-mail (which imposes on their workdays) and is more likely to yield an accurate response, in that the respondent will be describing an event which is still fresh in her mind.

We estimate (based on past experience) that about 5% of our customers will attend an SBA-sponsored or co-sponsored event, such as a webinar. In those cases, we will present Form 20 electronically for the participants.

4. Avoidance of Duplication

There is no system currently in place which collects the information which Form 20 will collect, and no less burdensome way to collect it.

5. Impact on small businesses or other small entities

The form asks small business executives to appraise an event in which they had just participated. We estimate the time required for a response, if the small business executive elects to give one, to be twenty minutes. In turn, there will be a benefit to small businesses because events designed for them will be more responsive to their needs and better.

6. Consequences if collection of information is not conducted

The consequence if the information is not collected or if it is collected less often will be that SBA will conduct poorer, less responsive outreach programs.

7. Existence of special circumstances

There are no special circumstances beyond those outlined in this supporting statement governing Form 20.

8. Solicitation of Public Comment

SBA published a Notice and Request for Comments on July 15, 2015 at 80 FR 45572. There was no response.

9. Payment of gifts

SBA will not offer gifts in connection with Form 20. Individual offices may elect to hand out pencils, but these are not gifts; respondents are expected to give them back..

10. Assurance of Confidentiality

The form is not confidential, but respondents are not asked to name themselves or their business unless they request SBA follow-up on the form.

11. Questions of a sensitive nature

There are no questions of a sensitive nature on Form 20. Respondents are asked their race, gender and military status, but (a) they are given a specific option in the form not to answer those questions, (b) the form does not ask for their name or the name of their business, and (c) they have an option not to respond to the form.

12. Estimate the hourly burden of the collection of information

Based on previous-year experience, we anticipate about 90,600 customers for SBA outreach events. We anticipate a response rate of 10%, which is standard in the literature. We estimate that it will take 20 minutes to fill out the form, which is mostly in checklist form. Accordingly, we anticipate approximately 3020 burden hours.

We anticipate the hour cost burden to be negligible. It is unlikely that a small business executive will fill out the form if the cost burden is other than negligible. For SBA, we estimate that a reasonably skilled data clerk can enter about 200 responses an hour on SBA’s outreach management system. Overall cost to SBA, then, should not exceed $5,000, and will probably cost nothing if the data clerk performs his work during regular working hours.

13. Estimate the total annual cost burden for submission

No cost to submitters.

14. Annualized Cost to the Federal Government

Not to exceed $5,000 a year. For details, see response to 12, above.

15. Explanation of program changes in Items 13 or 14 on OMB Form 83-I

This is a new program.

16. Collection of information whose results will be puiblished.

SBA will not publish this information.

17. Expiration date for collection of information

SBA has no qualms about displaying the expiration date for OMB approval.

18. Exceptions to certification in block 19 on OMB Form 83-I

No exceptions requested.

B. COLLECTION OF INFORMATION EMPLOYING STATISTICAL METHODS

We estimate that we will serve 90,600 individuals in any given year because this has been the historical average of the last three years’ worth of cosponsorship attendees. We estimate that 10% of those individuals will respond to our information request.