HHS DAP PRA_Section B_3142016

DATA Act Section 5 Grants Pilot

DATA Act PMO Generic Information Collection Request

Supporting Statement – Section B

Submitted: January 22, 2016

Program Official/Project Officer

Michael Peckham

Director, HHS DATA Act PMO

Assistant Secretary for Financial Resources

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

200 Independence Avenue SW, Suite 405D, Washington DC 20201

206-205-9452

[email protected]

Section B – Data Collection Procedures

1. Respondent Universe and Sampling Methods

The DATA Act Section 5 grants pilot population will consist of organizations that receive Federal financial assistance (i.e. grantees or recipients that meet the statutory requirements outlined within the DATA Act). Prior to determining the sample population, the DATA Act PMO (DAP) staff will work with advocacy organizations (Association of Government Accountants (AGA), National Grants Management Association (NGMA), etc.), federal agencies, and other sources to recruit recipients who would be interested in participating in the DATA Act Section 5 pilot program. As there is currently no one system in the Federal Government that can quantify the total amount of funding that federal awardees receive in the form of contracts, loans, and financial assistance, the HHS DATA Act PMO will attempt to reconcile recipients identified by advocacy organizations to USASpending.gov or the HHS Payment Management System (PMS) data and categorize these recipients for the purpose of stratifying the population with the understanding that there may not be 100% accuracy within this process. Stratification criteria should include:

• Recipient’s award value – this is including, but not limited to identifying recipients that have prime or sub award grants, contracts and loans with an aggregate value of $1,000,000,000 - $2,000,000,000;

• Recipient’s organizational type – this includes organization’s legal and tax status (i.e. State, College/University, Nonprofit, etc.);

• Recipient’s portfolio information – this includes data related to grantee’s Federal awards from multiple programs across multiple agencies (wherever possible).

Focus for this area of the pilot will be based on recipients receiving the majority of their federal funding in the form of financial assistance awards in order to best measure the validity of the pilot program test models.

Recipients are initially being selected based on their interest and connections with advocacy organizations (these organizations are partners in supporting the DAP achieve their objectives). Participation in the pilot program is completely voluntary and intended to be completed within recipient resource constraints.

In instances where there are insufficient participants to enable a reasonable precision, DAP will select additional recipients, by strata, from organizations that have volunteered through one of the advocacy groups and/or information available from USASpending.gov or PMS information. Subsequently, DAP will randomly “assign” recipients to one or more of the test models. The assignments will consider stratification to promote equitable distribution of each strata across the test models.

HHS DAP will develop a sampling estimate plan to establish a minimum sample size required for attribute testing with a targeted one-sided confidence level of 90% and a sampling precision of 10%. Attribute testing allows HHS DAP to estimate a compliance rate for the Test Models. HHS DAP deems it reasonable to assume a satisfaction rate of 80% for Test Model participants. Under the aforementioned assumptions for a population of 40,070 Federal award recipients (as contained in USASpending.gov for Federal Fiscal Year 2015 (FY15)), a minimum sample size of 42 participants is required.

Each Test Model will address the specific burden amount in the corresponding child clearance. Estimates to complete the instruments/forms in each Test Model vary between seven and one-half hours per response and one hour.

2. Procedures for the Collection of Information

Once the sample for each test model is identified, the selected recipient will be provided the relevant testing materials (e.g. revised forms). It is anticipated that information collection will be done through surveys and/or focus groups. Surveys will be distributed to test model participants to quantify information such as the reduction of burden, overall experience, or usefulness of tools. The surveys that will be developed for use in these tests will consist of questions with responses based on a five-point scale. For each statement on the survey, the respondent will choose a number on the five-point scale to indicate their level of agreement. Additional quantifiable information such as number of hours spent will be requested as well.

Survey results will be collected electronically and evaluated by DAP statistical and technical resources. The sample results will be extrapolated over the entire Section 5 grants pilot program population to inform final recommendations to OMB.

Where it is possible focus groups will be conducted in a controlled environment. While questions would be similar to the surveys, discussions by the focus groups would be captured to further document any concerns or additional measures to reduce redundancies, burden, and cost for the recipient community.

3. Methods to Maximize Response Rates and Deal with Nonresponse

DAP will reach-out directly to the selected participants with respect to each test and associated survey/focus group. Communication and testing will take place electronically (where possible) to both reduce environmental impact and increase the likelihood of response. To achieve the desired goals while minimizing risk, a 50% response rate will be the desired estimate. Given that this survey is voluntary, nonresponses are expected. In order to deal with nonresponses, DAP will proceed by making a second and third attempt to reach the participants. As the overall goal of this project is to reduce recipient burden, our communications with the recipients will be limited so as to not increase burden.

4. Test of Procedures or Methods to be Undertaken

The specific procedures for each test model will vary based on the test. With the overall goal of decreasing redundancy, burden, and cost for recipient community, all tests will be designed to capture outcome in those areas. These tests will require the completion of standard forms and surveys to gauge the real-time effects of these revisions and tools on the recipient’s level of burden. Obtaining recipient feedback given the overall direction being taken within this pilot program is the overall goal. Where standards can be applied and understood; this will lead to a more streamlined overall process and should provide a clear path forward in meeting the comprehensive goals of the DATA Act.

5. Individuals Consulted on Statistical Aspects and Individuals Collecting and/or Analyzing Data

The DAP will use subject matter experts for test development in coordination with statistical and technical experts who will provide information regarding the development of this exploratory data collection. DAP leadership of the Section 5 pilot program test models includes: (1) Christopher Zeleznik, Intergovernmental Recipient Engagement Lead, DATA Act Program Management Office at HHS, email: [email protected] phone: (202) 205 – 3514 (2) Christopher Suzich, DATA Act Program Management Office at HHS, email: [email protected] phone: (202) 422-1719.