Supporting Statement for NSF INCLUDES Cohort 2 Design and Development Launch Pilot Project Principal Investigators and Evaluator

Request for Approval under the “Generic Clearance for the Collection of Routine Customer Feedback” (OMB Control Number: 3145-0215)

TITLE OF INFORMATION COLLECTION:
Request to Interview NSF INCLUDES Cohort 2 Design and Development Launch Pilot Project Principal Investigators and Evaluators.

PURPOSE:

The NSF INCLUDES Technical Assistance (TA) Team will host a 30-minute phone call with the new NSF INCLUDES Design and Development Launch Pilot (DDLP) grantees with the intention of welcoming them to the NSF INCLUDES community, provide information about the Technical Assistance offered, and to learn more about their project goals and Technical Assistance needs. Information collected from the interviews will be used to inform the Technical Assistance planning and will not be used for evaluation or publication purposes.

The Technical Assistance leverages a set of “medium touch” activities (e.g., in-person events, virtual community of practice, online webinars, synchronous and asynchronous discussion boards, resource library) that have as their overarching goal connecting DDLPs to people and resources that can help them succeed in building their collaboration infrastructure, prepare for scale and sustainability, and collect the evidence necessary to demonstrate the impact of their work, all in service to broadening participation in STEM. The Techanical Assistance is informed on the one hand by the NSF INCLUDES Program and on the other, by the DDLPs themselves. And, in service to the broader goals of the program, the TA Team informs and serves as an information broker between the NSF INCLUDES Program and the DDLPs.

The Technical Assistance is a system in which there are many thoughtfully developed and connected opportunities and resources offered to DDLPs that encourage them to learn, engage, network, and enhance their work. DDLPs will take advantage of these opportunities as they make sense for their own work, and they will make their own understandings and connections with what they learn from the activities we offer. This process is not necessarily linear, but it could be seen as additive or cumulative; those DDLPs that participate in more activities may get more benefit from the Technical Assistance. The job of the Technical Assistance provider is to invite and entice them to participate in activities and join the community, with the goal of supporting their success in designing, developing, implementing and evaluating their DDLP, while also helping them set the stage for sustainability and scale in the future.

DESCRIPTION OF RESPONDENTS:

Principal Investigators for the 27 newly awarded NSF INCLUDES Design and Development Launch Pilots (DDLPs)

Project-level external evaluators for the 27 newly awarded NSF INCLUDES Design and Development Launch Pilots (DDLPs)

TYPE OF COLLECTION: (Check one)

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

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

[ ] 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:__Suzanne H. Plimpton, NSF Reports Clearance Officer_______________________

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

Personally Identifiable Information:

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

Gifts or Payments:

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

BURDEN HOURS

Type of Collection	Category of Respondent	No. of Respondents	Participation Time	Burden
Phone Calls	(2) Private Sector	54	30 minutes	27 hours
	Totals	54	30 minutes	27 hours

FEDERAL COST: This will be incorporated into the plans of running the program.

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?

The universe of potential respondents consists of the Principal/Co-Principal Investigators and project level external evaluators of 27 DDLPs. The list is generated from the NSF administrative data for these awards. Census sampling will be used, though a convenience sample may result.

Administration of the Instrument

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

[ ] Web-based or other forms of Social Media

[ X ] Telephone

[ ] In-person

[ ] Mail

[ ] Other, Explain

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

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

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