State, Local and Tribal Agencies (Respondents)

OMB Control No: 0584-0606 Expiration Date: 03//31/2019 Expiration Date: 03/31/2019

Appendix H1. Sponsor Survey Pretest Protocol

Sponsor Survey Debrief

Feasibility Interview Protocol

Introduction

Hello, my name is [ ] and also on the call is my colleague [ ]. We work for Insight Policy Research, a research company in Arlington, Virginia. Thank you for agreeing to take part in this interview today.

The Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) within the U.S. Department of Agriculture has contracted with Insight Policy Research and Westat, a social research company based in Rockville, MD, to assist with the Summer Meals Study to understand who attends summer programs and why. As part of this study FNS has developed surveys of Summer Meal Program sponsors and sites. It is important that we try out the survey questions with the help of people such as yourself to ensure that they make sense, are easy to answer, and that everyone understands the questions the same way.

Thank you for completing the survey and returning it to me. I’d like to hear about any thoughts you had while answering the questions. I’ll also ask you about your experience answering the questions. There are no right or wrong answers. Our purpose is not to compile information on you or your program. Instead, your interview along with those of other sponsors will help us improve the questions.

Informed consent

Before we get started, there are a few things I should mention. This is a research project, and your participation is voluntary. If you prefer not to answer any of my questions just say so and we’ll move on. It’s also okay if you change your mind after starting and would rather not participate. However I can assure you that all of your answers, everything you say, will be kept private. There are no known risks to you for taking part in this interview. The law prohibits us from giving anyone any information that may identify you or your organization. Your name and that of your organization will not be linked to any of your responses, though we may include quotes you provide in our reports. Your information will be combined with information from other respondents and presented in summary form. There are also no direct benefits to you for taking part in this interview, but your answers will help us to develop recommendations for improving the survey questions. If you decide not to participate in this interview, that decision will not affect any benefits or services your organization receives.

The interview will take about 60 minutes. With your permission we will would like to audio record our conversation. This is in case we miss something in our notes. Only project staff will have access to the recording and other study materials. The recording and all study materials that identify you will be destroyed at the end of the project.

{Finally, my colleague [ ] will be following along to take notes. {Some of the project staff from IPR and/or Westat are also listening to this interview today to learn if there are things that might need to be improved.} }

Do you have any questions? [ANSWER ALL QUESTIONS]

May I have your permission to proceed with the interview?

Do I also have your permission to record this interview?

TURN ON RECORDER. The date and time is ____________. Now that the recorder is running, let me ask again, is it okay with you to proceed with this interview and also to record this interview?

Procedures

Do you have any questions before we start?

First I’d like to get your general impressions of the questions in the survey you completed.

Do you have overall impressions about the survey (e.g. were the questions clear, did they apply to you, were there some you could not answer)

How long did it take you to complete the survey?

Do you have notes about any specific items you can share with me?

SPECIFIC PROBES:

Were there any questions you did not understand or that were confusing? If yes, which ones?

Were there any questions you found hard to answer? If yes, which ones and why?

Did you have the information you needed to answer all the questions? If not, who would be the right person to ask?

Where there questions that took you longer to answer than others? If so, why?

Where there any questions you did not want to answer?

Do you think Summer Meals sponsors in general would be able to answer the questions in this survey?

Wrap-up

Which questions did you think were hardest to answer? What makes you say that?

Which questions did you think were easiest to answer? What makes you say that?

Closing and Incentive

Those are all the questions I have for you. Is there anything you’d like to add?

DISCUSS ANY RESPONDENT COMMENTS.

Thank you for your time.

Public reporting burden for this collection of information is estimated to average 60 minutes per response, including the time for reviewing instructions, searching existing data sources, gathering and maintaining the data needed, and completing and reviewing the collection of information. An agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to, a collection of information unless it displays a currently valid OMB control number. Send comments regarding this burden estimate or any other aspect of this collection of information, including suggestions for reducing this burden, to: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Services, Office of Policy Support, 3101 Park Center Drive, Room 1014, Alexandria, VA 22302 ATTN: PRA (0584-0606). Do not return the completed form to this address.