EIB 00-02 Annual Comp Rpt Survey SUPPORTING STATEMENT PART B - Oct 2018

SUPPORTING STATEMENT

PART B

FOR PAPERWORK REDUCTION ACT SUBMISSION 3048-0004

EXIM COMPETITIVENESS REPORT SURVEY EIB 00-02

Agency Information Collection Activities

Submission for OMB Review

B. Collections of Information Employing Statistical Methods

Describe (including a numerical estimate) the potential respondent universe and any sampling or other respondent selection methods to be used. Data on the number of entities (e.g., establishments, State and local government units, households, or persons) in the universe covered by the collection and in the corresponding sample are to be provided in tabular form for the universe as a whole and for each of the strata in the proposed sample. Indicate expected response rates for the collection as a whole. If the collection had been conducted previously, include the actual response rate achieved during the last collection.

The Export-Import Bank of the United States (“EXIM” or “Bank”) primary survey population will consist of all Bank clients (lenders/exporters/project sponsors) that have complete electronic contact information on file and that have used EXIM financing in the calendar year of interest. This list will be supplemented by those clients that have transactions being processed by the Bank, but which cannot be approved due to EXIM’s lack of Board quorum and corresponding $10 million authorization limit, and those clients which have experience working with the Bank and foreign ECAs over the last five years.

EXIM expects that initial response rates and partial interview rates will be roughly the same as experienced in past cycles of the survey. EXIM is increasing their non-response follow-up efforts to achieve higher-quality responses with similar response rates.

No systematic analysis of the nonresponding population is planned.

The primary population includes all lenders, exporters, and project sponsors that did business with the Bank in the calendar year of interest. This total universe is 700 as of the end of October 2018. All EXIM clients (lenders/exporters/bankers) that have complete electronic contact information on file with the Bank and used EXIM financing in the calendar year of interest will be invited to participate in the survey.¹ This list will be supplemented by those clients that have transactions awaiting authorization or that have used EXIM financing in the last five years. These participants are more likely to be experienced and aware of foreign ECA competition and EXIM programs. Through this approach, the Bank avoids burdening inexperienced users of EXIM programs with a survey they are unlikely to be able to answer. As this will result in a purposive sample, no statistical inferences regarding the entire population will be made. Rather the analysis of the collected data will be restricted to only statements regarding the opinions and experiences of respondents.

Below is a table that outlines the makeup of the 2018 and previous Competitiveness Report Survey population groups including response rates.

EXPECTED RESPONSE RATES

Composition of the 2018 Competitiveness Report Survey (Expected)

	Lenders	Exporters*	Total
Population	200	500	700
Selected	40	100	140
Expected responses	28	30	58
Expected response rate	70%	30%**	41%**
Notes:
*The exporter population has been expanded to include users of EXIM’s short-term programs, whereas previous years surveyed only users of EXIM’s medium- and long-term (MLT) programs. **Users of EXIM’s short-term programs are more likely to be small businesses and, as such, are less likely to respond to the survey based on EXIM’s past experience. Furthermore, EXIM has been unable to operate its full range of MLT programs since July 2015 which may lead to fewer MLT respondents being willing to take the time to provide responses. As a result of the above, the response rate may be depressed.

PAST RESPONSE RATES

2017 Competitiveness Report Survey

	Lenders	Exporters	Total
Surveyed	28	58	86
Responded	18	25	43
Response rate	64%	43%	50%

2016 Competitiveness Report Survey

	Lenders	Exporters	Total
Surveyed	27	69	96
Responded	22	28	50
Response rate	81%	41%	52%

2015 Competitiveness Report Survey

	Lenders	Exporters	Total
Surveyed	26	45	71
Responded	20	21	41
Response rate	77%	47%	58%

1. Describe the procedures for the collection of information including:

• Statistical methodology for stratification and sample selection,

• Estimation procedure,

• Degree of accuracy needed for the purpose described in the justification,

• Unusual problems requiring specialized sampling procedures, and

• Any use of periodic (less frequent than annual) data collection cycles to reduce burden.
  
  

The survey will be sent to the lenders, exporters, and project sponsors that directly used EXIM’s short-, medium-, and long-term programs in the calendar year of interest. This list will be supplemented by those Bank clients that have transactions being processed by EXIM, but which cannot currently be authorized due to the Bank’s lack of a Board quorum, and those with experience working with EXIM and foreign ECAs in the last five years. The results will not be generalized to any population. Only statements regarding the collected responses will be made. No estimation procedures or statistical accuracy will be required for the analysis.

The Competitiveness Report is mandated by Congress to be an annual report, thus these data are required to be collected on an annual basis.

2. Describe methods to maximize response rates and to deal with issues of non-response. The accuracy and reliability of information collected must be shown to be adequate for intended uses. For collections based on sampling, a special justification must be provided for any collection that will not yield "reliable" data that can be generalized to the universe studied.

Each year the EXIM Chairman sends an email to potential survey recipients. It informs the recipient of the upcoming survey and asks them to confirm the correct person to receive the survey. EXIM plans to distribute the survey invitations in mid-January, and to keep the survey open for four weeks. During this four week period, phone nonresponse follow up will occur. With this timeline, the survey data collection will wrap up around the end of February, allowing ample time to compile the necessary results ahead of the publication deadline.

Email reminders will be sent to all non-respondents at weekly intervals for the length of the data collection period. Additionally, after the data collection period has ended, staff will follow up with remaining non-respondents by phone for an additional four weeks to ensure maximum response rates.

3. Describe any tests of procedures or methods to be undertaken. Testing is encouraged as an effective means of refining collections of information to minimize burden and improve utility. Tests must be approved if they call for answers to identical questions from 10 or more respondents. A proposed test or set of tests may be submitted for approval separately or in combination with the main collection of information.
   
   

No further testing of the procedures or methods necessary at this time. The survey is largely unchanged from previous years and answer quality over the last three collections has been strong. Respondents from previous cycles of the survey are eligible for inclusion in the current cycle. Frequent users of the Bank have the most detailed and helpful information to provide on the Bank’s competitiveness, so overlap between cycles is required. If current cycle respondents indicate that the survey burden is problematic, the Bank will respond to this feedback and reduce the questionnaire length in the following, as per the OMB procedure for amending surveys.

4. Provide the name and telephone number of individuals consulted on statistical aspects of the design and the name of the agency unit, contractor(s), grantee(s), or other person(s) who will actually collect and/or analyze the information for the agency.

Tanner Gebhart

Operations Research Analyst, Office of Policy Analysis and International Relations

Export-Import Bank of the U.S.

202-565-3759

[email protected]

1 The information management system to which the survey group has access does not contain complete contact information for all Bank clients. It would be time and cost prohibitive for the government to obtain the contact information for all Bank clients; as such, EXIM staff will focus their efforts on obtaining contact information for exporters, lenders, and project sponsors that have used EXIM financing in the calendar year of interest, and supplemented by those that have transactions awaiting authorization or that have used Bank financing in the last five years.