This request is for clearance to
conduct the 2018 and 2020 Arts Basic Survey (ABS) (formally titled
Annual Arts Benchmarking Survey, and Annual Arts Basic Survey).
This survey will be conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau as a
supplement to the Bureau of Labor Statistic’s Current Population
Survey. The ABS will be conducted in February 2018 and February
2020 and is expected to be conducted again in 2025, which
corresponds to once between each National Endowment for the Arts’
(NEA) Survey of Public Participation in the Arts (SPPA), starting
with the 2022 SPPA. To date, the ABS has been conducted annually
from 2013 to 2018, with the exception of 2017, when the SPPA was
administered. One of the strengths of the ABS is that it will
complement and supplement the information collected in the SPPA.
The SPPA is the field’s premiere repeated cross-sectional survey of
individual attendance and involvement in arts and cultural
activities, and is conducted approximately every five years. The
ABS is much shorter than the SPPA, consisting of 12 to 14 questions
per module that will be used to track arts participation over time.
As with the SPPA, the ABS data will be circulated to interested
researchers and will be the basis for a range of NEA reports and
independent research publications. Reports on these data will be
made publicly available on the NEA’s website or NEA-designated
websites. The ABS will provide primary knowledge on the extent and
nature of participation in the arts in the United States. These
data will also be used by the NEA as a contextual measure for one
of the strategic goals identified in its FY 2014-2018 Strategic
Plan.
US Code:
20
USC 954 Name of Law: National Foundation on the Arts and
Humanities Act
On behalf of this Federal agency, I certify that
the collection of information encompassed by this request complies
with 5 CFR 1320.9 and the related provisions of 5 CFR
1320.8(b)(3).
The following is a summary of the topics, regarding
the proposed collection of information, that the certification
covers:
(i) Why the information is being collected;
(ii) Use of information;
(iii) Burden estimate;
(iv) Nature of response (voluntary, required for a
benefit, or mandatory);
(v) Nature and extent of confidentiality; and
(vi) Need to display currently valid OMB control
number;
If you are unable to certify compliance with any of
these provisions, identify the item by leaving the box unchecked
and explain the reason in the Supporting Statement.