Fast Track Form - Davidson Fellowship Program

Request for Approval under the “Generic Clearance for the Collection of Routine Customer Feedback” (OMB Control Number: 0690-0030)

TITLE OF INFORMATION COLLECTION: Davidson Fellowship

PURPOSE: The Office for Coastal Management (OCM) in the National Ocean Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce is funding a new fellowship program called the “Margaret A. Davidson Graduate Fellowship for the National Estuarine Research Reserve System” (Davidson Fellowship). The intent is for this to be an ongoing program, with each fellowship funded for two years in length, extending into the foreseeable future. Funding is being made available through a competitive process to masters and doctoral students actively enrolled in a graduate program at an accredited university, through the use of a cooperative agreement to the university. The goals of the Davidson Fellowship are to build the next generation of leaders in estuarine science and coastal management by affording qualified graduate students the opportunity to conduct collaborative science within the National Estuarine Research Reserve System; partake in professional development opportunities; and receive mentoring to support professional growth.

The purpose of this information collection is to gather information on the effectiveness and efficiencies of the Davidson Fellowship program in reaching the desired outcomes, so that we can adaptively manage and make continuous improvements to the program. The federal government emphasized the importance of measuring the effectiveness and efficiencies of government funded programs like these in enacting the Government Performance and Results Act of 1993 (GPRA).

DESCRIPTION OF RESPONDENTS: These surveys will gather information from selected fellows, their faculty advisors, contacts from each university’s sponsored program office, reserve staff, and NOAA federal and contract staff supporting the Davidson Fellowship program.

TYPE OF COLLECTION: (Check one)

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

[] Usability Testing (e.g., Website or Software [] 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: ______________Melissa Ladd_______________________

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

Personally Identifiable Information:

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

2. If Yes, will any information that is collected be included in records that are subject to the Privacy Act of 1974? [] Yes [] No

3. If Yes, has an up-to-date System of Records Notice (SORN) 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

Category of Respondent	No. of Respondents	Participation Time	Burden Hours
Individuals	29	10 min	4.8
Business or Other For-Profit	58	7 min	6.8
State, Local, or Tribal Government	43	18 min	12.9
Totals	130		24.5

FEDERAL COST: The estimated annual cost to the Federal government is _$4,000______

This cost reflects the time required to prepare the survey package and analyze and evaluate the results.

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

This information collection will take place initially in Fall 2020, as the first cohort of fellows begins their program, and again in Fall 2022, as the second cohort of fellows begins their program and the first cohort of fellows finishes. These surveys will gather information from selected fellows, their faculty advisors, contacts from each university’s sponsored program office, and reserve staff supporting the Davidson Fellowship program.

Administration of the Instrument

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

[ X ] Web-based or other forms of Social Media

[ ] Telephone

[ ] In-person

[ ] Mail

[ ] Other, Explain

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

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

All instruments used to collect information must include:

OMB Control No. 0690-0030

Expiration Date: 07/31/2023

Instructions for completing Request for Approval under the “Generic Clearance for the Collection of Routine Customer Feedback”

TITLE OF INFORMATION COLLECTION: Provide the name of the collection that is the subject of the request. (e.g. Comment card for soliciting feedback on xxxx)

PURPOSE: Provide a brief description of the purpose of this collection and how it will be used. If this is part of a larger study or effort, please include this in your explanation.

DESCRIPTION OF RESPONDENTS: Provide a brief description of the targeted group or groups for this collection of information. These groups must have experience with the program.

TYPE OF COLLECTION: Check one box. If you are requesting approval of other instruments under the generic, you must complete a form for each instrument.

CERTIFICATION: Please read the certification carefully. If you incorrectly certify, the collection will be returned as improperly submitted or it will be disapproved.

Personally Identifiable Information: Provide answers to the questions. Note: Agencies should only collect PII to the extent necessary, and they should only retain PII for the period of time that is necessary to achieve a specific objective.

Gifts or Payments: If you answer yes to the question, please describe the incentive and provide a justification for the amount.

BURDEN HOURS:

Category of Respondents: Identify who you expect the respondents to be in terms of the following categories: (1) Individuals or Households;(2) Private Sector; (3) State, local, or tribal governments; or (4) Federal Government. Only one type of respondent can be selected per row.

No. of Respondents: Provide an estimate of the Number of respondents.

Participation Time: Provide an estimate of the amount of time required for a respondent to participate (e.g. fill out a survey or participate in a focus group)

Burden: Provide the Annual burden hours: Multiply the Number of responses and the participation time and divide by 60.

FEDERAL COST: Provide an estimate of the annual cost to the Federal government.

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. Please provide a description of how you plan to identify your potential group of respondents and how you will select them. If the answer is yes, to the first question, you may provide the sampling plan in an attachment.

Administration of the Instrument: Identify how the information will be collected. More than one box may be checked. Indicate whether there will be interviewers (e.g. for surveys) or facilitators (e.g., for focus groups) used.

Submit all instruments, instructions, and scripts are submitted with the request.

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