20200901_ASN_ApplicationInstructionsCompetitive_SSA

SUPPORTING STATEMENT FOR PAPERWORK REDUCTION ACT SUBMISSIONS

 

A. Justification

A1.  Need for Information Collection

The Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS) awards grants to states, local governments, institutions of higher education, nonprofit organizations, Indian tribes, and U.S. Territories to operate AmeriCorps State, AmeriCorps National, AmeriCorps NCCC, AmeriCorps VISTA, Social Innovation Fund and Senior Corps programs. This information collection comprises the criteria and/or questions which applicants respond to in order to apply to be an AmeriCorps State and National grantee.

A2.  Indicate how, by whom, and for what purpose the information is to be used.

Applicants respond to the criteria and/or questions in the Notice of Funding Opportunity using these instructions in order to apply for funding in AmeriCorps State and National competitions. AmeriCorps State and National will use the information collection to select organizations that will engage AmeriCorps members to strengthen communities.

 

 A3.  Minimize Burden: Use of Improved Technology to Reduce Burden

CNCS will be eliciting and accepting applicants’ response to these criteria and/or questions electronically via eGrants, CNCS’ secure online grants management system. If applicants are unable to apply or report on-line, they can use the attached forms and instructions to submit their application.

A4.  Non-Duplication

There are no other sources of information by which CNCS can meet the purposes described in A2 (above).

 

A5.  Minimizing for economic burden for small businesses or other small entities.

This collection of information does not impact small businesses because they are not eligible to apply for grants. There is no economic burden to any other small entities beyond the cost of staff time to collect and report the data. This is minimized to the degree possible by only asking for the information necessary to assess an organization’s eligibility to apply and capacity to administer an AmeriCorps State and National grant.

A6.  Consequences of the collection if not conducted, conducted less frequently, as well as any technical or legal obstacles to reducing burden.

 

The Corporation will be unable to request the necessary information to assess prospective AmeriCorps State and National grantees.

A7.  Special circumstances that would cause information collection to be collected in a manner requiring respondents to report more often than quarterly; report in fewer than 30 days after receipt of the request; submit more than an original and two copies; retain records for more than three years; and other ways specified in the Instructions focused on statistical methods, confidentially, and proprietary trade secrets.

There are no special circumstances that would require the collection of information in these ways.

A8.  Provide copy and identify the date and page number of publication in the Federal Register of the Agency’s notice. Summarize comments received and actions taken in response to comments. Specifically address comments received on cost and hour burden.

The 60-day Notice soliciting comments was published on Tuesday, April 7, 2020 at 85 FR 19459. One comment was received. The comment was nonresponsive to the request for comment. The 30-day Notice soliciting comments was published on July 1, 2020 at. 85 FR 39539. No comments were received on either Notice.

 

 A9.  Payment to Respondents

There are no payments or gifts to respondents

  

A10.  Assurance of Confidentiality and its basis in statute, regulation, or agency policy.

Your responses to this information collection will be disclosed as appropriate unless prohibited by law.

A11.  Sensitive Questions

 

The information collection does not include questions of a sensitive nature.

 

A12. Hour burden of the collection

These are the application instructions for the AmeriCorps State and National competition.

We expect approximately 450 respondents to use these instructions to apply to become AmeriCorps State and National grantees. The frequency of response will not be greater than annually, and should not exceed 40 hours of effort per respondent. There is no estimated annual hour burden outside of the customary and usual business practices.

 

A13. Respondent Burden and its Labor Costs

The estimated respondent burdens and labor costs are shown in the following table.

Estimation of Respondent Burden
Number of respondents	450
Responses per respondent	1
Number of responses	450
Hours per response	40
Estimated hours (number of responses multiplied by hours per response)	18,000
Cost per hour (hourly wage)	$56.76
Annual public burden (estimated hours multiplied by cost per hour)	$1,021,680

Notes: The cost per hour is based on the Office of Personnel Management(OPM) General Schedule (GS) hourly rate of $41.66 for a GS-12, step 5, employee (for calendar year 2020 for the rest of the U.S.) plus the 36.25% civilian personnel full fringe benefit rate from OMB memorandum M-08-13 ($41.66 + $15.10 = $56.76, rounded to the nearest dollar).  

A13. Respondent Costs Other Than Burden Hour Costs

CNCS does not estimate any annual cost burden apart from the hourly burden in Item 12 above.

 

A14. Cost to Government

Cost	Pay Band	Salary*	% of Effort	Fringe if applicable	Total Cost to Government
Federal Oversight
Deputy Director	NX-04	180000	.15		27,000
Grant Review Manager	NY-04	120000	.33		39,600
Grant Specialist	NY-03	90000	.33		29,700
Grant Review Specialist	NY-03	80000	.15		12,000
Portfolio Manager	NY-03	70000	36.96		2,587,200
Contractor Cost					400,000
Total					3,068,500

A15. Reasons for program changes or adjustments in burden or cost.

Burden costs have been adjusted to reflect new estimates. These costs have not been reported in the past.

 

 A16.  Publication of results

Some results of this grant competition will be published on the CNCS website for the purpose of transparency in federal grantmaking. 

 

A17.  Explain the reason for seeking approval to not display the expiration date for OMB approval of the information collection.

Not applicable.

 

 A18.  Exceptions to the certification statement

There are no exceptions to the certification statement in the submitted ROCIS form.

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