OMB Justification A - CPS Sept 2021 CEV Supplement 9.4.2020

SUPPORTING STATEMENT FOR PAPERWORK REDUCTION ACT SUBMISSIONS

 

A. Justification

A1.  Need for Information Collection

The Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS) requests authorization from the Office of Management and Budget to conduct the Civic Engagement and Volunteer Survey (CEV). In partnership with the U.S. Census the CEV will be a supplement to the September Current Population Survey (CPS). This supplement was administered in September of 2017 and 2019 (Attachment A1). The proposed 2021 CEV supplement includes 2 new items to ensure a more logical transition between the employment-focused CPS questions and questions about civic behaviors like volunteering. These additions were made based on based on Census feedback from the 2019 administration.

CNCS has partnered with the US Census and the Bureau of Labor Statistics to collect data and produced annual volunteering reports since 2002. CNCS is also mandated by the Serve America Act (2009) to produce an annual Civic health assessment in partnership with the National Conference on Citizenship.

The CEV survey is the only source of nationally representative data on the number of Americans who are active in their communities, through volunteering, social interactions, political activities and civic behaviors. These measures include a person’s interactions with family, friends and neighbors, participation in community events, informal interactions, communication with one another on issues of public concern, interactions with public and private institutions and political participation.

Authorization for the collection of this information is provided in Title 13, United States Code, Sections 8(b) and 182, and Title 29 USC, Section 1, and PL 111-13 (H.R. 1388), 42 USC 12639a.

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

The purpose of collecting data on civic engagement and volunteering is to provide scholars, government officials and policymakers with official government measurement on the level of civic engagement in the United States. These indicators can inform policies and practices that promote increased citizen activity in the political, civic, and social spheres, at the national, state, and community levels.

When combined with demographic characteristics (age, sex, race, education, occupation, income), the data can provide information on the relationship between these characteristics and the level of civic engagement in the United States. Government agency analysts and private, state and local leaders may use these data to compare levels in their area of interest to the national level of civic engagement, and to link these data to other measures of civic health in order to formulate policies that foster healthy communities. In addition, these data can be administratively linked to other Federal survey or administrative data to empirically assess the relationship between civic behaviors and economic, social or health outcomes. For example, data from this supplement have been linked employment data to assess the relationship between labor force behaviors and volunteering behavior over time.

 

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

The proposed administration will use a mix of computer-assisted personal and telephone interviewing, a proven and appropriate data collection methodology. Consideration has also been given to the use of social media and administrative data however these methods are not feasible for a complex demographic survey such as the CPS. Given the scope and nature of the information collection the proposed method constitutes the least amount of burden.

A4.  Non-Duplication

The Civic Engagement and Volunteering supplement's comprehensive set of questions does not duplicate any other single information collection with respect to topic and content, scope, or population of interest. There are no comparable data that can be replicated, substituted, or modified for use as described in sections A1 and A2 above.

 

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

The collection of the civic engagement and volunteering information does not involve small businesses or other small entities.

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

 

CNCS administers the Civic Engagement and Volunteer Survey bi-annually. Previous data from annual administrations of the September Volunteer supplement and November Civic Life supplement did not generate substantial variation over a yearly period.

During intervening years CNCS conducts research in communities across the United States. Findings from these community-based research studies complement the bi-annual supplement and provide additional information about civic activity that is measured at the local level using methodologies that are appropriate for this scale.

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 Wednesday, July 1, 2020 on page 39537. The 30-day Notice soliciting comments was published on Friday, September 4, 2020 on page 55263. No comments were received.

 

 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.

Interviewers provide the pamphlet, "The U.S. Census Bureau Respects Your Privacy and Keeps Your Personal Information Confidential," to households whenever necessary (see Attachment A2.). An introductory letter is also sent to potential survey respondents (see Attachment A3). All information given by respondents to Census Bureau employees is held in the strictest confidence as guaranteed by Title 13, United States Code, Section 9. Each interviewer has taken an oath to this effect and is subject to a jail penalty and/or a fine if he/she discloses any information. Per the Federal Cybersecurity Enhancement Act of 2015, all data are protected from cybersecurity risks through screening of the systems that transmit data. The pamphlet on privacy is currently being updated to reflect this new process and will be used upon the approval and depletion of current pamphlets.

CNCS publishes only public use data that contains no personal information and has been coded to shield potential identification of participants.

A11.  Sensitive Questions

 

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

 

A12. Hour burden of the collection

The Civic Engagement and Volunteer Survey contains 20 questions and will be administered to approximately 50,000 households (due to decreasing response rate for the basic CPS) with approximately 60,000 respondents (due to random selection).  Each interview will take 6.67 minutes, resulting in total burden of 6,670 hours.

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	60,000
Responses per respondent	1
Number of responses	60,000
Hours per response	6.67 minutes
Estimated hours (number of responses multiplied by hours per response)	6,670
Cost per hour (hourly wage)	$36.04
Annual public burden (estimated hours multiplied by cost per hour)	$240,368.80

Notes: The cost per hour is based on the Office of Personnel Management(OPM) General Schedule (GS) hourly rate of $26.45 for a GS-11, step 1, 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 ($26.45 + $9.59 = $36.04, rounded to the nearest dollar). This corresponds to the median hourly rate of the respondents.

A13. Respondent Costs Other Than Burden Hour Costs

CNCS does not estimate any annual cost burden apart from the hourly burden in Section A12 above.

A14. Cost to the Government

CNCS estimates that the Civic Engagement and Volunteer Survey will cost $900,000.

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

The Civic Engagement and Volunteer Survey was redesigned in 2017. The same instrument was used in September 2019. The instrument submitted for review is the same instrument but with the addition of 2 items to facilitate the transition from the CPS survey items to the CEV supplement items. Adjustments to burden and cost estimates are reflected in sections A12 and A14 above.

 

 A16.  Publication of results

 Public (deidentified) datasets are posted by the Census and by CNCS.

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

The Civic Engagement and Volunteering Supplement is administered as part of the CPS monthly interview each September. However, the supplement (as well as all the CPS supplements) bears the OMB control number and expiration date, which is different from the CPS basic interview. The OMB control number and expiration date for the CPS basic interview is included in the advance letter we give respondents. Because of the difficulties and anticipated respondent confusion involved with expressing a separate control number and expiration date to respondents for the supplement questions, the Census Bureau does not wish to display the OMB control number and expiration date for the CPS September supplement.

 

 A18.  Exceptions to the certification statement

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

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