NSF INCLUDES Network Survey Supporting Statement Part A

Request for Clearance for a New Information Collection:

NSF INCLUDES National Network Survey

3145-NEW

Supporting Statement Part A. JUSTIFICATION

A.1. Necessity of the Information Collection

The proposed information collection, the NSF INCLUDES National Network Survey, is a new information collection request. The data to be collected by the proposed survey are not available elsewhere. The information collection activities are planned to start immediately after OMB approval is received and will be conducted annually through the end of the initiative. NSF is requesting OMB approval for the NSF INCLUDES Coordination Hub (“the Hub”, an NSF awardee) to collect information from members of the NSF INCLUDES National Network on their experiences in the Network and the Network’s online community. The Hub leads and supports the National Network (as described in section A1.1) and this information will help to provide the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the Hub with a better understanding of the health, development and expansion of the NSF INCLUDES National Network. The information collection will: (1) inform Hub activities (e.g., to identify support needs in the coming year; to inform shared measures work and network support and expansion goals) ; (2) assess development of the NSF INCLUDES National Network; and (3) track progress against the Hub’s theory of action for building collaborative infrastructure at the Network level.

A1.1 Background of NSF INCLUDES

NSF INCLUDES is a comprehensive national initiative designed to enhance U.S. leadership in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) discoveries and innovations by focusing on broadening participation in these fields at scale. The initiative supports the development of a robust network of partnerships among stakeholders across multiple sectors (public, private, academic). This network, called the NSF INCLUDES National Network, is currently composed of over 1500 members that represent:

• NSF INCLUDES-funded projects

• Other projects funded by NSF that benefit from and contribute to the broadening participation resources available to the National Network (for example, but not limited to, Louis Stokes Alliances for Minority Participation (LSAMP) projects, Engineering Research Centers (ERCs), Alliances for Graduate Education and the Professoriate (AGEP); ADVANCE: Organizational Change for Gender Equity in STEM Academic Professions, Historically Black Colleges and Universities Undergraduate Program (HBCU-UP), and Improving Undergraduate STEM Education (IUSE) projects; Broadening Participation in Computing (BPC) Alliances; Advancing Informal STEM Learning (AISL), Innovative Experiences in Science and Technology (ITEST), and Discovery Research in K-12 (DRK-12) projects; engineering education projects)

• Federal Coordination in STEM (FC-STEM) agencies,

• Broadening participation research efforts, and

• Organizations that support the development of talent from all sectors of society to build an inclusive STEM workforce.

Participation in the National Network is required of NSF INCLUDES-funded projects and strongly encouraged for other related projects/organizations that work toward similar goals. The NSF INCLUDES National Network is supported by the Hub (www.includesnetwork.org), an NSF-funded entity that provides a framework for communication and networking, network assistance and reinforcement, and visibility and expansion for the NSF INCLUDES National Network. The Hub leads and supports the National Network, working to (1) facilitate the sharing of promising practices and data for broadening participation in STEM, (2) contribute to the knowledge base on broadening participation in STEM through research, and (3) establish a framework for communications and networking among partners, as well as across the National Network.

A.2. Purposes and Uses of the Data/Information
This collection will provide the Hub and the National Science Foundation (NSF) with a better understanding of the health, development and expansion of the NSF INCLUDES National Network and the capacity and coordination needs that the Hub can address through its efforts.

A2.1 Who Will Use the Information

The information collected is primarily for the use of the Hub to understand the utility of the Network in supporting individual project successes, and for informing design decisions the Hub will make regarding future programming and support provided to Network members. This information will be used by the Hub to refine its activities in support of the Network and to track the evolution of the NSF National Network. Aggregated findings will be shared with NSF and the National Network as part of information about Network development. NSF will use aggregated findings in presentations to directorates and offices within NSF, as well as in meetings with stakeholders, such as the Committee on Equal Opportunities in Science and Engineering (CEOSE) and the National Science Board (NSB).

A.3. Use of Information Technology

The Hub takes the responsibility to minimize burden on respondents very seriously and designed this survey with that goal in mind. The information will be collected using web-based survey technology. By utilizing web-based survey technology using Survey Monkey for respondents, the Hub has eliminated the time required for respondents to return completed surveys by mail. The electronic nature of the National Network survey provides the most efficient mechanism for the Hub to capture responses. Skip patterns in the web-based survey move respondents past questions that are not relevant, based on responses to previous items, which minimizes burden on the respondent. The electronic survey, and all related communication, will be compliant with Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act.

Information technology will also be employed in the distribution of survey findings. Results will be shared annually via the Hub’s online community and website (includesnetwork.org) and via webinars.

A.4. Efforts to Identify Duplication

While NSF routinely collects information from funded projects through annual and evaluation reports, these reports do not apply to all NSF INCLUDES National Network members and do not include the range of questions that are part of the proposed survey to provide information on Network members’ experiences in the Network and the Network’s online community. The proposed survey would be the first to collect this information and make resulting, aggregate findings available to NSF INCLUDES National Network members. As such, there is no similar ongoing data collection being conducted that duplicates this proposed effort.

A.5. Methods Used to Minimize Burden on Small Businesses

There may be small business entities involved in this data collection, however, burden is limited to voluntary participation in the survey.

A.6. Consequences of Less Frequent Data Collection

This is a voluntary annual data collection. This information will provide the Hub and NSF with quantitative and qualitative measures to gain valuable insights into the development and health of the Network and ways in which the Hub can better serve the Network’s coordination needs.

Conducting the collection less frequently would impede the Hub’s and NSF’s ability to track the evolution of the Network and deprive Network members, their partners, and other interested parties of an opportunity to learn more about the contributions of the Network to broadening participation in STEM careers.

A.7. Special Circumstances

The proposed data collection activities are consistent with the guidelines set forth in 5 CFR 1320.6 (Controlling Paperwork Burden on the Public-General Information Collection Guidelines). There are no special circumstances that require deviation from these guidelines.

A.8. Consultations Outside the Agency

NSF received no public comments from the Federal Register notice dated June 15, 2020.¹

To help ensure rigor and credibility of the information collection, the Hub is engaging with its Internal Advisory Group (IAG) and Evaluator Affinity group to provide feedback on the design and implementation of the survey. The Hub will continue to engage with these groups during the analysis of data and dissemination of findings. The IAG is comprised of 12 members from the National Network with a breadth of experience in the broadening participation field. The IAG meets twice a year to provide feedback to the Hub on its efforts. The Evaluators Affinity group on the includesnetwork.org online community is comprised of local evaluators of NSF INCLUDES-funded projects who are also Network members. These two member groups provide perspective on the Network as a whole and its measurement priorities.

A.9. Payments or Gifts to Respondents

No payments or gifts will be given to respondents.

A.10. Assurance of Confidentiality

The Hub has policies and processes that ensure (1) review of projects for compliance to human subject protections, (2) protection of identifiable information from survey respondents to the maximum extent allowed by cooperative agreement obligations, and (3) communication to survey respondents, prior to data collection, any risks and the volunteer nature of participating in the evaluation.

The Hub is submitting the data collection for IRB review by Westat, one of the organizations that comprises the Hub. The IRB human subjects review will assess:

• the purpose of the data collection and data collection methods being used;

• the respondent populations and how they will be identified and accessed; whether the data will be anonymous, confidential, or neither, and if the data are confidential or neither, explanation of why identifiers are necessary;

• how data will be stored (e.g., electronic files, hard copies);

• who will have access to data and for how long; and

• potential risks and burdens of the project to participants.

At the beginning of the annual information collection, participants will receive written assurance that their participation is voluntary, that they can opt out at any time, that their individual responses will not be reported except in aggregate and without personally identifiable information (PII), and that any information shared outside of the Hub will not link their responses to their individual or organizational identities. In written summaries, results will be reported in aggregate form only. No statistics for disaggregated groups with less than 10 responses will be reported.

Findings will not contain PII—such as name or address of respondents or their organizational affiliation—that could permit disclosure or identification of respondents, directly or by inference. The Hub will destroy all personally identifiable information at the end of the Hub’s funding period.

A.11. Justification for Sensitive Questions

The survey does not include sensitive questions. PII collected will include individuals’ affiliated organizations and home states. These PII are collected primarily to categorize responses based on respondents’ roles in the NSF INCLUDES National Network. PII will be accessed only by the Hub. Any public reporting of data will be in aggregate form, and any PII will be removed.

A.12. Estimates of Hour Burden to Respondents/Table

Table 1 provides burden estimates for survey respondents. NSF INCLUDES-funded projects will complete both Part A and Part B of the survey (approximately 1200 of the 1500 Network members are anticipated to be NSF INCLUDES awardees). The remainder of respondents are anticipated to not be recipients of NSF INCLUDES funding (~300) and will only complete Part A.

Table 1. Burden Estimates for Survey Respondents

Type of Collection	Category of Respondent	No. of Respondents	Participation Time	Annual Burden Estimate
National Network Survey, Part A only for Network members who are not NSF INCLUDES grantees	All non-NSF INCLUDES-funded Network members as identified by the Hub’s membership list.	~300	10 minutes	~50 hours
National Network Survey, Part A and B for NSF INCLUDES-funded project teams only	Staff from NSF INCLUDES-funded projects participating in the Network only including principal investigators, project directors, evaluators, and other key staff on NSF INCLUDES-funded projects	~1200	25 minutes (max)	~500 hours
Total Estimated Respondent Burden Hours Annually				~550 hours

A.13. Estimates of Cost Burden to Respondents

Cost estimates are based on average associate professor salary as reported by the American Association of University Professors (https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2018/04/11/aaups-annual-report-faculty-compensation-takes-salary-compression-and-more). The average associate professor salary is $81,274 annually/ $40.48 hourly.

For respondents completing Part A only (n=~300), burden is 10 minutes per respondent, yielding the estimated total cost of $2,025, or $6.75 per respondent.

For respondents completing both Parts A and B of the survey (n=~1200), burden is 25 minutes total per respondent, yielding the estimated total cost of $20,232 or $16.86 per respondent.

A.14. Estimates of Cost to Federal Government

This effort is accounted for in the NSF INCLUDES Coordination Hub award. In the award budget, the Hub allotted $17,500 for design and administration of the survey.

A.15. Reason for Program Changes or Cost Adjustments

This is a new information collection request.

A.16. Project Plan and Timeline

The National Network survey will be administered annually starting in 2020. The survey will be deployed via Survey Monkey, an online survey platform. Data from the survey will be analyzed descriptively using frequencies and measures of central tendency and dispersion to show patterns. Aggregated results will be shared with the Network annually within four months of the completion of data collection, beginning in 2021.

A.17. Request to Not Display Expiration Date

The Hub will display the expiration date of OMB approval and OMB approval number on all instruments associated with this information collection, including forms and questionnaires.

A.18. Exceptions to the Certification

No exceptions are necessary for this information collection.

1 https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2020/06/15/2020-12865/agency-information-collection-activities-comment-request-nsf-includes-national-network-survey

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