3245-0398 Boots to Business Virtual Delivery Instructor Interview 1-27-2022

Request for Approval under the “Generic Clearance for the Collection of
Qualitative Feedback on SBA Service Delivery” (OMB Control Number: 32450398)
TITLE OF INFORMATION COLLECTION: Boots to Business Virtual Delivery Instructor
Interview
PURPOSE:
The Small Business Administration (SBA) implements Boots to Business (B2B) program, an
entrepreneurship program for servicemembers transitioning to civilian life. Due to the COVID19 pandemic, in FY 2020 B2B shifted from an in-person, two-day classroom course to an
instructor-led virtual offering to continue serving service members transitioning to civilian life.
This change in format delivery allowed the continued service and increased access to those
otherwise underserved by removing barriers to the physical location and in-person requirements
of the course. This formative data collection effort will help the SBA better understand the
instruction service delivery within the virtual environment from the instructor’s perspective. The
SBA will also conduct a survey, and the findings from this interview data collection along with
the findings from the Boots to Business Virtual Delivery Instructor Survey data collection will
contribute to the program’s continuous improvement efforts and inform effort to increase the
effectiveness of the B2B virtual training.
DESCRIPTION OF RESPONDENTS:
Respondents are B2B instructors who are employed by the SBA or by SBA grantees, such as
Veterans Business Outreach Centers, Small Business Development Centers, Women’s Business
Centers, SCORE, and the Institute for Veterans and Military Families.
TYPE OF COLLECTION: (Check one)
[ ] Customer Comment Card/Complaint Form
[ ] Usability Testing (e.g., Website or Software)
[ ] Focus Group

[ ] Customer Satisfaction Survey
[ ] Small Discussion Group
[ X] Other: _Interview________

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 aggregate results may be disseminated as part of the evaluation report.
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:__Kate Aaby______________________________________________

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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
Individual

No. of
Participation
Respondents Time
18
30 min

Burden
(hours)
9.0

Totals

18

9.0

30 min

FEDERAL COST: The estimated annual cost to the Federal government is $22,026.45, which
includes 40 hours for a GS-14 evaluator, 5 hours for a GS-15 manager, and $19,330 for an
independent third-party contractor.
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
If the answer is yes, please provide a description of both below (or attach the sampling plan)? If
the answer is no, please provide a description of how you plan to identify your potential group of
respondents and how you will select them?
Eighteen of the approximately 2,000 instructors who have taught B2B curriculum in the past two
years will be purposively selected to participate in an interview. Selection and recruitment efforts
will consider the number of courses and modules taught, program knowledge, availability, and
willingness to participate. The diversity of respondents across instructor types (SBA employee
and SBA grantee groups) and geographic locations will also be considered.
Two B2B instructors were consulted to pretest the interview instrument. The pretest participants
provided additional information on aspects of the data collection instrument including the clarity
of questions and additional data elements to record. Both responded positively to the overall
nature and purpose of the data collection effort.

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Administration of the Instrument
1. How will you collect the information? (Check all that apply)
[ X ] Web-based or other forms of Social Media
[ X ] Telephone
[ ] In-person
[ ] Mail
[ ] Other, Explain
2. Will interviewers or facilitators be used? [ X ] Yes [ ] No
Please make sure that all instruments, instructions, and scripts are submitted with the
request.
Attachments
• Attachment A: B2B Interview Recruitment Email
• Attachment B: B2B Semi-Structured Interview Guide
• Attachment C: B2B Interview Thank You Email

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