Supporting Statement for 309-2_FINAL

Supporting Statement for Request for Approval under the Paperwork Reduction Act
Section A. JUSTIFICATION
1.
The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is required
to collect information for reporting purposes to Congress and the Office of Acquisition and
Assistance (OAA) Contract Administration. USAID’s statutory and regulatory authority to
enter into personal services contracts is contained in the Foreign Assistance Act, Pub. L.
87-195 (Section 621), as amended; the Annual Foreign Operations Appropriations; 48 CFR
37.104, Personal Services Contracts; 48 CFR Ch. 7, Appendix D, Direct USAID Contracts
with a U.S. Citizen or a U.S. Resident Alien for Personal Services Abroad; and 48 CFR Ch.
7, Appendix J, Direct USAID Contracts with a Cooperating Country National and with a
Third Country National for Personal Services Abroad. Information is being collected in this
manner due to concerns regarding the traditional method of solicitation via the OF 612 and
SF 171. Prior to 2009, complaints were made to USAID’s General Counsel (GC) and Equal
Opportunity Office (EEO) regarding age, gender, and other information categories required
on other forms. These issues were addressed and resolved with AID Form 302-3, which
was subsequently revised and renumbered to AID Form 309-2 to correspond to applicable
ADS chapter 309.
2.
USAID uses this form to collect information from offerors applying for personal
services contractor (PSC) opportunities and to determine the most qualified offeror for
award of a PSC contract. Previous collection was approved under OMB control number
0412-0579. However, this form expired on May 31, 2021. This is a request for
reinstatement, without change, of a previously approved collection for which approval has
expired.
3.
USAID encourages the use of facsimiles, internet, or other electronic
technology and has converted most of its forms to electronic format; this form is
available through the USAID internet website. Most of the AIDAR information
collections can be and are handled electronically, either through electronic mail
or by facsimile. We are continually reviewing the AIDAR to simplify the
submission requirements, wherever possible.
4.
This information is not collected anywhere else in the information process.
While applicants do have to certify that they are not on The List of Parties
Excluded from Federal Procurement and Non-procurement Programs, not all of
the individuals and organizations identified by Executive Order 13224 have been
specifically included on the list.
5.
Not applicable - this information collection does not impact small
businesses or other small entities.
6.
The consequences of not collecting this information via the proposed form
would be mismanagement of U.S. Government personnel and funds. In order to
solicit information and ensure equitable treatment of all offerors, the information
on the form must be collected and maintained in a database. Failure to capture

and store this information could result in perceived or actual unfair evaluation of
offerors’ qualifications and related allegations of discrimination. It is not possible
to reduce or eliminate this information collection as this information is critical to
determining the most qualified offeror for any given PSC contract. Additionally,
failure to capture and utilize this information to award PSC contracts in a timely
fashion could delay or lead to the cancellation of agency programs or internal
activities.
7.
This is the offeror information form providing compensation, contact,
education, work experience, and other qualifications information relevant to a
PSC contract opportunity. Offerors are often required to submit a written
response to PSC contract solicitations and submit this form in fewer than 30 days
to meet Agency staffing needs.
8.
Notice of this information collection was published in the Federal Register
on June 24, 2021, Volume 86, Page 33206. USAID received no comments in
response to this previous notice.
9.
Not applicable - no payments or gifts are offered or provided to
respondents.
10.

There is no assurance of confidentiality.

11.

There are no questions of a sensitive nature.

12.
The estimated number of respondents per year is 12,600. We estimate it
takes one hour to complete the form, for an annual burden of 12,600 hours. The
hour burden estimate is based on the average number of PSC awards made
over the past three years, which is 600. The average number of offers received
for each solicitation is 21. Therefore, the total number of offers received is 600 x
21 = 12,600. Most respondents are individuals from various sources submitting
offers for positions that have an average salary equivalent to a GS 13, step 5,
which currently equals $56.31/hr. Therefore, the total annual cost to respondents
averages $709,506.
The average salary of an offeror is:
Salary per hour (GS 13, step 5, DC locality)

$56.31

Hours to prepare 12,600 forms
at one hour each

x 12,600

Est. cost for preparation by offerors:

$709,506

There are no additional mailing costs for these forms; they are submitted

electronically.
13. There are no start-up or maintenance costs.
14. We estimate the annual cost to the Federal Government to be approximately
$149,153 per year based on the following breakdowns:
Review the application and ensure it has been signed
GS 12, step 5 hourly rate (DC locality)
$47.35
Hours to review 12,600 forms
at 15 minutes each
Total for the Federal Government:

x 3,150
$149,153

15. The hourly burden and cost estimates for offerors and for the Federal
Government have been adjusted based on: (a) minimal changes to the average
number of PSC offerors responding to solicitations over the past three years and
(b) hourly rates that have been adjusted for inflation based on the current GS
schedule.
16. The results of this information collection requirement will not be published.
17. Not applicable - we are not seeking approval to not display the expiration
date on the form.
18. No exceptions are taken to the provisions of item 19 of OMB Form 83-1.