60_Day_Pretesting_and_Procedures_for_Evaluation_Research_and_Evidence_Building

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Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 49 / Tuesday, March 14, 2023 / Notices
individuals are both permitted. Only
one nomination per individual is
required. Multiple nominations for the
same individual will not increase
likelihood of selection. Non-federal
public members may be selected from
the pool of submitted nominations or
other sources as needed to meet
statutory requirements and to form a
balanced committee that represents the
diversity within the muscular dystrophy
communities. Nominations are
especially encouraged from leaders or
representatives of muscular dystrophy
research, advocacy, or service
organizations, as well as individuals
with muscular dystrophy or their
parents or guardians. In accordance
with White House Office of
Management and Budget guidelines (FR
Doc. 2014–19140), federally-registered
lobbyists are not eligible.
Committee Composition: The
Department strives to ensure that the
membership of HHS Federal advisory
committees is fairly balanced in terms of
points of view represented and the
committee’s function. Every effort is
made to ensure that the views of all
genders, all ethnic and racial groups,
and people with disabilities are
represented on HHS Federal advisory
committees and, therefore, the
Department encourages nominations of
qualified candidates from these groups.
The Department also encourages
geographic diversity in the composition
of the Committee. Appointment to this
Committee shall be made without
discrimination on the basis of age, race,
ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation,
disability, and cultural, religious, or
socioeconomic status. Requests for
reasonable accommodation to enable
participation on the Committee should
be indicated in the nomination
submission.
Member Terms: Non-Federal public
members of the Committee serve for a
term of three years and may serve for an
unlimited number of terms if
reappointed. Members may serve after
the expiration of their terms, until their
successors have taken office.
Meetings and Travel: As specified by
Public Law 113–166, the MDCC ‘‘shall
meet no fewer than two times per
calendar year.’’ Travel expenses are
provided for non-federal public
Committee members to facilitate
attendance at in-person meetings.
Members are expected to make every
effort to attend all full committee
meetings, twice per year, either in
person or via remote access.
Participation in relevant subcommittee,
working and planning group meetings,
and workshops, is also encouraged.

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Submission Instructions and
Deadline: Nominations are due by 5:00
p.m. EDT on April 28, 2023, and should
be sent to Glen Nuckolls, Ph.D., by
email to [email protected].
Nominations must include contact
information for the nominee, a current
curriculum vitae or resume of the
nominee, and a paragraph describing
the qualifications of the person to
represent some portion(s) of the
muscular dystrophy research, advocacy,
and/or patient care communities.
More information about the MDCC is
available at https://mdcc.nih.gov/.
Dated: March 8, 2023.
Walter J. Koroshetz,
Director, National Institute of Neurological
Disorders and Stroke, National Institutes of
Health.

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93.846–93.878, 93.892, 93.893, National
Institutes of Health, HHS)
Dated: March 9, 2023.
Melanie J. Pantoja,
Program Analyst, Office of Federal Advisory
Committee Policy.
[FR Doc. 2023–05213 Filed 3–13–23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4140–01–P

DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND
SECURITY
[Docket Number DHS–2023–0012]

Agency Information Collection
Activities: Generic Clearance for
Pretesting Instruments and
Procedures for Evaluation, Research,
and Evidence Building

BILLING CODE 4140–01–P

Department of Homeland
Security (DHS).
ACTION: 60-Day notice and request for
comments.

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND
HUMAN SERVICES

SUMMARY:

[FR Doc. 2023–05177 Filed 3–13–23; 8:45 am]

National Institutes of Health
Center for Scientific Review; Notice of
Closed Meeting
Pursuant to section 10(d) of the
Federal Advisory Committee Act, as
amended, notice is hereby given of the
following meeting.
The meeting will be closed to the
public in accordance with the
provisions set forth in sections
552b(c)(4) and 552b(c)(6), Title 5 U.S.C.,
as amended. The grant applications and
the discussions could disclose
confidential trade secrets or commercial
property such as patentable material,
and personal information concerning
individuals associated with the grant
applications, the disclosure of which
would constitute a clearly unwarranted
invasion of personal privacy.
Name of Committee: Center for Scientific
Review Special Emphasis Panel; Stress,
Endocannabinoid Signaling, and Cocaine
Seeking Behavior.
Date: April 6, 2023.
Time: 2 to 5 p.m.
Agenda: To review and evaluate grant
applications.
Place: National Institutes of Health,
Rockledge II, 6701 Rockledge Drive,
Bethesda, MD 20892 (Virtual Meeting).
Contact Person: Simone Chebabo Weiner,
Ph.D., Scientific Review Officer, Center for
Scientific Review, National Institutes of
Health, 6701 Rockledge Drive, Room 1011K,
Bethesda, MD 20892, (301) 435–1042,
[email protected].
(Catalogue of Federal Domestic Assistance
Program Nos. 93.306, Comparative Medicine;
93.333, Clinical Research, 93.306, 93.333,
93.337, 93.393–93.396, 93.837–93.844,

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AGENCY:

The Department of Homeland
Security, will submit the following
Information Collection Request (ICR) to
the Office of Management and Budget
(OMB) for review and clearance in
accordance with the Paperwork
Reduction Act of 1995.
DATES: Comments are encouraged and
will be accepted until May 15, 2023.
This process is conducted in accordance
with 5 CFR 1320.1
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments,
identified by docket number Docket
#DHS–2023–0012, at:
Æ Federal eRulemaking Portal:
https://www.regulations.gov. Please
follow the instructions for submitting
comments.
Instructions: All submissions received
must include the agency name and
docket number Docket #DHS–2023–
0012. All comments received will be
posted without change to https://
www.regulations.gov, including any
personal information provided.
Docket: For access to the docket to
read background documents or
comments received, go to https://
www.regulations.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The U.S.
Department of Homeland Security
(DHS) intends to request approval from
OMB for a generic clearance to pretest
data collection instruments and
procedures with more than nine
participants to identify and resolve any
question or procedural problems in
DHS’s survey administration. The
Generic Clearance for Pretesting
Instruments and Procedures for
Evaluation, Research, and EvidenceBuilding is a new information collection
request.

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Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 49 / Tuesday, March 14, 2023 / Notices

The DHS studies its programs, and the
populations they serve, through rigorous
evaluation, research, and evidencebuilding activities. These include
evaluations of existing programs,
evaluations of innovative approaches to
allow the Agency to respond to its
evolving threat environment with
effective strategies and operations that
ensure a safe, secure, and prosperous
Homeland, research syntheses, and
descriptive and exploratory studies. To
improve the development of its surveys
used in evaluation, research, and
evidence-building activities, the DHS
intends to pretest data collection
instruments and procedures through a
variety of techniques including
cognitive and usability laboratory and
field techniques, behavior coding,
exploratory interviews, respondent
debriefing questionnaires, split sample
experiments, focus groups, and pilot
studies/pretests. These activities will
allow the DHS to identify if and when
a survey may be simplified for
respondents, respondent burden may be
reduced, and other possible
improvements.
The DHS will use the results of
information collections internally to
inform subsequent information
collection requests. The information
collected is not intended to be used as
the principal basis for a decision by a
federal decision-maker and is not
expected to meet the threshold of
influential or highly influential
scientific information.
The DHS will test a variety of
instruments and procedures under this
clearance. The exact nature of the
instruments and the samples is
dependent on each individual project
and details will be provided for each
individual information collection
requests submitted. The particular
samples included in future generic
information collection requests will
vary based on the content of the
instrument being tested. The DHS and
its contractors will collect information
electronically and/or use online
collaboration tools, as appropriate, to
reduce the burden. Specific information
regarding the use of technology will be
submitted with each individual
information collection request.
Following standard OMB requirements,
the DHS will submit a change request
for each individual data collection
activity under this generic clearance.
Each request will include the individual
instrument(s), a justification specific to
the individual information collection,
and any supplementary documents.
OMB should review within 10 days of
receiving each change request.

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Respondents include participants in
DHS programs being evaluated;
participants in DHS pilots and
demonstrations; recipients of DHS
grants and individuals served by DHS
grantees; comparison group members;
and other relevant populations, such as
individuals eligible for DHS services.
Small business or other small entities
may be involved in these efforts but the
DHS will minimize the burden on them
of information collections approved
under this clearance by sampling,
asking for readily available information,
and using short, easy-to-complete
information collection instruments.
This may include one-time collections
or iterative testing, based on the specific
situation. In all cases, without the
proposed information collection
activities, the quality of the data
collected for DHS studies would suffer.
Pretesting of the scale envisioned here
would not be done under other
circumstances due to the time
constraints of seeking clearance for each
individual survey’s pretesting plan. The
efficient and timely pretesting and
piloting efforts allow feedback to
contribute directly to more targeted and
improved study designs. Conversely, the
failure to engage in pretesting and pilot
data collection limits the DHS’s ability
to improve the quality of evidence about
programs, pilots, initiatives, and
services while reducing administrative
burden to the public.
If the Privacy Act does apply to a
collection, the DHS will provide a
Privacy Act statement, System of Record
Notices (SORN), or other associated
documentation, as appropriate.
Participation in any formative data
collection effort will be voluntary, and
personally identifiable information will
only be collected to the extent
necessary. Respondents will be
informed of all planned data uses, that
their participation is voluntary, and that
their information will be kept private to
the extent permitted by law. All data
collection shall protect respondent
privacy to the extent permitted by law
and will comply with all Federal and
Agency regulations for private
information. If a confidentiality pledge
is deemed necessary, the Agency will
only include a pledge of confidentiality
supported by authority established in
statute or regulation, supported by
disclosure and data security policies
that are consistent with the pledge.
The primary purpose of data collected
under this generic clearance is not for
publication. However, because the
pretesting and piloting data collection
efforts are intended to inform the DHS’s
decision-making related to evidencebuilding and programmatic activities,

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results of these methodological studies
may be made public through
methodological appendices or footnotes,
reports on instrument development,
instrument user guides, descriptions of
respondent behavior, and other
publications or presentations describing
findings of methodological interest. The
results of these pretesting activities may
be prepared for presentation at
professional meetings or publication in
professional journals. Although not
anticipated, the DHS may receive
requests to release the information (e.g.,
congressional inquiry, Freedom of
Information Act requests) and will
disseminate the findings when
appropriate, following the Agency’s
guidelines. Results will be labeled as
exploratory in nature and any
limitations will be described.
The Office of Management and Budget
is particularly interested in comments
which:
1. Evaluate whether the proposed
collection of information is necessary
for the proper performance of the
functions of the agency, including
whether the information will have
practical utility;
2. Evaluate the accuracy of the
agency’s estimate of the burden of the
proposed collection of information,
including the validity of the
methodology and assumptions used;
3. Enhance the quality, utility, and
clarity of the information to be
collected; and
4. Minimize the burden of the
collection of information on those who
are to respond, including through the
use of appropriate automated,
electronic, mechanical, or other
technological collection techniques or
other forms of information technology,
e.g., permitting electronic submissions
of responses.
Analysis
Agency: Department of Homeland
Security (DHS).
Title: Generic Clearance for Pretesting
Instruments and Procedures for
Evaluation, Research, and Evidence
Building.
OMB Number: OMB Control Number.
Frequency: One-time collections or
iterative testing, based on the specific
situation.
Affected Public: Participants in DHS
programs being evaluated; participants
in DHS pilots and demonstrations;
recipients of DHS grants and
individuals served by DHS grantees;
comparison group members; and other
relevant populations, such as
individuals eligible for DHS services.
Number of Respondents: 3,590.

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Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 49 / Tuesday, March 14, 2023 / Notices
Estimated Time per Respondent: 64
minutes.
Total Burden Hours: 3,825.
Robert Dorr,
Executive Director, Business Management
Directorate.
[FR Doc. 2023–05132 Filed 3–13–23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 9112–FL–P

DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND
SECURITY
[Docket Number DHS–2023–0011]

Agency Information Collection
Activities: Generic Clearance for
Formative Data Collections for
Evaluation, Research, and Evidence
Building
Department of Homeland
Security (DHS).
ACTION: 60-Day notice and request for
comments.
AGENCY:

The Department of Homeland
Security, will submit the following
Information Collection Request (ICR) to
the Office of Management and Budget
(OMB) for review and clearance in
accordance with the Paperwork
Reduction Act of 1995.
DATES: Comments are encouraged and
will be accepted until May 15, 2023.
This process is conducted in accordance
with 5 CFR 1320.1.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments,
identified by docket number Docket
#DHS–2023–0011, at:
Æ Federal eRulemaking Portal:
https://www.regulations.gov. Please
follow the instructions for submitting
comments.
Instructions: All submissions received
must include the agency name and
docket number Docket #DHS–2023–
0011. All comments received will be
posted without change to https://
www.regulations.gov, including any
personal information provided.
Docket: For access to the docket to
read background documents or
comments received, go to https://
www.regulations.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The U.S.
Department of Homeland Security
(DHS) intends to request approval from
OMB for a generic clearance to design
and conduct formative studies with
more than nine participants that inform
the DHS’s evaluation, research, and
evidence-building activities. The
Generic Clearance for Formative Data
Collections for Evaluation, Research,
and Evidence Building is a new
information collection request.
The DHS anticipates undertaking
various new evaluation, research, and

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SUMMARY:

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evidence-building activities related to
the priority questions identified in the
Agency’s Learning Agenda and Annual
Evaluation Plans. The evidence-building
activities include formative evaluations
of existing programs, process, and new
initiatives; logic model development
and testing; process or journey mapping;
research syntheses; survey,
questionnaire, and metric development;
analysis; and foundational fact-finding
through descriptive and exploratory
studies. Pursuant to Executive Orders
13985, Advancing Racial Equity and
Support for Underserved Communities
Through the Federal Government, and
14058, Transforming Federal Customer
Experience and Service Delivery to
Rebuild Trust in Government, the DHS
continuously seeks to ensure that the
Agency’s programs are effective,
designed and delivered in a manner all
people can navigate, reach underserved
communities, promote equitable
delivery of services, and meet
customers’ needs. In accordance with
the DHS’s commitment to advancing
equity, improving service delivery, and
promoting trust, the information
collected under this generic clearance is
necessary to enable the Agency to gather
customer and stakeholder feedback in a
timely and efficient manner.
Under this generic clearance, the DHS
would engage in a variety of formative
and exploratory data collections with
DHS grantees, program and potential
program providers and participants,
researchers, practitioners, and other
stakeholders to fulfill the following
goals:
• maintain a rigorous and relevant
evaluation and research agenda,
• inform the development of the
DHS’s evidence-building activities,
• inform the delivery of targeted
assistance and workflows related to
program and grantee processes,
• inform the development and
refinement of recordkeeping and
communication systems,
• plan for provision of programmatic
or evidence-capacity-related training or
technical assistance,
• obtain grantee or stakeholder input
on the development or refinement of
program logic models, evaluations, and
performance measures,
• test activities to strengthen
programs, and
• preparation for summative
evaluations.
The formative studies will collect data
using well-established methodologies,
including but not limited to semistructured small group discussions or
focus groups, questionnaires and
surveys, observation, interviews, and
cognitive interviews and user testing

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(e.g., in-person, video, and audio
collections). The data collected will be
used to improve internal decisionmaking, such as improvements of
program management and the delivery
of products and services, and to inform
future studies but will not be highly
systematic nor intended to be
statistically representative. The data
collection efforts are also not intended
to produce influential information that
is expected to have a genuinely clear
and substantial impact on major policy
decisions.
The DHS will conduct a variety of
formative studies under this clearance.
The exact nature of the instruments and
the samples is dependent on each
individual project and details will be
provided for each individual
information collection requests
submitted. The DHS and its contractors
will collect information electronically
and/or use online collaboration tools, as
appropriate, to reduce the burden.
Specific information regarding the use
of technology will be submitted with
each individual information collection
request. Following standard OMB
requirements, the DHS will submit a
change request for each individual data
collection activity under this generic
clearance. Each request will include the
data collection method, sampling
strategy, a copy of the individual
instruments or questionnaires,
recruitment materials, protocols, and as
appropriate, other supplementary
materials describing the project. OMB
should review within 10 days of
receiving each change request.
Respondents include DHS grantees,
program and potential program
providers and participants, researchers,
practitioners, and other stakeholder
groups involved in DHS programs,
experts in fields pertaining to DHS
evaluation and research, or others
involved in conducting DHS evaluation,
research, or evidence-building projects.
Small business or other small entities
may be involved in these efforts but the
DHS will minimize the burden on them
of information collections approved
under this clearance by sampling,
asking for readily available information,
and using short, easy-to-complete
information collection instruments.
The DHS anticipates that all data
information collected under this generic
clearance will involve a one-time data
collection. However, if a data collection
effort involved a more frequent
collection, the rationale and detail will
be provided in the individual
information collection request. These
data collections will allow for
collaborative, ongoing, and actionable
communications between the Agency

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