CDFI and MDI Participation in SBA Capital Programs Lender Survey

Request for Approval under the “Generic Clearance for Formative Data Collections for Evaluation, Research, and Evidence-Building”

(OMB Control Number: 3245-0425)

TITLE OF INFORMATION COLLECTION CDFI and MDI Participation in SBA Capital Programs Lender Survey

PURPOSE OF THE COLLECTION:

This data collection effort is part of the Community Development Financial Institution and Minority Depository Institution Lender Participation in U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) Capital Programs evaluation. The SBA’s goal to increase capital access to underserved and minority-owned small businesses requires a deeper examination of the attractors, facilitators, and barriers that influence lenders’ participation. This evaluation focuses on Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) and Minority Depository Institutions (MDIs) participation in 7 (a) loan, Community Advantage (CA), Microloan, 504 Certified Development Company (CDC) loan programs and the Lender Match platform. The evaluation findings will enhance the SBA’s understanding of why some CDFIs and MDIs participate in SBA programs, but others do not. The findings will be used to inform the delivery of targeted assistance and improve internal decision-making.

TYPE OF COLLECTION ACTIVITY: (Check one)

[X] Survey/ questionnaire [ ] Cognitive interview

[ ] Focus group/small group discussion [ ] User testing

[ ] Interviews [ ] Observation/field study

[ ] Other: _____________

CERTIFICATION:

I certify the following to be true:

1. The collections are voluntary.

2. The collection is low burden for respondents and low-cost for the Federal Government.

3. The collections are non-controversial and do not raise issues of concern to other Federal agencies.

4. 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 near future.

5. Personally identifiable information (PII) is collected only to the extent necessary and is not retained.

6. Information gathered is intended to be used for general service improvement and program management purposes.

7. Summaries and aggregate results may be included in public-facing evaluation or similar report.

8. Information gathered will not be used for the purpose of substantially informing influential policy decisions.

Name: Katherine Aaby

Title: Associate Administrator, OPPCFO

All instruments used to collect information must include:

OMB Control No. 3245-0425

Expiration Date: 10/31/2025

DESCRIPTION OF THIS SPECIFIC COLLECTION

To assist review, please provide answers to the following question:

1. Administration of the Instrument

1. How will you collect the information? (Check all that apply)

[X] Web-based or other forms of Social Media

[ ] Telephone or other audio technology

[ ] Video

[ ] In-person

[ ] Mail

[ ] Other ____

2. Will interviewers or facilitators be used? [ ] Yes [ X ] No

2. Description of respondents/participants

The web survey covers current and potential lenders from CDFI and/or MDI organizations. A list of approximately 1,700 CDFI and MDI lender organizations was developed using the list of current SBA lenders and publicly available information from the CDFI Fund, FDIC, and NCUA. If point of contact information is missing from the source, web lookups will be used to identify contact information.

Based on the limited universe size of lenders, no sampling will be conducted for the survey data collection, rather, we will administer surveys to the full universe. Given the expected response rate of 25% for current SBA lenders and 15% response rate for potential SBA lenders, approximately 330 completed surveys are expected.

3. Activity timeframe

Survey data collection will occur in March and April of 2023.

4. Collection procedures

The web survey was pretested via cognitive interviews with six lenders. The web surveys took approximately 30 minutes on average to complete, and the pretest participants responded positively to the overall nature and purpose of the surveys. Feedback from the testing was used to refine and simplify the survey, while proving coverage of relevant content and specific response options for the items.

Web surveys will be administered and tracked via the Qualtrics web-based data collection system. The web surveys will be self-administered using the individualized link for each respondent. The web survey is expected to take about 30 minutes to complete.

The web survey data collection process will use the following materials:

• An introductory e-mail.

• A recruitment e-mail with an individualized link to the web survey.

• Up to eight reminder e-mails with the individualized link to the web survey.

• Up to two reminder telephone calls during the final week of data collection.

5. Provide the question list (Submit all instruments, instructions, and scripts with this request).

The data collection instruments are provided in the following attachments: 

• Attachment A – CDFI MDI Lender Survey Introduction Email

• Attachment B – CDFI MDI Lender Survey Recruitment Email

• Attachment C – CDFI MDI Lender Survey and Consent Form

• Attachment D – CDFI MDI Lender Survey Reminder Email

• Attachment E – CDFI MDI Lender Survey Reminder Phone Script

6. Use and dissemination of the results

Survey responses will identify the key attractors, facilitators, and barriers influencing CDFI and MDI lenders’ participation in the SBA’s four selected capital programs and the Lender Match platform. The findings will enhance the SBA’s understanding of CDFI and MDI lender participation in the four loan programs and lender match. The findings will be used to improve internal decision-making and inform program delivery aimed at increasing access to the SBA’s capital programs. The aggregated results will be shared in an evaluation report, briefings, and fact sheet.

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

If Yes, describe:

BURDEN HOUR COMPUTATIONS

The overall burden of the survey data collection is estimated to be 165 hours. The participation time includes completion of the web survey and all data collection materials (introduction, invitation, and reminder emails, and phone call reminders).

Category of Respondent	Number of Respondents	Participation Time (minutes)	Burden Hours
Private sector	330	30	165

BURDEN COST COMPUTATION

The respondent cost burden for the data collection is estimated to be $8,081.70. The cost burden with lenders is based on the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics median hourly wage of $48.98 for General and Operations Managers in Credit Intermediation and Related Activities.

Category of Respondent	Number of Respondents	Burden Hours	Hourly Rate	Total Estimated Cost
Private sector	330	165	$48.98	$8,081.70

FEDERAL COST:

The federal government's annualized cost is $19,233, which includes 40 hours for a GS-14 evaluator, 30 hours for a GS-15 manager, and $15,381 for an independent third-party contractor.

REQUESTED APPROVAL DATE: March 3, 2023

ICR REQUEST CONTACT:

Name: Shay Meinzer

Title: Lead Program Evaluator

Telephone Number: (202) 539-1429

Email Address: [email protected]

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