Government Contracting Certification Customer Experience Interviews

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: Government Contracting Certification Customer Experience Interviews

PURPOSE OF THE COLLECTION:

This data collection is part of the SBA’s Government Contracting Certification Customer Experience Evaluation, which seeks to understand the customer experience of Government Contracting program applicants and participants. This data collection will be used to better understand the application, certification, and recertification process for participants of the 8(a), Historically Underutilized Business Zone (HUBZone), and Women Owned Small Business (WOSB) Federal Contracting Programs. It will elucidate the reasons for positive or negative customer experiences, trends and variations amongst programs and demographic groups, and potential technology, customer service, and process changes to improve overall customer experiences. The SBA will use the information we collect from these interviews to help improve the application, certification, and recertification process for individuals participating in the 8(a), HUBZone, and WOSB programs.

TYPE OF COLLECTION ACTIVITY: (Check one)

[ ] Survey/ questionnaire [ ] Cognitive interview

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

[ X ] 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 for 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)

[ ] Web-based or other forms of Social Media

[ X ] Telephone or other audio technology

[ X ] Microsoft Teams

[ ] In-person

[ ] Mail

[ ] Other _________________________

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

2. Description of respondents/participants

Applicants, participants, and recertified participants across the three certification programs will be interviewed, with a total of up to 36 interviews conducted. 2M is selecting a purposeful sample from a population frame of program participants with an emphasis on recent pending applications, recent certifications, and recertifications up to three years old. The objective for selection is to obtain a diverse mix of program customers, not a statistically representative sample. 2M will recruit from a wide range of demographic groups that are available in program participant files, including gender, race, ethnicity, veteran status, business location, and industry. After developing a sampling frame of data elements for each program, we will run descriptive and grouping statistics (e.g., cluster analysis) and pull a random sample among records in clusters to provide extensive coverage of demographic characteristics available in the sample.

3. Activity timeframe

Interviews will be conducted via MS Teams or telephone during the Spring and Summer of 2023.

4. Collection procedures

After developing the purposive sample, a member of the evaluation team will contact each of the participants via email or telephone to schedule an interview. We anticipate the interviews to be semi-structured and last up to 60 minutes. An experienced interviewer will conduct each interview using MS Teams or via telephone. The contractor will request permission from interviewees to audio record the interviews for transcription and analysis.

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

See Attachment, which contains:

• Interview Guide

• Email Recruitment Introduction

• Email Recruitment Invitation

• Scheduling Email

• Telephone Recruitment Invitation

• Email Interview Reminder

6. Use and dissemination of the results

The SBA will use the information we collect from these interviews to help improve the application, certification, and recertification process for the 8(a), HUBZone, and WOSB programs. The contractor will identify common themes from the interviews and report results in a report, briefings, and in fact sheets.

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 COMPUTATION

Category of Respondent	No. of Respondents	Participation Time (Minutes)	Burden Hours
Individuals: management-level staff from businesses applying for/participating in/recertifying for the 8(a)/WOSB/HUBZone programs	36	60	36
Totals	36	60	36

BURDEN COST COMPUTATION

Respondent cost estimates are based on the Bureau of Labor Statistics May 2021 median wage for management occupations of $49.25 per hour.

Category of Respondent	No. of Respondents	Hourly Rate	Response Time (Hours)	Total Estimated Cost
Individuals: management-level staff from businesses applying for/participating in/recertifying for the 8(a)/WOSB/HUBZone programs	36	$49.25	1	$1,773.00
Totals	36	$49.25	1	$1,773.00

FEDERAL COST: The estimated annual cost to the Federal government is $34,061.16, which includes 40 hours for a GS-14 evaluator ($2,554.00), 5 hours for a GS-15 manager ($374.30), and research support by the contractor, 2M ($31,132.86). The estimate for Federal employee cost is based off a 2023 federal pay schedule for personnel located in the DC area.

OTHER SUPPORTING INFORMATION

REQUESTED APPROVAL DATE: 3/23/23

ICR REQUEST CONTACT:

Name: Lisa Hechtman

Title: Lead Program Evaluator

Telephone Number: 202-798-5857

Email Address: [email protected]

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