OMB Number 2539-XXXX
Expires: XX-XX-XXXX
Supporting Statement for Paperwork Reduction Act Submissions:
“Survey of Lead Hazard Reduction Program Grantees”
OMB #2539-New
Justification B
COLLECTIONS OF INFORMATION EMPLOYING STATISTICAL METHODS
The following text provides information on HUD’s planned survey of Lead Hazard Reduction Grantees. The information is organized to respond directly to the 5 itemized subsections of Section B (Collections of Information Employing Statistical Methods) of the Supporting Statement for Paperwork Reduction Act Submissions.
Describe (including a numerical estimate) the potential respondent universe and any sampling or other respondent selection methods to be used. Data on the number of entities (e.g., establishments, State and local government units, households, or persons) in the universe covered by the collection and in the corresponding sample are to be provided in tabular form for the universe as a whole and for each of the strata in the proposed sample. Indicate expected response rates for the collection as a whole. If the collection had been conducted previously, include the actual response rate achieved during the last collection.
The potential respondent universe for this survey is almost all active HUD OLHCHH Lead Hazard Reduction grantees as of October 2023. These 186 grants include the following categories: Lead-Based Paint Hazard Control (LBPHC) grants (75 grants) and Lead Hazard Reduction Demonstration (LHRD) grants (111 grants), but not the small number (7) of High-Impact Neighborhood (HIN) grants. Approximately 87 percent of the remaining LHR grants also have Healthy Homes Supplement funds which allow them to address home hazards other than lead-based paint hazards in homes in which they are controlling such hazards. Grants awarded in FY 2024 are excluded because they will be in their start-up phase and have completed few interventions. Of the 186 grants in the respondent universe; it is expected that the actual number surveyed may be less due to completion of older grants and possible early termination of other grants.
The survey will be conducted as a census of all approximately 186 grantees that were active in October 2023 and are still active at the start of the survey, and are not 2024 grants. A response rate of 85%–95% is expected1, in large part because grantees are required, as a condition of award, to cooperate with HUD research associated with this grant program.2
2. Describe the procedures for the collection of information including:
Statistical methodology for stratification and sample selection,
Estimation procedure,
Degree of accuracy needed for the purpose described in the justification,
Unusual problems requiring specialized sampling procedures,
Any use of periodic (less frequent than annual) data collection cycles to reduce burden.
All active LBPHC and LHRD grantees as of October 2022, that are active at the time of the start of the survey and are not 2023 or 2024 grants will be invited to participate, as discussed in the Study Overview segment of section 1.0.
2.1 Statistical Objectives
Descriptive statistics will be calculated summarizing the frequency of responses to each question in the survey. Verbatim responses to “Other-specify” questions will be categorized and summarized, as well as general comments on the survey. Relationships and correlations between important survey variables will be explored, for example correlations between the incidence of various lead and healthy homes hazards.
2.2 Data Collection Procedures
The questionnaire will be programmed in LimeSurvey3, a free and open source on-line statistical survey web app written in the PHP programming language, based on a MySQL, SQLite, PostgreSQL or MSSQL database, and distributed under the GNU General Public License. As web server-based software, it enables users using a web interface to develop and publish on-line surveys, collect responses, create statistics, and export the resulting data to other applications. The survey will be hosted on the QuanTech website4. A suitable, easily remembered, URL such as HUDLHRgranteesurvey.com5 will be assigned to the survey. The assigned URL will be covered under the QuanTech website’s Secured Socket Layer (SSL) certificate. SSL is a standard security technology for establishing an encrypted link between a server and a client, typically a web server (website) and a browser, or a mail server and a mail client (e.g., Outlook). It will ensure that the assigned URL is safe from cyberattacks and will identify the URL as a safe and secure site to the grantees6.
Each grantee will be assigned a unique ID allowing them access to the survey and to track their responses. They will be able to save an unfinished survey and return to it later using their ID. The survey URL and ID will be released by email. QuanTech staff will be available during normal business hours to provide support to the grantees during survey fielding, including, for example, content questions, browser issues, software problems.
Electronic delivery of and responding to the survey, with the features described above, will minimize respondent burden, promote high-quality data by preventing skip-pattern errors and omitted responses, and will minimize the need to contact respondents to clarify responses.
Describe methods to maximize response rates and to deal with issues of non-response. the accuracy and reliability of information collected must be shown to be adequate for intended uses. for collections based on sampling, a special justification must be provided for any collection that will not yield “reliable” data that can be generalized to the universe studied.
OLHCHH grantees must cooperate with HUD research efforts involving their work under their grant, as a condition of their grant award. Up to three email reminders will be sent to all grantees who have failed to respond. The first reminder will be 5 days after the email release, with the second a week later and the third one week after that7. The reminders will include the survey URL and the grantee’s unique ID and will emphasize the importance of HUD’s receiving complete data from all grantees. Grantees who have still not responded after the three email reminders will be contacted by phone to determine the reason for nonresponse, and to answer any questions or concerns they may have. If a response is still not forthcoming, the grantee will be referred to their grant’s Government Technical Representative (GTR) and/or Grant Officer at the OLHCHH for follow-up. QuanTech staff will be available during normal business hours to provide support to the grantees during survey fielding, including content questions, browser issues, and software problems. This system of reminders, support and follow-up should result in a very high survey response rate.
As described above, a detailed reminder protocol will be followed to minimize nonresponse. Since, as previously noted, the grantees are required to cooperate with the survey, a response rate of 85%–95% is expected1. Reasons for a small amount of nonresponse include grantees that have exhausted their funding or situations where staff familiar with grant operations have left the grantee’s employment. Of the grantee universe, 17 (10%) of the 169 grantees holding 196 grants have two grants. Although QuanTech and the OLHCHH will discuss with such grantees shortly after they have been sent the survey link the need for them to respond for each grant separately, some may not do so. In such cases, QuanTech and then, if necessary, the OLHCHH will remind such grantees of their obligation. Such minimal nonresponse is expected to have no impact on the validity of the data collected.
Describe any tests of procedures or methods to be undertaken. Testing is encouraged as an effective means of refining collections of information to minimize burden and improved utility. Tests must be approved if they call for answers to identical questions from 10 or more respondents. A proposed test or set of tests may be submitted for approval separately or in combination with the main collection of information.
A pilot test of the survey questionnaire, in both paper and electronic forms, was conducted with a group of 9 grantees who agreed to cooperate. The grantee feedback collected in the pilot included:
Errors or glitches encountered in the electronic questionnaire.
Ambiguous or unclear wording of questions.
Suggestions for additional questions that would provide useful information for the design of the new National Evaluation.
Possible additional responses for the picklists of responses.
The time taken to complete the questionnaire.
This information was used to improve and refine the questionnaire, and to estimate respondent burden.
Provide the name and telephone number of individuals consulted on statistical aspects of the design, and the name of the agency unit, contractor(s), grantees(s), or other persons(s) who will actually collect and/or analyze the information for the agency.
Individuals Consulted on Statistical Aspects of the Design
David C. Cox, Ph.D. QuanTech (240) 397-2993
Contractors Responsible for Collecting Information for the Agency
Contractor Name: QuanTech, Inc. Contact: David Cox
Contractor Address: 6110 Executive Blvd., Suite 206 (240) 397-2993
Rockville, MD 20852
Contractors Responsible for Analyzing Information for the Agency
Contractor Name: QuanTech, Inc. Contact: David Cox
Contractor Address:6110 Executive Blvd., Suite 206 (240) 397-2993
Rockville, MD 20852
Individuals who have speech or other communication disabilities may use a relay service to reach the phone numbers above. To learn more about how to make an accessible telephone call, visit the webpage for the Federal Communications Commission's Telecommunications Relay Service, https://www.fcc.gov/consumers/guides/telecommunications-relay-service-trs.
1 A survey of LHC grantees conducted by mail by Battelle Memorial Institute in 2000 had a response rate of 84%, while a grantee survey on the uses of Healthy Homes Supplement funding conducted electronically by QuanTech in 2014 had a response rate of 95%.
2 Note, e.g., the FY 2022 Round 2 Lead Hazard Reduction notice of funding opportunity, page 23, subsection on Cooperation with Related Research and Evaluation, https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/view-opportunity.html?oppId=341222.
5 The domain hudlhrgranteesurvey.com and similar domain names are currently available according to the domain name registrar register.com.
6 Google’s Chrome browser flags sites without an SSL certificate as unsafe, making them difficult to visit.
7 Quick follow-up is important to keep the survey in the minds of recipients and to emphasize the importance of responding.
| File Type | application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.wordprocessingml.document |
| Author | Guido, Anna P |
| File Modified | 0000-00-00 |
| File Created | 2024-07-22 |