NCCC Service Project Application SSA_CLEAN

Corporation for National and Community Service (AmeriCorps)

AmeriCorps NCCC Service Project Application

OMB Control Number 3045-0010

Justification – Part A Supporting Statement

Overview of Information Collection:

This information collection consists of the NCCC Service Project Application. The information requested in the application form is completed by organizations seeking to become an AmeriCorps NCCC sponsor and makes it possible for our regional staff to select the organizations that will host and work with our teams.

This is a revision of an Existing Collection. AmeriCorps also seeks to continue using the currently approved information collection until the revised information collection is approved by OMB. The currently approved information collection is due to expire on 10/31/22.

1. Need & Method for the Information Collection.

Each year, AmeriCorps National Civilian Community Corps (NCCC) engages teams of members in projects in communities across the United States. This information collection is authorized by the National and Community Service Act, as amended, which establishes the NCCC and provides that AmeriCorps shall select among project proposals submitted by public and private organizations and agencies. See 42 U.S.C. 12617. Service projects, which typically last from six to eight weeks, address critical needs in natural and other disasters, infrastructure improvement, environmental stewardship and conservation, energy conservation, and urban and rural development. AmeriCorps NCCC awards teams to non-profit and faith-based organizations; local, state, and federal governments; Indian tribes; and educational institutions. This information collection comprises the questions applicants answer to apply to sponsor an AmeriCorps NCCC team. 

  

2. Use of the Information.

Applicants respond to the questions included in these instructions in order to sponsor an AmeriCorps NCCC team at one of four campuses: Pacific, Southwest, North Central, and Southern. The regional programming departments will use the information collection to select local, state, and national entities that will engage AmeriCorps NCCC members in work to address community challenges. Organizations interested in sponsoring a project either receive application forms from AmeriCorps regional contacts with whom they have interacted before, or if they are new applicants, from the AmeriCorps NCCC informational webpage at https://americorps.gov/partner/how-it-works/americorps-nccc. As directed on the webpage, applicants then contact the appropriate regional campus to discuss their ideas. When they are ready to apply, applicants may access the application form from that same website, download the application to their computer and fill it electronically, then submit to their regional contact. AmeriCorps has identified no psychological or learning costs to completing the application, as the first step in the application process is contacting AmeriCorps regional staff who are then available to assist if the applicant faces any issues in completing the application.

3. Use of Information Technology.

AmeriCorps NCCC will be eliciting and accepting applicants’ response to these questions electronically via email. If applicants are unable to submit their application electronically, it can be submitted by mail or fax to the appropriate AmeriCorps NCCC campus.

4. Non-duplication.

This information is not collected elsewhere and there are no other sources of information by which AmeriCorps can meet the purposes described above.

 

5. Burden on Small Business.

This collection of information does not impact small businesses because they are not eligible to apply.

6. Less Frequent Collection.

If AmeriCorps does not collect this information or collects it less frequently, AmeriCorps will be unable to determine applicant eligibility.

7. Paperwork Reduction Act Guidelines.

There are no special circumstances that would require the collection of information in any way that would violate Paperwork Reduction Act guidelines.

8. Consultation and Public Comments.

The 60-day Notice soliciting comments was published in the Federal Register on Monday, May 23, 2022, on pages 3218 - 219. One comment was received. The comment contained several suggestions. One suggestion was to add to the application a question about how the applicant plans to recruit from underserved communities for the AmeriCorps positions and assist AmeriCorps members in overcoming economic and social barriers that might prevent them from participation. AmeriCorps strongly supports the Administration’s goals for advancing racial equity and support for underserved communities and includes prioritization of investment in underserved individuals and communities as an objective in its strategic plan. In line with these goals and objectives, AmeriCorps NCCC aims to recruit from underserved communities and assist AmeriCorps members in overcoming barriers to their participation. The NCCC sponsors’ role is to develop members once recruited by AmeriCorps NCCC. For this reason, no change has been made to the application to incorporate this suggestion.

This comment also suggested NCCC ask sponsors how skills gained during service could promote member development and help members gain credentials or useful knowledge. Given that service can be a valuable stepping off point for transitioning to paid work, AmeriCorps believes asking this question on the application is appropriate and has specified this question in the narrative heading for Member Development (Item 27 on the application form) to elicit this information. We have increased our estimated burden hours to accommodate the new quest

Finally, the commenter suggested adding information on potential additional funding sources for sponsors, including eligibility information, how to apply for those funds, and linking to the grant applications, to allow AmeriCorps sponsor organizations to obtain funding from other federal sources. AmeriCorps provides all of its funding opportunities on its website at americorps.gov. Applicants are encouraged to visit grants.gov for funding opportunities of other federal agencies. Given the varying eligibility and application requirements for other federal funding, AmeriCorps is unable to include this information on the NCCC project sponsor application.

AmeriCorps NCCC consulted with two (2) former applicants. The feedback is summarized as follows: the application is too long, and questions are repetitive.

Based on this feedback, the document now has additional project objective options for users to select and the radio buttons have been changed to check boxes to allow for users to select as many objectives as they would like. Additionally, the NCCC Service Project Application was simplified by deleting the separate “Organizational Capacity” and “Needs” narrative pages, as applicants typically include this information in their Executive Summaries, rendering the separate narratives on these topics duplicative. The application has been updated to clarify that the Executive Summary (item 23 on the application form) should be address these items.

9. Gifts or Payment.

There are no payments or gifts to respondents as an incentive to provide the requested information.

  

10. Privacy & Confidentiality.

This instrument does not collect Personally Identifiable Information.

11. Sensitive Questions.

The information collection does not include questions of a sensitive nature.

12. Burden Estimate.

AmeriCorps estimates that, on average, it will take each respondent approximately 8.25 hours to complete the form. This is a decrease from the currently approved 10 hours per response because AmeriCorps has simplified the “Needs” and “Organizational Capacity” pages. The estimated respondent burdens and labor costs are shown in the following table.

Estimation of Respondent Burden
	NCCC Service Project Application
Number of respondents	1,800
Responses per respondent	1
Number of responses	1,800
Hours per response	8.25
Total estimated hours (number of responses multiplied by hours per response)	14,850
Cost per hour (hourly wage)	$33.99
Annual salary public burden (estimated hours multiplied by cost per hour)	$504,752

Note: The cost per hour is based on the average of five 2021 OPM GS hourly rates (base + locality) for a GS-11, step 1 employee living in our 5 regions of operation. The average cost per hour is $33.99 (average hourly rate).

The 2021 GS-11, step 1 hourly rates for the five regions of operation are as follows: Washington, DC ($36.03), Vicksburg, MS ($31.08), Denver, CO ($33.96), Sacramento, CA (34.87$) and , Vinton, IA ($31.37). The average hourly rate is the sum of these hourly rates divided by five = $33.99/hour (rounded to the nearest penny).

Changes to Burden

	Requested	Program Change Due to New Statute	Program Change Due to Agency Discretion	Change Due to Adjustment in Agency Estimate	Change Due to Potential Violation of the PRA	Previously Approved
Annual Number of Responses for this IC	1,800	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	1,800
Annual IC Time Burden (Hours)	14,850	N/A	-3,150	N/A	N/A	18,000
Annual IC Cost Burden (Dollars)	$504,752	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A

Annual Burden:

	Annual Time Burden (Hours)	Annual Cost Burden (Dollars)
Reporting	14,850	$504,752
Record Keeping	0	0
Third Party Disclosure	0	0
Total	14,850	$504,752

13. Estimated nonrecurring costs.

This information collection does not impose any annual nonrecurring cost burden on respondents.

14. Estimated cost to the Government.

The annual cost to AmeriCorps of the AmeriCorps NCCC Service Project Application is $238,320 based on our estimate that it takes AmeriCorps staff a total of four hours to administer and review this information collection. This annual cost is salary expense for the AmeriCorps staff manage/oversee this information collection. We estimate that approximately one staff will assist with these efforts. We are using an average GS-12 salary, Step 10 (similar to average of NY-3) at $33.13/hour.

The federal government employee salary information was obtained from OPM’s 2022 Salary Table for the Rest of the U.S. (RUS) at https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/pay-leave/salaries-wages/salary-tables/pdf/2022/RUS_h.pdf and includes a 1.5 multiplier to account for the costs of benefits.

15. Reasons for changes.

Changes were made based on feedback from stakeholders, resulting in a decrease of 3,150 annual hours from deletion of the “Needs” and “Organizational Capacity” narrative pages. AmeriCorps seeks to renew the current information collection. The revisions are intended to simplify the application process for prospective sponsors. The information collection will otherwise be used in the same manner as the existing application.

16. Publicizing Results.

Not applicable because the results will not be published.

17. OMB Not to Display Approval.

AmeriCorps will display the expiration date of OMB’s approval.

18. Exceptions to "Certification for Paperwork Reduction Submissions."

There are no exceptions to the certification statement.

19. Surveys, Censuses, and Other Collections that Employ Statistical Methods.

Not applicable.