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Notices Federal Register

55322 

Vol. 80, No. 178 

Tuesday, September 15, 2015 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Economic Research Service 

Notice of Intent To Request New 

Information Collection 

AGENCY: Economic Research Service, 

USDA. 

ACTION: Notice and request for 

comments. 

SUMMARY: In accordance with the 

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the 

Economic Research Service (ERS) 

invites the general public and other 

Federal agencies to take this 

opportunity to comment on a proposed 

new information collection, the Generic 

Clearance for Survey Research Studies. 

DATES: Comments on this notice must be 

received by November 16, 2015 to be 

assured of consideration. 

ADDRESSES: Address all comments 

concerning this notice to Pheny 

Weidman, ERS Clearance Officer, 

Economic Research Service, Room 4– 

163B, 1400 Independence Ave. SW., 

Mail Stop 1800, Washington, DC 20050– 

1800. Submit electronic comments to 

pweidman@ers.usda.gov. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Pheny Weidman at the address in the 

preamble. Tel. 202–694–5013. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Title: Generic Clearance for Survey 

Research Studies. 

OMB Number: 0536–NEW. 

Expiration Date of Approval: Three 

years from the date of approval. 

Type of Request: New collection. 

Abstract: In accordance with the 

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (Pub. 

L. 104–13) and OMB regulations at 5 

CFR part 1320 (60 FR 44978, August 29, 

1995), this notice announces the ERS’ 

intention to request approval from the 

Office of Management and Budget 

(OMB) for a generic clearance that will 

allow ERS to rigorously develop, test, 

and evaluate its survey methodologies, 

instruments, and administration. The 

mission of ERS is to provide economic 

and other social science information 

and analysis for public and private 

decisions on agriculture, food, natural 

resources, and rural America. This 

request is part of an on-going initiative 

to improve ERS data product quality, as 

recommended by both its own 

guidelines and those of OMB. 

The purpose of this generic clearance 

is to allow ERS to evaluate, adopt, and 

use state-of-the-art and multidisciplinary research to improve and 

enhance the quality of its current data 

collections. This clearance will also be 

used to aid in the development of new 

surveys. It will help to ensure that 

requested data can be provided in the 

desired format, reporting burden (time 

and financial resources) is minimized, 

collection instruments are clearly 

understood, and the impact of collection 

requirements on respondents can be 

properly assessed. 

ERS envisions using a variety of 

survey improvement techniques, as 

appropriate to the individual project 

under investigation. These include 

focus groups, cognitive and usability 

laboratory and field techniques, 

exploratory interviews, behavior coding, 

and respondent debriefing. 

Following standard OMB 

requirements, ERS will inform OMB 

individually in writing of the purpose, 

scope, time frame, and number of 

burden hours used for each survey 

improvement or development project it 

undertakes under this generic clearance. 

ERS will also provide OMB with a copy 

of the data collection instrument (if 

applicable), and all other materials 

describing the project. 

Authority: These data will be collected 

under the authority of 7 U.S.C. 2204(a). 

ERS intends to protect respondent 

information under the Privacy Act of 

1974, Section 1770 of the Food Security 

Act of 1985, and 7 U.S.C. 2276. ERS has 

decided not to invoke the Confidential 

Information Protection and Statistical 

Efficiency Act of 2002 (CIPSEA). The 

complexity and cost necessary to invoke 

CIPSEA is not justified given the nature 

of the collection; the collections would 

generally be conducted by ERS’ 

contractors and designed to be hosted in 

non-government owned computer 

systems, where CIPSEA compliance 

could not be assured. 

Specific details regarding information 

handling will be specified in individual 

submissions under this generic 

clearance. 

Estimate of Burden: Public reporting 

burden for these collections of 

information is estimated to average from 

1 to 2 hours per respondent, depending 

upon the information collection and the 

technique used to test for that particular 

collection. 

Respondents: Individuals or 

households, farms, and businesses or 

other for-profits. 

Estimated Total Number of 

Respondents: 3,500. 

Estimated Total Annual Burden on 

Respondents: 5,600 hours. Public 

reporting burden for these collections of 

information is estimated to average from 

1 to 2 hours per respondent, dependent 

upon the survey and the technique used 

to test for that particular survey. 

Copies of this information collection 

can be obtained from Pheny Weidman at 

the address in the preamble. 

Comments: Comments are invited on: 

(a) 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; 

(b) 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; (c) ways to enhance 

the quality, utility, and clarity of the 

information to be collected; (d) ways to 

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. Comments 

should be sent to the address in the 

preamble. All responses to this notice 

will be summarized and included in the 

request for OMB approval. All 

comments will also become a matter of 

public record. 

Dated: September 3, 2015. 

Mary Bohman, 

Administrator, Economic Research Service. 

[FR Doc. 2015–23123 Filed 9–14–15; 8:45 am] 

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