[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 198 (Friday, October 11, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 82641-82643]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-23527]


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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR


Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission for OMB 
Review; Comment Request, Sectoral Strategies and Employer Engagement 
Portfolio, New Collection

AGENCY: Office of the Assistant Secretary for Policy, Chief Evaluation 
Office, Department of Labor.

ACTION: Notice of information collection; request for comment.

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SUMMARY: The Department of Labor (DOL), as part of its continuing 
effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, conducts a 
preclearance consultation program to provide the general public and 
federal agencies with an opportunity to comment on proposed and/or 
continuing collections of information in accordance with the Paperwork 
Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA95). This program helps 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

[[Page 82642]]

is properly assessed. Currently, the Department of Labor is soliciting 
comments concerning the collection of data about the Sectoral 
Strategies and Employer Engagement Portfolio. A copy of the proposed 
Information Collection Request (ICR) can be obtained by contacting the 
office listed below in the addressee section of this notice.

DATES: Written comments must be submitted to the office listed in the 
addressee section below on or before December 10, 2024.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by either one of the following 
methods: Email: <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#b3f0dbdad6d5f6c5d2dfc6d2c7dadcddfcd5d5dad0d6f3d7dcdf9dd4dcc5"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="46052e2f23200330272a3327322f29280920202f25230622292a68212930">[email protected]</span></a>; Mail or Courier: Evan 
Murphy, Chief Evaluation Office, OASP, U.S. Department of Labor, Room 
S-2312, 200 Constitution Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20210. Instructions: 
Please submit one copy of your comments by only one method. All 
submissions received must include the agency name and OMB Control 
Number identified above for this information collection. Comments, 
including any personal information provided, become a matter of public 
record. They will also be summarized and/or included in the request for 
OMB approval of the information collection request.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Evan Murphy by email at 
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#fcbf9495999ab98a9d90899d88959392b39a9a959f99bc989390d29b938a"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="edae8584888ba89b8c81988c99848283a28b8b848e88ad898281c38a829b">[email protected]</span></a> or by phone at (202) 693-0224.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 
    I. Background: The Chief Evaluation Office (CEO) of the U.S. 
Department of Labor (DOL) intends to design and conduct an evaluation 
to document the implementation and assess the success of the three 
grant programs within the Sectoral Strategies and Employer Engagement 
Portfolio (SSEEP): Building Pathways to Infrastructure Jobs Grant (BP), 
Nursing Expansion Grant (NEG), and Critical Sectors Job Quality Grant 
(Critical Sectors). The goal of this project is to build knowledge 
about sector strategies. The SSEEP evaluation includes three 
components: (1) an implementation evaluation to understand program 
implementation, partnership development, and lessons for all 34 BP and 
25 NEG grantees as well as all 5 Tier 2 Critical Sectors grantees; (2) 
an impact and cost-benefit evaluability assessment of the Building 
Pathways to Infrastructure Jobs Grant (BP) and Nursing Expansion Grant 
(NEG) programs to examine the feasibility of conducting a rigorous 
evaluation with these grant programs, and; (3) a formative study to 
identify effective strategies for reducing barriers to employment, 
engaging and working in partnership with employers, and applying the 
U.S. Department of Labor's Good Jobs Principles to critical sector 
occupations.
    This Federal Register Notice provides the opportunity to comment on 
proposed data collection instruments that will be used in the 
implementation evaluation: a grantee survey for the BP and NEG 
grantees, a grantee survey for CS grantees, a partner survey, an 
employer survey, and semi-structured site visit discussion guides for 
program staff, partners, employers, and participants.
    1. Grantee Survey for BP and NEG Grantees. We will field a survey 
to the 34 BP grantees and 25 NEG grantees. The grantee survey will 
systematically collect information on program operations and the types 
of activities and services provided across grantees. The grantee survey 
will be designed to primarily elicit closed-ended responses to help 
ensure comparability and completeness of responses and to allow for 
statistical summaries and analysis. The survey will be modular such 
that each topic and questions within that topic can be tailored to the 
specific aspects of each grant program. The grantee survey will be 
programmed and administered online using ConfirmIT or a similar survey 
program.
    2. Grantee Survey for CS grantees. We will field a survey to the 
five Critical Sectors Tier 2 grantees. Similar to the survey for NEG 
and BP grantees, this survey will systematically collect information on 
program operations and the types of activities and services provided 
across grantees. The grantee survey will be designed to primarily 
elicit closed-ended responses to help ensure comparability and 
completeness of responses and to facilitate analysis. The survey will 
be modular such that each topic and questions within that topic can be 
tailored to the specific aspects of each grant program. The grantee 
survey will be programmed using ConfirmIT or a similar survey software, 
and will be administered by study team members over the phone with 
grantee representatives.
    3. Partner Survey. We will field a survey to a subset of partners 
identified by grantees in response to the grantee survey and from their 
grant applications. The partner survey will contribute important 
information about the nature of partnerships between partner 
organizations and lead grantee organizations. The survey will be 
modular such that each topic and questions within that topic can be 
tailored to the specific aspects of each grant program. The partner 
survey will be programmed and administered online using ConfirmIT and 
fielded to partners of BP and NEG grantees.
    4. Employer Survey. We will field a survey to employers identified 
by grantees in response to the grantee survey. The employer survey will 
contribute important data about employer engagement strategies, 
employer roles in the sector strategies grant programs, and employer 
perceptions of the program. The survey will be modular such that each 
topic and questions within that topic can be tailored to the specific 
aspects of each grant program. The employer survey will be programmed 
through ConfirmIT and administered by evaluation team members over 
phone/webinar to help obtain complete, clear responses.
    5. Semi-structured discussion guides for program staff, partners, 
employers, and participants. We will conduct site visits to 
approximately 17 grantees across the BP, NEG, and Critical Sectors 
programs. Site visits will document the program context, program 
organization and staffing, program components including education/
training activities and support services, and other relevant aspects of 
sector strategies programs. During the visits, site teams will 
interview key grantee administrators, program staff, partners (e.g., 
training providers, support service providers), and employers using 
discussion guides. During these site visits, we will also conduct semi-
structured interviews with program participants. The discussion guides 
will also include guides for follow-up phone interviews. In the final 
year of the grant, we will conduct semi-structured follow-up phone 
calls with grantee staff to document changes that occurred after our 
visits, lessons and sustainability plans.
    II. Desired Focus of Comments: Currently, the Department of Labor 
is soliciting comments concerning the above data collection for the 
Sectoral Strategies and Employer Engagement Portfolio Program 
Evaluation. DOL is particularly interested in comments that do the 
following:
    [cir] evaluate whether the proposed collection of information is 
necessary for the proper performance functions of the agency, including 
whether the information will have practical utility;
    [cir] evaluate the accuracy of the agency's burden estimate of the 
proposed information collection, including the validity of the 
methodology and assumptions;
    [cir] enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information 
to be collected; and
    [cir] minimize the burden of the collection of information on those 
who

[[Page 82643]]

are to respond, including through the use of appropriate automated, 
electronic, mechanical, or other technological collection techniques or 
other forms of information technology--for example, permitting 
electronic submissions of responses.
    III. Current Actions: At this time, the Department of Labor is 
requesting clearance for the grantee survey, partner survey, employer 
survey, and semi-structured site visit discussion guides for grantee 
staff, partners, employers, and participants.
    Type of Review: New information collection request.
    OMB Control Number: 1290-0NEW.
    Affected Public: Individuals or households.
    Comments submitted in response to this request will be summarized 
and/or included in the request for Office of Management and Budget 
approval of the information collection request; they will also become a 
matter of public record.

                                          Estimated Annual Burden Hours
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                                                                                  Average burden
    Type of instrument (form/        Number of       Number of     Total number      time per        Estimated
            activity)               respondents    responses per   of responses      response      burden hours
                                                    respondent                        (hours)
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Grantee survey for BP and NEG...          \1\ 20               1              20             1.5              30
Grantee survey for CS...........           \2\ 2               1               2             1.5               3
Partner survey..................          \3\ 98               1              98              .5              49
Employer survey.................          \4\ 98               1              98              .5              49
Semi-structured site visit                \5\ 34               1              34             1.5              51
 discussion guide: grantee staff
Semi-structured site visit                \6\ 17               1              17               1              17
 discussion guide: partners.....
Semi-structured site visit                \7\ 11               1              11               1              11
 discussion guide: employers....
Semi-structured site visit                \8\ 23               1              23               1              23
 discussion guide: participants.
Semi-structured follow-up phone            \9\ 8               1               8             1.5              12
 interview guide................
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    Total.......................             311  ..............             311  ..............             244
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\1\ Assumes 100% response rate from 59 grantees involved in the BP and NEG implementation study over the three-
  year clearance period. This number is rounded up from 19.67.
\2\ Assumes 100% response rate from 5 grantees involved in the CS implementation study over the three-year
  clearance period. This number is rounded up from 1.67.
\3\ Assumes approximately 5 partners per 59 grantees over the three-year clearance period. This number has been
  rounded down from 98.33.
\4\ Assumes approximately 5 employers per 59 grantees over the three-year clearance period. This number has been
  rounded up from 98.33.
\5\ Assumes approximately 6 staff per site visit grantee for approximately 17 site visits over the three-year
  clearance period.
\6\ Assumes approximately 3 partners per site visit grantee for approximately 17 site visits over the three-year
  clearance period.
\7\ Assumes approximately 2 employers per site visit grantee for approximately 17 site visits over the three-
  year clearance period. This number has been rounded down from 11.33.
\8\ Assumes approximately 4 worker-participants per site visit grantee for approximately 17 site visits over the
  three-year clearance period. This number has been rounded up from 22.67.
\9\ Assumes 2 staff members per 12 grantees (six each from BP & NEG) over the three-year clearance period.



Alix Gould-Werth,
Chief Evaluation Officer, U.S. Department of Labor.
[FR Doc. 2024-23527 Filed 10-10-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4510-HX-P


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