### 75521 Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 232 / Friday, December 2, 2011 / Notices

a license. The prospective exclusive license will be royalty-bearing and will comply with the terms and conditions of 35 U.S.C. 209 and 37 CFR 404.7. The prospective exclusive license may be granted unless, within thirty (30) days from the date of this published Notice, the Agricultural Research Service receives written evidence and argument which establishes that the grant of the license would not be consistent with the requirements of 35 U.S.C. 209 and 37
CFR 404.7.

Richard J. Brenner,

Assistant Administrator.

[FR Doc. 2011–30967 Filed 12–1–11; 8:45 am]

**BILLING CODE 3410–03–P**

**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, this notice invites the general public and other public agencies to send comments regarding any aspect of this proposed information collection. This is a new collection for a generic clearance that will allow the Economic Research Service to conduct a variety of quantitative data collections.

**DATES :**  Written comments on this notice must be received on or before January 31, 2012 to be assured of consideration.

**ADDRESSES :**  Address all comments concerning this notice to Nathaniel Higgins, Resource and Rural Economics Division, Economic Research Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, 355 E St. SW., Room 6S-18, Washington, DC 20472. Comments may also be submitted via fax to the attention of Nathaniel Higgins at (202) 694–5602 or via email to nhiggins@ers.usda.gov

. Comments will also be accepted through the Federal eRulemaking Portal. Go to http://www.regulations.gov, and follow the online instructions for submitting comments electronically.

**FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT :**  For further information contact Nathaniel Higgins at the address in the preamble. Tel. (202) 694–5602.

**SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION :**  All written comments will be open for public inspection at the office of the Economic Research Service during regular business hours (8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday) at 355 E St. SW., Room 6S–18, Washington, DC

20472.

All responses to this notice will be summarized and included in the request for Office of Management and Budget approval. All comments and replies will be a matter of public record. 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 shall 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; and (d) ways to minimize the burden of the collection of information on those who are to respond, including use of appropriate automated, electronic, mechanical, or other technological collection techniques or other forms of information technology.

Title: Formative Data Collections for Informing Policy Research.

OMB Number: 0536–XXXX. Expiration Date: Three years from the date of approval.

Type of Request: New collection.
Abstract: The anticipated generic clearance will authorize research in furtherance of an ongoing initiative to use insights from behavioral economics to provide economic intelligence, research, and analysis to inform agricultural resource and conservation policies, including those related to development of markets and incentives for environmental services, reduced greenhouse gas emissions and renewable energy production, and to improve food choices and weight outcomes, particularly among children and low income adults.

The specific purpose of this generic clearance is to allow ERS to develop and implement state-of-the-art research methodologies to evaluate policies for its customers in response to both specific requests and in anticipation of future need. This generic clearance will be particularly useful when ERS is tasked with evaluating prospective policies.

ERS envisions using a number of research techniques, as appropriate to the individual investigation. These include laboratory and field techniques, exploratory interviews, pilot experiments, and respondent debriefing. In all cases, participation will be voluntary and time commitments will be minimal (10–90 minutes). Laboratory and field techniques are two methodologies based on comparison of outcomes over groups that have been randomized into different treatments.

Information obtained from randomized comparison studies (lab and field techniques) will be used to develop and calibrate models of behavior. ERS uses behavioral models to estimate a variety of policy outcomes, for instance the level of farmer participation in voluntary conservation programs under alternative contract terms or changes in the nutritional quality of meals chosen when healthy items are displayed more prominently. Variation in behavioral response can have important implications for performance measures such as economic efficiency and effectiveness, and can help predict unintended consequences of policy-design options. Improved models of behavior will help policymakers and program managers as they face decisions that affect agriculture, nutrition and the
environment.

Authority: These data will be collected under the authority of 7 U.S.C. 2204(a) and sec. 501 of the Rural Development Act of 1972 (7 U.S.C. 2661). Individually identifiable data collected under this authority are governed by 7 U.S.C. 2276, which requires USDA to afford strict confidentiality to non-aggregated data provided by respondents. This Notice is submitted in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, Public Law 104–13 (44 U.S.C. 3501, et seq. ) and Office of Management and Budget regulations at 5 CFR part 1320. ERS also complies with OMB Implementation Guidance, ‘‘Implementation Guidance for Title V of the E–Government Act, Confidential Information Protection and Statistical Efficiency Act of 2002 (CIPSEA)’’, 72 FR 33362, June 15, 2007.

Affected Public: Respondents will include Individuals and households.
Estimated Number of Respondents and Respondent Burden

The proposed generic clearance will enable a number of separate data collections. No data collection is estimated to take longer than 90 minutes per respondent, including the timerequired for respondents and nonrespondents to review instructions and participate in the data collection.

The estimated number of respondents participating in data collections under this generic clearance over a three year period is 1,800. The maximum total estimated response burden for all of those participating in the study is 2,300 hours.


### 75522 Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 232 / Friday, December 2, 2011 / Notices

Dated: November 9, 2011. Mary Bohman, Acting Administrator, Economic Research
Service.

[FR Doc. 2011–30969 Filed 12–1–11; 8:45 am]

**BILLING CODE 3410–18–P**

**COMMISSION ON CIVIL RIGHTS**

**Notice of a Public Meeting of the Wyoming Advisory Committee to the**  **U.S. Commission on Civil Rights**

Notice is hereby given, pursuant to the provisions of the rules and regulations of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights (Commission) and the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA) that a planning meeting of the Wyoming Advisory Committee to the Commission (Committee) will convene by conference call at 10 a.m. (MDT) on Monday, December 19, 2011. The purpose of the meeting is to discuss next steps after project selection.

This meeting is available to the public through the following toll-free call-in number: (800) 516–9896, conference ID: 8334. Any interested member of the public may call this number and listen to the meeting. Callers can expect to incur charges for calls they initiate over wireless lines, and the Commission will not refund any incurred charges. Callers will incur no charge for calls they initiate over land-line connections to the toll-free telephone number. Persons with hearing impairments may also follow the proceedings by dialing 711 for relay services and 1-(800) 516–9896, followed by Conference ID: 8334.

Members of the public are entitled to submit written comments; the comments must be received in the regional office by January 19, 2012. Comments may be mailed to the Rocky Mountain Regional Office, U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, 999 - 18th Street, Suite 1380 South, Denver, CO 80202, faxed to (303) 866–1050, or emailed to ebohor@usccr.gov. Persons who desire additional information may contact the Rocky Mountain Regional Office by email at ebohor@usccr.gov or by phone at (303) 866–1040.

Records generated from this meeting may be inspected and reproduced at the Rocky Mountain Regional Office, as they become available, both before and after the meeting. Persons interested in the work of the Committee are directed to the Commission’s Web site, http://

www.usccr.gov, or may contact the Rocky Mountain Regional Office at the above email or street address.

To ensure that the Commission secures an appropriate number of telephone lines for the public, persons are asked to contact the Rocky Mountain Regional Office 10 days before the meeting date either by email at ebohor@usccr.gov, or by phone at (303)

866–1040.

The meeting will be conducted pursuant to the rules and regulations of the Commission and FACA.

Dated in Washington, DC, November 28,

2011. Peter Minarik, Acting Chief, Regional Programs Coordination Unit.

[FR Doc. 2011–30979 Filed 12–1–11; 8:45 am]

**BILLING CODE 6335–01–P**

**DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE**

**Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request** 

The Department of Commerce will submit to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for clearance the following proposal for collection of information under the provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. chapter 35).

Agency: U.S. Census Bureau. Title: 2012 Survey of Income and Program Participation Computer Audio Recorded Interviewing Field Test.

OMB Control Number: None. Form Number(s): SIPP–CARI 2012 DR 105(L)—Director’s Letter English; SIPP– CARI 2012 DR 105(L)(SP) 2012— Director’s Letter Spanish; SIPP–EHC 4006A Brochure ‘‘SIPP You Represent Your Nation;’’ SIPP/CARI Automated
Instrument.

Type of Request: New collection. Burden Hours: 1,890. Number of Respondents: 1,890. Average Hours per Response: 1 hour. Needs and Uses: The U.S. Census Bureau requests authorization from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to conduct a Computer Audio Recorded Interviewing (CARI) technology field test using the 2012 Survey of Income and Program Participation Event History Calendar (SIPP–EHC) Field Test questionnaire.

Computer Audio Recorded Interviewing is a data collection method that captures audio along with response data during computer-assisted personal and telephone interviews (CAPI & CATI). A portion of each interview is recorded unobtrusively, with the respondent’s consent, and the sound file is returned with the response data to a central location. By reviewing the recorded portions of the interview, quality assurance (QA) analysts can evaluate the likelihood that the exchange between the field representative (FR) and respondent is authentic and follows critical survey protocol as defined by the sponsor and based on best practices.

The Census Bureau will conduct the SIPP CARI test using the 2012 SIPP– EHC automated instrument and computer-assisted personal interviewing (CAPI) in 6 of the 12 Regional Offices. The SIPP CARI questionnaire will have the recording capability in use during the interview. The only content change to the instrument is the addition of a consent question which will record the respondent’s permission to audio record responses. Additionally, approximately 25 specific questions are programmed for recording for each person’s
interview.

This is the second CARI field test conducted by the Census Bureau. The first CARI field test was used to conduct behavior coding for the 2010 American Community Survey Content Test in late 2010. The Census Bureau is conducting this test to determine if the deployment of CARI will have any significant impact on response rates and item level responses. Previous tests for CARI have proven the capability of the technology. Other tests have also been conducted on non-voluntary surveys and proved promising. However, it is important for the Census Bureau to obtain information on the impact of this technology on data quality indicators for voluntary demographic surveys. If the test proves successful, this technology would be a major asset for all programs using computer assisted personal and telephone modes of data collection to assist in meeting quality objectives.

The 2012 SIPP CARI test will be conducted between May and June 2012. We will implement the CARI technology on a portion of the 2012 SIPP–EHC data collection instrument. This test will be conducted on a separate sample than that of the 2012 SIPP–EHC field test.

In addition to the actual recording capability, the CARI Interactive Data Access System has been developed as a monitoring system that allows for the analysis of audio and image files to be conducted immediately after completion and transmission of the interview. The system is an innovative, integrated, multifaceted monitoringsystem that features a configurable webbased interface for behavior-coding, quality assurance and coaching. The system assists in coding interviews for measuring question and interviewer performance and the interaction between interviewers and respondents.

The 2012 SIPP CARI field test instrument will be evaluated in several domains including field implementation issues and data quality vis-a ` -vis the SIPP 2011 and 2012 field test results.