[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 204 (Wednesday, October 22, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 63204-63205]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-25071]


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SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION


National Women's Business Council (NWBC); Data Collection 
Available for Public Comments

AGENCY: National Women's Business Council, Small Business 
Administration.

ACTION: 60-day notice and request for comments.

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SUMMARY: The National Women's Business Council (NWBC) intends to 
request approval, from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for 
the collection of information described below. The Paperwork Reduction 
Act (PRA) of 1995, 44 U.S.C. Chapter 35 requires federal agencies to 
publish a notice in the Federal Register concerning each proposed 
collection of information before submission to OMB, and to allow 60 
days for public comment in response to the notice. This notice complies 
with that requirement.

DATES: Submit comments on or before December 22, 2014.

ADDRESSES: Send all comments to Erin Kelley, Director of Research and 
Policy,

[[Page 63205]]

National Women's Business Council, Small Business Administration, 409 
3rd Street, Room 210, Washington, DC 20416.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Erin Kelley, Director of Research and 
Policy, National Women's Business Council, <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#8de8ffe4e3a3e6e8e1e1e8f4cde3faefeea3eae2fb"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="bbdec9d2d595d0ded7d7dec2fbd5ccd9d895dcd4cd">[email protected]</span></a> 202-
205-3850, or Curtis B. Rich, Management Analyst, 202-205-7030, 
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#5b382e292f322875293238331b28393a753c342d"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="7e1d0b0c0a170d500c171d163e0d1c1f50191108">[email protected]</span></a>.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The National Women's Business Council (NWBC) 
is a non-partisan federal advisory council created to serve as an 
independent source of advice and counsel to the President, Congress, 
and the U.S. Small Business Administration on economic issues of 
importance to women business owners.
    NWBC is undertaking a research study that will explore how 
corporate supplier diversity programs have and can be used to support 
the growth of women-owned businesses (WOBs). Data will be collected 
using surveys, focus groups and telephone interviews.
    This study will build on the existing body of knowledge about the 
opportunities and challenges WOBs have faced in their experiences with 
corporate supplier diversity programs; the perceived and actual value 
corporations gain by offering supplier diversity programs; how 
corporations intentionally support the success of WOBs; and what 
factors are most critical to the success of supplier diversity 
programs--from the perspective of both women entrepreneurs and 
corporations.
    NWBC will use the resulting report from this data collection to 
inform its annual report to the President, Congress, and the SBA on 
policy and program recommendations to support the growth of women-owned 
businesses.

Solicitation of Public Comments

    SBA is requesting comments on (a) Whether the collection of 
information is necessary for the agency to properly perform its 
functions; (b) whether the burden estimates are accurate; (c) whether 
there are ways to minimize the burden, including through the use of 
automated techniques or other forms of information technology; and (d) 
whether there are ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of 
the information.

Summary of Information Collection

    Title: Women's Participation in Corporate Supplier Diversity.
    Description of Respondents: Respondents in the study will be women 
business owners and managers of corporate supplier diversity programs. 
A random selection of women business owners across the United States 
will be invited to complete a survey regarding their experiences with 
corporate supplier diversity programs. To delve more deeply into the 
perceptions and opinions about corporate supplier diversity programs, 
focus groups with women business owners will be held in Washington, DC, 
New York, NY, Chicago, IL, and Los Angeles, CA. Individual interviews 
will be conducted with managers of corporate supplier diversity 
programs in order to explore characteristics of corporate supplier 
diversity programs and factors that contribute to their success in 
meeting targets for participation of women owned businesses.
    Form Number: N/A.

Total Estimated Annual Responses

    The study anticipates that approximately 400 surveys will be 
completed by women business owners; that there will be a maximum of 96 
focus group participants (no more than 12 persons for each of 8 focus 
groups); and 20 individual interviews will be conducted. Potential 
participants will be identified through organizations that certify and 
provide services that facilitate the growth of women owned businesses.

Total Estimated Annual Hour Burden

    It is estimated that survey respondents will spend a maximum of 30 
minutes completing the questionnaire. Focus groups participants will 
spend approximately 120 minutes completing a pre-discussion 
questionnaire, engaging in the focus group discussion and traveling to 
and from the focus group location. Interviews with corporate supplier 
diversity managers will require approximately 60 minutes.
    The total annual time burden is estimated at 417 hours for 
completion of all aspects of data collection. To estimate the 
annualized cost of this time burden, we assumed 2,000 annual working 
hours and an annual salary of $75,000, which is the median salary of 
small business owners as reported by PayScale Human Resources \1\, 
resulting in a cost per participant of $0.63. For survey respondents, 
the total annualized time burden would be would be $18.90 per 
participant or a total of $7,560; for focus group participants, it 
would be $75.60 or a total of $7,257.60; and for interview respondents 
it would be $37.80 or a total of $756.00.
    In order to obtain 96 focus participants, it is estimated that 300 
contacts will be needed. Of those 204 individuals who are contacted and 
screened, but who are not eligible, willing, or able to participate in 
the focus groups, the time burden is approximately five minutes. This 
adds an additional annual time burden of $642.60.
    In total, the time burden cost for this study is estimated at 
$16,216.20.

Curtis B. Rich,
Management Analyst.
[FR Doc. 2014-25071 Filed 10-21-14; 8:45 am]
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