Notice2021-23687
Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for Review and Approval; Comment Request; Identifying Actionable Opportunities To Advance Equity and Remove Barriers To Support Underserved Communities
Primary source
Metadata and text below are from the Federal Register, a public-domain U.S. government work. Always verify the official published version before relying on it for any legal matter.
Published
November 2, 2021
Issuing agencies
Commerce Department
Abstract
The Department of Commerce (DOC), as part of its commitment to support the President's Executive Order, Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities, is announcing an opportunity for public comment on a new proposed information collection, "Identifying Actionable Opportunities to Advance Equity and Remove Barriers to Support Underserved Communities". In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), we invite the general public and other Federal agencies to comment on proposed, and continuing information collections, which helps us assess the impact of our information collection requirements and minimize the public's reporting burden. The purpose of this notice is to allow for 60 days of public comment preceding submission of the collection to OMB.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 86 Issue 209 (Tuesday, November 2, 2021)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 209 (Tuesday, November 2, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 60441-60443]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2021-23687]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the
Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for Review and Approval; Comment
Request; Identifying Actionable Opportunities To Advance Equity and
Remove Barriers To Support Underserved Communities
AGENCY: Department of Commerce.
ACTION: Notice; request for comment.
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SUMMARY: The Department of Commerce (DOC), as part of its commitment to
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support the President's Executive Order, Advancing Racial Equity and
Support for Underserved Communities, is announcing an opportunity for
public comment on a new proposed information collection, ``Identifying
Actionable Opportunities to Advance Equity and Remove Barriers to
Support Underserved Communities''. In accordance with the Paperwork
Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), we invite the general public and other
Federal agencies to comment on proposed, and continuing information
collections, which helps us assess the impact of our information
collection requirements and minimize the public's reporting burden. The
purpose of this notice is to allow for 60 days of public comment
preceding submission of the collection to OMB.
DATES: To ensure consideration, comments regarding this proposed
information collection must be received on or before January 3, 2022.
ADDRESSES: Interested persons are invited to submit written comments to
the Department of Commerce PRA Clearance Officer at
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#65353724060a0808000b111625010a064b020a13"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="f0a0a2b1939f9d9d959e8483b0949f93de979f86">[email protected]</span></a>. All comments received are part of the public
record. Comments will generally be posted without change. All
Personally Identifiable Information (for example, name and address)
voluntarily submitted by the commenter may be publicly accessible. Do
not submit Confidential Business Information or otherwise sensitive or
protected information.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Requests for additional information
should be directed to Attn: Sheleen Dumas, PRA Clearance Officer,
Office of Policy and Governance, Commerce Headquarters, 1401
Constitution Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20230; (202) 482-3306; or via
email: <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#ea8e85899a988baa8e8589c48d859c"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="b6d2d9d5c6c4d7f6d2d9d598d1d9c0">[email protected]</span></a>.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Abstract
In January 2021, President Biden issued Executive Order 13985,
`Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities',
which established policy instructing the Federal Government to pursue a
comprehensive approach to advancing equity for all, including people of
color and others who have been historically underserved, marginalized,
and adversely affected by persistent poverty and inequality, and tasks
agencies with developing proactive policies, regulations, and guidance
that affirmatively promote equity and speak to the needs of underserved
communities. This will require agencies to review existing policies,
rules, regulatory actions, and guidance. It will also require that
agencies identify drivers of systemic inequities that are not currently
being addressed and develop potential policies to address those
inequities.
This new information collection will enable the Department of
Commerce to act in accordance with this Executive Order to improve both
efficiency and mission delivery, and to remove systemic barriers to
opportunities and benefits for underserved communities. To accomplish
this mission effectively, Commerce needs ongoing feedback on its
programs and services. This information collection item allows Commerce
to solicit clients' opinions about the use of products, services, and
events.
Commerce will collect, analyze, and interpret information gathered
through this information collection to identify gaps in equity and make
improvements in accessibility, navigation, use, and service delivery
based on insights gathered through developing an understanding of the
user experience in underserved communities. Commerce will develop a
question bank for all Bureaus to use to solicit information from both
federal and non-federal individuals and organizations to develop
policies and programs that deliver resources and benefits equitably to
all.
These data collection efforts may be either qualitative or
quantitative in nature or may consist of mixed methods. Additionally,
data may be collected via a variety of means, including but not limited
to electronic or social media, direct or indirect observation (i.e., in
person, video and audio collections), interviews, questionnaires,
surveys, and focus groups. Steps will be taken to ensure anonymity of
respondents in each activity covered by this request.
As a general matter, these information collections will not result
in any new system of records containing privacy information and will
not ask questions of a sensitive nature and matters that are commonly
considered private. Personally identifiable information (PII) is
collected only to the extent necessary and is not retained.
If this information is not collected, Commerce will be unable to
systematically determine the actual and relative levels of performance
for its programs and services to underserved communities and to provide
clear, actionable insights for equitable intervention.
II. Method of Collection
The Department of Commerce will collect this information by
electronic means when possible, as well as by mail, fax, telephone,
technical discussions; and customer experience activities such as
feedback surveys, focus groups, user testing, and in-person interviews.
Department of Commerce may also utilize observational techniques to
collect this information.
III. Data
OMB Control Number: 0690-NEW.
Form Number(s): New.
Type of Review: Regular submission.
Affected Public: Collections will be targeted to the solicitation
of opinions from respondents who have experience with the Commerce
programs, services, or events or may have experience with the programs,
services, or events in the future. For the purposes of this request,
``customers'' are individuals, businesses, and organizations that
interact with a Federal Government agency or program, either directly
or via a federal contractor. This could include individuals or
households; businesses or other for-profit organizations; not-for-
profit institutions; State, local or tribal governments; Federal
government; and Universities.
Estimated Number of Respondents: 150,000.
Estimated Time per Response: Varied, dependent upon the data
collection method used. The possible response time to complete a
questionnaire or survey may be 3 minutes or up to 2 hours to
participate in an interview or focus group.
Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 32,875.
Estimated Total Annual Cost to Public: $0 (This is not the cost of
respondents' time, but the indirect costs respondents may incur for
such things as purchases of specialized software or hardware needed to
report, or expenditures for accounting or records maintenance services
required specifically by the collection.).
Respondent's Obligation: Voluntary.
Legal Authority: Executive Order (E.O.) 13985.
IV. Request for Comments
We are soliciting public comments to permit the Department/Bureau
to: (a) Evaluate whether the proposed information collection is
necessary for the proper functions of the Department, including whether
the information will have practical utility; (b) Evaluate the accuracy
of our estimate of the time and cost burden for this proposed
collection, including the validity of the methodology and assumptions
used; (c) Evaluate ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of
the information to be collected; and (d) Minimize the
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reporting burden on those who are to respond, including the use of
automated collection techniques or other forms of information
technology.
Comments that you submit in response to this notice are a matter of
public record. We will include or summarize each comment in our request
to OMB to approve this ICR. Before including your address, phone
number, email address, or other personal identifying information in
your comment, you should be aware that your entire comment--including
your personal identifying information--may be made publicly available
at any time. While you may ask us in your comment to withhold your
personal identifying information from public review, we cannot
guarantee that we will be able to do so.
Sheleen Dumas,
Department PRA Clearance Officer, Office of the Chief Information
Officer, Commerce Department.
[FR Doc. 2021-23687 Filed 11-1-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-17-P
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