Notice2024-08443
Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for Review and Approval; Comment Request; Regional Economic Development Data Collection Instrument
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
April 19, 2024
Issuing agencies
Commerce DepartmentEconomic Development Administration
Abstract
The Department of Commerce, in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), invites 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 89 Issue 77 (Friday, April 19, 2024)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 77 (Friday, April 19, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 28732-28733]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2024-08443]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
Economic Development Administration
Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the
Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for Review and Approval; Comment
Request; Regional Economic Development Data Collection Instrument
AGENCY: Economic Development Administration, Department of Commerce.
ACTION: Notice of information collection, request for comment.
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SUMMARY: The Department of Commerce, in accordance with the Paperwork
Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), invites 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 June 18, 2024.
ADDRESSES: Interested persons are invited to submit written comments
via email to Hallie Davis, Program and Management Analyst, Economic
Development Administration (EDA), at <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#cb838faabda2b8fa8baeafaae5aca4bd"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="652d2104130c1654250001044b020a13">[email protected]</span></a> or
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#f9a9abb89a9694949c978d8ab99d969ad79e968f"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="ecbcbead8f8381818982989fac88838fc28b839a">[email protected]</span></a>. Do not submit Confidential Business Information or
otherwise sensitive or protected information.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Requests for additional information or
specific questions related to collection activities should be directed
to Hallie Davis, Program and Management Analyst, EDA, at
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#5c14183d2a352f6d1c39383d723b332a"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="256d6144534c5614654041440b424a53">[email protected]</span></a>.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Abstract
EDA leads the Federal economic development agenda by promoting
innovation and competitiveness and preparing American regions for
growth and success in the worldwide economy. Guided by the basic
principle that sustainable economic development should be driven
locally, EDA works directly with communities and regions to help them
build the capacity for economic development based on local business
conditions and needs. Section 28 of the Stevenson-Wydler Technology
Innovation Act of 1980 (Regional Technology and Innovation Hub Program
(15 U.S.C. 3722a) is the legal authority under which EDA awards
financial assistance and designee status under the Fiscal Year (FY) 23
Regional Technology and Innovation Hub Program (``Tech Hubs''). Under
Tech Hubs, EDA seeks to strengthen U.S. economic and national security
through place-based investments in regions with the assets, resources,
capacity, and potential to become globally competitive, within
approximately ten years, in the technologies and industries of the
future--and for those industries, companies, and the good jobs they
create to start, grow, and remain in the U.S. in order to support the
growth and modernization of U.S. manufacturing, improve
commercialization of the domestic production of innovative research,
and strengthen U.S. economic and national security. Tech Hubs is a two-
phase program: in Phase 1, EDA funded Strategy Development grants and
designated 31 regions as Tech Hubs. In Phase 2, designated Tech Hubs
are eligible to compete for funding for implementation projects.
Further information on Tech Hubs can be found at <a href="http://www.eda.gov">www.eda.gov</a>.
The purpose of this notice is to seek comments from the public and
other Federal agencies on a request for a new information collection
for designated Tech Hubs to help ensure that Tech Hub investments are
evidence-based, data-driven, and accountable to participants and the
public.
Lead consortium members of the 31 designated Tech Hubs will submit
identified program metrics and qualitative information to help assess
specific program objectives. A one-time questionnaire will be sent to
each of the Tech Hubs consortium leads which will gather the relevant
data and stories for each of the 31 Tech Hubs designee consortia,
resulting in consortia regional impact evaluation, resources, and tools
for regional economic development decision-makers. The 31 designated
Tech Hubs will provide information on the following objectives:
(1) Accelerating technology innovation, commercialization,
demonstration, and deployment, which may include information on the
number of patents filed, licensing agreements, approximate levels of
research and development expenditures, adoption of
[[Page 28733]]
new technologies, and acceleration of current technologies.
(2) Enabling infrastructure and advancing manufacturing, which may
include information on specific facility information.
(3) Integrating an agile workforce system, which may include
information on skills needed by employers, available training, hard-to-
fill vacancies, policies and strategies for worker retention, and
strategies for engagement with underserved workers.
(4) Increasing business and entrepreneurial capacity, which may
include assessing employer competitiveness, relationships with federal,
state, and local entities, current partnerships, and information about
sources of capital to start and grow businesses and to adopt innovative
approaches and technologies.
(5) Strengthening national security, which may include information
on procurement processes, critical inputs, sourcing, supply chains, and
strategic implications of technologies and their use cases.
Tech Hubs designees must submit this data one time to provide a
baseline status of the Tech Hub and to help assess the results of
designee status as well as potential future federal investments.
EDA is particularly interested in public comment on how the
proposed data collection will support the assessment of job quality,
including in ways that rely on pairing this information administrative
data for analysis and other ways to minimize burden, or if alternative
information should be considered.
II. Method of Collection
Data will be collected electronically.
III. Data
OMB Control Number: None: new information collection.
Form Number(s): None: new information collection.
Type of Review: Regular submission: new information collection.
Affected Public: Tech Hubs designees, which may include a (n):
Institution of higher education, including Historically Black Colleges
and Universities, Tribal Colleges or Universities, and Minority-Serving
Institutions; State, territorial, local or Tribal governments or other
political subdivisions of a State, including State and local agencies,
or a consortium thereof; Industry groups or firms in relevant
technology, innovation, or manufacturing sectors; Economic development
organizations or similar entities that are focused primarily on
improving science, technology, innovation, entrepreneurship, or access
to capital; Labor organizations or workforce training organizations,
which may include State and local workforce development boards;
Economic development entities with relevant expertise, including a
district organization; Organizations that contribute to increasing the
participation of underserved populations in science, technology,
innovation, and entrepreneurship; Venture development organizations;
Organizations that promote local economic stability, high wage domestic
jobs, and broad-based economic opportunities, such as employee
ownership membership associations and State or local employee
ownerships and cooperative development centers, financial institutions
and investment funds, including community development financial
institutions and minority depository institutions; Elementary schools
and secondary schools, including area career and technical education
schools; National laboratories; Federal laboratories; Manufacturing
extension centers; Manufacturing U.S.A. Institutes; Transportation
planning organizations; A cooperative extension services; Organizations
that represent the perspectives of underserved communities in economic
development initiatives; and Institutions receiving an award under the
National Science Foundation's (NSF) Regional Innovation Engines
Program.
Estimated Number of Respondents: Consortium Lead Members/Tech Hubs
Designee Consortia: 31 respondents, responding once.
Estimated Time per Response: Consortium Lead Members/Tech Hubs
Designee Consortia: 3 hours.
Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 93 hours.
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Total
Number of Hours per estimated
Type of respondent (one time) respondents response Number of responses per year time
(hours) (hours)
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Lead Consortium Members/Tech Hubs Designee 31 3 1 (Once)..................... 93
Consortia.
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Total.................................. 31 3 1............................ 93
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Estimated Total Annual Cost to Public: $5,769.72 (cost assumes
application of U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics second quarter 2022 mean
hourly employer costs for employee compensation for professional and
related occupations of $62.04).
Respondent's Obligation: Mandatory for Consortium Lead Members.
Legal Authority: Stevenson Wydler Technology Innovation Act of
1980, section 28 (15 U.S.C. 3722a).
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 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 Under Secretary of
Economic Affairs, Commerce Department.
[FR Doc. 2024-08443 Filed 4-18-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-34-P
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