Notice2026-10960
Agency Information Collection Activities: Evaluation of Emergency Communications Division Interoperable Communications Technical Assistance Program Training Program
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
June 2, 2026
Issuing agencies
Homeland Security Department
Abstract
The Office of the Chief Financial Officer (OCFO)/Program Analysis & Evaluation (PA&E) within Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency CISA submits the following Information Collection Request (ICR) to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and clearance in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 91 Issue 105 (Tuesday, June 2, 2026)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 91, Number 105 (Tuesday, June 2, 2026)]
[Notices]
[Pages 32991-32993]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2026-10960]
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DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY
[Docket No. CISA-2026-0034]
Agency Information Collection Activities: Evaluation of Emergency
Communications Division Interoperable Communications Technical
Assistance Program Training Program
AGENCY: Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA),
Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
ACTION: 60-Day notice and request for comments; new collection (request
for a new OMB control number, 1670-NEW)
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SUMMARY: The Office of the Chief Financial Officer (OCFO)/Program
Analysis & Evaluation (PA&E) within Cybersecurity and Infrastructure
Security Agency CISA submits the following Information Collection
Request (ICR) to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review
and clearance in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.
DATES: Comments are encouraged and will be accepted until August 3,
2026.
[[Page 32992]]
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by docket number Docket
# CISA-2026-0034, by following the instructions below for submitting
comment via the Federal eRulemaking Portal at <a href="http://www.regulations.gov">http://www.regulations.gov</a>.
Instructions: All comments received must include the agency name
and docket number Docket # CISA-2026-0034. All comments received will
be posted without change to <a href="http://www.regulations.gov">http://www.regulations.gov</a>, including any
personal information provided.
Docket: For access to the docket to read background documents or
comments received, go to <a href="http://www.regulations.gov">http://www.regulations.gov</a>.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Yunsoo Park, 202-766-0098,
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#5d0428332e3232730d3c2f361d3e342e3c7339352e733a322b"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="bce5c9d2cfd3d392ecddced7fcdfd5cfdd92d8d4cf92dbd3ca">[email protected]</span></a>.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Foundations for Evidence-Based
Policymaking Act of 2018 (Pub. L. 115-435), or the Evidence Act,
promotes the use of evidence to inform decision-making and requires
federal agencies to undertake activities toward this end. Specifically,
the Evidence Act requires agencies to develop Learning Agendas and
Annual Evaluation Plans.
CISA's Learning Agenda questions are documented in the DHS FY 2022-
2026 Learning Agenda. In addition, its evaluations are included in the
DHS Annual Evaluation Plans, indicating that the Department has
recognized those evaluations as ``significant.'' The evaluation of the
Emergency Communications Division (ECD COMU) Interoperable
Communications Technical Assistance Program (ICTAP) Training Program is
one such significant evaluation and was included in the DHS FY 2023
Annual Evaluation Plan. CISA's Office of the Chief Financial Officer
(OCFO)/Program Analysis & Evaluation (PA&E) Division (and any
contractors, as applicable) will be conducting this evaluation study.
Evaluation of Emergency Communications Division (ECD COMU)
Interoperable Communications Technical Assistance Program (ICTAP)
Training Program
For over fifteen years, ICTAP has trained people in seven core
specialties to create a cadre of emergency communication professionals.
The long-term goal of the communication training program is to prepare
and support a population of responders to fill critical emergency
communications response roles in federal, state, local, and tribal
territory partner organizations. The intended result is a qualified
group of credentialed responders that can enable continuity of
communications during a catastrophic incident or event. Achieving this
goal is dependent on whether the training participants continue in the
credentialling pipeline after attending the training to achieve higher
levels of qualification for advanced emergency communication specific
roles.
The purpose of the evaluation is to understand the extent to which
the COMU ICTAP training program creates, maintains, and deploys a
qualified group of credentialed responders. The following questions
guide the current evaluation:
1. To what extent does the Communications Unit (COMU) training
enable and support interested state, local, tribal, and territorial
(SLTT) stakeholders to officially qualify for and earn COMU
credentials? Are there points of relative strength and weakness in the
training and the credentialing pipeline, and how does this vary by
credential?
2. To what extent do COMU training and program attendees apply
delivered principles after receiving training to enhance
interoperability or integrated, collaborative communications planning?
What factors enable or impede application of the principles?
3. To what extent, and in what ways, does the COMU position-
specific training contribute to enhanced interoperability and
integrated collaborative communication planning in federal and SLTT
partner organizations?
This is a new information collection. Information will be collected
by CISA PA&E (and any contractors, as applicable) using surveys and
interviews. The potential respondent universe for this study consists
of all adults who took one or more emergency communications trainings
through the ECD ICTAP program between 2007 and 2022.
The burden for respondents will be minimized by restricting the
survey and interview length, by conducting interviews at times
convenient for respondents, and by not requiring record-keeping or
written responses on the part of the respondents. The evaluation team
will only request information required for the purposes of the
evaluation.
Surveys. The online survey will be created and sent using
Qualtrics, a survey software. The evaluation team will provide a link
via email that participants can use to access and complete the survey
using a tablet, smartphone, or laptop. Electronic submission will
ensure the maximum response rate while also permitting respondents to
complete the survey at a time of their own choosing.
The survey will ask questions on the following topics: (1)
attainment of additional credentials after taking the initial training,
(2) whether they are working in the field, (3) factors that hindered
their ability to perform the role they trained for and/or attain
additional credentials, and (4) factors that aided their ability to
perform the role they trained for and/or attain additional credentials.
Interviews. The evaluation team will also conduct interviews with
up to 100 participants who complete the online survey and agree to
participate in the interview. The interviews will be conducted by
telephone or via a web-based conference call platform, such as
Microsoft Teams, at a time that is most convenient for participants
The interviews will collect in-depth information about: (1) whether
trainees are working in the field they prepared for and how much the
training prepared them for working in the field, (2) potential
facilitators and barriers to attaining qualifications, (3) whether
their training enhanced interoperability and integrated collaborative
communication planning in their organization, (4) whether the training
and credentialling process overall contributes to enhanced
interoperability and integrated collaborative communication planning in
federal and SLTT partner organizations. Some topics will intentionally
be addressed in both the survey and interview, since the interviews
will provide more depth and context for understanding the information
collected in the surveys.
Without collecting this information, CISA will not meet the
requirements of the Evidence Act to conduct program evaluations--
particularly, this evaluation, which was included in the Department of
Homeland Security FY 2023 Annual Evaluation Plan as a ``significant''
evaluation. Without collecting this information, CISA stakeholders will
not be able to understand the availability, readiness, and use of
trainees for specific types of COMU roles and how they enrich
communications planning in federal and SLTT partner organizations.
Thus, we will not have the information needed to learn how CISA and DHS
can update training products and services, recommend improvements to
the National Incident Management System and Incident Command Systems
architecture, and better assist partner organizations in prioritizing
and addressing COMU gaps. Without collecting this information, we will
not be able to assess how to best engage
[[Page 32993]]
federal and SLTT partner organizations, as well as technical assistance
providers, to improve plans that build and sustain capabilities to
maintain readiness.
The Office of Management and Budget is particularly interested in
comments which:
1. Evaluate whether the proposed collection of information is
necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the agency,
including whether the information will have practical utility;
2. Evaluate 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;
3. Enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to
be collected; and
4. Minimize the burden of the collection of information on those
who are to respond, including through the use of appropriate automated,
electronic, mechanical, or other technological collection techniques or
other forms of information technology, e.g., permitting electronic
submissions of responses.
Analysis
Agency: Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA),
Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
Title: Evaluation of Emergency Communications Division (ECD COMU
Interoperable Communications Technical Assistance Program (ICTAP)
Training Program.
OMB Number: 1670-NEW.
Frequency: Once.
Affected Public: Emergency Communications Professionals who
attended ICTAP Trainings between 2007 and 2022.
Number of Respondents: 16,206.
Estimated Time per Respondent: 0.333 hours per survey; 0.875 hours
per interview.
Total Burden Hours: 5,456.17 hours.
Total Annual Burden Cost: $259,310.52.
Total Annual Government Burden Cost: $285,814.70.
Winfield P. Werntz,
Acting Chief Information Officer, Department of Homeland Security,
Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency.
[FR Doc. 2026-10960 Filed 6-1-26; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 9111-LF-P
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