Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the Office of Management and Budget for Review and Approval; Response to Comment Request; Civic Engagement and Volunteering: Current Population Survey Supplement
| Published date | 18 September 2020 |
| Citation | 85 FR 58343 |
| Record Number | 2020-20222 |
| Section | Notices |
| Court | Corporation For National And Community Service |
Federal Register, Volume 85 Issue 182 (Friday, September 18, 2020)
[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 182 (Friday, September 18, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 58343-58345]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-20222]
=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
CORPORATION FOR NATIONAL AND COMMUNITY SERVICE
Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the
Office of Management and Budget for Review and Approval; Response to
Comment Request; Civic Engagement and Volunteering: Current Population
Survey Supplement
AGENCY: Corporation for National and Community Service.
ACTION: Notice; response to comments.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
[[Page 58344]]
SUMMARY: The Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS)
published a document in the Federal Register on July 1, 2020 requesting
public comment on a public information collection request (ICR)
entitled The Civic Engagement and Volunteering Supplement (CEV) for
review and approval in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act.
This document provides the agency response to comments received during
the 60-day comment period.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Amy Borgstrom, Associate Director of
Policy, 202-422-2781.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Comments
A 60-day Notice requesting public comment was published in the
Federal Register on July 1, 2020 at Vol. 85 No. 127 FR 39537 39538.
This comment period ended August 31, 2020. CNCS received 23 comments in
response to the Notice. A majority of these comments (n = 18) supported
the formal comments submitted by AL!VE, a national membership
organization of over 500 leaders and professionals in volunteer
engagement, and ASC, the association of the 52 Governor-supported state
service commissions, which administer nearly 80% of AmeriCorps State
and National Funding and support an ethic of service in their states
and territories. The comments submitted by each organization and
referenced by 16 other organizations are available at the Federal
eRulemaking Portal at https://beta.regulations.gov/document/CNCS-2020-0011-0020. In summary, the comments and agency responses to these
coordinated and thoughtful comments are as follows:
Reinstate questions on types of activity, types of organization,
who asked respondent to volunteer for the organization, and number of
organizations volunteered with in past year. The re-designed supplement
is intended to focus on the broader concept of civic engagement, of
which volunteerism is one component. The re-designed supplement
incorporates many of the recommendations made by the National Academy
of Sciences, as well as recommendations made by experts in the field of
civic engagement, social capital and volunteering. The agency reduced
the number of questions based on Census recommendations to decrease
burden and to increase response rates. The agency utilized statistical
methods to validate the questions retained to ensure they measure
desired constructs.
Add two new questions about barriers to volunteering and knowledge
about how to volunteer. The re-designed supplement is intended to focus
on the broader concept of civic engagement, of which volunteerism is
one component. The re-designed supplement incorporates many of the
recommendations made by the National Academy of Sciences, as well as
recommendations made by experts in the field of civic engagement,
social capital and volunteering. The agency reduced the number of
questions based on Census recommendations to decrease burden and to
increase response rates. The agency utilized statistical methods to
validate the questions retained to ensure they measure desired
constructs. The agency is conducting other volunteer research through
its grant program to explore more detailed questions about civic
engagement and volunteering.
Request that the balance of the questions be provided between the
civic and volunteering questions. The re-designed supplement is
intended to focus on the broader concept of civic engagement, of which
volunteerism is one component. The re-designed supplement incorporates
many of the recommendations made by the National Academy of Sciences,
as well as recommendations made by experts in the field of civic
engagement, social capital and volunteering. The agency reduced the
number of questions based on Census recommendations to decrease burden
and to increase response rates. The agency utilized statistical methods
to validate the questions retained to ensure they measure desired
constructs.
Request that CNCS reinstate its practice of conducting a standard
data analysis and report of data collected in the Volunteering and
Civic Life Assessment, making results accessible and searchable to the
general public. The agency has experienced staffing constraints in the
Office of Research and Evaluation and the Office of Information
Technology making it challenging to conduct analysis, reporting, and
public access to the information.
It is critical that CNCS does not lose sight of the volunteerism
portion of its mission, which is how most Americans engage in giving
back to their community . . . which includes a central focus on
researching and promoting community volunteerism and volunteer
engagement in America more broadly. The agency agrees and anticipates a
continuation and future resourcing of its volunteer research program.
It is important for CNCS to fix the 2019 supplement so future data
is high quality and comparable to past federal data collections (2002
to 2015).
Over a decade of national trend data indicates relatively little
variation in the national rates of civic behaviors, including
demographic variations. As such the volunteer research program has been
expanded to include more local examinations of civic behaviors and to
explore the use of alternative data sources. Keeping the instrument
relatively stable for a third administration of the combined supplement
will help ensure data quality moving forward.
Ensure that the federal government collects and reports annually on
the trends in service and civic life. Over a decade of national trend
data indicates relatively little variation in the national rates of
civic behaviors, including demographic variations. As such the
volunteer research program has been expanded to include more local
examinations of civic behaviors and to explore the use of alternative
data sources. Annual data on national service trends is collected via
an annual member exit survey and is separate from this instrument which
collects data from a nationally representative sample of the U.S.
population who may or may not engage in civic behaviors like
volunteering and who may or may not receive stipends like participants
in national service programs. Statute and annual appropriations provide
resources for this research--how is the agency using these resources?
The agency uses Congressional appropriations to pay the U.S. Census
Bureau to administer the VCLA/CEV supplement on a biannual schedule.
When the CPS supplement is not being administered, the agency uses the
appropriations to support its volunteer research grant program (for
more information see https://www.nationalservice.gov/impact-our-nation/research-evaluation/research-competition). The agency has a different
appropriations line for professional staffing which is the resource gap
that has affected analysis, reporting, and access to the dataset.
In addition to these comments, there were requests to move the
order of the survey items, combine questions, remove questions, and
expand upon questions. Two requests for adding COVID-19 related
questions and two requests for adding questions specific to disasters
were received. The items in their current order and structure have been
tested and used for the 2017 and 2019 administrations of the survey.
The agency's goal is to maintain relative stability in the
instrument for a third administration to maintain the integrity and
comparability of the data. Two new questions were added,
[[Page 58345]]
however, to facilitate the transition from employment-related questions
in the Current Population Survey to the questions in the CEV. These new
questions address one request to add employment-based volunteering and
civic engagement behaviors.
Finally, two additional types of comments were received. One
category of comments references the importance of including volunteer
engagement practitioners in agency decision-making about this national
survey. The other type of comment references the importance of
considering the full continuum of volunteering and civic behaviors and
not just the more formal types of civic engagement behaviors measured
in this supplement.
The agency remains committed to being responsive to the expertise
and information needs of all public stakeholders. The agency's
statutorily mandated volunteer research program will continue to
evolve. The goal is continuous learning and improvement and this
supplement is a key component of our overall volunteer research
program.
The CEV, however, comes with constraints in terms of number of
survey items and time demands we can ask of respondents. Addressing the
wide range of important questions about volunteering and civic
engagement of interest to practitioners, researchers, and policymakers
will require a comprehensive, multi-faceted strategy. The agency has
begun designing and implementing this multi-dimensional approach and
looks forward to building upon progress made to date in partnership
with all interested stakeholders.
Dated: September 9, 2020.
Mary Hyde,
Director, Office of Research and Evaluation.
[FR Doc. 2020-20222 Filed 9-17-20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6050-28-P
