2016-01136. National Endowment for the Arts; Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection; Comment Request; 2017 Survey of Public Participation in the Arts

AGENCY:

National Endowment for the Arts, National Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities.

ACTION:

Proposed collection; comments request.

SUMMARY:

The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), as part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, conducts a preclearance consultation program to provide the general public and Federal agencies with an opportunity to comment on proposed and/or continuing collections of information in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA95) [44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(A)]. This program helps to ensure that requested data can be provided in the desired format, reporting burden (time and financial resources) is minimized, collection instruments are clearly understood, and the impact of collection requirements on respondents can be properly assessed. Currently, the NEA is soliciting comments concerning the proposed information collection on arts participation in the U.S: Clearance Request for NEA 2017 Survey of Public Participation in the Arts. Copies of this ICR, with applicable supporting documentation, may be obtained by visiting www.Reginfo.gov.

DATES:

Comments should be sent to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Attn: OMB Desk Officer for the National Endowment for the Arts, Office of Management and Budget, Room 10235, Washington, DC 20503 202/395-7316, within 30 days from the date of this publication in the Federal Register.

The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) is particularly interested in comments which:

• 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;
• 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;
• Enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; and
• 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.

Agency: National Endowment for the Arts.

Title: 2017 Survey of Public Participation in the Arts.

OMB Number: New.

Frequency: One Time.

Affected Public: American adults.

Estimated Number of Respondents: 36,000.

Estimated time per respondent: 10.0 minutes.

Total burden hours: 6,000 hours.

Total annualized capital/startup costs: 0.

Total annual costs (operating/maintaining systems or purchasing services): 0.

Description: This request is for clearance of the 2017 Survey of Public Participation in the Arts (SPPA) to be conducted by the Census Bureau in July 2017 as a supplement to the Bureau of Labor Statistic's Current Population Survey. The SPPA is the field's premiere repeated cross sectional survey of individual attendance and involvement in arts and cultural activity. The data are circulated to interested researchers, and they are the basis for a range of NEA reports and independent research publications. The SPPA provides primary knowledge on the extent and nature of participation in the arts in the United States. Earlier SPPA surveys were conducted in 1982, 1985, 1992, 1997, 2002, 2008, and 2012 all of which were conducted by the Census Bureau except the 1997 study, which was conducted by a private contractor, Westat Inc. Reports on these data will be made publicly available on the NEA's Web site. The SPPA will provide primary knowledge on the extent and nature of participation in the arts in the United States. These data will also be used by the NEA as a contextual measure for one of the strategic goals identified in its FY 2014—FY 2018 strategic plan.

Dated: January 15, 2016.

Kathy Plowitz-Worden,

Panel Coordinator, Office of Guidelines and Panel Operations, National Endowment for the Arts.