Reporting and Recordkeeping Requirements Under OMB Review

AGENCY:

Small Business Administration.

ACTION:

30-Day notice.

SUMMARY:

The Small Business Administration (SBA) is publishing this notice to comply with requirements of the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) (44 U.S.C. Chapter 35), which requires agencies to submit proposed reporting and recordkeeping requirements to OMB for review and approval, and to publish a notice in the Federal Register notifying the public that the agency has made such a submission. This notice also allows an additional 30 days for public comments.

DATES:

Submit comments on or before June 15, 2016.

ADDRESSES:

Comments should refer to the information collection by name and/or OMB Control Number and should be sent to: Agency Clearance Officer, Curtis Rich, Small Business Administration, 409 3rd Street SW., 5th Floor, Washington, DC 20416; and SBA Desk Officer, Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management and Budget, New Executive Office Building, Washington, DC 20503.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Curtis Rich, Agency Clearance Officer, (202) 205-7030 curtis.rich@sba.gov.

Copies: A copy of the Form OMB 83-1, supporting statement, and other documents submitted to OMB for review may be obtained from the Agency Clearance Officer.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

The Emerging Leaders Initiative aims to assist established small businesses located in historically challenged communities with increasing their sustainability, attracting outside investment, and strengthening each community's economic base by creating jobs and providing valuable goods and services. These objectives are pursued by offering eligible business executives a 7-month intensive course focused on the skills essential to develop their companies, expand their resource networks, and increase their confidence and motivation. The course is designed to be hands-on and is composed of classroom sessions, out-of-class preparation work, and executive mentoring groups where participants can discuss their challenges. A broad range of topics is covered in the curriculum, including financial measures of business health, strategies for marketing, access to funding, and employee management and recruitment.

SBA plans to conduct annual performance-monitoring activities to assess the short- and intermediate-term outcomes of participants in the Emerging Leaders Initiative. The broad outcomes assessed will include satisfaction, changes in management behavior, and changes in economic outcomes, such as loans obtained and jobs created. Specifically, SBA plans to implement three instruments with the participants in each cohort: An intake assessment form at the start of the program to document baseline conditions, a satisfaction-oriented feedback form at the end of the program, and an annual outcome-oriented survey for 3 years after program completion. The latter instrument will document changes in key outcomes over a longer period, because job growth, revenue growth, profitability, and other economic outcomes of program participation are expected to manifest in the intermediate and long terms.

Solicitation of Public Comments

Title: Emerging Leaders Initiatives.

Description of Respondents: Small Businesses located in historically challenged communities.

Form Number: N/A.

Estimated Annual Responses: 3,474.

Estimated Annual Hour Burden: 1,340.