Small Business Administration
Federal and State Technology Partnership (FAST) Program Quarterly Reporting Form
OMB Control Number, 3245-0405
Justification – Part A Supporting Statement
Overview of Information Collection: The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) is seeking reinstatement, with change, of a previously approved collection for which approval has expired, for the Federal and State Technology Partnership (FAST) program quarterly metrics collection form, OMB Control Number, 3245-0405. This collection governs the quarterly collection of FAST awardee performance metrics, the only collection in which SBA requests data directly from FAST awardees. This request will modify the Outreach and Financial Assistance portions of the previously approved data collection instrument by streamlining these sections with the removal of unnecessary questions. Also, the form was modified to capture the minimum data needed on assisted companies. The modifications are: 1) the removal of the Outreach section related to mentor networks, commercialization, federal contracting, and investment; 2) the removal of nascent, startup, and existing business classifications in the Financial Assistance section; 3) the removal of questions capturing assisted companies demographics; and 4) adding a Client Information section to capture information of businesses that have been assisted by grantees.
Need & Method for the Information Collection. SBA is requesting approval to update data collection from FAST award recipients (grantees) in the FAST Program using the Quarterly Reporting Form. As stated in the FAST Program’s FY 2024 Funding Opportunity Announcement, Section 6.3.2, reporting is a requirement of the award: “Recipients will be required to submit quarterly performance reports to SBA using SF-PPR, Performance Progress Report (or a form of their devising that includes all the same information sought by the SF-PPR), including SBA’s FAST Quarterly Reporting Form.…”
The FAST Program is a competitive grants program that is designed to strengthen the technological competitiveness of small businesses seeking funding from the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs. Congress authorized the FAST Program under the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2001, Pub. L. 106-554 (12/21/2000). The program, which was codified in section 34 of the Small Business Act, 15 U.S.C. §657d, has been funded since FY 2010 through annual appropriations acts, e.g., Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2022, Pub. L. No. 117-103. With the passage of the Further Consolidated Appropriations Act, of 2024, the program received an increase in funding that increased the number of awardees and the maximum amount per award.
The FAST program provides funding to organizations to execute state and regional programs that: increase the number of SBIR/STTR proposals (through outreach and financial support); increase the number of SBIR/STTR awards (through technical assistance and mentoring); and better prepare SBIR/STTR awardees for commercialization success (through technical assistance and mentoring). The SBA is required to submit an annual report to the Senate Committee on Small Business & Entrepreneurship; the House Committee on Science, Space, & Technology; and the House Small Business Committee. 15 U.S.C. 657d(f)(2), and this data information collection supports this requirement.
Use of the Information. The reports will collect ongoing performance and outcome data from FAST grantees on a quarterly basis. The data will support basic performance measurement and program improvement and will provide data that can be used to support a future evaluation of the FAST Program. This collection will be responsive to the Government Performance and Results Act (GPRA) of 1993 and the GPRA Modernization Act of 2010 by helping the program measure its effectiveness, improve its performance, and report its results. The data collected will also inform annual reports to Congress and address findings in a recent study by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) that SBA and other federal agencies need to improve their tracking and data collection for the SBIR and STTR programs.
Use of Information Technology. Data will be collected in an Excel spreadsheet and submitted via GrantSolutions.gov. Based on SBA’s experience with FAST grantees and consideration of the submission options, SBA concluded this is the least burdensome way to collect the information.
Non-duplication. The data collected through the Quarterly Reporting Form is highly customized to the work of the economic development organizations that receive FAST awards. SBA reviewed existing data sources and concluded that existing data is not sufficient for this data collection. No other source of information exists for this data except that collected through the Quarterly Reporting Form. The reporting forms will collect ongoing performance and outcome data from FAST grantees on a quarterly basis, and the information requested each quarter relates to new activities of FAST awardees over the preceding quarter. Therefore, there is no duplication of information collected.
Burden on Small Business. The requested information will not have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities. FAST grantees serve small businesses but are not themselves small businesses. Among the 49 current FAST grantees, many are state economic development agencies. Although the burden of this collection is low and will not affect a significant number of small entities, SBA is prepared to answer questions and talk with any grantees who require assistance filling out the form. Approximately 49 grantees receive a FAST award each year, and the reporting requirements are basic and ask for information that grantees are already likely collecting in their normal course of business. This collection should not require grantees to develop any new data.
Less Frequent Collection. If the collection is not conducted or is conducted less frequently, SBA will not be able to obtain information that is critical for understanding the performance of the FAST program. The program will be less capable of fulfilling its reporting requirements to Congress and addressing the issues raised in the previously noted GAO report.
Paperwork Reduction Act Guidelines. Notwithstanding any other provision of the law, no person is required to respond to, nor shall any person be subject to a penalty for failure to comply with a collection of information subject to the requirements of the Paperwork Reduction Act unless that collection of information displays a currently valid OMB control number. The information collected will be protected to the extent permitted by law. There are no other special circumstances that would cause the conditions described.
Consultation and Public Comments. A 60-Day Notice and Request for Comments was published in the Federal Register on November 29, 2024, 89 FR 94866. The comment period closed on Tuesday, January 28, 2025.
One comment received indicated that the collection of the data requested would result in an unnecessary burden for grantees to capture and that the collection would be a potential security risk by requiring the capture of the designated company information.
SBA re-reviewed the collection and believes we are collecting the minimally required information on companies receiving support through FAST grantees and that this information is critical to effectiveness assessment and evaluation of the FAST program over time. Further, there is no proprietary or sensitive information being collected. The form asks for the participant’s name, company name, generalized location (city, state, zip), the public Unique Entity Identifier (UEI), and a contact email. Collectively, these non-proprietary and non-sensitive data reflect the minimally required information to evaluate the performance of FAST. Lastly, the SBA engaged with FAST awardees prior to seeking the modifications in this information collection. The information being requested is data already collected by all FAST awardees as a normal course of business and therefore poses no additional burden on the awardees or security threat on their clients.
Gifts or Payment. No payments or gifts are provided to respondents.
Privacy & Confidentiality. Assurances of confidentiality to the extent permitted by law are provided to FAST grantees responding to this collection. The requested data is collected in the aggregate, and records are maintained under conditions designed to preclude access by persons other than agency personnel with a need to know.
Information collected for this form from an identifiable information perspective is limited to company name. Company name alone does not uniquely identify an individual. Therefore, a Privacy Impact Assessment is not required nor a Privacy Act Statement for this form under the provisions of the Privacy Act of 1974, as amended.
Sensitive Questions. SBA safeguards business proprietary information in compliance with federal laws, guidelines, and SBA's Cybersecurity and Privacy Policy. Data in transit and at rest is encrypted to mitigate the potential of data spillage. Access controls and role-based permissions are among the other security precautions in safeguarding our customers’ data.
Burden Estimate.
|
|
Cost |
Total number of respondents |
50 (number of current FAST grantees) |
-- |
Responses per respondent |
4 (quarterly) |
-- |
Total estimated annual responses |
200 (50 x 4) |
-- |
Hour burden per response |
2 hours |
$85.70* |
Total estimated annual hour burden |
400 hours (200 x 2) |
$17,140* |
* SBA’s experience with previous FAST grantees suggests that Business Operations Specialists will be completing the Quarterly Reporting Form. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) estimates a mean hourly wage for Business Operations Specialists of $42.85. Multiplying the burden hours by this mean hourly wage yields a total labor cost of $17,140.
Estimated nonrecurring costs. There is no annual cost burden to respondents other than the cost of the hour burden provided in item 12.
Estimated cost to the Government. The SBA will spend an estimated 5 hours per quarter, or 20 hours per year, sending out and processing the Quarterly Reporting Forms. SBA expects that a Program Analyst, GS-13, step 1 will be processing the reports. The General Schedule (GS) classification and pay system sets an hourly pay rate of $57.78 for a Program Analyst, GS-13, step 1, in Washington, DC (SALARY TABLE 2025-DCB). Multiplying the hours by this hourly wage yields total Federal labor costs of $1,155.60. No contractor time will be used.
Reasons for changes. Adjustments have been made to previous estimates of burden due to the increase in the number of awards funded.
Publicizing Results. SBA will publish aggregate data results as a part of annual reporting to Congress.
OMB Not to Display Approval. Not applicable. The expiration date for OMB approval will be displayed on the Quarterly Reporting Form.
Exceptions to "Certification for Paperwork Reduction Submissions." Not applicable. There are no exceptions to the certification statement identified in Item 19, “Certification for Paperwork Reduction Act Submissions,” of OMB 83-1.
Surveys, Censuses, and Other Collections that Employ Statistical Methods. This collection of information is not a survey and does not employ statistical methods.
Attachments:
FAST Quarterly Reporting Form
89 FR 94866 Federal Register 60-Day Notice
Authorizing Statutory Provisions
| File Type | application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.wordprocessingml.document |
| Author | Cupp, Louis A. |
| File Modified | 0000-00-00 |
| File Created | 2025-07-16 |