Nov 21 -- The Office of Policy Development and Research, Chief Data Officer, HUD, invites comment to OMB by December 21, 2022 regarding Standards for Success Reporting.
This proposed collection, titled Standards for Success, has three key tenets which improves data collection and reporting for participating programs. First is the standardization of data collection and reporting requirements across programs which increases data comparability and utility. Second is the ability to report on measurable outcomes and aligning them with higher-level agency objectives. And third is the collection of record-level data, instead of aggregate data. Collecting de-identified data at the level of the service recipient allows for more meaningful analysis, improved management, and the ability to demonstrate the progress and achievements of the funding recipients and the programs. Standards for Success accepts data submission by direct data input through the HUD-funded GrantSolutions online data collection and reporting tool (OLDC) and by data file upload, accommodating file formats in Microsoft Excel or Extensible Markup Language (XML).
Currently across HUD, there are several reporting models in place for its discretionary programs. The reporting models provide information on a wide variety of outputs and outcomes and are based on unique data definitions and outcome measures in program-specific performance and progress reports. In Federal Fiscal Year 2013, nine program offices at HUD used six systems and 15 reporting tools to collect over 700 data elements in support of varied metrics to assess the performance of their funding recipients. The proposed data collection and reporting requirements described in this notice are designed to provide HUD programs a tested alternative to their existing disparate reporting methodologies, forms, systems, and requirements.
The lack of standardized data collection and reporting requirements imposes an increased burden on funding recipients with multiple HUD funding streams. The need for a comprehensive standardized reporting approach is underscored by reviews conducted by external oversight agencies, including the HUD Office of Inspector General (OIG) and the Government Accountability Office (GAO). These oversight agencies have questioned the soundness and comparability of data reported by HUD prior to Standards for Success. To address these issues, HUD is using its statutory and regulatory authority to improve and strengthen performance reporting for its discretionary programs, ultimately working towards a single comprehensive reporting approach.
The Secretary's statutory and regulatory authority to administer housing and urban development programs include provisions allowing for the requirement of performance reporting from funding recipients. This legal authority is codified at 42 U.S.C. 3535(r). The individual privacy of service recipients is of the highest priority. The reporting repository established at HUD to receive data submission from funding recipients will not include any personally identifiable information (PII).
HUD is implementing this approach incrementally over multiple years that will refine the methodology, the data collected, and the tools developed. SfS applies to the following:
-- Multifamily Housing Service Coordinator Program Grants
-- Multifamily Housing Budget-Based Service Coordinator Program Sites
-- Resident Opportunities and Self-Sufficiency (ROSS) Service Coordinator Program Grants
Eligible entities receiving funding by HUD are expected to implement the proposed recordkeeping and reporting requirements with available HUD funds. It is important to note that affected HUD funding recipients only submit a subset of the universe of data elements presented. The participating HUD program offices determine the specific data collection and reporting requirements, which considers the type and level of service provided by the respective HUD program.
The reporting requirements in this proposed information collection better organize the data than participating programs collected in the past, standardize outcomes and performance measures, and allow program offices at HUD to select which data elements are relevant for their respective programs. Documents detailing the data elements are available for review by request from Anna P. Guido (Anna.P.Guido@hud.gov). All information reported to HUD will be submitted electronically. Funding recipients may use existing management information systems provided those systems collect all the required data elements and can be exported for submission to HUD. Funding recipients that sub-award funds to other organizations will need to collect the required information from their sub-recipients.
Information collected and reported will be used by funding recipients and HUD for the following purposes:
-- To provide data for program evaluation;
-- To provide program and performance information to recipients, general public, Congress, and other stakeholders;
-- To continuously improve the quality, effectiveness, and efficiency of discretionary-funded programs;
-- To provide management information for use by HUD in program administration and oversight, including the scoring of applications and the monitoring of funding-recipient participation, services, and outcomes; and
-- To better measure and analyze performance information to identify successful practices to be replicated and prevent or correct problematic practices and improve outcomes in compliance with the Government Performance and Results Act (GPRA) and the GPRA Modernization Act.
The data collection and reporting requirements may expand to other HUD programs. Program implementation will be determined by the program. HUD will provide technical assistance to funding recipients throughout the implementation.
Standards for Success information:
https://www.standardsforsuccess.info/ and
https://www.hudexchange.info/programs/standards-for-success/
PD&R submission to OMB:
https://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAViewICR?ref_nbr=202211-2501-002 Click on IC List for questionnaire, View Supporting Statement for technical documentation. Submit comments through this site.
FR notice inviting public comment:
https://www.federalregister.gov/d/2022-25261
For AEA members wishing to submit comments, "A Primer on How to Respond to Calls for Comment on Federal Data Collections" is available at
https://www.aeaweb.org/content/file?id=5806