SUPPORTING STATEMENT – PART A
DoD-wide Data Collection and Analysis for Department of Defense Qualitative Data Collection in Support of the Independent Review Commission on Sexual Assault Recommendations (OMB Control Number 0704-0644)
Title of Collection: ETAC T2: Evaluation of The U.S. Marine Corps Pre-Command Sexual Assault Prevention and Response and Integrated Prevention Training
Expected Fielding Dates: 01 OCTOBER 2024 – 31 JULY 2026
NORC at the University of Chicago (NORC) has been contracted by the Department of Defense, Office of Force Resiliency, Violence Prevention Cell (DoD VPC) and the Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Office (DoD SAPRO) to address IRC recommendations related to evaluating the impact of revised prevention training requirements (2.1c, 2.4, 3.2, 3.6, and 4.4c).
VPC, NORC, and the United States Marine Corps (USMC) are assessing the impact of the revised USMC Pre-Command Sexual Assault Prevention and Response and Integrated Prevention Training (Pre-Command SAPR IP Training) component of the USMC Commandant’s Cornerstone Training Program on preparing slated commanders and Sergeants Major to prevent and address sexual assault (SA). The information collected for this study will be used to evaluate the effectiveness of the Pre-Command SAPR IP Training in changing trainees’ beliefs about the importance (as leaders) of preventing SA; the trainees' knowledge, skills, attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control related to SA prevention; and the trainees’ behavioral intentions and behavior (as leaders) to prevent SA. This evaluation will include 800 commanders and Sergeants Major and 40 training instructors and facilitators (USMC HQ staff and civilian employee subject matter experts) from four training session cohorts over the course of 2024, 2025, and 2026. There are three data collection components: (1) baseline and 6-month follow-up surveys, (2) brief training feedback forms collected immediately after training from instructors and trainees, and (3) qualitative interviews.
This study responds to the problem of sexual harassment (SH) and SA in the military and the urgent need for a rigorous evaluation of an evidence-informed USMC program to help prevent SH and SA. The Pre-Command SAPR IP Training is already implemented across the USMC for all slated commanders and Sergeants Major. Without this program evaluation, the USMC will not know if this program should be continued, modified, or even stopped because it does not have the intended effects.
Use of the Information
The USMC Commandant’s Cornerstone Training Program is a two week-long workshop offered twice annually (spring and fall) to prepare slated commanders and Sergeants Major for the challenges of command, encourage critical thinking, and galvanize unit readiness. The Pre-Command SAPR IP Training is a two-hour training session within Cornerstone that prepares slated commanders and Sergeants Major to address and engage in SA prevention, response, and postvention activities. To date, no formal evaluation has been conducted of the Pre-Command SAPR IP Training. Therefore, DoD VPC and SAPRO have contracted with NORC to develop and implement a formal evaluation of this training program.
The overarching research question of this evaluation is whether the Pre-Command SAPR IP Training is effective in achieving its intended goals. The working hypothesis to be tested is that the training will result in improvements in short-term and intermediate outcomes (e.g., changes in behavioral, normative, and control beliefs about the importance of preventing SA as a leader; changes in attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control of preventing SA; and changes in behavioral intentions and behavior to implement SA prevention programs) for Marine Corps leadership. There are four main process and outcome research questions (see SSB).
To answer the guiding research questions, this evaluation will employ multiple methods and phases, briefly described below. The respondents will be O5 Lt Colonels/commanders, O6 Colonels/commanders, and E9 Sergeants Major slated for participation in the Commandant’s Cornerstone Training Program sessions in Fall 2024-Spring 2026, and the Pre-Command SAPR IP Training instructors and facilitators (USMC HQ staff and civilian employee subject matter experts).
All commander/Sergeant Major participants will complete a web-based baseline survey prior to their time in Cornerstone. Immediately following the Pre-Command SAPR IP Training, trainees will complete web-based trainee feedback forms, and training instructors will complete web-based instructor feedback forms to assess program fidelity and immediate post-training outcomes. Roughly 5-6 months after the completion of the Pre-Command SAPR IP Training, commander/Sergeant Major participants will complete a web-based follow-up survey. After the follow-up surveys, NORC will conduct virtual qualitative interviews with a small sample of commander/Sergeant Major participants get additional, nuanced information about their impressions and experience of the Pre-Command SAPR IP Training. We will have two cohorts of participants: the first will be the Training Cohort and this group will complete the baseline survey, attend Cornerstone, complete the training feedback form, then take the follow-up survey. The second will be the Comparison Cohort, and this group will complete the baseline and follow-up survey before attending Cornerstone. More details regarding participant recruitment and data collection measures, methods, and analysis can be found in Supporting Statement Part B.
Findings from this evaluation will be used to inform improvements to the USMC Pre-Command SAPR IP Training to better prepare slated commanders and Sergeants Major to implement prevention, response, and postvention strategies within their command to prevent harmful behaviors, including SA. NORC will deliver a draft and final report of the evaluation describing the methods, results, and interpretations of analyses to the study sponsor – DoD VPC. These reports will be shared with USMC. Aggregate findings will describe the effectiveness of the Pre-Command SAPR IP Training program at improving knowledge of integrated primary prevention and SA prevention and response approaches along with changes in beliefs, attitudes, perceived behavioral control and self-efficacy, preparedness, behavioral intentions, and behavior to address integrated primary prevention and SA prevention and response as a leader. Finally, NORC will collaborate with VPC to determine the disposition of the survey datasets, the analytic reports to be prepared, and all plans for dissemination of results, inclusive of target audiences and format of reports. DoD VPC will determine more broad dissemination of evaluation results, datasets disposition, and reports within the DoD, and any dissemination outside of the DoD will be collaboratively determined and mutually agreed to by DoD VPC and USMC.
Use of Information Technology
100% use of information technology. Baseline and follow-up survey data and training feedback form data will be collected electronically via Voxco. Qualitative interviews will be conducted virtually via Zoom or Microsoft Teams. Recruitment materials will be sent via email. Scheduling of interviews will be done via email.
Efforts to Identify Duplication
The information obtained through this collection is unique and is not already available for use or adaptation from another cleared source. This project does not duplicate any similar information collection as there are currently no existing sources of data related to the effectiveness of the Pre-Command SAPR IP Training in changing trainees’ beliefs about the importance of preventing SA as a leader; knowledge, skills, attitudes, subjective norms, perceived behavioral control related to SA prevention; and the trainees’ behavioral intentions and behavior to prevent SA as a leader. The collection of data for this project is required to evaluate the effectiveness of the Pre-Command SAPR IP Training at preparing slated Marine Corps commanders and Sergeants Major for the challenges of addressing SA prevention, response, and postvention strategies at the unit level as part of their command responsibilities.
Burden on Small Businesses
This information collection does not impose a significant economic impact on any small businesses or entities.
Consequences of Less Frequent Collection
The timeframes of data collection are as infrequent as possible to minimize burden while still yielding information necessary for evaluation. To assess the effectiveness of the Pre-Command SAPR IP Training, an annual analytic sample of n=400 is necessary. To achieve this analytic sample, it is necessary to recruit and collect data from two cohorts who have received the training and two cohorts who have not received the training. This design is supported by recruiting all eligible candidates for the Cornerstone and the Pre-Command SAPR IP Training over two years (two cohorts per year, and Cornerstone is offered twice annually). A shorter time period and/or less frequent data collection would result in insufficient sample for program evaluation analyses.
Paperwork Reduction Act Guidelines
This collection of information does not require collection to be conducted in a manner inconsistent with the guidelines delineated in 5 CFR 1320.5(d)(2).
Solicitation of Comments
A 30-Day Federal Register Notice for the collection published on Thursday, September 12, 2024. The 30-Day FRN citation is 89 FR 74258.
NORC consulted with representatives from the USMC to obtain their views on the availability of data, frequency of collection, the clarity of instructions and recordkeeping, disclosure, or reporting format (if any), and on the data elements to be recorded, disclosed, or reported.
Gifts or Payment
No payments or gifts are being offered to respondents as an incentive to participate in the collection.
Confidentiality
The collection instrument requires a Privacy Advisory Statement, since we will be collecting personally identifiable information to facilitate data linkages between pre- and post-survey data collection and scheduling interviews with respondents who volunteer in our follow-up survey. The survey will be administered confidentially, as well as the instructor feedback form and the qualitative interviews. The trainee feedback form will be administered anonymously. When PII is collected, this privacy advisory statement will be displayed on data collection instruments: “Disclosure of this information is voluntary and will be used to evaluate the effectiveness of the Pre-Command SAPR IP Training. When completed, this form contains personally identifiable information and is protected by the Privacy Act of 1974, as amended.”
A System of Record Notice (SORN) is not required for this collection because records will not be retrievable by personally identifiable information (PII).
A Privacy Impact Assessment (PIA) was done and approved by an OUSD (P&R) Privacy, Civil Liberties, and FOIA Officer for this collection. The notes and analyses from qualitative interviews will be stripped of personally identifying information. The surveys will collect respondents’ military email addresses to verify and authenticate identity. Email addresses will be linked to a researcher-generated participant ID which will be used within the dataset to allow for matching of baseline and follow-up survey responses for data analysis. After data collection is complete and the baseline and follow-up surveys are linked, all personally identifiable data (i.e., military email addresses) will be removed from the survey datasets to further ensure confidentiality. Only the unique participant IDs will remain.
Maintain for 5 years in accordance with OSD 1807-02. Confidential de-identified records will be retained during analysis and data will be reported in aggregate to DoD VPC and SAPRO. At the time of the study’s close, following the deductive disclosure analyses and appropriate data management, de-identified records will be returned to USMC and DoD VPC and SAPRO, and all data housed at NORC at the University of Chicago will be destroyed following protocols consistent with federal guidelines.
Sensitive Questions
The only sensitive questions in the data collection materials are about respondent’s personal email address, race/ethnicity, and gender identity questions within the surveys. These data are necessary to collect for pre/post survey matching purposes prior to analyses. In accordance with mutually agreed-upon direction resulting from collaborative discussions between parties, we will deliver a final data set following deductive disclosure analyses and subsequent data management to protect participant privacy and confidentiality.
Respondent Burden and its Labor Costs
Part A: ESTIMATE OF RESPONDENT BURDEN
Below is an estimate of the annual burden for data collection that directly involves respondents for five data collection instruments (baseline surveys, follow-up surveys, trainee feedback forms, instructor feedback forms, and qualitative interviews).
Collection Instrument(s)
[Survey - Baseline]
[Survey – Follow-Up]
Number of Respondents: 400
Number of Responses per Respondent: 1
Number of Total Annual Responses: 400
Response Time: 15 minutes
Respondent Burden Hours: 100 hours
[Feedback Forms-Trainees]
Number of Respondents: 200
Number of Responses per Respondent: 1
Number of Total Annual Responses: 200
Response Time: 4 minutes
[Feedback Forms-Instructors]
Number of Respondents: 20
Number of Responses per Respondent: 1
Number of Total Annual Responses: 20
Response Time: 4 minutes
Respondent Burden Hours: 1.34 hours
[Qualitative Interviews-Trainees]
Number of Respondents: 10
Number of Responses per Respondent: 1
Number of Total Annual Responses: 10
Response Time: 30 minutes
Respondent Burden Hours: 5 hours
Total Submission Burden (Summation or average based on collection)
PART B: LABOR COST OF RESPONDENT BURDEN
The below labor costs of respondent burden are calculated based on the USMC Basic Pay Charts for 2024 (source: https://www.federalpay.org/military/marine-corps). We referenced starting monthly salaries for E-9, O-5, and O-6 level Marine Corps officers to determine an average estimated respondent hourly wage.
Collection Instrument(s)
[Baseline Survey]
Number of Total Annual Responses: 400
Response Time: 15 minutes
Respondent Hourly Wage: $40.70
Labor Burden Per Response: $10.18
Total Labor Burden: $4,070.00
[Follow-up Survey]
Number of Total Annual Responses: 400
Response Time: 15 minutes
Respondent Hourly Wage: $40.70
Labor Burden Per Response: $10.18
[Feedback Forms-Trainees]
Number of Total Annual Responses: 200
Response Time: 4 minutes
Respondent Hourly Wage: $40.70
Labor Burden Per Response: $2.71
Total Labor Burden: $542.67
[Feedback Forms-Instructors]
Number of Total Annual Responses: 20
Response Time: 4 minutes
Respondent Hourly Wage: $37.09
Labor Burden Per Response: $2.47
Total Labor Burden: $49.45
[Qualitative Interviews-Trainees]
Number of Total Annual Responses: 10
Response Time: 30 minutes
Respondent Hourly Wage: $40.70
Labor Burden per Response: $20.35
Total Labor Burden: $203.50
Overall Labor Burden
Total Number of Annual Responses: 1,030
Total Labor Burden: $8,936
Respondent Costs Other Than Burden Hour Costs
There are no annualized costs to respondents other than the labor burden costs addressed in Section 12 of this document to complete this collection.
Costs to the Federal Government
PART A: LABOR COSTS TO THE GOVERNMENT
The below labor costs of worker response processing burden are calculated based on the average burdened salary rate for research staff at NORC.
[Baseline Survey]
Number of Total Annual Responses: 400
Processing Time per Response: 0.5 hours
Hourly Wage of Worker(s) Processing Responses: $138.21
Cost to Process Each Response: $69.11
Total Cost to Process Responses: $27,642.00
Number of Total Annual Responses: 200
Hourly Wage of Worker(s) Processing Responses: $138.21
Cost to Process Each Response: $11.52
Total Cost to Process Responses: $2,303.50
[Feedback Forms - Instructors]
Number of Total Annual Responses: 20
Processing Time per Response: 0.083 hours
Cost to Process Each Response: $11.52
[Qualitative Interviews-Trainees]
Number of Total Annual Responses: 10
Processing Time per Response: 8 hours
Cost to Process Each Response: $1,105.68
Total Cost to Process Responses: $11,056.80
Overall Burden to the Federal Government
Total Number of Annual Responses: 1,030
Total Labor Burden: $68,874.65
PART B: OPERATIONAL AND MAINTENANCE COSTS
Cost Categories
Total Operational and Maintenance Costs: $27,798.47
PART C: TOTAL COST TO THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT:
Total Labor Cost to the Federal Government: $68,874.65
Total Costs to the Federal Government: $96,673
Reasons for Change in Burden
This is a new collection with a new associated burden.
Publication of Results
The results of this information collection will not be published.
Non-Display of OMB Expiration Date
We are not seeking approval to omit the display of the expiration date of the OMB approval on the collection instrument.
Exceptions to “Certification for Paperwork Reduction Submissions”
We are not requesting any exemptions to the provisions stated in 5 CFR 1320.9.
| File Type | application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.wordprocessingml.document |
| Author | Wisdom Ibikunle |
| File Modified | 0000-00-00 |
| File Created | 2026-01-07 |