July 1 -- The Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS) announces plans to ask OMB to approve its the CPS Supplement: Volunteering and Civic Life Assessment (September 2021) and invites comments on its value and design by August 31, 2020.
CNCS says that the survey is the only source of nationally representative data on the number of Americans who are active in their communities, through volunteering, social interactions, political activities and civic behaviors. Measures include a person’s interactions with family, friends and neighbors, participation in community events, informal interactions, communication with one another on issues of public concern, interactions with public and private institutions and political participation.
The purpose of collecting data on civic engagement and volunteering is to provide scholars, government officials and policymakers with official government measurement on the level of civic engagement social capital and social cohesion in the United States. These indicators can inform policies and practices that promote increased citizen activity in the political, civic, and social spheres, at the national, state, and community levels.
When combined with demographic characteristics (age, sex, race, education, occupation, income), the data can provide information on the relationship between these characteristics and the level of civic engagement in the United States. Government agency analysts and private, state and local leaders may use these data to compare levels in their area of interest to the national level of civic engagement, and to link these data to other measures of civic health in order to formulate policies that foster healthy communities.
CNCS Volunteering and Civic Engagement historical data:
https://data.nationalservice.gov/browse?category=Volunteering+and+Civic+Engagement
Federal Register notice inviting comment:
https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2020/07/01/2020-14098/agency-information-collection-activities-submission-to-the-office-of-management-and-budget-for
Draft survey instrument for Sept 2021:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/lri98ixle7dtcji/Appendix%20A1%20Item%20Booklet%204_5_21_Clean_Updated.docx?dl=0
January 2020 supporting statement (previous approval):
https://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAViewDocument?ref_nbr=201906-3045-003
2017 technical documentation:
https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/cps/techdocs/cpssep17.pdf
Point of contact: Mary Hyde, Director of Research and Evaluation, CNCS (202) 606-6834 mhyde@cns.gov
