NOAA and its partners use data collected by citizen science projects. Most federal projects that collect information from the public are required to get approval from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) under the Paperwork Reduction Act. On September 4, 2024, OMB approved the Generic Clearance for Citizen Science and Crowdsourcing Projects under OMB Control Number 0648-0828. 

That information collection request included 49 existing projects. Additional projects may now be submitted for approval under the generic clearance, which involves a quicker and streamlined review process.

In their requests for information from the public, NOAA projects with OMB approval must include a Paperwork Reduction Act Statement, an OMB control number, and an expiration date.

NOAA may also collect limited information about volunteers themselves, such as their name and contact information. To do so, NOAA must give participants an opportunity to review the Privacy Act Statement, which explains the information that NOAA can collect, how the information may be used, and that sharing this information is voluntary.

Citizen Science and Crowdsourcing Information Collections 

The following information is for the projects that OMB has approved and will approve under the Generic Clearance for Citizen Science and Crowdsourcing Projects.

Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) Statement

A federal agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to, nor shall a person be subject to a penalty for failure to comply with an information collection subject to the requirements of the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) of 1995 unless the information collection has a currently valid OMB Control Number. The approved OMB Control Number and Expiration Date for the Citizen Science & Crowdsourcing information collections are 0648-0828 and 09/30/2027. This approval is required for continued project data collection.

Public reporting for these information collections is estimated to be between one minute and 8 hours per response depending on the project, including the time for reviewing instructions, searching existing data sources, gathering and maintaining the data needed, and completing and reviewing the information collection. All responses to this information collection are voluntary. Send comments regarding this burden estimate or any other aspect of this information collection, including suggestions for reducing this burden to the NOAA Citizen Science coordinator at citizenscience@noaa.gov.

Privacy Act Statement

Authority: The collection of this information is authorized under 5 U.S.C. § 301, Departmental regulations which authorizes the operations of an executive agency, including the creation, custodianship, maintenance and distribution of records, and 15 U.S.C. 1512, Powers and duties of the Department.

Purpose: NOAA is collecting this information to help meet its mission to understand and predict changes in climate, weather, ocean, and coasts, to share that knowledge and information with others, and to conserve and manage coastal and marine ecosystems and resources. NOAA collects limited information, such as name, address, phone number, or email address for a variety of purposes. This information will be used to respond to user inquiries or provide services requested by the user.

Routine Uses: Disclosure of this information is permitted under the Privacy Act of 1974 (5 U.S.C. Section 552a) to be shared among Department staff for work-related purposes. Disclosure of this information is also subject to all of the published routine uses as identified in the Privacy Act System of Records Notice COMMERCE/NOAA-11, Contact Information for Members of the Public Requesting or Providing Information Related to NOAA’s Mission, and COMMERCE/DEPT-23, Information Collected Electronically in Connection with Department of Commerce Activities, Events, and Programs.

Disclosure: Furnishing this information is voluntary. By providing this information, you are consenting to the use of that information only for the purpose for which it is submitted.