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The Agency is proposing to publish an Interim Rule with request for comments that will codify certain program measures and metrics for included Agency programs and establish the process by which the Agency will collect the data. Section 6209 of the Agricultural Act of 2014 (2014 Farm Bill) (Pub. L. 113-79) requires the Secretary of Agriculture to collect data regarding economic activities created through grants and loans, including any technical assistance provided as a component of the grant or loan program, and measure the short- and long-term viability of award recipients and any entities to whom those recipients provide assistance using award funds. The proposed action will not change the underlying provisions of the included programs (e.g., eligibility, applications, scoring, and servicing provisions).

Statement of Need:

This interim rule implements section 6209, Program Measures and Metrics, under the Agricultural Act of 2014 (2014 Farm Bill). The proposed action will codify the measures and metrics identified in section 6209(c)(2)(B) through (D) for each included program and establish the process by which the Agency will collect the data. The proposed action will not change the underlying provisions of the included programs (e.g., eligibility, applications, scoring, and servicing provisions).

 To implement section 6209, the Agency plans to publish a single rule that will modify each of the included programs accordingly. While the specific provisions may vary from program to program, the rule will, at minimum, specify for each program:

• the performance measures required to be collected by the statute (i.e., percentage of increase of employees, number of business starts and clients served, and any benefits such as an increase in revenue or customer base) and other measures in addition to these as determined by the Agency,
• who is responsible for providing those metrics, and the time frame over which the metrics will be collected (this could vary depending on whether a grant or a loan/guaranteed loan is awarded).

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