Measuring perceptions of administrative burden in CDBG entitlement communities

Abstract

Administrative burden is a persistent feature of work for many employed by bureaucratic institutions, and its relation to the administration of federal funding through the Community Development Block Grant Program is understudied. This study analyzes perceptions of administrative burden in 10 CDBG Program Entitlement Communities in the state of Indiana, and sets out to answer whether administrative burden is felt more strongly at the population threshold (50,000) presented by Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSA). This hypothesis, that burden will be felt more strongly in communities near the MSA, is refuted through the analysis of current community conditions, which includes population, poverty, each community’s experience working with CDBG funding, and the types of programs they fund, including the amount of funding they disburse in their community. These facts were then cross-analyzed with a survey sent out to each community’s CDBG program administrator. Ultimately, it is found that proximity to the MSA population threshold does not determine levels of administrative burden perceived by the administrative professionals. Administrative burden is shaped through some of the variables included in this study, but each community has a unique response to each variable, and not one variable explained higher or lower reported levels of burden. The variables that were analyzed, among other community development variables, may provide more context as to what causes a higher level of perceived burden for one community, but this study supports that the perception of burden is shaped by the unique context of the community and the administrator’s individual experience.