(a) The Secretary may approve a data collection period for a grant for a period of up to 72 months after the end of the project period and provide funds for the data collection period for the purpose of collecting, analyzing, and reporting performance measurement data on the project.

(b) If the Secretary plans to approve a data collection period, the Secretary may inform applicants of the Secretary's intent to approve data collection periods in the application notice published for a competition or may decide to fund data collection periods after grantees have started their project periods.

(c) If the Secretary informs applicants of the intent to approve data collection periods in the notice inviting applications, the Secretary may require applicants to include in the application a budget for, and description of, a data collection period for a period of up to 72 months, as specified in the notice inviting applications, after the end of the project period.