Proposed Information Collection; Comment Request; Generic Clearance for the Collection of Qualitative Feedback on Agency Service Delivery

AGENCY:

Office of the Secretary, Office of the Chief Information Officer, Commerce.

ACTION:

Notice.

SUMMARY:

The Department of Commerce, as part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, invites the general public and other Federal agencies to take this opportunity to comment on proposed and/or continuing information collections, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.

DATES:

Comments must be submitted April 21, 2014.

ADDRESSES:

Written comments may be submitted to Jennifer Jessup, Departmental Paperwork Clearance Officer, Department of Commerce, Room 6616, 14th and Constitution Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20230 (or via the Internet at JJessup@doc.go v).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Requests for additional information or copies of the information collection instrument and instructions should be directed to Glenna Mickelson at gmickelson@doc.gov or on (202) 482-5190.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Abstract

Executive Order 12862 directs Federal agencies to provide service to the public that matches or exceeds the best service available in the private sector. In order to work continuously to ensure that the Department of Commerce (DOC) programs are effective and meet our customers' needs we use a generic clearance process to collect qualitative feedback on our service delivery. This collection of information is necessary to enable DOC to garner customer and stakeholder feedback in an efficient, timely manner, in accordance with our commitment to improving service delivery. The information collected from our customers and stakeholders will help ensure that users have an effective, efficient, and satisfying experience with the programs. This feedback will provide insights into customer or stakeholder perceptions, experiences and expectations, provide an early warning of issues with service, or focus attention on areas where communication, training or changes in operations might improve delivery of products or services. These collections will allow for ongoing, collaborative and actionable communications between DOC and its customers and stakeholders. It will also allow feedback to contribute directly to the improvement of program management.

Feedback collected under this generic clearance will provide useful information, but it will not yield data that can be generalized to the overall population. This type of generic clearance for qualitative information will not be used for quantitative information collections that are designed to yield reliably actionable results, such as monitoring trends over time or documenting program performance.

This request is an extension of the `generic fast-track' process offered to all government agencies by OMB in 2010. Fast-track means each request receives approval five days after submission, if no issues are brought to DOC's attention by OMB within the five days. Since 2011, DOC has successfully submitted 68 generic requests to OMB.

II. Method of Collection

The primary method of collection will be the Internet (electronically), paper format, email, fax, interviews, etc.

III. Data

OMB Control Number: 0690-0030.

Form Number (s): Not Applicable.

Type of Review: Regular submission (extension of a currently approved collection).

Affected Public: Individuals or Households, Businesses or for-profit organizations, State, Local or Tribal Government, etc.

Estimated Number of Respondents: 244,710.

Estimated Time per Response: 5 to 30 minutes for surveys; 1 to 2 hours for focus groups; 30 minutes to 1 hour for interviews.

Estimated Total of Burden Hours: 631, 334.

Estimated Total Cost to Public: $0.

Frequency of Requests: One-time.

IV. Request for Comments

Comments are invited on: (a) Whether the proposed collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the agency, including whether the information shall have practical utility; (b) the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden (including hours and cost of the proposed collection of information; (c) ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; and (d) ways to minimize the burden of the collection of information on respondents, including through the use of automated collection techniques or other forms of information technology.

Comments submitted in response to this notice sill be summarized and/or included in the request for OMB approval of this information collection; they also will become a matter of public record.