2014-08234. Proposed Submission of Information Collection for OMB Review; Comment Request; Generic Clearance for the Collection of Qualitative Feedback on Agency Service Delivery

AGENCY:

Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation.

ACTION:

Notice of intent to request extension of OMB approval.

SUMMARY:

Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (“PBGC”) intends to request that the Office of Management and Budget (“OMB”) extend approval under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 of this collection of information on qualitative feedback on PBGC's service delivery (OMB Control Number 1212-0066; expires June 30, 2014). This notice informs the public of PBGC's intent and solicits comments on the proposed information collection. This collection of information was developed as part of a Federal Government-wide effort to streamline the process for seeking feedback from the public on service delivery.

DATES:

Comments should be submitted by June 10, 2014.

ADDRESSES:

Comments may be submitted by any of the following methods:

• Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the Web site instructions for submitting comments.
• Email: [e-mail].
• Fax: [phone].
• Mail or Hand Delivery: Office of General Counsel, Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation, 1200 K Street NW., Washington, DC 20005-4026 PBGC will make comments submitted in response to this notice available on its Web site at www.pbgc.gov.

Copies of the collection of information may be obtained without charge by writing to the Disclosure Division of the Office of the General Counsel of PBGC at the above address or by visiting that office or calling 202-326-4040 during normal business hours. (TTY and TDD users may call the Federal relay service toll-free at 1-800-877-8339 and ask to be connected to 202-326-4040.)

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Jo Amato Burns, Attorney, or Catherine B. Klion, Assistant General Counsel, Office of the General Counsel, Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation, 1200 K Street NW., Washington, DC 20005-4026, 202-326-4024. (For TTY and TDD, call 800-877-8339 and ask to be connected to 202-326-4024.)

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Title: Generic Clearance for the Collection of Qualitative Feedback on Agency Service Delivery

Abstract: The information collection activity will gather qualitative customer and stakeholder feedback in an efficient, timely manner, in accordance with the Administration's commitment to improving service delivery. By qualitative feedback PBGC means information that provides useful insights on perceptions and opinions, but the information requests are not statistical surveys that yield quantitative results that generalizable to the population of interest. This feedback provides insights into customer or stakeholder perceptions, experiences and expectations, provide an early warning of issues with service, or focus attention on areas where changes in PBGC's communication with the public, training of staff or in operations might improve delivery of products or services. These collections will allow for ongoing, collaborative and actionable communications between PBGC and its customers and stakeholders. These collections also allow feedback to contribute directly to the improvement of program management.

The solicitation of feedback targets areas such as: Timeliness, appropriateness, accuracy of information, courtesy, efficiency of service delivery, and resolution of issues with service delivery. Responses will be assessed to plan and inform efforts to improve or maintain the quality of service offered to the public. If this information were not collected, vital feedback from customers and stakeholders on PBGC's services would be unavailable.

PBGC only submits a collection for approval under this generic clearance if it meets the following conditions:

• The collections are voluntary;
• The collections are low-burden for respondents (based on considerations of total burden hours, total number of respondents, or burden-hours per respondent) and are low-cost for both the respondents and the Federal Government;
• The collections are non-controversial and do not raise issues of concern to other Federal agencies;
• Any collection is targeted to the solicitation of opinions from respondents who have experience with the program or may have experience with the program in the near future;
• Personally identifiable information (PII) is collected only to the extent necessary and is not retained;
• Information gathered will be used only internally for general service improvement and program management purposes and is not intended for release outside of the agency;
• Information gathered will not be used for the purpose of substantially informing influential policy decisions; and
• Information gathered will yield qualitative information; the collections will not be designed or expected to yield statistically reliable results or used as though the results are generalizable to the population of interest.

As noted, feedback collected under this generic clearance does not produce results generalizable to the population of interest. 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. Collections with such objectives require more rigorous designs that address: The target population to which generalizations will be made, the sampling frame, the sample design (including stratification and clustering), the precision requirements or power calculations that justify the proposed sample size, the expected response rate, methods for assessing potential non-response bias, the protocols for data collection, and any testing procedures that were or will be undertaken prior to fielding the study.

As a general matter, information collections will not result in any new system of records containing privacy information and will not ask questions of a sensitive nature, such as sexual behavior and attitudes, religious beliefs, and other matters that are commonly considered private.

Current Action: Extension of approval for a collection of information (OMB Control Number 1212-0066; expires June 30, 2014).

Type of Review: Regular.

Affected Public: Individuals and households, businesses and organizations, State, Local or Tribal Government.

Estimated Annual Number of Respondents: 1180.

Below are projected average annual estimates for the next three years:

Average Expected Annual Number of Activities: Three.

Average Number of Respondents per Activity (varies by activity):

• Usability Testing: 40.
• Focus Group: 90 (nine groups of ten respondents).
• Customer Satisfaction Survey: 1050.

Frequency of Response: Once per request.

Annual Responses: 1,180 (based on one response per respondent).

Average Time per Response (varies by activity):

• Two hours per response for Usability Testing and Focus Groups;
• 15 minutes for Customer Satisfaction Survey.

Burden Hours (varies by activity):

• Usability Testing, 80 hours.
• Focus Group, 180 hours.
• Customer Satisfaction Survey, 263 hours.

Total: 523 hours.

An agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to, a collection of information unless it displays a currently valid Office of Management and Budget control number.

Request for Comments: PBGC is soliciting public comments to—

• Evaluate whether the collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the agency, including whether the information will have practical utility;
• Evaluate the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden of the collection of information, including the validity of the methodology and assumptions used;
• Enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; and
• Minimize the burden of the collection of information on those who are to respond, including the use of appropriate automated, electronic, mechanical, or other technological collection techniques or other forms of information technology, e.g., permitting electronic submission of responses.

Issued in Washington, DC, this 8th day of April 2014.

Judith Starr,

General Counsel, Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation.