2020-06174. Renewal of Currently Approved Information Collection; Comment Request; Generic Clearance for the Collection of Qualitative Feedback on Agency Service Delivery

AGENCY:

Office of the Secretary, 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 comment on continuing to collect qualitative feedback on the department's service delivery, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. The purpose of this notice is to allow for 60 days of public comment.

DATES:

To ensure consideration, written or online comments must be submitted on or before May 26, 2020.

ADDRESSES:

Direct all written comments to the Department Paperwork Reduction Act Clearance Officer, Department of Commerce, Room 6616, 14th and Constitution Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20230 (or via the internet at [e-mail]). All comments received are part of the public record. Comments will generally be posted without change. All Personally Identifiable Information (for example, name and address) voluntarily submitted by the commenter may be publicly accessible. Do not submit Confidential Business Information or otherwise sensitive or protected information.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Requests for additional information or copies of the information collection instrument and instructions should be directed to the DOC PRA Clearance Officer, Office of Policy and Governance, 14th and Constitution Avenue NW, Room 6616, Washington, DC 20230 [phone] or at [e-mail].

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.

II. Method of Collection

The methods of collection include but are not limited to in-person surveys, telephone interviews or questionnaires, mail and email surveys, web-based products, focus groups, and comment cards.

III. Data

OMB Control Number: 0690-0030.

Form Number(s): None.

Type of Review: Regular submission [Extension of a current information collection].

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

Estimated Number of Respondents: 181,500.

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 Annual Burden Hours: 80,439.

Estimated Total Annual Cost to Public: $0.

Respondent's Obligation: Voluntary.

Frequency of Requests: One-time.

Legal Authority: 44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.

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

Dated: March 19, 2020

Sheleen Dumas,

Department PRA Clearance Officer, Office of the Chief Information Officer, Commerce Department.