2011-9080. Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection; Comment Request; Generic Clearance for the Collection of Qualitative Feedback on Agency Service Delivery

AGENCY:

U.S. Department of Energy.

ACTION:

30-Day notice of submission of information collection approval from the Office of Management and Budget and request for comments.

SUMMARY:

As part of a Federal Government-wide effort to streamline the process to seek feedback from the public on service delivery, the Department of Energy has submitted a Generic Information Collection Request (Generic ICR): “Generic Clearance for the Collection of Qualitative Feedback on Agency Service Delivery” to OMB for approval under the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) (44 U.S.C. 3501 et. seq.).

DATES:

Comments must be submitted May 16, 2011.

ADDRESSES:

Written comments may be submitted to: DOE Desk Officer, Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management and Budget, New Executive Office Building, Room 10102, 735 17th Street, NW., Washington, DC 20503.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

To request additional information: DOE PRA Officer, Christina Rouleau IM-23, U.S. Department of Energy, Corp. 270 room 4002, 1000 Independence Ave., SW., Washington, DC 20585, [e-mail].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

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

Abstract: The information collection activity will garner qualitative customer and stakeholder feedback in an efficient, timely manner, in accordance with the Administration's commitment to improving service delivery. Qualitative feedback means information that provides useful insights on perceptions and opinions, but are not statistical surveys that yield quantitative results that can be generalized to the population of study. 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 the Agency 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 reliable actionable results, such as monitoring trends over time or documenting program performance. Such data uses 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. Depending on the degree of influence the results are likely to have, such collections may still be eligible for submission for other generic mechanisms that are designed to yield quantitative results.

The 60-day notice was published in the Federal Register of December 22, 2010 (75 FR 80542).

Below we provide the Department of Energy projected average estimates for the next three years: ^[1]

Current Actions: New collection of information.

Type of Review: New Collection.

Affected Public: Individuals and Households, Businesses and Organizations, State, Local or Tribal Government.

Average Expected Annual Number of Activities: 100.

Respondents: 2,220.

Annual Responses: 222,000.

Frequency of Response: Once per request.

Average Minutes per Response: 30.

Burden hours: 111,000.

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.

Statutory Authority: Due to the special circumstances regarding this initiative led by OIRA, there are no statutory authorities reported for this notice.

John E. Davenport, Sr.,

Director, Records Management Division, Office of the ACIO for IT Planning, Architecture and E-Government, Office of the Chief Information Officer, U.S. Department of Energy.

Footnotes

1.  The 60-day notice included the following estimate of the aggregate burden hours for this generic clearance Federal-wide:

Average Expected Annual Number of Activities: 25,000.

Average Number of Respondents per Activity: 200.

Annual Responses: 5,000,000.

Frequency of Response: Once per request.

Average Minutes per Response: 30.

Burden hours: 2,500,000.