2014-11389. Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection; Comment Request; Generic Clearance for the Collection of Qualitative Feedback on Agency Service Delivery

AGENCY:

National Protection and Programs Directorate, DHS.

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 Homeland Security (DHS), National Protection and Programs Directorate (NPPD), Office of the Chief Information Office 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 are encouraged and will be accepted until June 18, 2014. This process is conducted in accordance with 5 CFR 1320.10.

ADDRESSES:

Written comments may be submitted to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, OMB. Comments should be addressed to OMB Desk Officer, DHS, Office of Civil Rights and Civil Liberties. Comments must be identified by DHS-2013-0032 and may be submitted by one of the following methods:

• Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov.
• Email: [e-mail]. Include the docket number in the subject line of the message.
• Fax: [phone]

Instructions: All submissions received must include the words “Department of Homeland Security” and the docket number for this action. Comments received will be posted without alteration at http://www.regulations.gov,, including any personal information provided.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

To request additional information, please Contact: DHS/NPPD, Office of the Chief Information Office, [e-mail].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

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

Abstract: The proposed information collection activity provides a means to garner qualitative customer and stakeholder feedback in an efficient, timely manner, in accordance with the Administration's commitment to improving service delivery. By qualitative feedback we mean 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 reliably 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 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.

NPPD received no comments in response to the 60-day notice published in the Federal Register of December 19, 2013 (78 FR 244).

Below we provide National Protection and Programs Directorate projected average estimates for the next three years:

Current Actions: New collection of information.

Type of Review: New Collection.

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

Estimated Number of Respondents: Below is a preliminary estimate of the aggregate burden hours for this generic clearance. This estimate is based on a review of past behavior of the participating sub-components and by several individual sub-components' estimates for this ICR. In recognition that individual sub-components will differ in how often they use this generic clearance, this burden estimate assumes that 2 sub-components would be the heaviest users and account for approximately ten times as great a burden as the other sub-components combined. NPPD sub-components will provide more refined individual estimates of burden in their subsequent notices.

Average Expected Annual Number of activities: 15.

Respondents: 14080.

Annual responses: 14080.

Frequency of Response: Once per request.

Average minutes per response: 34 minutes.

Burden hours: 7920.3.

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.

Dated: May 9, 2014.

Scott Libby,

Acting Chief Information Officer, National Protection and Programs Directorate, Department of Homeland Security.