80 FR 14148 - Proposed Renewal of Information Collection: OMB Control Number 1040-0001, DOI Programmatic Clearance for Customer Satisfaction Surveys

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Office of the Secretary

Federal Register Volume 80, Issue 52 (March 18, 2015)

In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, we (Department of the Interior, DOI) plan to ask the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to extend the approval for the information collection (IC) described below. This IC is scheduled to expire June 30, 2015. We invite the general public and other Federal agencies to take this opportunity to comment on this IC.

[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 52 (Wednesday, March 18, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 14148-14150]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2015-06229]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Office of the Secretary

[156D0102DM DLSN00000.000000 DS61200000 DX61201]


Proposed Renewal of Information Collection: OMB Control Number 
1040-0001, DOI Programmatic Clearance for Customer Satisfaction Surveys

AGENCY: Department of the Interior.

ACTION: Notice and request for comments.

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SUMMARY: In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, we 
(Department of the Interior, DOI) plan to ask the Office of Management 
and Budget (OMB) to extend the approval for the information collection 
(IC) described below. This IC is scheduled to expire June 30, 2015. We 
invite the general public and other Federal agencies to take this 
opportunity to comment on this IC.

DATES: Consideration will be given to all comments received by May 18, 
2015.

ADDRESSES: Mail or hand carry comments to the Department of the 
Interior; Office of Policy Analysis; Attention: Don Bieniewicz; Mail 
Stop 3530; 1849 C Street NW., Washington, DC 20240. If you wish to 
email comments, the email address is: [email protected]. 
Reference ``DOI Programmatic Clearance for Customer Satisfaction 
Surveys, OMB Control Number: 1040-0001'' in your email subject line. 
Include your name and return address in your email message and mark 
your message for return receipt.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: To request a copy of the information 
collection request, any explanatory information and related forms, see 
the contact information provided in the ADDRESSES section above.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Abstract

    This notice is for renewal of information collection.
    The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) regulations at 5 CFR part 
1320, which implement the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, 44 U.S.C. 
3501 et seq., require that interested members

[[Page 14149]]

of the public and affected agencies have an opportunity to comment on 
information collection and recordkeeping activities (see 5 CFR 
1320.8(d)).
    The Government Performance and Results Act of 1993 (GPRA) (Pub. L. 
103-62) requires agencies to ``improve Federal program effectiveness 
and public accountability by promoting a new focus on results, service 
quality, and customer satisfaction.'' Executive Order 13571 on 
``Streamlining Service Delivery and Improving Customer Service'' 
requires Federal agencies to establish ``mechanisms to solicit customer 
feedback on Government services.'' To fulfill this responsibility, DOI 
bureaus and offices must collect data from their respective user groups 
to better understand the needs and desires of the public and to respond 
accordingly.
    The proposed renewal covers all of the organizational units and 
bureaus in DOI. Bureaus and offices will voluntarily obtain information 
from their customers and stakeholders. No one survey will cover all the 
topic areas; rather, these topic areas serve as a guide within which 
the agencies will develop questions. Topic areas include:
    (1) Communication/information/education. Questions will focus on 
customer satisfaction with aspects of communication/information/
products/education offered. Respondents may be asked for feedback 
regarding the following attributes of the services provided:
    (a) Timeliness.
    (b) Consistency.
    (c) Ease of Use and Usefulness.
    (d) Ease of Information Access.
    (e) Helpfulness and Effectiveness.
    (f) Quality.
    (g) Value for fee paid for information/product/service.
    (h) Level of engagement in communications process (i.e., whether 
respondent feels he/she was asked for input and whether or not that 
input was considered).
    (2) Disability accessibility. This area will focus on customer 
satisfaction data related to disability access to DOI buildings, 
facilities, trails, etc.
    (3) Management practices. This area covers questions relating to 
how well customers are satisfied with DOI management practices and 
processes, what improvements they might make to specific processes, and 
whether or not they feel specific issues were addressed and reconciled 
in a timely, courteous, and responsive manner.
    (4) Resource management. We will ask customers and partners to 
provide satisfaction data related to DOI's ability to protect, 
conserve, provide access to, and preserve natural resources that we 
manage.
    (5) Rules, regulations, policies. This area focuses on obtaining 
feedback from customers regarding fairness, adequacy, and consistency 
in enforcing rules, regulations, and policies for which DOI is 
responsible. It will also help us understand public awareness of rules 
and regulations and whether or not they are explained in a clear and 
understandable manner.
    (6) Service delivery. We will seek feedback from customers 
regarding the manner in which DOI delivers services. Attributes will 
range from the courtesy of staff to timeliness of service delivery and 
staff knowledge of the services being delivered.
    (7) Technical assistance. Questions developed within this topic 
area will focus on obtaining customer feedback regarding attributes of 
technical assistance, including timeliness, quality, usefulness, and 
the skill level of staff providing this assistance.
    (8) Program-specific. Questions for this area will reflect the 
specific details of a program that pertain to its customer respondents. 
The questions will address very specific and/or technical issues 
related to the program. The questions will be geared toward gaining a 
better understanding about how to provide specific products and 
services and the public's attitude toward their usefulness.
    (9) General demographics. Some general demographics may be used to 
augment satisfaction questions so that we can better understand the 
customer and improve how we serve that customer. We may ask customers 
how many times they have used a service, visited a facility within a 
specific timeframe, their ethnic group, or their race.

II. Data

    (1) Title: DOI Programmatic Clearance for Customer Satisfaction 
Surveys.
    OMB Control Number: 1040-0001.
    Current Expiration Date: June 30, 2015.
    Type of Review: Information Collection Renewal.
    Affected Entities: DOI customers. We define customers as anyone who 
uses DOI resources, products, or services. This includes internal 
customers (anyone within DOI) as well as external customers (e.g., the 
American public, representatives of the private sector, academia, and 
other government agencies). Depending upon their role in specific 
situations and interactions, citizens and DOI stakeholders and partners 
may also be considered customers. We define stakeholders to mean groups 
or individuals who have an expressed interest in and who seek to 
influence the present and future state of DOI's resources, products, 
and services. Partners are those groups, individuals, and agencies who 
are formally engaged in helping DOI accomplish its mission.
    Estimated annual number of respondents: 120,000. We estimate 
approximately 60,000 respondents will submit DOI customer satisfaction 
surveys and 60,000 will submit comment cards.
    Frequency of responses: On occasion.
    (2) Annual reporting and recordkeeping burden:
    Total time per response: 15 minutes for a customer survey; 3 
minutes for a comment card.
    Total number of estimated responses: 120,000.
    Total annual reporting: 18,000 hours.
    (3) Description of the need and use of the information: We use 
customer satisfaction surveys to help us fulfill our responsibilities 
to provide excellence in government by proactively consulting with 
those we serve. This programmatic clearance provides an expedited 
approval process for DOI bureaus and offices to conduct customer 
research through external surveys such as questionnaires and comment 
cards. We anticipate that the information obtained could lead to 
reallocation of resources, revisions in certain agency processes and 
policies, development of guidance related to customer services, and 
improvement in the way we serve the American public.

III. Request for Comments

    The Department invites comments on:
    (a) Whether the collection of information is necessary for the 
proper performance of the functions of the agencies, including whether 
the information will have practical utility;
    (b) The accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden of the 
collection of information and the validity of the methodology and 
assumptions used;
    (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 appropriate automated, 
electronic, mechanical, or other collection techniques or other forms 
of information technology.
    ``Burden'' means the total time, effort, and financial resources 
expended by persons to generate, maintain, retain, disclose, or provide 
information to or for a Federal agency. This includes the

[[Page 14150]]

time needed to review instructions; to develop, acquire, install, and 
use technology and systems for the purposes of collecting, validating, 
and verifying information, processing and maintaining information, and 
disclosing and providing information; to train personnel and to be able 
to respond to a collection of information, to search data sources, and 
to complete and review the collection of information; and to transmit 
or otherwise disclose the information.
    All written comments, with names and addresses, will be available 
for public inspection. If you wish us to withhold your personal 
information, you must prominently state at the beginning of your 
comment what personal information you want us to withhold. We will 
honor your request to the extent allowable by law. If you wish to view 
any comments received, you may do so by scheduling an appointment with 
the Department of the Interior; Office of Policy Analysis as indicated 
in the ADDRESSES section above. A valid picture identification is 
required for entry into the Department of the Interior.
    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.
    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: March 12, 2015.
Benjamin Simon,
Assistant Director, Office of Policy Analysis, U.S. Department of the 
Interior.
[FR Doc. 2015-06229 Filed 3-17-15; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4334-63-P