81 FR 1601 - Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection; Comment Request-Generic Clearance for the Collection of Qualitative Feedback on Agency Service Delivery

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Food and Nutrition Service

Federal Register Volume 81, Issue 8 (January 13, 2016)

The Food and Nutrition Service (FNS), as part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, invites the general public to comment on the ``Generic Clearance for the Collection of Qualitative Feedback on Agency Service Delivery '' for approval under the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.). This collection is being developed as part of a Federal Government-wide effort to streamline the process for seeking feedback from the public on service delivery. This notice announces our intent to submit this ``fast track'' collection to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for approval and to solicit comments on specific aspects for the proposed information collection.

[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 8 (Wednesday, January 13, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 1601-1602]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2016-00505]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Food and Nutrition Service


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

AGENCY: Food and Nutrition Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Food and Nutrition Service (FNS), as part of its 
continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, invites 
the general public to comment on the ``Generic Clearance for the 
Collection of Qualitative Feedback on Agency Service Delivery '' for 
approval under the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) (44 U.S.C. 3501 et 
seq.). This collection is being developed as part of a Federal 
Government-wide effort to streamline the process for seeking feedback 
from the public on service delivery. This notice announces our intent 
to submit this ``fast track'' collection to the Office of Management 
and Budget (OMB) for approval and to solicit comments on specific 
aspects for the proposed information collection.

DATES: Written comments must be received on or before March 14, 2016.

ADDRESSES: Comments are invited on: (1) Whether the proposed collection 
of information is necessary for the proper performance of the Agency's 
functions, including whether the information will have practical 
utility; (2) the accuracy of the Agency's estimate of the proposed 
information collection burden, including the validity of the 
methodology and assumptions used; (3) ways to enhance the quality, 
utility and clarity of the information to be collected; and (4) ways to 
minimize the burden of the collection of information on those who are 
to respond, including use of appropriate automated, electronic, 
mechanical, or other technological collection techniques or other forms 
of information technology.
    Comments may be sent to Lynnette Thomas, Planning & Regulatory 
Affairs Office, Office of Policy Support, 3101 Park Center Drive, 
Alexandria, VA 22302. Comments will also be accepted through the 
Federal eRulemaking Portal. Go to http://www.regulations.gov, and 
follow the online instructions for submitting comments electronically.
    All responses to this notice will be summarized and included in the 
request for Office of Management and Budget (OMB) approval. All 
comments will also become a matter of public record.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Requests for additional information or 
copies of this information collection should be directed to Lynnette 
Thomas, Planning & Regulatory Affairs Office, Office of Policy Support, 
3101 Park Center Drive, Alexandria, VA 22302.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    Title: Generic Clearance for the Collection of Qualitative Feedback 
on Agency Service Delivery (Fast Track).
    OMB Number: 0584-NEW.
    Expiration Date: Not Yet Determined.
    Type of Request: New collection.
    Abstract: The proposed information collection activity provides a 
means to garner qualitative customer and stakeholder feedback in an 
efficient and timely manner. 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. This feedback will, (1) provide 
insights into customer or stakeholder perceptions, experiences and 
expectations, (2) provide an early warning of issues with service and, 
(3) focus attention on areas where communication, training or changes 
in operations might improve delivery of products or services. This 
collection 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.
    The solicitation of feedback will target 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 is not collected, vital feedback from customers and 
stakeholders on the Agency's services will be unavailable.

[[Page 1602]]

    The Agency will only submit 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 study.
    Feedback collected under this generic clearance provides useful 
information, but it does 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 usage 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.
    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.
    Below we provide projected average estimates for the next 3-years:
    Affected Public: Individuals and Households, Businesses and 
Organizations, State, Local or Tribal Government.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 30,000.
    Estimated Number of Responses per Respondent: 1.
    Estimated Annual responses: 30,000.
    Estimated time per response: 60 minutes.
    Burden hours: 30,000.

Audrey Rowe,
Administrator, Food and Nutrition Service.
[FR Doc. 2016-00505 Filed 1-12-16; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3410-30-P