81 FR 50492 - Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection; Comment Request; Generic Clearance for the Collection of Qualitative Feedback on Agency Service Delivery

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
U.S. Energy Information Administration

Federal Register Volume 81, Issue 147 (August 1, 2016)

As part of a Federal Government-wide effort to streamline the process to seek feedback from the public on service delivery, EIA invites the general public to comment on the following proposed Generic Information Collection Request (Generic ICR): ``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 notice announces EIA's intent to submit this proposed collection to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for approval.

[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 147 (Monday, August 1, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 50492-50494]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2016-18120]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

U.S. Energy Information Administration


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

AGENCY: U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), Department of 
Energy.

ACTION: Notice and request for comments.

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SUMMARY: As part of a Federal Government-wide effort to streamline the 
process to seek feedback from the public on service delivery, EIA 
invites the general public to comment on the following proposed Generic 
Information Collection Request (Generic ICR): ``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 notice announces EIA's intent to submit this proposed 
collection to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for approval.

DATES: Consideration will be given to all comments received by 
September 30, 2016. If you anticipate difficulty in submitting comments 
within that period, contact the person listed in ADDRESSES as soon as 
possible.

ADDRESSES: Written comments may be sent to Jacob Bournazian, Energy 
Information Administration, 1000 Independence Avenue SW., Washington, 
DC 20585 or by fax at 202-586-0552 or by email at 
[email protected].
    Comments submitted in response to this notice may be made available 
to the public through relevant Web sites. For this reason, please do 
not include in your comments information of a confidential nature, such 
as sensitive personal information or proprietary information. If you 
send an email comment; your email address will be automatically 
captured and included as part of the comment that is placed in the 
public docket and made available on the Internet. Please note that 
responses to

[[Page 50493]]

this public comment request containing any routine notice about the 
confidentiality of the communication will be treated as public comments 
that may be made available to the public notwithstanding the inclusion 
of the routine notice.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Requests for additional information or 
copies of the information collection supporting statement should be 
directed to Jacob Bournazian, Energy Information Administration, 1000 
Independence Avenue SW., Washington, DC 20585, phone: 202-586-5562, 
email: [email protected].

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 collect 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. This feedback 
also provides an early warning of issues with service, or focuses 
attention on areas where communication, training or changes in 
operations might improve the accuracy of data reported on survey 
instruments or the 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.
    The solicitation of feedback will target areas such as: Timeliness, 
understanding of questions and terminology used in survey instruments, 
perceptions on data confidentiality and security, appropriateness and 
relevancy of information, 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.
    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 for initially contacting respondents and is not 
retained;
    Information gathered is intended to be used only internally for 
general service improvement, the design, modification, and evaluation 
of survey instruments, modes of data collection, and program management 
purposes. It is not intended for release outside of the agency (if 
released, the agency must indicate the qualitative nature of the 
information);
    Information gathered will not be used for the purpose of 
substantially informing influential policy decisions; and 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. The information gathered will only generate 
qualitative type of information.
    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 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.
    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.
    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 number of respondents and burden hours for this generic 
clearance.
    Average Expected Annual Number of Activities: 50.
    Average Number of Respondents per Activity: 10,000.
    Number of Responses: 150,000.
    Frequency of Response: Once per request.
    Average Minutes per Response: 6.
    Burden Hours: 15,000.
    Request for Comments: Comments submitted in response to this notice 
will be summarized and/or included in the request for OMB approval. 
Comments are invited on: (a) Whether the 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 of the collection of 
information; (c) ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of 
the information to be collected; (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; and (e) estimates of capital or start-up costs and costs of 
operation, maintenance, and purchase of services to provide 
information. Burden means the total time, effort, or financial 
resources expended by persons to generate, maintain, retain, disclose 
or provide information to or for a Federal agency. This includes the 
time needed to review instructions; to develop, acquire, install and 
utilize technology and systems for the purpose 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, to complete and review the collection of 
information; and to

[[Page 50494]]

transmit or otherwise disclose the information. All written comments 
will be available for public inspection at www.Regulations.gov.
    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:  Executive Order (E.O.) 13571, Streamlining 
Service Delivery and Improving Customer Service.

    Issued in Washington, DC on July 26, 2016.
Nanda Srinivasan,
Director, Office of Survey Development and Statistical Integration, 
U.S. Energy Information Administration.
[FR Doc. 2016-18120 Filed 7-29-16; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6450-01-P