82 FR 28363 - Proposed Submission of Information Collection for OMB Review; Comment Request; Generic Clearance for the Collection of Qualitative Feedback on Agency Service Delivery

PENSION BENEFIT GUARANTY CORPORATION

Federal Register Volume 82, Issue 118 (June 21, 2017)

The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) intends to request that the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) extend approval, under the Paperwork Reduction Act, of the collection of information on qualitative feedback on PBGC's service delivery (OMB Control Number 1212-0066; expires August 31, 2017). This notice informs the public of PBGC's intent and solicits comments on the proposed information collection. This collection of information was developed as part of a Federal Government-wide effort to streamline the process for seeking feedback from the public on service delivery.

[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 118 (Wednesday, June 21, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 28363-28364]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2017-12924]


=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

PENSION BENEFIT GUARANTY CORPORATION


Proposed Submission of Information Collection for OMB Review; 
Comment Request; Generic Clearance for the Collection of Qualitative 
Feedback on Agency Service Delivery

AGENCY: Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation.

ACTION: Notice of intent to request extension of OMB approval without 
change.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) intends to 
request that the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) extend approval, 
under the Paperwork Reduction Act, of the collection of information on 
qualitative feedback on PBGC's service delivery (OMB Control Number 
1212-0066; expires August 31, 2017). This notice informs the public of 
PBGC's intent and solicits comments on the proposed information 
collection. This collection of information was developed as part of a 
Federal Government-wide effort to streamline the process for seeking 
feedback from the public on service delivery.

DATES: Comments should be submitted by August 21, 2017.

ADDRESSES: Comments may be submitted by any of the following methods:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. 
Follow the Web site instructions for submitting comments.
     Email: [email protected].
     Mail or Hand Delivery: Regulatory Affairs Group, Office of 
the General Counsel, Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation, 1200 K 
Street NW., Washington, DC 20005-4026.
    Comments received, including personal information provided, will be 
posted to www.pbgc.gov.
    Copies of this collection of information may be obtained without 
charge by writing to the Disclosure Division of the Office of the 
General Counsel at the above address or calling 202-326-4040 during 
normal business hours. (TTY and TDD users may call the Federal relay 
service toll-free at 1-800-877-8339 and ask to be connected to 202-326-
4040.)

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jo Amato Burns 
([email protected]), Regulatory Affairs Group, Office of the 
General Counsel, Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation, 1200 K Street 
NW., Washington, DC 20005-4026, 202-326-4400, ext. 3072, or Deborah C. 
Murphy ([email protected]), Assistant General Counsel, same 
address and phone number, ext. 3451. TTY and TDD users may call the 
Federal relay service toll-free at 800-877-8339 and ask to be connected 
to 202-326-4400.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The information collection activity will 
gather qualitative customer and stakeholder feedback in an efficient, 
timely manner, in accordance with PBGC's commitment to improving 
service delivery. Qualitative feedback means information that provides 
useful insights on perceptions and opinions, but the information 
requests are not statistical surveys that yield quantitative results 
generalizable to the population of interest. This feedback provides 
insights into customer or stakeholder perceptions, experiences and 
expectations, provides early warnings of issues with service, and 
focuses attention on areas where changes in PBGC's communication with 
the public, in training of staff, or in operations might improve the 
delivery of products or services. These collections will allow for 
ongoing, collaborative and actionable communications between PBGC and 
its customers and stakeholders. These collections also allow feedback 
to contribute directly to the improvement of program management.
    The solicitation of feedback targets 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 were not collected,

[[Page 28364]]

vital feedback from customers and stakeholders on PBGC's services would 
be unavailable.
    PBGC only submits 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 interest.
    As noted, feedback collected under this generic clearance does not 
produce results generalizable to the population of interest. 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. Collections with such objectives 
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.
    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.
    Annually, over the next three years, PBGC estimates that it will 
conduct three activities involving about 1,630 respondents, each of 
whom will provide one response. The number of respondents will vary by 
activity: 40 for usability testing, 90 for focus groups (nine groups of 
ten respondents), and 1,500 for customer satisfaction surveys.
    PBGC estimates the annual burden of this collection of information 
as 635 hours: 2 hours per response for usability testing (total 80 
hours); 2 hours per response for focus groups (total 180 hours); and 15 
minutes per response for customer satisfaction surveys (total 375 
hours).
    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 OMB control number.
    PBGC is soliciting public comments to--
     Evaluate whether the collection of information is 
necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the agency, 
including whether the information will have practical utility;
     Evaluate the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the 
burden of the collection of information, including the validity of the 
methodology and assumptions used;
     Enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the 
information to be collected; and
     Minimize the burden of the collection of information on 
those who are to respond, including the use of appropriate automated, 
electronic, mechanical, or other technological collection techniques or 
other forms of information technology, e.g., permitting electronic 
submission of responses.

    Issued in Washington, DC.
Deborah Chase Murphy,
Assistant General Counsel for Regulatory Affairs, Pension Benefit 
Guaranty Corporation.
[FR Doc. 2017-12924 Filed 6-20-17; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7709-02-P