82 FR 8755 - Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection; Comment Request; Generic Clearance for the Collection of Qualitative Feedback on Agency Service Delivery

FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION

Federal Register Volume 82, Issue 18 (January 30, 2017)

The information collection requirements described below will be submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (``OMB'') for review, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act (``PRA''). The FTC is seeking public comments on its proposal to renew its PRA clearance to participate in the OMB program ``Generic Clearance for the Collection of Qualitative Feedback on Agency Service Delivery.'' This program was created to facilitate federal agencies' efforts to streamline the process to seek public feedback on service delivery. Current FTC clearance under this program expires April 30, 2017.

[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 18 (Monday, January 30, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 8755-8757]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2017-01901]


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FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION


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

AGENCY: Division of Consumer and Business Education, Federal Trade 
Commission (``FTC'' or ``Commission'').

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The information collection requirements described below will 
be submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (``OMB'') for 
review, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act (``PRA''). The FTC 
is seeking public comments on its proposal to renew its PRA clearance 
to participate in the OMB program ``Generic Clearance for the 
Collection of Qualitative Feedback on Agency Service Delivery.'' This 
program was created to facilitate federal agencies' efforts to 
streamline the process to seek public feedback on service delivery. 
Current FTC clearance under this program expires April 30, 2017.

DATES: Comments must be submitted by March 31, 2017.

ADDRESSES: Interested parties may file a comment online or on paper, by 
following the instructions in the Request for Comment part of the 
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section below. Write ``FTC Generic Clearance 
ICR, Project No. P035201'' on your comment, and file your comment 
online at https://ftcpublic.commentworks.com/ftc/genericclearance by 
following the instructions on the web-based form. If you prefer to file 
your comment on paper, mail your comment to the following address: 
Federal Trade Commission, Office of the Secretary, 600 Pennsylvania 
Avenue NW., Suite CC-5610 (Annex J), Washington, DC 20580, or deliver 
your comment to the following address: Federal Trade Commission, Office 
of the Secretary, Constitution Center, 400 7th Street SW., 5th Floor 
Suite 5610 (Annex J), Washington, DC 20024.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: To request additional information, 
please contact Bridget Small at 202-326-3266.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 
    Executive Order 12862 (1993) (``Setting Customer Service 
Standards'') directs all Federal executive departments and agencies and 
requests independent Federal agencies to provide service to 
``customers'' that matches or exceeds the best service available in the 
private sector. See also Executive Order 13571 (2011) (``Streamlining 
Service Delivery and Improving Customer Service''). For purposes of 
these orders, ``customer'' means an individual who or entity that is 
directly served by a department or agency.
    To the above ends, and to work continuously to ensure that the 
FTC's programs are effective and meet our customers' needs, we seek 
renewed OMB approval of a generic clearance to collect qualitative 
feedback on our service delivery (i.e., the products and services that 
the FTC creates to help consumers and businesses understand their 
rights and responsibilities, including Web sites, blogs, videos, print 
publications, and other content). ``Qualitative feedback'' denotes 
information that provides useful insights on public perceptions and 
opinions, but are not statistical surveys that yield quantitative 
results that can be generalized to the population of study. The 
solicitation of feedback on service delivery will target areas such as 
timeliness, appropriateness, accuracy of information, courtesy, 
efficiency of service delivery, and resolution of issues with service 
delivery.
    The FTC will collect, analyze, and interpret information it gathers 
through this generic clearance program to identify strengths and 
weaknesses of current services and make improvements in service 
delivery based on feedback.
    The types of collections that the proposed generic clearance covers 
include, but are not limited to:
     Customer comment cards/complaint forms;
     Small discussion groups;
     Focus Groups of customers, potential customers, delivery 
partners, or other stakeholders;
     Cognitive laboratory studies, such as those used to refine 
questions or assess usability of a Web site;

[[Page 8756]]

     Qualitative customer satisfaction surveys (e.g., post-
transaction surveys; opt-out web surveys);
     In-person observation testing (e.g., Web site or software 
usability tests).
    The FTC's use of this program contemplates a range of information 
collections that focus on the awareness, understanding, attitudes, 
preferences, or experiences of customers or other stakeholders (e.g., 
visitors to FTC Web sites) relating to existing or future agency 
services or communication materials. This feedback will provide 
insights into customer or stakeholder perceptions, experiences and 
expectations, provide an early warning of issues with agency service, 
or focus attention on areas where communication, training or changes in 
operations might improve delivery of services or communication 
materials. These collections will allow for ongoing, collaborative and 
actionable communications between the FTC and its customers and 
stakeholders. It will also allow feedback to contribute directly to the 
improvement of program management.
    Through these various types of information collections, the FTC's 
Division of Consumer and Business Education (``DCBE'') has, for 
example, created and tested www.consumer.gov, an easy-to-use Web site 
to better reach underserved populations with simple and direct consumer 
information, written for people who have trouble reading. 
``Stakeholders'' or ``customers'' included legal services attorneys, 
English for Speakers of Other Languages teachers, and community 
leaders. In another instance, DCBE conducted usability tests of 
www.ftc.gov to assess the organization of that site's content by asking 
respondents to complete an online card sort. Respondents included, 
among others, a mix of professions and professional interests, such as 
economists, attorneys, and consumer advocates. Other past examples 
include requesting feedback on the design of the FTC's Bulk Order Web 
site (www.bulkorder.ftc.gov), the FTC's Business Center Web site 
(www.business.ftc.gov), and OnGuardOnline.gov (www.onguardonline.gov), 
the federal government's Web site to help people be safe, secure, and 
responsible online. The DCBE has also conducted in-depth interviews of 
respondents (e.g., active institutional decision-makers in assisted 
living facilities, senior residence communities, local community 
centers, public libraries, among others) to inform the design of a 
consumer education program to reach older consumers with messages about 
fraud.
    Consistent with OMB requirements, the FTC 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 \1\ and is not retained;
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    \1\ For example, collections that collect PII in order to 
provide remuneration for participants of focus groups and cognitive 
laboratory studies will be submitted under this request. All privacy 
act requirements will be met.
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     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.\2\
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    \2\ Feedback collected under this generic clearance provides 
useful information, but it does not yield data that can be 
generalized to the overall population. Findings will be used for 
general service improvement, but are not for publication or other 
public release. Although the FTC does not intend to publish its 
findings, it may receive requests to release the information (e.g., 
congressional inquiry, Freedom of Information Act requests). The FTC 
will disseminate the findings when appropriate, strictly following 
the agency's ``Guidelines for Ensuring the Quality of Information 
Disseminated to the Public,'' and will include specific discussion 
of the limitation of the qualitative results discussed above.
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     Information gathered will not be used for the purpose of 
substantially informing influential policy decisions; \3\ and
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    \3\ As defined in OMB and FTC Information Quality Guidelines, 
``influential'' means that ``an agency can reasonably determine that 
dissemination of the information will have or does have a clear and 
substantial impact on important public policies or important private 
sector decisions.''
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     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.
    Under this generic clearance program, agency submissions of 
information collection requests to OMB obtain automatic approval, 
unless OMB identifies issues within 5 business days of receipt.
    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.
    Below is a description of the affected public and the FTC's 
projected average annual estimates for the next three years:
    Affected Public: Individuals and Households, Businesses and 
Organizations, State, Local or Tribal Government.
    Average Expected Annual Number of Activities: 3.
    Respondents: 2,200.\4\
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    \4\ Projected activities: (1) An average of four customer 
satisfaction surveys per year, 500 respondents each (surveys to get 
feedback about major campaigns, publications, Web sites, branding 
and other consumer and business education products to test their 
appeal and effectiveness), 15 minutes per response; (2) Eight focus 
groups per year, 10 respondents each (to test education products and 
Web sites), 2 hours per response; and (3) Ten usability sessions per 
year, 12 respondents per Web site (to test the usability of FTC Web 
sites by inviting people to complete common tasks on those sites), 1 
hour per response.
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    Frequency of Response: Once per request.
    Annual Responses: 2,200.
    Average Minutes per Response: 21 (rounded to nearest whole minute).
    Burden Hours: 780.
    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. The OMB control number assigned to 
the FTC to conduct past activities under this program is 3084-0159.

Request for Comment

    Under the PRA, 44 U.S.C. 3501-3521, federal agencies must obtain 
approval from OMB for each collection of information they conduct or 
sponsor. ``Collection of information'' means agency requests or 
requirements that members of the public submit reports, keep records, 
or provide information to a third party. 44 U.S.C. 3502(3); 5 CFR 
1320.3(c). As required by section 3506(c)(2)(A) of the PRA, the FTC is 
providing this opportunity for public

[[Page 8757]]

comment before requesting that OMB extend the existing paperwork 
clearance for the regulations noted herein.
    Pursuant to Section 3506(c)(2)(A) of the PRA, the FTC invites 
comments on: (1) Whether the proposed information collection is 
necessary, including whether the information will be practically 
useful; (2) the accuracy of our burden estimates, including whether the 
methodology and assumptions used are valid; (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. All 
comments should be filed as prescribed in the ADDRESSES section above, 
and must be received on or before March 31, 2017.
    You can file a comment online or on paper. For the Commission to 
consider your comment, we must receive it on or before March 31, 2017. 
Write ``FTC Generic Clearance ICR, Project No. P035201'' on your 
comment. Your comment--including your name and your state--will be 
placed on the public record of this proceeding, including, to the 
extent practicable, on the public Commission Web site, at http://www.ftc.gov/os/publiccomments.shtm. As a matter of discretion, the 
Commission tries to remove individuals' home contact information from 
comments before placing them on the Commission Web site.
    Because your comment will be made public, you are solely 
responsible for making sure that your comment doesn't include any 
sensitive personal information, like anyone's Social Security number, 
date of birth, driver's license number or other state identification 
number or foreign country equivalent, passport number, financial 
account number, or credit or debit card number. You are also solely 
responsible for making sure that your comment doesn't include any 
sensitive health information, like medical records or other 
individually identifiable health information. In addition, don't 
include any ``[t]rade secret or any commercial or financial information 
which is obtained from any person and which is privileged or 
confidential . . ., '' as provided in Section 6(f) of the FTC Act, 15 
U.S.C. 46(f), and FTC Rule 4.10(a)(2), 16 CFR 4.10(a)(2). If you want 
the Commission to give your comment confidential treatment, you must 
file it in paper form, with a request for confidential treatment, and 
you have to follow the procedure explained in FTC Rule 4.9(c), 16 CFR 
4.9(c).\5\ Your comment will be kept confidential only if the FTC 
General Counsel grants your request in accordance with the law and the 
public interest.
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    \5\ In particular, the written request for confidential 
treatment that accompanies the comment must include the factual and 
legal basis for the request, and must identify the specific portions 
of the comment to be withheld from the public record. See FTC Rule 
4.9(c), 16 CFR 4.9(c).
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    Postal mail addressed to the Commission is subject to delay due to 
heightened security screening. As a result, we encourage you to submit 
your comments online, or to send them to the Commission by courier or 
overnight service. To make sure that the Commission considers your 
online comment, you must file it at https://ftcpublic.commentworks.com/ftc/genericclearance by following the instructions on the web-based 
form. If this Notice appears at http://www.regulations.gov/#!home, you 
also may file a comment through that Web site.
    If you file your comment on paper, write ``FTC Generic Clearance 
ICR, Project No. P035201'' on your comment and on the envelope, and 
mail or deliver it to the following address: Federal Trade Commission, 
Office of the Secretary, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW., Suite CC-5610 
(Annex J), Washington, DC 20580, or deliver your comment to the 
following address: Federal Trade Commission, Office of the Secretary, 
Constitution Center, 400 7th Street SW., 5th Floor, Suite 5610 (Annex 
J), Washington, DC 20024. If possible, submit your paper comment to the 
Commission by courier or overnight service.
    The FTC Act and other laws that the Commission administers permit 
the collection of public comments to consider and use in this 
proceeding as appropriate. The Commission will consider all timely and 
responsive public comments that it receives on or before March 31, 
2017. For information on the Commission's privacy policy, including 
routine uses permitted by the Privacy Act, see http://www.ftc.gov/ftc/privacy.htm.

David C. Shonka,
Acting General Counsel.
[FR Doc. 2017-01901 Filed 1-27-17; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6750-01-P