83 FR 34134 - Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection; Comment Request; Fast Track Generic Clearance for the Collection of Qualitative Feedback on Agency Service Delivery

OFFICE OF GOVERNMENT ETHICS

Federal Register Volume 83, Issue 139 (July 19, 2018)

As part of a Federal Government-wide effort to streamline the process to seek feedback from the public on service delivery, OGE seeks comment on the development of a Generic Information Collection Request for the collection of qualitative feedback on agency service delivery for approval under the Paperwork Reduction Act. This notice announces OGE's intent to submit this collection to the Office of Management and Budget for approval and allows for an additional 30 days of public comment.

[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 139 (Thursday, July 19, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 34134-34135]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2018-15411]


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OFFICE OF GOVERNMENT ETHICS


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

AGENCY: Office of Government Ethics (OGE).

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, OGE seeks 
comment on the development of a Generic Information Collection Request 
for the collection of qualitative feedback on agency service delivery 
for approval under the Paperwork Reduction Act. This notice announces 
OGE's intent to submit this collection to the Office of Management and 
Budget for approval and allows for an additional 30 days of public 
comment.

DATES: Consideration will be given to all comments received by August 
20, 2018.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments on this notice to the Office of 
Management and Budget, Attn: Desk Officer for OGE, via fax at 202-395-
6974 or email at [email protected]. (Include reference to 
``OGE Fast Track Generic Clearance comment'' in the subject line of the 
message.)

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Grant Anderson at the U.S. Office of 
Government Ethics; telephone: 202-482-9318; TTY: 800-877-8339; FAX: 
202-482-9237; Email: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    Title: Fast Track Generic Clearance for the Collection of 
Qualitative Feedback on Agency Service Delivery.
    OMB Number: To be determined.
    Needs and Uses: The proposed information collection provides a 
means to garner qualitative customer and stakeholder feedback in an 
efficient, timely manner, in accordance with the agency's commitment to 
improving service delivery. Qualitative feedback means information that 
provides useful insights on perceptions and opinions, but is not a 
statistical survey that yields quantitative results that can be 
generalized to the population of study. This feedback will provide 
insights into customer or stakeholder perceptions, experiences, and 
expectations, provide an early warning of issues with service, or focus 
attention on areas where communication, training, or changes in 
operations might improve 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.
    OGE expects to use various methods (e.g., focus groups, customer 
satisfaction surveys, comment cards), to solicit feedback. Responses 
will be assessed to plan and inform efforts to improve or maintain the 
quality of service offered to the public and other agency stakeholders. 
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;
     The collections are focused on the awareness, 
understanding, attitudes, preferences, or experiences of the public or 
other stakeholders in order to improve existing or future services, 
products, or communication materials;
     Personally identifiable information (PII) is collected 
only to the extent necessary;
     Information gathered will be used only internally for 
general service improvement and program management purposes and is not 
intended for release to the public;
     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 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 submitted under this 
generic clearance 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.
    A Federal Register Notice with a 60-day comment period soliciting 
comments on this information collection was published on April 12, 2018 
(83 FR 15837-15838). OGE did not receive any comments in response.
    Current Action: New information collection request (generic).
    Type of Review: New.

[[Page 34135]]

    Affected Public: Individuals; Business or Other For-Profit 
Institutions; Not-For-Profit Institutions; State or Local Government.
    Estimated Annual Number of Respondents: 45,000.
    Projected average burden estimates for the next three years:
    Average Expected Annual Number of Activities: 40.
    Average Number of Respondents per Activity: 1,125.
    Responses per Respondent: 1.
    Annual Responses: 45,000.
    Average Minutes per Response: 3 minutes.
    Annual Burden Hours: 2,250 hours.
    Frequency: On occasion.
    Request for Comments: Agency and public comment is again invited 
specifically on the need for and practical utility of this information 
collection, the accuracy of OGE's burden estimate, the enhancement of 
quality, utility and clarity of the information collected, and the 
minimization of burden (including the use of information technology). 
The comments will become a matter of public record.

    Approved: July 11, 2018.
David Apol,
General Counsel and Acting Director, U.S. Office of Government Ethics.
[FR Doc. 2018-15411 Filed 7-18-18; 8:45 a.m.]
 BILLING CODE 6345-03-P