[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 90 (Monday, May 10, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Pages 25916-25918]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-10545]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Office of the Secretary


Office of Planning and Performance Management; Agency Information 
Collection Activities: Proposed Collection Extension/Renewal; Comment 
Request

AGENCY: Department of the Interior.

ACTION: Notice of extension/renewal of information collection survey.

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SUMMARY: To comply with the requirements of the Paper Reduction Act 
(PRA) of 1995, we are inviting comments on the extension/renewal of an 
information collection, titled, ``DOI Programmatic Clearance for 
Customer Satisfaction Surveys,'' OMB Control 1040-0001, that 
we will submit to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review 
and approval.

DATES: Please submit written comments by July 9, 2004.

ADDRESSES: Mail or hand carry comments to the Department of the 
Interior; Office of Policy, Management and Budget; Office of Planning 
and Performance Management; Attention: Sheri Harris; Mail Stop 5258; 
1849 C Street, NW., Washington, DC 20240. If you wish to email 
comments, the e-mail address is [email protected]. Reference 
``DOI Programmatic Clearance for Customer Satisfaction Surveys'' in 
your email subject line. Include your name and return address in your 
email message and mark your message for return receipt.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Sheri L. Harris, Office of Planning 
and Performance Management, telephone (202) 208-7342. You may also 
contact Sheri Harris to obtain a copy at no cost of the collection of 
information statement that will be submitted to the Office of 
Management and Budget.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 
    Title: Extension/Renewal of DOI Programmatic Clearance for Customer 
Satisfaction Surveys.
    OMB Control Number: 1040-0001. Renewal/Extension.
    Abstract: DOI is requesting an extension/renewal of its 3-year 
programmatic clearance for customer satisfaction surveys, originally 
approved by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) in January 2002 
and expiring on January 31, 2005. The programmatic clearance enables 
Interior bureaus and offices to conduct customer research through 
external surveys such as questionnaires and comment cards. This 
information is being collected to improve the services and products 
that DOI provides to the public. DOI will use this information to 
support all aspects of planning--from buildings, roads, and 
interpretive exhibits, to technical systems. DOI anticipates that the 
information obtained could lead to reallocation of resources, revisions 
in certain agency processes and policies, development of guidance 
related to DOI's customer services, and improvement in the way we serve 
the American public. Ultimately, these changes should result in 
improvement in services DOI provides to the public and, in turn, the 
public perception of DOI.
    From Whom Will data Be Collected: This proposal seeks to extend/
renew an existing Programmatic clearance for Customer Satisfaction 
Surveys that allows Interior and its organizational units to collect 
satisfaction information from its customers. Interior defines customers 
as anyone who uses DOI resources, products, or services. This includes 
internal customers (anyone within DOI) as well as external customers 
(e.g., the American public, representatives of the private sector, 
academia, other government agencies). Depending upon their role in 
specific situations and interactions, citizens and DOI stakeholders and 
partners may also be considered customers. We define stakeholders to 
mean groups or individuals who have an expressed interest in and who 
seek to influence the present and future state of DOI's resources, 
products, and services. Partners are defined as those groups, 
individuals, and agencies who are formally engaged in helping DOI 
accomplish its mission.
    Rationale for Request for Renewal: Interior will request extension/
renewal of its Programmatic Clearance for Customer Satisfaction Surveys 
so that we may better fulfill our responsibilities to provide 
excellence in government by proactively consulting with those we

[[Page 25917]]

serve to identify opportunities to improve our information, services, 
and products to better meet their needs. In addition, customer 
information is needed to meet requirements of the Government 
Performance and Results Act (GPRA) of 1993 (P.L. 103-62), the 
Administration's Program Assessment Rating Tool (PART), the President's 
Management Agenda (PMA), and Interior's Citizen-Centered Customer 
Service Policy.
    How Data Will Be Used: The GPRA requires agencies to ``improve 
Federal program effectiveness and public accountability by promoting a 
new focus on results, service quality, and customer satisfaction'' 
(Section 2.b.3). In order to fulfill this responsibility, DOI's bureaus 
and offices must collect data from their respective user groups to (1) 
Better understand the needs and desires of the public and (2) respond 
to those needs and desires accordingly. The renewal will provide us 
with the necessary authority to collect these data.
    Renewal of the Programmatic Clearance for Customer Satisfaction 
Information is also critical to the Department's ability to collect 
data essential for assessing progress toward achieving the goals 
established in our GPRA Strategic Plan. That plan contains a number of 
performance measures that directly correspond to customer, partner, and 
stakeholder satisfaction with specific services of Interior and its 
bureaus and offices. To accurately report whether or not we met targets 
set for these performance measures, it is imperative for Interior's 
bureaus and offices to collect data from those we serve.
    Interior's Department-wide Customer and Citizen-Centered Service 
Policy admonishes its bureaus and offices to consult and communicate 
with customers to integrate their feedback into our programs and 
business processes in order to improve our service to them. It 
specifically asks Interior bureaus and offices to obtain customer 
satisfaction data on an annual basis and to use these data to implement 
programmatic improvements. The renewal of our Programmatic Clearance 
will assist these organizations in complying with the Departmental 
policy.
    Executive order (E.O.) 12862 (September 11, 1993) aimed at 
``ensuring the Federal Government provides the highest quality service 
possible to the American people'' fortifies our mandate by the 
Secretary of the Interior and the Administration to provide ``citizen-
centered government.'' The E.O. discusses surveys as a means for 
determining the kinds and qualities of service desired by the Federal 
Government's customers and for determining satisfaction levels for 
existing service. These voluntary customer surveys will be used to 
ascertain customer satisfaction with DOI's bureaus and offices in terms 
of services and products. Previous customer surveys have provided 
useful information to DOI's bureaus and offices for assessing how well 
we deliver our services and products, making improvements, and 
reporting on GPRA performance goals. The results are used internally, 
and summaries are provided to the OMB on an annual basis and are used 
to satisfy the requirements and spirit of E.O. 12862.
    Which DOI Bureaus and Offices Are Covered by This Proposal: The 
proposed renewal/extension covers all of the organizational units and 
bureaus in DOI. It will enable participating DOI bureaus and offices 
will perform their customer surveys under one programmatic clearance. 
Under this proposed renewal/extension, DOI will request that OMB review 
the procedures and questions for these surveys as a program rather than 
reviewing each survey individually. Under the procedures proposed here, 
DOI will conduct the necessary quality control, including assurances 
that the individual survey comports with the guidelines of the 
programmatic clearance, and submit the particular survey instrument and 
methodology for expedited review to OMB.
     Types of Questions to be Asked: The participating bureaus and 
offices propose to voluntarily obtain information from their customers 
and stakeholders. No one survey will cover all the topic areas; rather, 
these topic areas serve as a guide within which the agencies will 
develop their questions. Questions may be asked in languages other than 
English, e.g., Spanish, where appropriate.
    We protect information submitted by respondents that is considered 
confidential or proprietary under the Freedom of Information Act and in 
accordance with Privacy Act regulations on protecting these data. 
Respondents are informed of this assurance on the survey forms or 
during the course of the survey interview.
    1. Communication/information/education: The range of questions 
envisioned for this topic area will focus on customer satisfaction with 
aspects of communication/information/products/education offered. 
Respondents may be asked for feedback regarding the following 
attributes of the services provided:
     Timeliness
     Consistency
     Ease of Use and Usefulness
     Ease of Information Access
     Helpfulness and Effectiveness
     Quality
     Value for fee paid for information/product/service
     Level of engagement in communications process (i.e., 
whether respondent feels he/she was asked for input and whether or not 
that input was considered)
    2. Disability accessibility: This area will focus on customer 
satisfaction data related to disability access to Interior buildings, 
facilities, trails, etc.
    3. Management practices: This area covers questions relating to how 
well customers are satisfied with Interior management practices and 
processes, what improvements they might make to specific processes, and 
whether or not they feel specific issues were addressed and reconciled 
in a timely, courteous, responsive manner.
    4. Resource management: Questions will ask customers and partners 
to provide satisfaction data related to Interior's ability to protect, 
conserve, provide access to, and preserve natural resources that we 
manage.
    5. Rules, regulations, policies: This area focuses on obtaining 
feedback from customers regarding fairness, adequacy, and consistency 
in enforcing rules, regulations, and policies for which Interior is 
responsible. It will also help us understand public awareness of rules 
and regulations and whether or not they are articulated in a clear and 
understandable manner.
    6. Service delivery: Questions will seek feedback from customers 
regarding the manner in which services were delivered to them by 
Interior. Attributes will range from the courtesy of Interior staff to 
timeliness of service delivery and staff knowledge of the services 
being delivered.
    7. Technical assistance: Questions developed within this topic area 
will focus on obtaining customer feedback regarding attributes of 
technical assistance--ranging from timeliness, to quality, to 
usefulness, and the skill level of staff providing this assistance.
    8. Program-specific: Questions for this area will reflect the 
specific details of a program that pertain to its customer respondents. 
The questions will be developed to address very specific and/or 
technical issues related to the program. The questions will be geared 
toward gaining a better understanding about how to provide specific 
products and services and the public's attitude toward their 
usefulness.
    9. General demographics: Some general demographics may be used to 
augment satisfaction questions in order

[[Page 25918]]

to better understand the customer so that we can improve how we serve 
that customer. Demographics data will range from asking customers how 
many times they have used an Interior service or visited an Interior 
facility in the past X timeframe to their ethnic group or race. 
Sensitivity will be used in developing and selecting questions under 
this topic area so that the customer does not perceive an intrusion 
upon his/her privacy.
    This effort does not duplicate any other survey being done by DOI 
or other Federal agencies. Other Federal agencies are conducting user 
surveys but are not soliciting comments on the delivery of DOI or DOI 
bureau/office products and services. As part of this effort, DOI 
consulted with other agencies, including the Department of Agriculture 
and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, who conduct surveys of 
similar customers.
    Anticipated Public Burden: We estimate approximately 60,000 
respondents submit DOI customer satisfaction surveys and comment cards 
annually. The average public burden to complete a customer survey is 15 
minutes. For comment cards, the average public burden is estimated at 3 
minutes. Given these estimates, DOI anticipates a budget of 18,000 
hours per year for the proposed renewal. No non-hour cost burden has 
been identified.
    Methodology: All requests to collect information under the auspices 
of this proposed renewal will be carefully evaluated to ensure 
consistency with the intent, requirements, and boundaries of this 
programmatic clearance. Interior's Office of Planning and Performance 
Management will conduct an administrative review of each request and 
oversee technical reviews to ensure statistical validity and soundness. 
All information collection instruments will be designed and deployed 
based upon acceptable statistical practices and sampling methodologies, 
and will be used to obtain consistent, valid, data that are 
representative of the sample, account for non-response bias, and target 
response rates at or above 70%.
    All submissions under the program of expedited approval must 
include a description of the survey methodology. This description must 
be specific and describe each of the following: (a) Respondent 
universe, (b) the sampling plan and all sampling procedures, including 
how individual respondents will be selected, (c) how the information 
collection instrument will be administered, (d) expected response rate 
and confidence, and (e) levels strategies for dealing with potential 
non-response bias. A description of any pre-testing and peer review of 
the methods and/or instrument is also highly encouraged.
    Improved information technology will be used, when possible, to 
reduce the burden on the public and to comply with requirements of the 
Government Paperwork Elimination Act (GPEA). Electronic mail may be 
used to introduce and distribute information collection instruments to 
a sample of customers. In some cases, the instruments may be web-
enabled so that respondents can complete them online, enabling the 
response analysis to be automated. In all cases, appropriate non-
response bias strategies will be used to ensure that responses are 
representative of the contact universe.
    Comment Policy: The Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) provides that a 
Federal 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. Before submitting an information 
collection request (ICR) to OMB, PRA section 3506(c)(2)(A) requires 
each agency ``* * * to provide notice * * * and otherwise consult with 
members of the public and affected agencies concerning each proposed 
collection of information * * *.'' Agencies must specifically solicit 
comments to: (a) Evaluate whether the proposed collection of 
information is necessary for the agency to perform its duties, 
including whether the information is useful; (b) evaluate the accuracy 
of the agency's estimate of the burden of the proposed collection of 
information; (c) enhance the quality, usefulness, and clarity of the 
information to be collected; and (d) minimize the burden on the 
respondents, including the use of automated collection techniques or 
other forms of information technology. We will summarize written 
responses to this notice and address them in our submission for OMB 
approval, including any appropriate adjustments to the estimated 
burden.
    Agencies must estimate both the ``hour'' burden and ``non-hour 
cost'' burden to respondents or record keepers resulting from the 
collection of information. We have not identified any non-hour cost 
burdens for the information collection aspects of the programmatic 
customer satisfaction survey. Therefore, if you have costs to generate, 
maintain, and disclose this information, you should comment and provide 
your total capital and startup cost components or annual operation, 
maintenance, and purchase of service components. You should describe 
the methods you use to estimate major cost factors, including system 
and technology acquisition, expected useful life of capital equipment, 
discount rate(s), and the period of which you incur costs. Capital and 
startup costs include, among other items, computers and software you 
purchase to prepare for collecting information, monitoring, and record 
storage facilities. Generally, your estimates should not include 
equipment or services purchased: (1) Before October 1, 1995; (2) to 
comply with requirements not associated with the information 
collection; (3) for reasons other than to provide information or keep 
records for the Government; or (4) as part of customary and usual 
business or private practices.
    Our practice is to make comments, including names and home 
addresses of respondents, available for public review during regular 
business hours. Individual respondents may request that we withhold 
their home address from the record, which we will honor to the extent 
allowable by law. There may be circumstances in which we would withhold 
from the record a respondent's identity, as allowable by law. If you 
wish us to withhold your name and/or address, you must state this 
prominently at the beginning of your comment.
    However, we will not consider anonymous comments. We will make all 
submissions from organizations or business, and from individuals 
identifying themselves as representatives of organizations or 
businesses, available for public inspection in their entirety.

    Dated: April 30, 2004.
Raymond Beittel,
Acting Director, Office of Planning and Performance Management.
[FR Doc. 04-10545 Filed 5-7-04; 8:45 am]
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