[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 27 (Thursday, February 9, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 6844-6845]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-1729]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY


Departmental Offices/Federal Consulting Group; Proposed 
Collection; Comment Request

ACTION: Notice and request for comments.

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SUMMARY: The Department of the Treasury, as part of its continuing 
effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, invites the general 
public and other Federal agencies to take this opportunity to comment 
on proposed and/or continuing information collections, as required by 
the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, Public Law 104-13 (44 U.S.C. 
3506(c)(2)(A)). Currently, the Federal Consulting Group within the 
Department of the Treasury is soliciting comments concerning the 
American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) Customer Satisfaction 
Survey.

DATES: Written comments should be received on or before April 4, 2006 
to be assured of consideration.

ADDRESSES: Direct all written comments to the Federal Consulting Group, 
Attention: Ronald Oberbillig, 799 9th Street, NW., Washington, DC 
20239, (202) 504-3656, [email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Requests for additional information or 
copies of the form(s) and instructions should be directed to the 
Federal Consulting Group, Attention: Ronald Oberbillig, 799 9th Street, 
NW., Washington, DC 20239, (202) 504-3656, [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Title: American Customer Satisfaction Index 
(ACSI) Survey.
    OMB Number: 1505-0191.
    Abstract: The following summary of the proposed renewal of an 
information collection activity is designed to continue to support a 
means to consistently measure and compare customer satisfaction with 
federal government agency programs and/or services within the Executive 
Branch. The Federal Consulting Group of the Department of the Treasury 
serves as the executive agent for this project, and has partnered with 
the CFI Group and the University of Michigan to offer the ACSI to 
federal government agencies (``the partnership'').
    The General Services Administration selected the ACSI in 1999 
through a competitive procurement process as the vehicle for obtaining 
the required information. From 1999 to 2001, the General Services 
Administration served as the executive agent for the ACSI; and in 2001, 
the General Services Administration transferred the OMB clearance to 
the Department of the Treasury. The Federal Consulting Group requested 
and received a three-year generic clearance from the Office of 
Management and Budget for the ACSI in May 2003.
    The CFI Group, a leader in customer satisfaction and customer 
experience management, offers a comprehensive system that quantifies 
the effects of quality improvements on citizen satisfaction. The CFI 
Group has developed the methodology and licenses it to the National 
Quality Research Center at the University of Michigan which produces 
the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI). This national economic 
indicator, published quarterly in the Wall Street Journal, was 
introduced in 1994 by Professor Claes Fornell under the auspices of the 
University of Michigan, the American Society for Quality (ASQ), and the 
CFI Group. The ACSI monitors and benchmarks customer satisfaction 
across more than 200 companies and many U.S. federal agencies.
    The ACSI is the only cross-agency methodology for obtaining 
comparable measures of customer satisfaction with federal government 
programs and/or services. Along with other economic objectives--such as 
employment and growth--the quality of output (goods and services) is a 
part of measuring living standards. The ACSI's ultimate purpose is to 
help improve the quality of goods and services available to American 
citizens.
    The surveys that comprise the federal government's portion of the 
ACSI will be completely subject to the Privacy Act 1074, Public Law 93-
579, December 31, 1974 (5 U.S.C. 522a). The agency information 
collection will be used solely for the purpose of the survey. The ACSI 
partnership will not be authorized

[[Page 6845]]

to release any agency information upon completion of the survey without 
first obtaining permission from the Federal Consulting Group and the 
participating agency. In no case shall any new system of records 
containing privacy information be developed by the Federal Consulting 
Group, participating agencies, or the contractor collecting the data. 
In addition, participating federal agencies may only provide 
information used to randomly select respondents from among established 
systems of records provided for such routine uses.
    This survey asks no questions of a sensitive nature, such as sexual 
behavior and attitudes, religious beliefs, and other matters that are 
commonly considered private.
    Current Actions: Proposed renewal of collection of information.
    Type of Review: Renewal.
    Affected Public: Individuals or households/business or other for-
profit/not-for-profit institutions/farms/federal government/state, 
local or tribal government.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: Participation by federal agencies 
in the ACSI is expected to vary as new customer segment measures are 
added or deleted. However, based on historical records, projected 
estimates for fiscal years 2006 through 2008 are as follows:

Fiscal Year 2006--100 Customer Satisfaction Surveys

    Respondents: 26,000; annual responses: 26,000; average minutes per 
response: 12.0; burden hours: 5,200.

Fiscal Year 2007--150 Customer Satisfaction Surveys

    Respondents: 39,000; annual responses: 39,000; average minutes per 
response: 12.0; burden hours: 7,800.

Fiscal Year 2008--200 Customer Satisfaction Surveys

    Respondents: 52,000; annual responses: 52,000; average minutes per 
response: 12.0; burden hours: 10,400.

Request for Comments

    Comments submitted in response to this notice will be summarized 
and/or included in the request for OMB approval. All comments will 
become a matter of public record. 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.

    Dated: February 3, 2006.
Ronald Oberbillig,
Chief Operating Officer, Federal Consulting Group.
[FR Doc. E6-1729 Filed 2-8-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4810-25-P