[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 61 (Friday, March 28, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 16702-16703]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-6399]


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

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Office of the Secretary


Renewal of Information Collection; OMB Control Number 1040-0001, 
DOI Programmatic Clearance for Customer Satisfaction Surveys

AGENCY: Department of the Interior.

ACTION: Notice; request for comments.

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

SUMMARY: We (Department of the Interior, DOI) have submitted a request 
to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to approve the information 
collection (IC) described below. This IC is scheduled to expire March 
31, 2008. As required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 and as 
part of our continuing efforts to reduce paperwork and respondent 
burden, we invite the general public and other Federal agencies to take 
this opportunity to comment on this IC.

DATES: OMB has 60 days to review this request but may act after 30 
days, therefore you should submit your comments on or before April 28, 
2008.

ADDRESSES: You may submit your comments directly to the Desk Officer 
for the Department of the Interior (OMB 1040-0001), Office of 
Information and Regulatory Affairs, OMB, by electronic mail at [email protected] or by fax at 202-395-6566. Please also send a copy 
of your comments to the Department of the Interior; Office of Policy 
Analysis; Attention: Don Bieniewicz; Mail Stop 3530; 1849 C Street, 
NW., Washington, DC 20240. If you wish to email comments, the email 
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: To request additional information 
about this IC, contact Donald Bieniewicz on 202-208-5978.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Abstract

    The Government Performance and Results Act of 1993 (GPRA) (Pub.L. 
103-62) requires agencies to ``improve Federal program effectiveness 
and public accountability by promoting a new focus on results, service 
quality, and customer satisfaction.'' To fulfill this responsibility, 
DOI bureaus and offices must collect data from their respective user 
groups to better understand the needs and desires of the public and to 
respond accordingly. Executive Order 12862 ``Setting Customer Service 
Standards'' also requires all executive departments to ``survey 
customers to determine * * * their level of satisfaction with existing 
services.'' In addition, customer information helps us meet 
requirements of the Administration's Program Assessment Rating Tool 
(PART), the President's Management Agenda (PMA), and Interior's 
Citizen-Centered Customer Service Policy.
    We use customer satisfaction surveys to help us fulfill our 
responsibilities to provide excellence in government by proactively 
consulting with those we serve. This programmatic clearance provides an 
expedited approval process for DOI bureaus and offices to conduct 
customer research through external surveys such as questionnaires and 
comment cards.
    The proposed renewal covers all of the organizational units and 
bureaus in DOI. Information obtained from customers by bureaus and 
offices will be provided voluntarily. No one survey will cover all the 
topic areas; rather, these topic areas serve as a guide within which 
the bureaus and offices will develop questions. Questions may be asked 
in languages other than English (e.g., Spanish) where appropriate. 
Topic areas include:
    (1) Delivery, quality and value of products, information, and 
services. Respondents may be asked for feedback regarding the following 
attributes of the information, service, and products provided:
    (a) Timeliness.
    (b) Consistency.
    (c) Accuracy.
    (d) Ease of Use and Usefulness.
    (e) Ease of Information Access.
    (f) Helpfulness.
    (g) Quality.
    (h) Value for fee paid for information/product/service.
    (2) Management practices. This area covers questions relating to 
how well customers are satisfied with DOI 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, and responsive manner.
    (3) Mission management. We will ask customers to provide 
satisfaction data related to DOI's ability to protect, conserve, 
provide access to, provide scientific data about, and preserve natural, 
cultural, and recreational resources that we manage, and how well we 
are carrying out our trust responsibilities to American Indians.
    (4) Rules, regulations, policies. This area focuses on obtaining 
feedback from customers regarding fairness, adequacy, and consistency 
in enforcing rules, regulations, and policies for which DOI is 
responsible. It will also help us understand public awareness of rules 
and regulations and whether or not they are explained in a clear and 
understandable manner.
    (5) Interactions with DOI Personnel and Contractors. Questions will 
range from timeliness and quality of interactions to skill level of 
staff providing the assistance, as well as their courtesy and 
responsiveness during the interaction.

[[Page 16703]]

    (6) General demographics. Some general demographics may be gathered 
to augment satisfaction questions so that we can better understand the 
customer and improve how we serve that customer. We may ask customers 
how many times they have used a service, visited a facility within a 
specific timeframe, their ethnic group, or their race.
    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 Policy Analysis will conduct an 
administrative and technical review of each specific request in order 
to ensure statistical validity and soundness. All information 
collections are required to be designed and deployed based upon 
acceptable statistical practices and sampling methodologies, and 
procedures that account for and minimize non-response bias, in order to 
obtain consistent, valid data and statistics that are representative of 
the target populations. After completion of its review, the Office of 
Policy Analysis will forward the specific request to OMB for expedited 
approval.

II. Data

    OMB Control Number: 1040-0001.
    Title: DOI Programmatic Clearance for Customer Satisfaction 
Surveys.
    Form Number(s): None.
    Type of Request: Extension of an approved collection.
    Affected Public: DOI customers. We define 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 those groups, individuals, and agencies who are 
formally engaged in helping DOI accomplish its mission.
    Respondent's Obligation: Voluntary.
    Frequency of Collection: On occasion.
    Estimated Annual Number of Respondents: 120,000. We estimate 
approximately 60,000 respondents will submit DOI customer satisfaction 
surveys and 60,000 will submit comment cards.
    Estimated Total Annual Responses: 120,000.
    Estimated Time Per Response: 15 minutes for a customer survey; 3 
minutes for a comment card.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 18,000.

III. Request for Comments

    On January 16, 2008, we published in the Federal Register (73 FR 
2935) a request for public comments on this proposed renewal. We 
received one comment in general opposition to DOI conducting customer 
satisfaction surveys because they would be wasteful and accomplish 
nothing. Because such surveys are required by law and policy, and the 
comment provided no specifics, we have not modified the proposed 
renewal. The public now has a second opportunity to comment on this 
renewal. We invite comments concerning this IC on:
    (1) Whether or not the collection of information is necessary, 
including whether or not the information will have practical utility;
    (2) The accuracy of our estimate of the burden for this collection 
of information;
    (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 on 
respondents.
    Comments that you submit in response to this notice are a matter of 
public record. Before including your address, phone number, e-mail 
address, or other personal identifying information in your comment, you 
should be aware that your entire comment, including your personal 
identifying information, may be made publicly available at any time. 
While you can ask us in your comment to withhold your personal 
identifying information from public review, we cannot guarantee that we 
will be able to do so.

    Dated: March 25, 2008.
Benjamin Simon,
Acting Assistant Director, Office of Policy Analysis, U.S. Department 
of the Interior.
[FR Doc. E8-6399 Filed 3-27-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-RK-P