[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 72 (Thursday, April 14, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 20967-20968]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-9080]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY


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

AGENCY: U.S. Department of Energy.

ACTION: 30-Day notice of submission of information collection approval 
from the Office of Management and Budget 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, the 
Department of Energy has submitted a Generic Information Collection 
Request (Generic ICR): ``Generic Clearance for the Collection of 
Qualitative Feedback on Agency Service Delivery'' to OMB for approval 
under the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) (44 U.S.C. 3501 et. seq.).

DATES: Comments must be submitted May 16, 2011.

ADDRESSES: Written comments may be submitted to: DOE Desk Officer, 
Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management and 
Budget, New Executive Office Building, Room 10102, 735 17th Street, 
NW., Washington, DC 20503.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: To request additional information: DOE 
PRA Officer, Christina Rouleau IM-23, U.S. Department of Energy, Corp. 
270 room 4002, 1000 Independence Ave., SW., Washington, DC 20585, 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    Title: Generic Clearance for the Collection of Qualitative Feedback 
on Agency Service Delivery.
    Abstract: The information collection activity will garner 
qualitative customer

[[Page 20968]]

and stakeholder feedback in an efficient, timely manner, in accordance 
with the Administration's commitment to improving service delivery. 
Qualitative feedback means information that provides useful insights on 
perceptions and opinions, but are not statistical surveys that yield 
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.
    Feedback collected under this generic clearance will provide useful 
information, but it will 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 reliable 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.
    The 60-day notice was published in the Federal Register of December 
22, 2010 (75 FR 80542).
    Below we provide the Department of Energy projected average 
estimates for the next three years: \1\
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    \1\ The 60-day notice included the following estimate of the 
aggregate burden hours for this generic clearance Federal-wide:
    Average Expected Annual Number of Activities: 25,000.
    Average Number of Respondents per Activity: 200.
    Annual Responses: 5,000,000.
    Frequency of Response: Once per request.
    Average Minutes per Response: 30.
    Burden hours: 2,500,000.
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    Current Actions: New collection of information.
    Type of Review: New Collection.
    Affected Public: Individuals and Households, Businesses and 
Organizations, State, Local or Tribal Government.
    Average Expected Annual Number of Activities: 100.
    Respondents: 2,220.
    Annual Responses: 222,000.
    Frequency of Response: Once per request.
    Average Minutes per Response: 30.
    Burden hours: 111,000.
    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 Office of Management and Budget control number.

    Statutory Authority:  Due to the special circumstances regarding 
this initiative led by OIRA, there are no statutory authorities 
reported for this notice.

John E. Davenport, Sr.,
Director, Records Management Division, Office of the ACIO for IT 
Planning, Architecture and E-Government, Office of the Chief 
Information Officer, U.S. Department of Energy.
[FR Doc. 2011-9080 Filed 4-13-11; 8:45 am]
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