[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 115 (Wednesday, June 15, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 35069-35070]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-14784]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Surface Transportation Board


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

AGENCY: Surface Transportation Board, DOT.

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 
Surface Transportation Board 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 July 11, 2011.

ADDRESSES: Comments should be directed to the Office of Management and 
Budget, Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Attention: 
Kimberly Nelson, Surface Transportation Board Desk Officer, by fax at 
(202) 395-6974; by mail at Room 10235, 725 17th Street, NW., 
Washington, DC 20503; or by e-mail at: [email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: To request additional information, 
please contact Marilyn Levitt, Surface Transportation Board, 395 E 
Street SW., Washington, DC 20423-0001, or to: [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 and stakeholder feedback in an efficient, timely 
manner, in accordance with the Administration's commitment to improving 
service delivery. By qualitative feedback we mean 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

[[Page 35070]]

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 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 Agency received no comments in response to the 60-day notice 
published in the Federal Register of December 22, 2010 (75 FR 80542).
    Below we provide the Surface Transportation Board's 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: 5.
    Respondents: 15 (for one focus group), 150 (for each of two 
surveys), 200 (for each of two comments card requests).
    Annual responses: 15 (for focus groups), 300 (for surveys), 400 
(for comment cards)
    Frequency of Response: Once per request.
    Average minutes per response: 24 minutes (2 hours per focus group, 
36 minutes per survey, 10 minutes per comment card).
    Burden hours: 277.
    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.

Jeffrey Herzig,
Clearance Clerk.
[FR Doc. 2011-14784 Filed 6-14-11; 8:45 am]
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