[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 95 (Wednesday, May 16, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 28893-28894]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-11855]


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DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY

Transportation Security Administration


Intent To Request Approval From OMB of One New Public Collection 
of Information: Generic Clearance for the Collection of Qualitative 
Feedback on Agency Service Delivery

AGENCY: Transportation Security Administration, DHS.

ACTION: 60-day notice.

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SUMMARY: The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) invites 
public comment on a new Information Collection Request (ICR) abstracted 
below that we will submit to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) 
for approval in compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA). The 
ICR describes the nature of the information collection and its expected 
burden. The proposed information collection activity provides a means 
to gather qualitative customer and stakeholder feedback in an 
efficient, timely manner, in accordance with the Administration's 
commitment to improving service delivery.

DATES: Send your comments by July 16, 2012.

ADDRESSES: Comments may be emailed to [email protected] or delivered to 
the TSA PRA Officer, Office of Information Technology (OIT), TSA-11, 
Transportation Security Administration, 601 South 12th Street, 
Arlington, VA 20598-6011.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Susan L. Perkins at the above address, 
or by telephone (571) 227-3398.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Comments Invited

    In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 
3501 et seq.), an agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is 
not required to respond to, a collection of information unless it 
displays a valid OMB control number. The ICR documentation is available 
at http://www.reginfo.gov. Therefore, in preparation for OMB review and 
approval of the following information collection, TSA is soliciting 
comments to--
    (1) Evaluate whether the proposed information requirement is 
necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the agency, 
including whether the information will have practical utility;
    (2) Evaluate the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden;
    (3) Enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to 
be collected; and
    (4) Minimize the burden of the collection of information on those 
who are to respond, including using appropriate automated, electronic, 
mechanical, or other technological collection techniques or other forms 
of information technology.

Information Collection Requirement

Purpose and Description of Data Collection

    The proposed information collection activity provides a means to 
gather qualitative customer and stakeholder feedback in an efficient, 
timely manner, in accordance with the Administration's commitment to 
improving service delivery.
    From the TSA perspective, qualitative customer and stakeholder 
feedback is information that provides useful insights on perceptions 
and opinions; it is different than the results of statistical surveys, 
which yield quantitative results that can be generalized to the 
population of study. This qualitative feedback will provide insights 
into customer or stakeholder perceptions, experiences, and expectations 
regarding TSA products or services, provide TSA with an early warning 
of issues with service, and focus attention on areas where improvement 
is needed regarding communication, training, or changes in operations 
that 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. They will also 
allow feedback to contribute directly to the improvement of program 
management. The solicitation of feedback will target areas such as: 
Timeliness, appropriateness, accuracy of information, courtesy, 
efficiency of service delivery, and resolution of issues with service 
delivery. Responses will be assessed to plan and inform efforts to 
improve or maintain the quality of service offered by TSA. If this 
information is not collected, vital feedback from customers and 
stakeholders on the Agency's services will be unavailable.
    The Agency will only submit a collection for approval under this 
generic clearance if it meets the following conditions:
     The collections are voluntary.
     The collections are low-burden for respondents (based on 
considerations of total burden hours, total number of respondents, or 
burden-hours per respondent) and are low-cost for both the respondents 
and the Federal Government.
     The collections are noncontroversial and do not raise 
issues of concern to other Federal agencies.
     Any collection is targeted to the solicitation of opinions 
from respondents who have experience with the program or may have 
experience with the program in the near future.
     Personally identifiable information (PII) is collected 
only to the extent necessary and is not retained.
    As a general matter, information collections will not result in any 
new system of records containing privacy information and will not ask 
questions of a sensitive nature, such as sexual behavior and attitudes, 
religious beliefs, and other matters that are commonly considered 
private.
    Preliminary estimates of the aggregate burden are based on a review 
of past behavior of participating program offices and several 
individual office estimates. The likely respondents to this proposed 
information request are State, Local or Tribal Government and Law 
Enforcement, traveling public, Individuals and Households, Businesses 
and Organizations. TSA estimates an average of 10 annual activities 
with approximately 12,500 respondents per activity for a total of 
125,000 responses. TSA further estimates a frequency of one response 
per request with an average response time of 30 minutes resulting in an 
estimated 62,500 burden hours. Program offices will provide more 
refined individual estimates of burden in their subsequent notices.

Use of Results

    Information gathered is intended to be used only internally for 
general service improvement and program management purposes and is not 
intended for release outside of the agency (if released, the agency 
must indicate the qualitative

[[Page 28894]]

nature of the information). While the information gathered might be 
used to improve delivery of products or services, it will not be used 
for the purpose of substantially informing influential policy 
decisions.
    Feedback collected under this generic clearance provides useful 
qualitative information, but it does not yield data that can be 
generalized to the overall population; it is not designed or expected 
to yield statistically reliable or actionable results. The information 
gathered will yield qualitative information. This type of generic 
clearance for qualitative information will not be used for quantitative 
information collections, such as monitoring trends over time or 
documenting program performance. Unlike this generic collection, 
quantitative 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, there may be future information collection submissions for 
other generic mechanisms that are designed to yield quantitative 
results.

    Dated: Issued in Arlington, Virginia, on May 11, 2012.
Susan L. Perkins,
TSA Paperwork Reduction Act Officer, Office of Information Technology.
[FR Doc. 2012-11855 Filed 5-15-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 9110-05-P