[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 245 (Thursday, December 20, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 75498-75499]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-30354]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Maritime Administration

[Docket No. Marad-2012-0107]


Request for Comments on a New Collection

AGENCY: Maritime Administration (MARAD), DOT.

ACTION: Notice and request for comments.

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SUMMARY: Executive Order 12862 directs Federal agencies to provide 
service to the public that matches or exceeds the best service 
available in the private sector. In order to work continuously to 
ensure that our programs are effective and meet our customers' needs, 
the Maritime Administration (MARAD) seeks to obtain OMB approval of a 
generic clearance to collect feedback on our service delivery. By 
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.

DATES: Written comments should be submitted on or before February 19, 
2013.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Barbara Jackson, Maritime 
Administration, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., W26-448, Washington, DC 
20590. Telephone: 202-366-0615; or Email: [email protected]. 
Copies of this collection also can be obtained from that office.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    Title of Collection: Generic Clearance for the collection of 
Qualitative Feedback on Maritime Administration Service Delivery.
    Type of Request: New Collection of Information.
    OMB Control Number: 2133-NEW.
    Expiration Date of Approval: Three years from date of approval by 
the Office of Management and Budget.
    Abstract: The proposed information collection activity provides a 
means to 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.
    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 to the public. 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;
     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 nature of the 
information);
     Information gathered will not be used for the purpose of 
substantially informing influential policy decisions; and
     Information gathered will yield qualitative information; 
the collections will not be designed or expected to yield statistically 
reliable results or used as though the results are generalizable to the 
population of study.
    Feedback collected under this generic clearance provides useful 
information, but it does 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 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

[[Page 75499]]

sample size, the expected response rate, methods for assessing 
potential nonresponse 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. 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.
    Description of Respondents: Individuals and Households, Businesses 
and Organizations, State, Local or Tribal Government.
    Average Expected Annual Number of Activities: 15.
    Average Number of Respondents per Activities: 713.
    Annual Responses: 10,700.
    Frequency of Response: Once per Request.
    Average Minutes per Response: 20.
    Annual Burden: 3,032.
    Comments: Comments should refer to the docket number that appears 
at the top of this document. Written comments may be submitted to the 
Docket Clerk, U.S. DOT Dockets, Room W12-140, 1200 New Jersey Avenue 
SE., Washington, DC 20590. Comments also may be submitted by electronic 
means via the Internet at http://regulation.gov. Specifically address 
whether this information collection is necessary for proper performance 
of the functions of the agency and will have practical utility, 
accuracy of the burden estimates, ways to minimize this burden, and 
ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to 
be collected. All comments received will be available for examination 
at the above address between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. EDT (or EST), Monday 
through Friday, except Federal Holidays. An electronic version of this 
document is available on the World Wide Web at http://regulations.gov.
    Privacy Act: Anyone is able to search the electronic form of all 
comments received into any of our dockets by the name of the individual 
submitting the comment (or signing the comment, if submitted on behalf 
of an association, business, labor union, etc.). You may review DOT's 
complete Privacy Act Statement in the Federal Register published on 
April 11, 2000 (Volume 65, Number 70; Pages 19477-78) or you may visit 
http://regulations.gov.

    Authority: 49 CFR 1.66.

    By Order of the Maritime Administrator.

    Dated: December 6, 2012.
Julie P. Agarwal,
Secretary, Maritime Administration.
[FR Doc. 2012-30354 Filed 12-19-12; 8:45 am]
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