[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 71 (Friday, April 12, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 21952-21953]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-08656]


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

GENERAL SERVICES ADMINISTRATION

[OMB Control No. 3090-0297; Docket No. 2012-0001; Sequence 26]


Submission for OMB Review; Proposed Collection; Comment Request; 
General Services Administration Acquisition Regulation; Generic 
Clearance for the Collection of Qualitative Feedback on Agency Service 
Delivery (GSA)

AGENCY: General Services Administration (GSA).

ACTION: Notice of a request for comments regarding an existing 
information collection.

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

SUMMARY: As part of a Federal Government wide effort to streamline the 
process to seek feedback from the public on service delivery, the 
General Services Administration (GSA) will be submitting a renewal to 
the 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). 
A notice was published in the Federal Register at 77 FR 74191, on 
December 13, 2012. Two comments were received.

DATES: Submit comments on or before May 13, 2013.

ADDRESSES: Submit comments identified by Information Collection 3090-
0297, Generic Clearance for the Collection of Qualitative Feedback on 
Agency Service Delivery, by any of the following methods:
     Regulations.gov: http://www.regulations.gov. Submit 
comments via the Federal eRulemaking portal by searching for 
``Information Collection 3090-0297'', Generic Clearance for the 
Collection of Qualitative Feedback on Agency Service Delivery. Select 
the link ``Submit a Comment'' that corresponds with ``Information 
Collection 3090-0297'', Generic Clearance for the Collection of 
Qualitative Feedback on Agency Service Delivery. Follow the 
instructions provided at the ``Submit a Comment'' screen. Please 
include your name, company name (if any), and ``Information Collection 
3090-0297'' on your attached document.
     Mail: General Services Administration, Regulatory 
Secretariat (MVCB), 1275 First Street NE., Washington, DC 20417. Attn: 
Hada Flowers/IC 3090-0297, Generic Clearance.
    Instructions: Please submit comments only and cite Information 
Collection 3090-0297, Generic Clearance for the Collection of 
Qualitative Feedback on Agency Service Delivery, in all correspondence 
related to this collection. All comments received will be posted 
without change to http://www.regulations.gov, including any personal 
and/or business confidential information provided.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: To request additional information, 
please contact General Services Administration, Regulatory Secretariat 
Division (MVCB), 1275 First Street NE., Washington, DC 20417; telephone 
(202) 501-4755.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

A. Purpose

    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 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-

[[Page 21953]]

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 Digital Government Strategy released by the White House in May 
2012 drives agencies to have a more customer-centric focus. Because of 
this, GSA anticipates an increase in requests to use this generic 
clearance as the plan states that: A customer-centric principle charges 
us to do several things: Conduct research to understand the customer's 
business, needs and desires; ``make content more broadly available and 
accessible and present it through multiple channels in a program- and 
device-agnostic way; make content more accurate and understandable by 
maintaining plain language and content freshness standards; and offer 
easy paths for feedback to ensure we continually improve service 
delivery. The customer-centric principle holds true whether our 
customers are internal (e.g., the civilian and military federal 
workforce in both classified and unclassified environments) or external 
(e.g., individual citizens, businesses, research organizations, and 
state, local, and tribal governments).''

B. Discussion and Analysis

    A notice was published in the Federal Register at 77 FR 74191 on 
December 13, 2012. Two respondents submitted public comments on the 
extension of the previously approved information collection. One 
comment was not in scope of this collection. The analysis of the public 
comments is summarized as follows:
    Comment: The respondent commented that the extension of the 
information collection would violate the fundamental purposes of the 
Paperwork Reduction Act because of the burden it puts on the entity 
submitting the information and the agency collecting the information.
    Response: In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA), 
agencies can request OMB approval of an existing information 
collection. The PRA requires that agencies use the Federal Register 
notice and comment process, to extend OMB's approval, at least every 
three years. This extension, to a previously approved information 
collection, pertains to a Paperwork Reduction Act Generic Clearance 
(also known as Fast Track Process). Generic Clearance Information 
Collection Requests (ICRs) provide a significantly streamlined process 
by which agencies may obtain OMB's approval for particular information 
collections--voluntary, low-burden, and uncontroversial collections. 
Generic ICRs are a useful way for agencies to meet the obligations of 
the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 while eliminating unnecessary 
burdens and delays. They can be used for a number of information 
collections, including methodological testing, customer satisfaction 
surveys, focus groups, contests, and Web site satisfaction surveys. 
Therefore the extension of this information collection actually serves 
the purpose of reducing the burden on the entity submitting the 
information and the agency collecting the information.
    Comment: The respondent commented that the agency did not 
accurately estimate the public burden an extension of the information 
collection requirement would create, and that the agency's methodology 
for calculating it is insufficient and does not reflect the total 
burden. The respondent indicated that the Agency's estimate of 145,534 
respondents, average burden estimate of 3.82 minutes, and the total 
burden hours estimated by the Agency of 9,314 appear understated.
    Response: Serious consideration is given, during the open comment 
period, to all comments received and adjustments are made to the 
paperwork burden estimate based on considerations provided by the 
public. The burden is prepared taking into consideration the necessary 
criteria in OMB guidance for estimating the paperwork burden put on the 
entity submitting the information. Specific to the approved use of a 
generic clearance, 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. If this among other 
conditions is not met, the Agency will submit an information collection 
request to OMB for approval through the normal PRA process. Careful 
consideration went into assessing the estimated burden hours for this 
collection, and it is determined that an upward adjustment is not 
required at this time.
    Comment: The respondent commented that the collective burden of 
compliance with information collection requirement greatly exceeds the 
agency's estimate and outweighs any potential utility of the extension.
    Response: The Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) was designed to improve 
the quality and use of Federal information to strengthen decision-
making, accountability, and openness in government and society. A key 
criteria for using the Fast Track Process for data collection is when 
participation by respondents is voluntary, not mandatory. The 
collective burden does not outweigh the utility of the extension.
    Comment: The respondent commented that the government's response to 
the Paperwork Reduction Act Waiver of FAR case 2009 is instructive on 
the total burden for respondents.
    Response: The details of that particular FAR case are not 
specifically relevant to this notice.

C. Annual Reporting Burden

    Below we provide GSA's projected average estimates for the next 
three years:
    Affected Public: Individuals and households, businesses and 
organizations, State, Local or Tribal Government.
    Average Expected Annual Number of Activities: 48.
    Respondents: 145,534.
    Annual Responses: 48,511.
    Frequency of Response: 1.
    Average Minutes per Response: 3.82.
    Burden hours: 9,314.
    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.

    Dated: April 5, 2013.
Casey Coleman,
Chief Information Officer.
[FR Doc. 2013-08656 Filed 4-11-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6820-14-P