[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 157 (Wednesday, August 14, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 49480-49482]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-19690]


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CONSUMER PRODUCT SAFETY COMMISSION

[Docket No. CPSC-2013-0020]


Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission for Office 
of Management and Budget Review; Comment Request; CPSC National 
Awareness Survey

AGENCY: Consumer Product Safety Commission.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC or Commission) is 
announcing that a proposed collection of information regarding a 
generic clearance to conduct national awareness surveys regarding the 
CPSC and CPSC activities has been submitted to the Office of Management 
and Budget (OMB) for review and clearance under the Paperwork Reduction 
Act of 1995.

DATES: Fax or email written comments on the collection of information 
by September 13, 2013.

ADDRESSES: Written comments should be faxed to the Office of 
Information and Regulatory Affairs, OMB, Attn: CPSC Desk Officer, FAX: 
202-395-6974, or emailed to: [email protected]. All comments 
should be identified by Docket No. CPSC-2013-0020. In addition, written 
comments also should be submitted at: http://www.regulations.gov, under 
Docket No. CPSC-2013-0020, or by mail/hand delivery/courier (for paper, 
disk, or CD-ROM submissions), preferably in five copies, to: Office of 
the Secretary, U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, Room 820, 4330 
East West Highway, Bethesda, MD 20814; telephone (301) 504-7923. For 
access to the docket to read background documents or comments received, 
go to http://www.regulations.gov.

[[Page 49481]]


FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Robert H. Squibb, Consumer Product 
Safety Commission, 4330 East West Highway, Bethesda, MD 20814; (301) 
504-7815, or by email to: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On May 21, 2013, the Commission provided an 
opportunity for public comment on a proposed collection of information 
on a generic clearance to conduct national awareness surveys regarding 
the CPSC and CPSC activities (78 FR 29731). One comment was received in 
support of the proposed survey activities. The commenter states that 
improving the CPSC's communication capabilities will aid the Commission 
in fulfilling its mission to reduce the risks to consumers from unsafe 
products. In compliance with 44 U.S.C. 3507, the CPSC has submitted the 
following proposed collection of information to the OMB for review and 
clearance: CPSC National Awareness Survey.

A. National Awareness Survey

    The Commission is authorized under section 5(a) of the Consumer 
Product Safety Act (CPSA), 15 U.S.C. 2054(a), to conduct studies and 
investigations relating to the causes and prevention of deaths, 
accidents, injuries, illnesses, other health impairments, and economic 
losses associated with consumer products. Section 5(b) of the CPSA, 15 
U.S.C. 2054(b), further provides that the Commission may conduct 
research, studies, and investigations on the safety of consumer 
products or test consumer products and develop product safety test 
methods and testing devices. To increase awareness about the CPSC and 
to communicate more effectively and efficiently with the public 
regarding information related to consumer product safety, such as 
product recalls and the reporting of hazardous incidents, the 
Commission must evaluate current awareness and benchmark changes in 
public awareness brought about through agency efforts. Using a national 
awareness survey (NAS), the Commission will benchmark current levels of 
awareness of the CPSC and, through two proposed surveys each year, 
measure changes in awareness. Data obtained through the surveys will 
allow the CPSC's Office of Communications to adjust its communications 
plans to increase effectiveness. The Commission is seeking a generic 
clearance approval from OMB to streamline the process for approval of 
subsequent awareness surveys; as the awareness efforts continue, 
related surveys may be need to be adjusted or modified to obtain the 
most relevant awareness data.
    The first two NAS will provide baseline data on the awareness of 
the agency, the CPSC's programs, and recalls--information about which 
relatively little systematic data has been collected. Periodic 
subsequent surveys with new respondents at CPSC-determined intervals 
are contemplated, depending on agency resources and needs. Analysis of 
subsequent surveys will assess changes in awareness. Additional surveys 
also will provide assessment of the effects of temporal events, such as 
product recalls with wide media coverage, or seasonal use of fireworks 
or holiday lights. To gauge the extent of the public's awareness of the 
agency and its activities, each NAS will measure awareness of sources 
for product safety information, awareness of procedures for hazardous 
incident reporting, and awareness of product recall enforcement 
activity. In addition, NAS results will inform the CPSC on the 
relationship of awareness and key respondent characteristics, such as 
age or and household characteristics, including the presence of 
children.
    Based on the information to be obtained through the proposed NAS, 
the CPSC intends to adjust its communications efforts to achieve a 
greater impact on consumer behavior among a broad range of consumers 
with differing needs. Reaching all target audiences requires varying 
communications approaches. The NAS are intended to assess which 
audiences are being reached and which messages are being communicated 
effectively. Results are expected to indicate which messages and 
methods of communication require further development. For example, 
awareness in households with children aged five and younger is expected 
to be different from awareness in households comprising only seniors. 
The need to include diverse respondents necessitates contacting a large 
number of households to obtain adequate sample sizes for all key 
subpopulations.
    The first two survey data collections are proposed to include a 
sufficient number of respondents covering different time points to 
establish meaningful baseline estimates of consumer awareness and use 
of CPSC services. The data also may be used to support other aspects of 
agency operations and communications programs.
    The survey will be administered using a computer-assisted telephone 
interview (CATI) system, in a secure location, to which only authorized 
personnel have access. The interview will be conducted using a random 
(cell and landline) telephone number dialing protocol. Interviewers 
will collect data from a randomly selected adult member of each 
household. Participation is voluntary, and all responses will be 
confidential. The operators dialing and conducting the survey are 
trained interviewers. The initial screening is short, taking less than 
a minute at the longest. The brevity of the screening will reduce the 
burden to nonparticipants. Respondents who are aware of the CPSC will 
be presented with 23 substantive questions. Those who are not familiar 
with the agency will be presented with 18 substantive questions. All 
participants will be asked 13 demographic questions and invited to 
participate in a brief follow-up phone discussion to provide context 
and detail on the CPSC and product safety information awareness. 
Follow-up discussions will be held with no more than nine respondents. 
Follow-up topics and questions will be based on baseline results. To 
minimize respondent burden, the CATI system will be designed to ensure 
that interviewers ask each respondent survey items appropriate for the 
respondent's level of awareness only.
    The system's automatic survey control will produce status reports 
to allow ongoing monitoring of the survey's progress. The CATI 
scheduler will be used to route telephone numbers to interviewers, 
maintain a schedule of callback appointments, and reschedule 
unsuccessful contact attempts to an appropriate day and time.

B. Burden Hours

    The number of respondents is estimated to be 1,348, who may consist 
of management, professional, or related workers. The total annual 
burden hours for respondents are estimated to be 455.9 hours. The 
hourly cost to each respondent is estimated to be $51.03 (U.S. Bureau 
of Labor Statistics, ``Employer Costs for Employee Compensation,'' 
December 2012, Table 9, total compensation for all management, 
professional, and related workers in goods-producing private 
industries: http://www.bls.gov/ncs/). Accordingly, based on these 
assumptions, the estimated total annual cost burden to all respondents 
is $23,264.58 (455.9 hours x $51.03, or $23,264.58).
    The annual cost to the federal government includes the cost of 
administering the survey (including initial set-up costs) under the 
contract to design and conduct the NAS ($162,952), plus $3,976 for 
salary and benefits for government personnel assigned to this study. 
Government personnel is

[[Page 49482]]

expected to expend 6 days of staff time (3 days, or 24 hours of staff 
time, for each survey) at an average level of GS-14 step 5 
(($119,238/.692) / 2080 total hours per year) x 48 hours per year), 
using a 69.2 percent ratio of wages and salary to total compensation 
(from Table 1 of the September 2012 Employer Costs for Employee 
Compensation, published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics). For the 
first two surveys, the total estimated cost to the government is 
$166,928 ($162,952 plus $3,976). After the first two surveys, the total 
annual estimated cost to the government will be reduced to $133,976 
($130,000 plus $3,976) in future years for two surveys to be conducted 
annually as adjusted for inflation.

    Dated: August 9, 2013.
Todd A. Stevenson,
Secretary, Consumer Product Safety Commission.
[FR Doc. 2013-19690 Filed 8-13-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6355-01-P