[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 42 (Tuesday, March 4, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 12146-12148]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-04655]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Forest Service


Information Collection; Generic Clearance for the Collection of 
Qualitative Feedback on Agency Service Delivery

AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice; request for comment.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the 
Forest Service is seeking comments from all interested individuals and 
organizations on the extension of a currently approved information 
collection, Generic Clearance for the Collection of Qualitative 
Feedback on Agency Service Delivery.

DATES: Comments must be received in writing on or before May 5, 2014 to 
be assured of consideration. Comments received after that date will be 
considered to the extent practicable.

ADDRESSES: Comments concerning this notice should be addressed to the 
National Information Collections Officer, Office of Regulatory and

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Management Services, Mail Stop 1150, USDA Forest Service, 1400 
Independence Avenue SW., Washington, DC 20250.
    Comments also may be submitted by email to [email protected].
    Comments submitted in response to this notice may be made available 
to the public through relevant Web sites and upon request. For this 
reason, please do not include in your comments information of a 
confidential nature, such as sensitive personal information or 
proprietary information. If you send an email comment, your email 
address will be automatically captured and included as part of the 
comment that is placed in the public docket and made available on the 
Internet. Please note that responses to this public comment request 
containing any routine notice about the confidentiality of the 
communication will be treated as public comments that may be made 
available to the public notwithstanding the inclusion of the routine 
notice.
    The public may inspect the draft supporting statement and/or 
comments received at 201 14th Street SW., Washington, DC 20250, 1st 
floor CE, during normal business hours. Visitors are encouraged to call 
ahead to (202) 205-1319 to facilitate entry to the building. The public 
may request an electronic copy of the draft supporting statement and/or 
any comments received be sent via return email. Requests should be 
emailed to [email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Wolf Cota, National Information 
Collections Officer, by phone (202) 205-1319 or by email 
[email protected]. Individuals who use telecommunication devices for the 
deaf (TDD) may call the Federal Relay Service (FRS) at 1-800-877-8339 
twenty-four hours a day, every day of the year, including holidays.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 
    Title: Generic Clearance for the Collection of Qualitative Feedback 
on Agency Service Delivery.
    OMB Number: 0596-0226.
    Expiration Date of Approval: 07/31/2014.
    Type of Request: Extension without change of a currently approved 
information collection.
    Abstract: This information collection activity provides a means to 
garner qualitative customer and stakeholder feedback in an efficient, 
timely manner, in accordance with the Agency's commitment to improve 
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 
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.
    Affected Public: Individuals and Households, Businesses and 
Organizations, State, Local or Tribal Government.
    Estimate of Burden per response: 1 to 60 minutes.
    Estimated Annual Number of Respondents: 3,500,000.
    Estimated Annual Number of Responses per Respondent: 1.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden on Respondents: 875,000 hours.

Comment Is Invited

    Comments submitted in response to this notice will be summarized 
and/or included in the request for OMB approval. All written comments 
received will be available for public inspection.
    Comment is invited on: (1) Whether this collection of information 
is necessary for the stated purposes and the proper performance of the 
functions of the agency, including whether the information will have 
practical or scientific utility; (2) the accuracy of the agency's 
estimate of the burden of the collection of information, including the

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validity of the methodology and assumptions used; (3) ways to enhance 
the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; 
and (4) ways to minimize the burden of the collection of information on 
respondents, including the use of automated, electronic, mechanical, or 
other technological collection techniques or other forms of information 
technology.
    All comments received in response to this notice, including names 
and addresses when provided, will be a matter of public record. 
Comments will be summarized and included in the submission request 
toward Office of Management and Budget approval.

     Dated: February 25, 2014.
J Lenise Lago,
Deputy Chief, Business Operations.
[FR Doc. 2014-04655 Filed 3-3-14; 8:45 am]
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