[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 123 (Thursday, June 26, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 36381-36382]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-14986]


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DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS

[OMB Control No. 2900-0769]


Agency Information Collection (Generic Clearance for the 
Collection of Qualitative Feedback on Agency Service Delivery) Activity 
Under OMB Review

AGENCY: Department of Veterans Affairs.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) of 1995 
(44 U.S.C. 3501-3521), this notice announces that the Veterans Benefits 
Administration (VBA), Department of Veterans Affairs, will submit the 
collection of information abstracted below to the Office of Management 
and Budget (OMB) for review and comment. The PRA submission describes 
the nature of the information collection and its expected cost and 
burden; it includes the actual data collection instrument.

DATES: Comments must be submitted on or before July 28, 2014.

ADDRESSES: Submit written comments on the collection of information 
through www.Regulations.gov, or to Office of

[[Page 36382]]

Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management and Budget, 
Attn: VA Desk Officer; 725 17th St. NW., Washington, DC 20503 or sent 
through electronic mail to [email protected]. Please refer 
to ``OMB Control No. 2900-0769'' in any correspondence.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Crystal Rennie, Enterprise Records 
Service (005R1B), Department of Veterans Affairs, 810 Vermont Avenue 
NW., Washington, DC 20420, (202) 632-7492 or email 
[email protected]. Please refer to ``OMB Control No. 2900-0796.''

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 
    Titles: Generic Clearance for the Collection of Qualitative 
Feedback on Agency Service Delivery.
    OMB Control Number: 2900-0769.
    Type of Review: Revision of a currently approved collection.
    Abstract: The 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 non-controversial 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 will be used only internally for 
general service improvement and program management purposes and is not 
intended for release outside of the agency;
     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 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, 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.
    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 OMB control number. The Federal Register Notice with a 
60-day comment period soliciting comments on this collection of 
information was published on April 9, 2014, at pages 19708-19709.
    Affected Public: Individuals and Households, Businesses and 
Organizations, State, Local or Tribal Government.
    Estimated Annual Burden: 50,000.
    Customer Satisfaction Surveys: 20,000.
    Focus Groups: 20,000.
    Customer Comment Cards: 2,500.
    Small Discussion Groups: 2,500.
    Qualitative Customer Satisfaction Surveys: 2,500.
    In-Person Observation Testing: 2,500.
    Estimated Average Burden per Respondent:
    Customer Satisfaction Surveys: 30 minutes.
    Focus Groups: 30 minutes.
    Customer Comment Cards: 30 minutes.
    Small Discussion Groups: 30 minutes.
    Cognitive Laboratory Studies: 30 minutes.
    Qualitative Customer Satisfaction Surveys: 30 minutes.
    In-Person Observation Testing: 30 minutes.
    Patient Surveys: 30 minutes.
    Frequency of Response: Once per request.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 100,000.
    Customer Satisfaction Surveys: 40,000.
    Focus Groups: 40,000.
    Customer Comment Cards: 5,000.
    Small Discussion Groups: 5,000.
    Qualitative Customer Satisfaction Surveys: 5,000.
    In-Person Observation Testing: 5,000.

    Dated: June 23, 2014.

    By direction of the Secretary.
Crystal Rennie,
Department Clearance Officer, Department of Veterans Affairs.
[FR Doc. 2014-14986 Filed 6-25-14; 8:45 am]
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