[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 128 (Thursday, July 3, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 38047-38049]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-15669]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

National Institutes of Health


Proposed Collection; 60-day Comment Request; Generic Clearance 
for the Collection of Qualitative Feedback on Agency Service Delivery 
(NICHD)

SUMMARY: Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and 
Human Development, as part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork 
and respondent burden, invites the general public to take this 
opportunity to comment on the ``Generic Clearance for the Collection of 
Qualitative Feedback on Agency Service Delivery'' for approval under 
the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) (44 U.S.C. 3501 et. seq.). This 
collection was developed as part of a Federal Government-wide effort to 
streamline the process for seeking feedback from the public on service 
delivery. This notice announces our intent to submit this collection to 
OMB for approval and solicits comments on specific aspects for the 
proposed information collection.
    To Submit Comments and for Further Information: To obtain a copy of 
the data collection plans and instruments, submit comments in writing, 
or request more information on the proposed project, contact: Dr. Sarah 
L. Glavin, Deputy Director, Office of Science Policy, Analysis and 
Communication, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child 
Health and Human Development, National Institutes of Health, 31 Center 
Drive, Room 2A18, Bethesda, Maryland 20892, or call a non-toll free 
number (301) 496-1877 or Email your request, including your address to 
[email protected]. Formal requests for additional plans and 
instruments must be requested in writing.
    Comment Due Date: Comments regarding this information collection 
are best assured of having their full effect if received within 60 days 
of the date of this publication
    Proposed Collection: Generic Clearance for the Collection of 
Qualitative Feedback on Agency Service Delivery (NICHD), 0925-0643, 
Expiration Date 10/31/2014, EXTENSION, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National 
Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), National 
Institutes of Health (NIH).
    Need and Use of Information Collection: There are no changes being 
requested for this submission. 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 information about the NICHD's 
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 
NICHD 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

[[Page 38048]]

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 
NICHD's services will be unavailable.
    The NICHD 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.
    Request for Comments: Comments submitted in response to this notice 
will be summarized and/or included in the request for OMB approval. 
Comments are invited on: (a) Whether the collection of information is 
necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the agency, 
including whether the information shall have practical utility; (b) the 
accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden of the collection of 
information; (c) ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of 
the information to be collected; (d) ways to minimize the burden of the 
collection of information on respondents, including through the use of 
automated collection techniques or other forms of information 
technology; and (e) estimates of capital or start-up costs and costs of 
operation, maintenance, and purchase of services to provide 
information. Burden means the total time, effort, or financial 
resources expended by persons to generate, maintain, retain, disclose 
or provide information to or for a Federal agency. This includes the 
time needed to review instructions; to develop, acquire, install and 
utilize technology and systems for the purpose of collecting, 
validating and verifying information, processing and maintaining 
information, and disclosing and providing information; to train 
personnel and to be able to respond to a collection of information, to 
search data sources, to complete and review the collection of 
information; and to transmit or otherwise disclose the information.
    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.
    OMB approval is requested for 3 years. There are no costs to 
respondents other than their time. The total estimated annualized 
burden hours are 4,950.

                                        Estimated Annualized Burden Hours
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                                        Estimated annual reporting burden
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                                                                      Annual
               Type of collection                    Number of    frequency  per     Hours per      Total hours
                                                    respondents      response        response
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Conference/Training--Pre and Post Surveys.......             100               1           15/60              25
Usability Testing...............................             100               1           30/60              50
Focus Groups....................................             750               1               1             750
Customer Satisfaction Survey....................          13,500               1           15/60           3,375
In-depth Interviews or Small Discussion Group...             750               1               1             750
                                                 ---------------------------------------------------------------
    Total.......................................          15,200  ..............  ..............           4,950
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[[Page 38049]]

    Dated: June 24, 2014.
Sarah L. Glavin,
Deputy Director, Office of Science Policy, Analysis, and 
Communications, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child 
Health and Human Development, National Institutes of Health.
[FR Doc. 2014-15669 Filed 7-2-14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4140-01-P