[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 225 (Friday, November 21, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 69500-69501]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-27637]


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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 
(NIH)

    Summary: The National Institutes of Health (NIH), Office of the 
Director (OD), 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: Ms. Mikia 
P. Currie, Program Analyst, Office of Policy for Extramural Research 
Administration, 6705 Rockledge Drive, Suite 350, Bethesda, Maryland 
20892, or call a non-toll-free number 301-435-0941 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 (NIH), 0925-0648, 
Expiration Date 1/31/2015, EXTENSION, National Institutes of Health 
(NIH), Office of the Director (OD).
    Need and Use of Information Collection: We are not requesting 
changes 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. This information, however, is not 
statistical surveys that yield quantitative results, which can be 
generalized to the population of study. This feedback will provide 
information about the NIH'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 NIH 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 NIH's services will be unavailable.
    The NIH will only submit a collection for approval under this 
generic clearance if it meets the following conditions:
     The collections are voluntary;

[[Page 69501]]

     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 4,358.

Estimated Annualized Burden Hours

                                        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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Customer Satisfaction Surveys...................           1,000               1           30/60             500
In-Depth Interviews (IDIs) or Small Discussion             1,000               1           90/60           1,500
 Groups.........................................
Focus Groups....................................           1,000               1           90/60           1,500
Usability and Pilot Testing.....................         150,000               1            5/60          12,525
Conference/Training--Pre and Post Surveys.......         100,000               2           10/60          33,333
                                                 ---------------------------------------------------------------
    Total.......................................  ..............  ..............  ..............          49,358
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    Dated: November 13, 2014.
Lawrence A. Tabak,
Principal Deputy Director, National Institutes of Health.
[FR Doc. 2014-27637 Filed 11-20-14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4140-01-P