[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 249 (Tuesday, December 30, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 78453-78454]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-30599]


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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 
(NINR)

SUMMARY: As part of a Federal Government-wide effort to streamline the 
process to seek feedback from the public on service delivery, the 
National Institute of Nursing Research has submitted a Generic 
Information Collection Request (Generic ICR): ``Generic Clearance for 
the Collection of Qualitative Feedback on Agency Service Delivery'' to 
OMB for approval under the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) (44 U.S.C. 
3501 et seq.). 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. 
Rebecca Hawes, Division of Science Policy and Public Liaison, NINR, 
NIH, Democracy One, 6701 Democracy Blvd., Suite 710, Bethesda, MD 
20892, by phone at (301) 594-0791 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, 0925-0653, Expiration 
Date 3/31/2015, EXTENSION, National Institutes of Health (NIH), 
National Institute of Nursing Research (NINR).
    Need and Use of Information Collection: There are no changes being 
requested for this submission. The information collection activity will 
continue 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.
    Improving agency programs requires ongoing assessment of service 
delivery, by which we mean systematic review of the operation of a 
program compared to a set of explicit or implicit standards, as a means 
of contributing to the continuous improvement of the program. The 
Agency will collect, analyze, and interpret information gathered 
through this generic clearance to identify strengths and weaknesses of 
current services and make improvements in service delivery based on 
feedback. 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.
    NINR 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;

[[Page 78454]]

     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 will provide useful 
information, but it will 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.
    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 an additional 3 years. There are no 
costs to respondents other than their time. The total estimated 
annualized burden hours are 1,025.

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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Focus Groups....................................             150               1           90/60             225
Individual In-Depth Interviews..................              75               1               1              75
Individual Brief Interviews.....................             200               1           15/60              50
Customer Satisfaction Surveys...................             200               1           15/60              50
Small Group Discussions.........................             100               1           90/60             150
Conferences and Training Pre- and Post-Surveys..             500               1           30/60             250
Website Usability Testing.......................             100               1           90/60             150
Pilot Testing Surveys...........................             150               1           30/60              75
                                                 ---------------------------------------------------------------
    Total.......................................           1,475  ..............  ..............           1,025
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    Dated: December 17, 2014.
Rebecca E. Hawes,
Project Clearance Liaison, National Institutes of Health, National 
Institute of Nursing Research.
[FR Doc. 2014-30599 Filed 12-29-14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4140-01-P