[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 70 (Thursday, April 13, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 17835-17837]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-07485]


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FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION


Division of Consumer and Business Education; Agency Information 
Collection Activities: Proposed Collection; Comment Request; Generic 
Clearance for the Collection of Qualitative Feedback on Agency Service 
Delivery

AGENCY: Federal Trade Commission (``FTC'' or ``Commission'').

ACTION: 30-Day notice of submission of information collection approval 
from the Office of Management and Budget (``OMB'') and request for 
comments.

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SUMMARY: As part of a Federal Government-wide effort to streamline the 
process to seek feedback from the public on service delivery, the FTC 
is submitting 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.

DATES: Comments must be submitted May 15, 2017.

ADDRESSES: Interested parties may file a comment online or on paper, by 
following the instructions in the Request for Comment part of the 
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section below. Write ``FTC Generic Clearance 
ICR, Project No. P035201'' on your comment, and file your comment 
online at https://ftcpublic.commentworks.com/ftc/genericclearance by 
following the instructions on the web-based form. If you prefer to file 
your comment on paper, mail your comment to the following address: 
Federal Trade Commission, Office of the Secretary, 600 Pennsylvania 
Avenue NW., Suite CC-5610 (Annex J), Washington, DC 20580, or deliver 
your comment to the following address: Federal Trade Commission, Office 
of the Secretary, Constitution Center, 400 7th Street SW., 5th Floor, 
Suite 5610 (Annex J), Washington, DC 20024.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: To request additional information, 
please contact Bridget Small at 202-326-3266.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 
    Title: Generic Clearance for the Collection of Qualitative Feedback 
on Agency Service Delivery
    Abstract: The information collection activity will 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.
    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,

[[Page 17836]]

methods for assessing potential non-response bias, the protocols for 
data collection, and any testing procedures that were or will be 
undertaken prior 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.
    The FTC received one responsive comment \1\ in reply to the 60-day 
notice published in the Federal Register on January 30, 2017 (82 FR 
8755). The commenter pointed to several issues that may arise when 
conducting small group or focus group discussions. When it conducts 
these groups, the FTC works with experienced professional moderators 
who are familiar with, and prepared for, the potential hazards of small 
group dynamics. The FTC is aware that small group discussions don't 
necessarily reflect public opinion in general, but they can be 
illuminating and help us understand specific people's experiences and 
opinions. The FTC encourages these skilled moderators to engage group 
members and help it learn others' perspectives. That way, the FTC can 
adjust and improve service as needed.
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    \1\ Douglas Waterman, University of Idaho. https://www.ftc.gov/policy/public-comments/initiative-694.
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    Below are the FTC's projected average annual estimates for the next 
three years:
    Current Actions: New collection of information.
    Type of Review: New collection.
    Affected Public: Individuals and Households, Businesses and 
Organizations, State, Local or Tribal Government.
    Average Expected Annual Number of Activities: 39.
    Respondents: 2,680.\2\
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    \2\ Projected activities: (1) Three customer satisfaction 
surveys per year of 500 respondents each and one customer 
satisfaction survey per year of 800 respondents each (surveys to get 
feedback about major campaigns, publications, Web sites, branding 
and other consumer and business education products to test their 
appeal and effectiveness), .25 hours (i.e. 15 minutes) per response; 
(2) Twenty focus groups per year, 10 respondents each (to test 
education products and Web sites), 2 hours per response; and (3) 
Fifteen usability sessions per year, 12 respondents per Web site (to 
test the usability of FTC Web sites by inviting people to complete 
common tasks on those sites), 1 hour per response. These estimates 
reflect an increase from those the FTC published in the associated 
prior Federal Register Notice of January 30, 2017. The current 
projected estimates more accurately reflect the FTC's assessment of 
potential needs to reach audiences in different ways.
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    Frequency of Response: Once per request.
    Annual Responses: 2,680.
    Average Minutes per Response: 26 (rounded to nearest whole minute).
    Burden Hours: 1,155.
    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 control number for the existing 
clearance (expiring April 30, 2017) is 3084-0159. The FTC seeks renewed 
three-year clearance under this control number for the prospective 
collection of information and the associated burden estimates.

Request for Comment

    You can file a comment online or on paper. For the FTC to consider 
your comment, we must receive it on or before May 15, 2017. Write ``FTC 
Generic Clearance ICR, Project No. P035201'' on your comment. Your 
comment--including your name and your state--will be placed on the 
public record of this proceeding, including, to the extent practicable, 
on the public Commission Web site, at https://www.ftc.gov/policy/public-comments. As a matter of discretion, the Commission tries to 
remove individuals' home contact information from comments before 
placing them on the Commission Web site.
    Postal mail addressed to the Commission is subject to delay due to 
heightened security screening. As a result, we encourage you to submit 
your comments online, or to send them to the Commission by courier or 
overnight service. To make sure that the Commission considers your 
online comment, you must file it at https://ftcpublic.commentworks.com/ftc/genericclearancepra2 by following the instructions on the web-based 
form. If this Notice appears at http://www.regulations.gov/#!home, you 
also may file a comment through that Web site.
    If you file your comment on paper, write ``FTC Generic Clearance 
ICR, Project No. P035201'' on your comment and on the envelope, and 
mail or deliver it to the following address: Federal Trade Commission, 
Office of the Secretary, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW., Suite CC-5610 
(Annex J), Washington, DC 20580, or deliver your comment to the 
following address: Federal Trade Commission, Office of the Secretary, 
Constitution Center, 400 7th Street SW., 5th Floor, Suite 5610 (Annex 
J), Washington, DC 20024. If possible, submit your paper comment to the 
Commission by courier or overnight service.
    Comments on any proposed information collection requirements 
subject to review under the PRA should additionally be submitted to 
OMB. If sent by U.S. mail, they should be addressed to Office of 
Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management and Budget, 
Attention: Desk Officer for the Federal Trade Commission, New Executive 
Office Building, Docket Library, Room 10102, 725 17th Street NW., 
Washington, DC 20503. Comments sent to OMB by U.S. postal mail, 
however, are subject to delays due to heightened security precautions. 
Thus, comments instead should be sent by facsimile to (202) 395-5806.
    The FTC Act and other laws the Commission administers permit the 
collection of public comments to consider and use in this proceeding as 
appropriate. All timely and responsive public comments, whether filed 
in paper or electronic form, will be considered by the Commission, and 
will be placed on the public record--including the publicly accessible 
FTC Web site at www.ftc.gov--to the extent practicable. Any information 
that you place in the following fields on this form--``Title,'' ``First 
Name,'' ``Last Name,'' ``Organization Name,'' ``State,'' ``Postal 
Code,'' ``Country,'' ``Comments,'' and ``Attachment''--will be publicly 
available on the FTC Web site. Although filling out this comment form 
is voluntary, the fields marked with an asterisk are required in order 
for the FTC to fully consider your comment. Because your comment will 
be placed on the publicly accessible FTC Web site at www.ftc.gov, you 
are solely responsible for making sure that your comment does not 
include any sensitive or confidential information. In particular, your 
comment should not include any sensitive personal information, such as 
your or anyone else's Social Security Number; date of birth; driver's 
license number or other state identification number, or foreign country 
equivalent; passport number; financial account number; or credit or 
debit card number. You are also solely responsible for making sure that 
your comment does not include any sensitive health information, such as 
medical records or other individually identifiable health information. 
In addition, your comment should not include any ``trade secret or any 
commercial or financial information which . . . is privileged or 
confidential''--as provided by Section 6(f) of the FTC Act, 15 U.S.C. 
46(f), and FTC Rule 4.10(a)(2), 16 CFR 4.10(a)(2)--including in 
particular competitively sensitive information such as costs, sales 
statistics, inventories, formulas, patterns, devices, manufacturing 
processes, or customer names.
    Once your comment has been posted on the public FTC Web site--as 
legally

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required by FTC Rule 4.9(b)--we cannot redact or remove your comment 
from the FTC Web site, unless you submit a confidentiality request that 
meets the requirements for such treatment under FTC Rule 4.9(c), and 
the General Counsel grants that request in accordance with the law and 
the public interest. Comments containing material for which 
confidential treatment is requested must be filed in paper form, must 
be clearly labeled ``Confidential,'' and must comply with FTC Rule 
4.9(c). In particular, the written request for confidential treatment 
that accompanies the comment must include the factual and legal basis 
for the request, and must identify the specific portions of the comment 
to be withheld from the public record. See FTC Rule 4.9(c). As a matter 
of discretion, the FTC makes every effort to remove home contact 
information for individuals from the public comments it receives before 
placing those comments on the FTC Web site. More information, including 
other routine uses of comments permitted by the Privacy Act, may be 
found at https://www.ftc.gov/site-information/privacy-policy.

David C. Shonka,
Principal Deputy General Counsel.
[FR Doc. 2017-07485 Filed 4-12-17; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6750-01-P