[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 86 (Friday, May 5, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 21258-21260]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-09067]


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DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY

[Docket No. DHS-2017-0022]


Agency Information Collection Activities: Generic Clearance for 
the Collection of Qualitative Feedback on Agency Service Delivery

AGENCY: National Protection and Programs Directorate, DHS.

ACTION: 60-Day Notice and request for comments; Extension, 1670-0027.

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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 
Department of Homeland Security (DHS), National Protection and Programs 
Directorate (NPPD), Office of the Chief Information Office has 
submitted a Generic Information Collection Request: ``Generic Clearance 
for the Collection of Qualitative Feedback on Agency Service Delivery'' 
to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and clearance 
in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.

DATES: Comments are encouraged and will be accepted until July 5, 2017. 
This process is conducted in accordance with 5 CFR 1320.1.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by docket number DHS-
2017-0022, by one of the following methods:

[[Page 21259]]

     Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov.
     Email: [email protected]. Include docket number DHS-
2017-0022 in the subject line of the message.
     Mail: Written comments and questions about this 
Information Collection Request should be forwarded to DHS/NPPD/OCISO, 
ATTN: 1670-0027, 245 Murray Lane SW., Mail Stop 0380, Arlington, VA 
20598-0640.
    Instructions: All submissions received must include the words 
``Department of Homeland Security'' and the docket number for this 
action. Comments received will be posted without alteration at http://www.regulations.gov, including any personal information provided.
    Comments submitted in response to this notice may be made available 
to the public through relevant Web sites. For this reason, please do 
not include in your comments information of a confidential nature, such 
as sensitive personal information or proprietary information. If you 
send an email comment, your email address will be automatically 
captured and included as part of the comment that is placed in the 
public docket and made available on the Internet. Please note that 
responses to this public comment request containing any routine notice 
about the confidentiality of the communication will be treated as 
public comments that may be made available to the public 
notwithstanding the inclusion of the routine notice.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 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. NPPD is planning to submit 
this collection to OMB for approval. 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 NPPD 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 NPPD's services will be unavailable.
    NPPD will only submit a collection for approval under this generic 
clearance if it meets the following conditions:
    1. The collections are voluntary;
    2. 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;
    3. The collections are noncontroversial and do not raise issues of 
concern to other Federal agencies;
    4. 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;
    5. Personally identifiable information is collected only to the 
extent necessary and is not retained;
    6. Information gathered is intended to be used only internally for 
general service improvement and program management purposes and is not 
intended for release outside of the NPPD (if released, NPPD must 
indicate the qualitative nature of the information);
    7. Information gathered will not be used for the purpose of 
substantially informing influential policy decisions; and
    8. 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 nonresponse 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.
    As a general matter, information collections will not result in any 
new system of records containing personal 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.
    This is an extension of an existing information collection. The 
Office of Management and Budget is particularly interested in comments 
which:
    1. Evaluate whether the proposed collection of information is 
necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the agency, 
including whether the information will have practical utility;
    2. Evaluate the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden of 
the proposed collection of information, including the validity of the 
methodology and assumptions used;
    3. Enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to 
be collected; and
    4. Minimize the burden of the collection of information on those 
who are to respond, including through the use of appropriate automated, 
electronic, mechanical, or other technological collection techniques or 
other forms of information technology, e.g., permitting electronic 
submissions of responses.

Analysis

    Agency: National Protection and Programs Directorate, DHS.
    Title: Agency Information Collection Activities: Generic Clearance 
for the Collection of Qualitative Feedback on Agency Service Delivery.
    OMB Number: 1670-0027.
    Frequency: On occasion.
    Affected Public: Individuals and Households, Businesses and 
Organizations, State, Local, or Tribal Governments.
    Number of Respondents: 49,080.
    Estimated Time per Respondent: 14 minutes.
    Total Burden Hours: 11,130 hours.


[[Page 21260]]


    Dated: May 1, 2017.
Ryan Comber,
Acting Chief Information Officer.
[FR Doc. 2017-09067 Filed 5-4-17; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 9110-9P-P