[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 204 (Tuesday, October 24, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 49172-49173]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-23018]


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 Notices
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  Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 204 / Tuesday, October 24, 2017 / 
Notices  

[[Page 49172]]


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AGENCY FOR INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT


Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection; 
Comment Request; Generic Clearance for the Collection of Qualitative 
Feedback on Agency Service Delivery

AGENCY: U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).

ACTION: Notice of a request for comments regarding a renewal 
information collection.

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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, we are 
seeking comment on the development of the following proposed Generic 
Information Collection Request (Generic ICR): ``Fast Track Generic 
Clearance for the Collection of Qualitative Feedback on Agency Service 
Delivery'' for approval under the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA). This 
notice announces our intent to submit this collection to OMB for 
approval and solicits comments on specific aspects for the proposed 
information collection. This option is a fast track for approval to 
streamline the timing to implement certain types of surveys and related 
collection of information. USAID uses the approval to cover the 
instruments of collection (such as a survey, a window pop-up survey, a 
focus group, or a comment card), which are designed to get customer 
feedback on USAID service delivery for various programs. This request 
for approval broadly addresses USAID's need for information about what 
our customers think of our services so that we can improve service 
delivery; specific information collection activities will be 
incorporated into the approval as the need for the information is 
identified. For example, when we implement a new program and provide 
information about the services for the program on our Web site, we may 
provide a voluntary customer service questionnaire about how well the 
program is working for our customers, specifically within the area of 
customer service. USAID is requesting to increase the number of 
respondents in the fast track approval due to an anticipated increase 
in the number of customer respondents responding to customer service 
surveys that will be sent to a broader scope and greater number of 
USAID customers.

DATES: All comments should be submitted within 60 calendar days from 
the date of this publication.

ADDRESSES: Submit comments by one of the following methods:
    Web site: www.regulations.gov.
    Mail comments to: Bureau for Management, Office of Management 
Services, Information and Records Division M/MS/IRD, by mail to U.S. 
Agency for International Development, Ronald Reagan Building, Room 2.7 
C, 1300 Pennsylvania Ave. NW., Washington, DC 20523-2701, or by email 
to [email protected].
    Comments submitted in response to this notice may be made available 
to the public through www.regulations.gov. For this reason, please do 
not include in your comments information of a confidential nature, such 
as sensitive personal information or proprietary information. 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.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Sylvia Joyner, Bureau for Management, 
Office of Management Services, Information and Records Division, U.S. 
Agency for International Development, Washington, DC 20523-2701: Tel 
202-712-5007 or via email [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    Title and OMB Number: Fast Track Generic Clearance for the 
Collection of Qualitative Feedback on Agency Service Delivery.
    Needs and Uses: 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 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. 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. The Agency 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 noncontroversial 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 49173]]

     Information gathered will not be used for the purpose of 
substantially informing influential policy decisions.
     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 nonresponse 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.
    Current Actions: Processing Information Collection as Fast Track 
Generic.
    Type of Review: Renewal.
    Affected Public: Individuals or Households; Business or Other For-
Profit; Not-For-Profit Institutions; Farms; Federal Government; State, 
Local, or Tribal Government.
    Estimated Annual Number of Respondents: 10,000.
    Below we provide projected average burden estimates for the next 
three years:
    Average Expected Annual Number of Activities: 100.
    Average Number of Respondents per Activity: 1,000.
    Responses per Respondent: 1.
    Annual Responses: 10,000.
    Average Minutes per Response: 10 minutes.
    Annual Burden Hours: 10,000 hours.
    Frequency: On occasion.
    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. All 
written comments will be available for public inspection on 
regulations.gov. 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.

    Dated: October 16, 2017.
Paulette Murray,
Supervisory Records Information Management Specialist, Bureau for 
Management, Office of Management Services, Information and Records 
Division.
[FR Doc. 2017-23018 Filed 10-23-17; 8:45 am]
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