[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 245 (Friday, December 22, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 60754-60755]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-27617]


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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)

AGENCY: National Institutes of Health, Department of Health and Human 
Services.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: In compliance with the requirement of the Paperwork Reduction 
Act of 1995 to provide opportunity for public comment on proposed data 
collection projects, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) will 
publish periodic summaries of propose projects to be submitted to the 
Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval.

DATES: Comments regarding this information collection are best assured 
of having their full effect if received within 60 days of the date of 
this publication.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 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. Tawanda 
Abdelmouti, Assistant Project Officer, Office of Policy for Extramural 
Research Administration, 6705 Rockledge Drive, Suite 350, Bethesda, 
Maryland, 20892 or call non-toll-free number (301) 435-0978 or Email 
your request, including your address to: [email protected]. Formal 
requests for additional plans and instruments must be requested in 
writing.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Section 3506(c)(2)(A) of the Paperwork 
Reduction Act of 1995 requires: Written comments and/or suggestions 
from the public and affected agencies are invited to address one or 
more of the following points: (1) Whether the proposed collection of 
information is necessary for the proper performance of the function of 
the agency, including whether the information will have practical 
utility; (2) 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) Ways to enhance the quality, 
utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; and (4) Ways 
to minimize the burden of the collection of information on those who 
are to respond, including the use of appropriate automated, electronic, 
mechanical, or other technological collection techniques or other forms 
of information technology.
    Proposed Collection Title: Generic Clearance for the Collection of 
Qualitative Feedback on Agency Service Delivery, 0925-0648, Expiration 
date 3/31/2018 EXTENSION, National Institutes of Health (NIH).
    Need and Use of Information Collection: We are not requesting 
changes for this submission. The proposed information collection 
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:
     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;
     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

[[Page 60755]]

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.
    OMB approval is requested for 3 years. There are no costs to 
respondents other than their time. The total estimated annualized 
burden hours are 49,333.

                                        Estimated Annualized Burden Hours
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                                                                     Number of     Average time
               Type of collection                    Number of     responses per   per response    Total annual
                                                    respondents     respondent      (in hours)      burden hour
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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          12,500
Conference/Training--Pre-and Post-Surveys.......         100,000               2           10/60          33,333
                                                 ---------------------------------------------------------------
    Total.......................................  ..............         353,000  ..............          49,333
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    Dated: December 16, 2017.
Lawrence A. Tabak,
Deputy Director, National Institutes of Health.
[FR Doc. 2017-27617 Filed 12-21-17; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4140-01-P