[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 13 (Friday, January 19, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 2821-2822]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-00844]


=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

MERIT SYSTEMS PROTECTION BOARD


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

AGENCY: Merit Systems Protection Board.

ACTION: Notice and request for comments.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: The Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB), as part of its 
continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, is 
planning to submit an Information Collection Request (ICR) to the 
Office of Management and Budget (OMB), entitled: ``Generic Clearance 
for the Collection of Qualitative Feedback on Agency Service Delivery'' 
and identified by OMB Control No. 3124-0015, as required by the 
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA). This collection was developed as 
part of a Federal Government-wide effort to streamline the process for 
seeking feedback from the public on service delivery. MSPB is 
soliciting comments on this extension, without change, of a previously 
approved collection set to expire on April 30, 2018. The purpose of 
this notice is to allow 60 days for public comment preceding submission 
of the collection to the OMB.

DATES: Consideration will be given to all comments received by March 
20, 2018.

ADDRESSES: Submit comments by using only one of the following methods:
    (1) Email. Submit comments to [email protected].
    (2) Mail. Submit comments to Jennifer Everling, Acting Clerk of the 
Board, Merit Systems Protection Board, 1615 M Street NW, Washington, DC 
20419.
    (3) Fax. Submit comments to (202) 653-7130.
    All comments must reference OMB Control No. 3124-0015. Regardless 
of the method used for submitting comments or material, all submissions 
will be posted, without change, to MSPB's website (www.mspb.gov) and 
will include any personal information you provide. Therefore, 
submitting this information makes it public.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jennifer Everling, Acting Clerk of the 
Board, Merit Systems Protection Board, 1615 M Street NW, Washington, DC 
20419; phone: (202) 653-7200; fax: (202) 653-7130; or email: 
[email protected]. You may contact the Office of the Clerk of the Board for 
copies of the proposed collection of information at: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 
    The proposed information collection activity provides a means to 
obtain qualitative customer and stakeholder feedback in an efficient, 
timely manner, in accordance with MSPB's commitment to improving 
service delivery. Qualitative feedback is information that provides 
useful insights on perceptions and opinions, but are not statistical 
surveys 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 MSPB 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 MSPB's services will be unavailable.
    The MSPB 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 MSPB;
     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 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.
    Title: Generic Clearance for the Collection of Qualitative Feedback 
on Agency Service Delivery.
    OMB Number: 3124-0015.
    Type of Information Collection: Extension, without change, of a 
currently approved information collection.
    ICR Status: This ICR is currently scheduled to expire on April 30, 
2018. 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.
    Abstract of Proposed Collection: This collection is part of a 
Federal

[[Page 2822]]

Government-wide effort to streamline the process for seeking feedback 
from the public on service delivery and provides a means to obtain 
qualitative customer and stakeholder feedback in an efficient, timely 
manner, in accordance with MSPB's commitment to improving service 
delivery. Responses to any collection of information under this ICR are 
voluntary.
    Affected Public: Individuals and Households; Businesses and 
Organizations; State, Local or Tribal Government.
    Estimated Total Number of Respondents: 3,000.
    Estimated Frequency of Responses: Once per request.
    Estimated Total Average Number of Responses for Each Respondent: 1.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 1,500.
    Estimated Total Cost: $50,100.
    Comments: Comments should be submitted as indicated in the 
ADDRESSES caption above. Comments are solicited to: (a) Evaluate 
whether the collection of information is necessary for the proper 
performance of the functions of MSPB, including whether the information 
shall have practical utility; (b) evaluate the accuracy of MSPB's 
estimate of the burden of the collection of information; (c) enhance 
the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; 
(d) 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) evaluate 
the 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.

Jennifer Everling,
Acting Clerk of the Board.
[FR Doc. 2018-00844 Filed 1-18-18; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7401-01-P