[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 34 (Tuesday, February 20, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 7136-7137]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-03370]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE


Agency Information Collection Activities: Revision and Extension 
of Approved Collection; Comment Request; Generic Clearance for the 
Collection of Qualitative Feedback on Agency Service Delivery

February 14, 2018.
AGENCY: The Office of the Chief Information Officer (OCIO), Department 
of Agriculture.

ACTION: 30-Day notice of submission of information collection approval 
from the Office of Management and Budget 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 
Department of Agriculture (USDA), the Office of the Chief Information 
Officer (OCIO) has submitted 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 by March 22, 2018.

ADDRESSES: Written comments may be submitted to the Desk Officer for 
Agriculture, Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office of 
Management and Budget, New Executive Office Building, Washington, DC 
20503; [email protected] or fax (202) 395-5806 and to 
Departmental Clearance Office, USDA, OCIO, Mail Stop 7602, Washington, 
DC 20250-7602.

[[Page 7137]]


FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: To request additional information, 
please contact Ruth Brown (202) 720-8958.

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, 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 Agency received seven comments in response to the 60-day notice 
published in the Federal Register on December 5, 2017 (82 FR 57423). 
The comments were not related to the collection package or to USDA.

The Office of the Chief Information Officer--0503-0021

    Current Actions: Revision and Extension of Currently Approved 
Collection.
    Type of Review: Revision and Extension.
    Affected Public: Individuals and Households, Businesses and 
Organizations, State, Local or Tribal Government.
    Average Expected Annual Number of activities: 20.
    Respondents: 30,000.
    Annual responses: 30,000.
    Frequency of Response: Once per request.
    Average minutes per response: 30.
    Burden hours: 15,000.
    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.

Ruth Brown,
Departmental Information Collection Clearance Officer.
[FR Doc. 2018-03370 Filed 2-16-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3410-KR-P