[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 98 (Monday, May 21, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 23428-23430]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-10768]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
Patent and Trademark Office
Generic Clearance for the Collection of Qualitative Feedback on
Agency Service Delivery
ACTION: Proposed collection; comment request.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), as
required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, invites comments on a
proposed extension of an existing information collection; 0651-0080:
Qualitative Feedback on Agency Service Delivery.
DATES: Written comments must be submitted on or before July 20, 2018.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by any of the following methods:
Email: [email protected]. Include ``0651-
0080: Generic Clearance comment'' in the subject line of the message.
Federal Rulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov.
[[Page 23429]]
Mail: Marcie Lovett, Director, Records and Information
Governance Division, Office of the Chief Technology Officer, United
States Patent and Trademark Office, P.O. Box 1450, Alexandria, VA
22313-1450.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Requests for additional information
should be directed to Marcie Lovett, Director, Records and Information
Governance Division, Office of the Chief Technology Officer, United
States Patent and Trademark Office, P.O. Box 1450, Alexandria, VA
22313-1450; by telephone at 571-272-8123; or by email to
[email protected] with ``Paperwork'' in the subject line.
Additional information about this collection can be found at http://www.reginfo.gov under ``Information Collection Review.''
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Abstract
Executive Order 12862 (http://www.archives.gov/federal-register/executive-orders/pdf/12862.pdf) directs Federal agencies to provide
services to the public that matches or exceeds the best services
available in the private sector. In order to work continuously to
ensure that its programs are effective and meet its customers' needs,
the United States Patent and Trademark Office (hereafter ``USPTO'' or
``the Agency'') proposes the following generic clearance to collect
qualitative feedback on its service delivery. Qualitative feedback
refers to information that provides useful insights on perceptions and
opinions, but is not in the form of statistical surveys which yield
quantitative results that can be generalized to the population of
study.
Collecting feedback will allow for the Agency to have a pulse on
customer satisfaction and adjust where necessary to meet and exceed
expectations. This feedback collection will provide for ongoing,
collaborative, and actionable communication between the Agency and its
customers and stakeholders. It also will enable the Agency to garner
customer and stakeholder feedback in an efficient and timely manner, in
accordance with the USPTO's commitment to improving services. The
information collected from Agency customers and stakeholders will help
ensure users have an opportunity to convey their experience with USPTO
programs. This collection will also provide insights into customer or
stakeholder perceptions, experiences, and expectations, which will
allow the Agency to focus attention on areas where communication,
training, or changes in operations may be necessary.
Improving Agency programs requires ongoing assessment. The Agency
will collect, analyze, and interpret information gathered to identify
strengths and weaknesses of current services. Based on feedback
received, the Agency will identify operational changes needed to
improve programs and services. 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. The Agency is committed to hearing feedback from its
customers. Responses will be assessed to identify service areas in need
of improvement. If this information is not collected, then the Agency
will miss opportunities to obtain vital feedback from its customers and
stakeholders on ways to improve their program and services.
The Agency will only submit a collection for approval under this
generic clearance if it meets the following conditions:
The collection is voluntary;
The collection is 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 collection is noncontroversial and does 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 only be used internally for
general program and service improvement as well as program
administrative purposes, and is not intended for release outside 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 are not designed or expected to yield statistically
reliable results nor used as though the results are generalizable to
the population of study.
As a general matter, these information collections will not result
in any new system of records containing privacy information and will
not ask questions of a sensitive nature.
II. Method of Collection
The USPTO uses surveys, focus groups, interviews, questionnaires,
and usability testing to collect feedback from its customers. These may
be conducted via telephone, through electronic means, or in person. The
USPTO expects customers will respond to the questionnaires and surveys
primarily through electronic means, and to the focus groups,
interviews, and usability testing primarily in person.
III. Data
OMB Number: 0651-0080.
IC Instruments and Forms: The individual instruments in this
collection, as well as their associated forms, are listed in the table
below.
Type of Review: Regular.
Affected Public: Individuals and households; businesses or other
for-profits; and not-for-profit institutions.
Estimated Number of Respondents: 143,000 responses per year.
Estimated Time per Response: Between 3 minutes (0.05 hours) and 120
minutes (2 hours), depending on the instruments used and the item being
completed.
Estimated Total Annual Respondent Burden Hours: 18,475 hours.
Estimated Total Annual Respondent (Hourly) Cost Burden:
$4,387,986.75. The USPTO expects that attorneys, paralegals and pro se
applicants will complete these applications. The professional hourly
rate for attorneys is $438, and the hourly rates for paralegals and pro
se applicants are $145 and $30, respectively. The average of the
combined respondent rate is $204.33. Using this blended hourly rate,
the USPTO estimates that the total respondent cost burden for this
collection is $4,387,986.75 per year.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Estimated
time for Estimated Estimated
IC No. Information collection item response annual annual burden Rate (S/hr)
(minutes) responses hours
....................................... (a) (b) (a) x (b) = ..............
(c)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1.............................................. Customer Surveys....................... 5 40,000 3,333.33 $204.33
[[Page 23430]]
2.............................................. Questionnaires/Customer Comment Cards/ 5 600 50.00 $204.33
Complaint Forms.
3.............................................. Focus Groups/Interviews................ 15 500 125.00 $204.33
4.............................................. Small Discussion Groups................ 120 400 800.00 $204.33
5.............................................. Usability Tests (In-person observation 30 1,000 500.00 $204.33
(i.e., Website/Software).
6.............................................. ForeSee Surveys (USPTO.GOV)............ 10 100,000 16,666.67 $204.33
---------------------------------------------------------------
Total (Three-Year Period).................. ....................................... .............. 143,000 18,475 ..............
(429,000) (55,425)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Estimated Total Annual (Non-hour) Respondent Cost Burden: $0. There
are no capital start-up, maintenance, postage, recordkeeping costs, or
any other fees associated with this information collection.
IV. Request for Comments
Comments are invited on:
(a) Whether the proposed 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 (including
hours and cost) of the proposed collection of information;
(c) ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the
information to be collected; and
(d) ways to minimize the burden of the collection of information on
respondents, e.g., the use of automated collection techniques or other
forms of information technology. Comments submitted in response to this
notice will be summarized or included in the request for OMB approval
of this information collection; they also will become a matter of
public record.
Marcie Lovett,
Records Management Division Director, USPTO, Office of the Chief
Information Officer.
[FR Doc. 2018-10768 Filed 5-18-18; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-16-P