[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 133 (Thursday, July 11, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 33113-33114]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-14749]


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SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION


Agency Information Collection Activity: Generic Information 
Collection Under Circular A-11, Section 280: Improving Customer Service

AGENCY: U.S. Small Business Administration.

ACTION: 60-Day notice and request for comments.

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SUMMARY: Under the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) of 1995, federal 
agencies are required to publish a notice in the Federal Register 
concerning each proposed collection of information and allow 60 days 
for public comment in response to the notice. Accordingly, the U.S. 
Small Business Administration (SBA), as part of its continuing effort 
to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, invites the general public 
and other Federal agencies to comment on a new proposed information 
collection on improving customer service.

DATES: Written comments must be submitted on or before September 9, 
2019.

ADDRESSES: Direct all comments to Terell Lasane, Lead Program 
Evaluator, Office of Performance Management and the Chief Financial 
Officers, Small Business Administration, 409 3rd Street, 6th Floor, 
Washington, DC 20416.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Terell Lasane, Lead Program Evaluator, 
[email protected], 202-205-7111, or Curtis B. Rich, 
Management Analyst, 202-205-7030, [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Abstract

    Whether seeking a loan, Social Security benefits, veterans' 
benefits, or other services provided by the Federal Government, 
individuals and businesses expect Government customer services to be 
efficient and intuitive, just like services from leading private-sector 
organizations. Yet the 2016 American Consumer Satisfaction Index and 
the 2017 Forrester Federal Customer Experience Index show that, on 
average, Government services lag nine percentage points behind the 
private sector.
    A modern, streamlined and responsive customer experience means: 
Raising government-wide customer experience to the average of the 
private sector service industry; developing indicators for high-impact 
Federal programs to monitor progress towards excellent customer 
experience and mature digital services; and providing the structure 
(including increasing transparency) and resources to ensure customer 
experience is a focal point for agency leadership. To support this, OMB 
Circular A-11 Section 280 established government-wide standards for 
mature customer experience organizations. To enable Federal programs to 
deliver the experience taxpayers deserve, agencies must undertake three 
general categories of activities: Conduct ongoing customer research, 
gather and share customer feedback, and test services and digital 
products.
    These data collection efforts may be either qualitative or 
quantitative in nature or may consist of mixed methods. Additionally, 
data may be collected via a variety of means, including but not limited 
to electronic or social media, direct or indirect observation (e.g., in 
person, video and audio collections), interviews, questionnaires, 
surveys, and focus groups. The U.S. Small Business Administration will 
limit its inquiries to data collections that solicit strictly voluntary 
opinions or responses. Steps will be taken to ensure anonymity of 
respondents in each activity covered by this request.
    The results of the data collected will be used to understand and 
improve the delivery of Federal services and programs. It will include 
the creation of personas, customer journey maps, formative evaluations, 
reports and summaries of customer feedback data and user insights.

II. Method of Collection

    SBA will collect this information by electronic means when 
possible, as well as by mail, fax, telephone, technical discussions, 
and in-person interviews. SBA may also utilize observational techniques 
to collect this information.

III. Data

    Form Number(s): None.
    Type of Review: New.
    Affected Public: Collections will be targeted to the solicitation 
of opinions from respondents who have experience with a program or may 
have experience

[[Page 33114]]

with it in the near future. For the purposes of this request, 
``customers'' are individuals, businesses, and organizations that 
interact with a Federal Government agency or program, either directly 
or via a Federal contractor. This could include individuals or 
households; businesses or other for-profit organizations; not-for-
profit institutions; State, local or tribal governments; Federal 
government; and Universities.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 500,000.
    Estimated Time per Response: Varied, dependent upon the data 
collection method used. The possible response time to complete a 
questionnaire or survey may be 3 minutes or up to 2 hours to 
participate in an interview.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 37,500.
    Estimated Total Annual Cost to Public: $0.

IV. Request for Comments

    The U.S. Small Business Administration invites comments on: (a) 
Whether the proposed collection of information is necessary for the 
proper performance of the functions of the agency, including whether 
the information will 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, 
including through the use of automated collection techniques or other 
forms of information technology.
    Comments submitted in response to this notice will be summarized 
and/or included in the request for OMB approval of this information 
collection; they also will become a matter of public record.

Curtis Rich,
Management Analyst.
[FR Doc. 2019-14749 Filed 7-10-19; 8:45 am]
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