[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 184 (Monday, September 23, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 49705-49706]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-20445]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

[OMB Control No. 0503-XXXX]


Information Collection; Improving Customer Experience (OMB 
Circular A-11, Section 280 Implementation)

AGENCY: Department of Agriculture.

ACTION: Notice; request for comment.

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SUMMARY: The Department of Agriculture, as part of its continuing 
effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, is announcing an 
opportunity for public comment on a new proposed collection of 
information by the Agency. Under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 
(PRA), Federal Agencies are required to publish notice in the Federal 
Register concerning each proposed collection of information, and to 
allow 60 days for public comment in response to the notice. This notice 
solicits comments on new collection proposed by the Agency.

DATES: Submit comments on or before: November 22, 2019.

ADDRESSES: Submit comments identified by Information Collection 0503-
XXXX, Improving Customer Experience (OMB Circular A-11, Section 280 
Implementation), by any of the following methods:
     Federal eRulemaking portal: https://www.regulations.gov. 
Follow the instructions for submitting comments. Comments submitted 
electronically, including attachments to https://www.regulations.gov, 
will be posted to the docket unchanged.
     Mail: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Office of the Chief 
Information Officer, 1200 Independence Ave. SW, Washington, DC 20250, 
Attn:

[[Page 49706]]

Ruth Brown or Kimble Brown, A-11 Section 280 Improving Customer 
Experience.
    Instructions: Please submit comments only and cite Information 
Collection 0503-XXXX, Improving Customer Experience (OMB Circular A-11, 
Section 280 Implementation), in all correspondence related to this 
collection. To confirm receipt of your comment(s), please check 
regulations.gov, approximately two-to-three business days after 
submission to verify posting (except allow 30 days for posting of 
comments submitted by mail).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Requests for additional information 
should be directed to Ruth Brown or Kimble Brown, Office of the Chief 
Information officer, Information Resources Management Center, 1200 
Independence Avenue SW, Washington, DC 20250, or via email to: 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

A. Purpose

    Under the PRA, (44 U.S.C. 3501-3520) Federal Agencies must obtain 
approval from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for each 
collection of information they conduct or sponsor. ``Collection of 
information'' is defined in 44 U.S.C. 3502(3) and 5 CFR 1320.3(c) and 
includes Agency requests or requirements that members of the public 
submit reports, keep records, or provide information to a third party. 
Section 3506(c)(2)(A) of the PRA requires Federal Agencies to provide a 
60-day notice in the Federal Register concerning each proposed 
collection of information, including each proposed extension of an 
existing collection of information, before submitting the collection to 
OMB for approval. To comply with this requirement, USDA is publishing 
notice of the proposed collection of information set forth in this 
document.
    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 in government and measurement. 
To enable Federal programs to deliver the experience taxpayers deserve, 
they 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 (i.e., in 
person, video and audio collections), interviews, questionnaires, 
surveys, and focus groups. USDA 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 improve the 
delivery of Federal services and programs. It will include the creation 
of personas, customer journey maps, and reports and summaries of 
customer feedback data and user insights. It will also provide 
government-wide data on customer experience that can be displayed on 
performance.gov to help build transparency and accountability of 
Federal programs to the customers they serve.

Method of Collection

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

Data

    Form Number(s): None.
    Type of Review: New.

B. Annual Reporting Burden

    Affected Public: Collections will be 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. 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: 2,040,000.
    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: 240,000.
    Estimated Total Annual Cost to Public: $0.

C. Public Comments

    USDA 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.

Francisco Salguero,
Deputy Chief Information Officer.
[FR Doc. 2019-20445 Filed 9-20-19; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3410-KR-P