[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 141 (Wednesday, July 22, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 44328-44329]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-15787]


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NATIONAL FOUNDATION ON THE ARTS AND THE HUMANITIES

National Endowment for the Arts


60-Day Notice for the ``Generic Clearance for the Collection of 
Qualitative Feedback on Agency Service Delivery''

AGENCY: National Endowment for the Arts.

ACTION: Notice of proposed collection; comment request.

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SUMMARY: The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), as part of its 
continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, conducts a 
preclearance consultation program to provide the general public and 
Federal agencies with an opportunity to comment on proposed and/or 
continuing collections of information in accordance with the Paperwork 
Reduction Act of 1995. Currently, the NEA is soliciting comments 
concerning the proposed information collection for Generic Clearance 
for the Collection of Qualitative Feedback on Agency Service Delivery.

DATES: Written comments must be submitted to the office listed in the 
ADDRESSES section below within 60 days from the date of this 
publication in the Federal Register.

ADDRESSES: Email comments to: Sunil Iyengar, National Endowment for the 
Arts, at [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    Title: Generic Clearance for the Collection of Qualitative Feedback 
on Agency Service Delivery.
    OMB Number: 3135-0130.
    Abstract: The proposed information collection activity provides a 
means to 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.
    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 the Agency's services will be unavailable.
    The Agency 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 is used only internally for general 
service improvement and program management purposes and is not intended 
for release outside of the agency;
     Information gathered is not used for the purpose of 
substantially informing influential policy decisions; and
     Information gathered yields qualitative information; the 
collections are not 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.
    Current Actions: Extension of a currently approved collection.
    Type of Review: Regular.
    Affected Public: Individuals and Households; Businesses and 
Organizations; State, Local or Tribal Government.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 7,950.
    Average Expected Annual Number of Activities: 4.
    Average Number of Respondents per Activity: 883.
    Annual Responses: 2,650.

[[Page 44329]]

    Frequency of Response: Once per request.
    Average minutes per response: 16.
    Average Expected Annual Burden hours: 726.5.
    Request for Comments: Comments submitted in response to this notice 
will be summarized and/or included in the request for Office of 
Management and Budget (OMB) approval. All comments will become a matter 
of public record. Comments are invited on: 1. Whether the collection of 
information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of 
the Agency, including whether the information shall have practical 
utility; 2. The accuracy of the Agency's estimate of the burden of the 
collection of information; 3. Ways to enhance the quality, utility, and 
clarity of the information to be collected; 4. 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; and 5. Estimates of capital or start-up costs 
and costs of operation, maintenance, and purchase of services to 
provide information.

    Dated: July 16, 2020.
Jillian Miller,
Director of Guidelines & Panel Operations, National Endowment for the 
Arts.
[FR Doc. 2020-15787 Filed 7-21-20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7537-01-P