[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 16 (Wednesday, January 27, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 7302-7303]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-01574]


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DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT

[Docket No. FR-7035-N-01]


60-Day Notice of Proposed Information Collection: Improving 
Customer Experience (OMB Circular A-11, Section 280 Implementation)

AGENCY: Office of Chief Financial Officer, HUD.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), 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: Comments Due Date: March 29, 2021.

ADDRESSES: Interested persons are invited to submit comments regarding 
this proposal. Comments should refer to the proposal by name and/or OMB 
Control Number and should be sent to: Colette Pollard, Reports 
Management Officer, QDAM, Department of Housing and Urban Development, 
451 7th Street SW, Room 4176, Washington, DC 20410-5000; telephone 202-
402-3400 (this is not a toll-free number) or email at 
[email protected] for a copy of the proposed forms or other 
available information. Persons with hearing or speech impairments may 
access this number through TTY by calling the toll-free Federal Relay 
Service at (800) 877-8339.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Colette Pollard, Reports Management 
Officer, QDAM, Department of Housing and Urban Development, 451 7th 
Street SW, Washington, DC 20410; email Colette Pollard at 
[email protected] or telephone 202-402-3400. This is not a toll-
free number. Persons with hearing or speech impairments may access this 
number through TTY by calling the toll-free Federal Relay Service at 
(800) 877-8339.
    Copies of available documents submitted to OMB may be obtained from 
Ms. Pollard.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This notice informs the public that HUD is 
seeking approval from OMB for the information collection described in 
Section A.

A. Overview of Information Collection

    Title of Information Collection: Improving Customer Experience (OMB 
Circular A-11, Section 280 Implementation).
    OMB Approval Number: Pending.
    Type of Request: New.
    Form Number: None.
    Description of the need for the information and proposed use: 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

[[Page 7303]]

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, HUD 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. HUD 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: HUD will collect this information by 
electronic means when possible, as well as by mail, fax, telephone, 
technical discussions, and in-person interviews. HUD may also utilize 
observational techniques to collect this information.
    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 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: 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: 25,000.
     Estimated Total Annual Cost to Public: $0.

B. Solicitation of Public Comment

    This notice is soliciting comments from members of the public and 
affected parties concerning the collection of information described in 
Section A on the following:
    (1) 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;
    (2) The accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden of the 
proposed collection of information;
    (3) Ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the 
information to be collected; and
    (4) Ways to minimize the burden of the collection of information on 
those who are to respond; including through the use of appropriate 
automated collection techniques or other forms of information 
technology, e.g., permitting electronic submission of responses.
    HUD encourages interested parties to submit comment in response to 
these questions.

C. Authority

    Section 3507 of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, 44 U.S.C. 
Chapter 35.
    The Acting Customer Experience Officer, Katherine Darling, having 
reviewed and approved this document, is delegating the authority to 
electronically sign this document to submitter, Nacheshia Foxx, who is 
the Federal Register Liaison for HUD, for purposes of publication in 
the Federal Register.

Nacheshia Foxx,
Federal Register Liaison for the Department of Housing and Urban 
Development.
[FR Doc. 2021-01574 Filed 1-26-21; 8:45 am]
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