[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 57 (Friday, March 26, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 16212-16214]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-06290]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry

[60Day-21-0047; Docket No. ATSDR-2021-0003]


Proposed Data Collection Submitted for Public Comment and 
Recommendations

AGENCY: Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR), 
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).

ACTION: Notice with comment period.

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SUMMARY: The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR), 
as part of its continuing effort to reduce public burden and maximize 
the utility of government information, invites the general public and 
other Federal agencies the opportunity to comment on a proposed and/or 
continuing information collection, as required by the Paperwork 
Reduction Act of 1995. This notice invites comment on a proposed 
information collection project titled ``Generic Clearance for the 
Collection of Qualitative Feedback on Agency Service Delivery.'' The 
information collection activity provides a means to garner qualitative 
customer and stakeholder feedback in an efficient, timely manner, in 
accordance with the Federal government's commitment to improving 
service delivery.

DATES: ATSDR must receive written comments on or before May 25, 2021.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by Docket No. ATSDR-
2021-0003 by any of the following methods:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: Regulations.gov. Follow the 
instructions for submitting comments.
     Mail: Jeffrey M. Zirger, Information Collection Review 
Office, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1600 Clifton Road 
NE, MS-D74, Atlanta, Georgia 30329.
    Instructions: All submissions received must include the agency name 
and Docket Number. ATSDR will post, without change, all relevant 
comments to Regulations.gov.
    Please note: Submit all comments through the Federal eRulemaking 
portal (regulations.gov) or by U.S. mail to the address listed above.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: To request more information on the 
proposed project or to obtain a copy of the information collection plan 
and instruments, contact Jeffrey M. Zirger, Information Collection 
Review Office,

[[Page 16213]]

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1600 Clifton Road NE, MS-
D74, Atlanta, Georgia 30329; phone: 404-639-7118; Email: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 
(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. In addition, the PRA also requires 
Federal agencies to provide a 60-day notice in the Federal Register 
concerning each proposed collection of information, including each new 
proposed collection, each proposed extension of existing collection of 
information, and each reinstatement of previously approved information 
collection before submitting the collection to the OMB for approval. To 
comply with this requirement, we are publishing this notice of a 
proposed data collection as described below.
    The OMB is particularly interested in comments that will help:
    1. Evaluate 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. Evaluate the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden of 
the proposed collection of information, including the validity of the 
methodology and assumptions used;
    3. Enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to 
be collected; and
    4. Minimize the burden of the collection of information on those 
who are to respond, including through the use of appropriate automated, 
electronic, mechanical, or other technological collection techniques or 
other forms of information technology, e.g., permitting electronic 
submissions of responses.
    5. Assess information collection costs.

Proposed Project

    Generic Clearance for the Collection of Qualitative Feedback on 
Agency Service Delivery (OMB Control No. 0923-0047, Exp. 01/31/2022)--
Extension--Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR).

Background and Brief Description

    The information collection activity provides a means to garner 
qualitative customer and stakeholder feedback in an efficient, timely 
manner, in accordance with the Federal government'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.
    ATSDR 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 noncontroversial 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 intended to be used only 
internally for general service improvement and program management 
purposes and is not intended for release outside of the agency (if 
released, the agency must indicate the qualitative nature of the 
information);
     Information gathered will not be used for the purpose of 
substantially informing influential policy decisions; and
     Information gathered will yield qualitative information; 
the collections will not be 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 nonresponse 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.
    This is an extension of the previously approved collection of 7,075 
annualized burden hours. The respondents are Individuals and 
Households; Businesses and Organizations; and State, Local, or Tribal 
Government. There is no cost to respondents other than their time.

[[Page 16214]]



                                        Estimated Annualized Burden Hours
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                                                                     Number of
      Type of respondent             Type of         Number of     responses per     Hours per     Total burden
                                   collection       respondents     respondent       response       (in hours)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Individuals and Households;     Small discussion             300               1           90/60             450
 Businesses and Organizations;   groups.
 and State, Local, or Tribal
 Government.
                                Request for                1,500               1           15/60             375
                                 customer
                                 comment cards/
                                 complaint forms/
                                 post-conference
                                 or training
                                 surveys.
                                Focus groups of            2,000               1               2           4,000
                                 customers,
                                 potential
                                 customers,
                                 delivery
                                 partners, or
                                 other
                                 stakeholders.
                                Qualitative                3,000               1           30/60           1,500
                                 customer
                                 satisfaction
                                 surveys or
                                 interviews.
                                Usability                  1,500               1           30/60             750
                                 testing/in-
                                 person
                                 observation
                                 testing.
                                                 ---------------------------------------------------------------
    Total.....................  ................  ..............  ..............  ..............           7,075
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Jeffrey M. Zirger,
Lead, Information Collection Review Office, Office of Scientific 
Integrity, Office of Science, Centers for Disease Control and 
Prevention.
[FR Doc. 2021-06290 Filed 3-25-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4163-70-P