[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 247 (Tuesday, December 27, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 79447-79448]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-28064]


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DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS

[OMB Control No. 2900-0876]


Agency Information Collection Activity under OMB Review: 
Clearance for A-11 Section 280 Improving Customer Experience 
Information Collection

AGENCY: Veterans Experience Office, Department of Veterans Affairs.

ACTION: Notice.

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[[Page 79448]]

SUMMARY: In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) of 1995, 
this notice announces that the Veterans Experience Office, Department 
of Veterans Affairs, will submit the collection of information 
abstracted below to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for 
review and comment. The PRA submission describes the nature of the 
information collection and its expected cost and burden and it includes 
the actual data collection instrument.

DATES: Written comments and recommendations for the proposed 
information collection should be sent within 30 days of publication of 
this notice to www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain. Find this particular 
information collection by selecting ``Currently under 30-day Review--
Open for Public Comments'' or by using the search function. Refer to 
``Clearance for A-11 Section 280 Improving Customer Experience 
Information Collection'' in any correspondence.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Maribel Aponte, Office of Enterprise 
and Integration, Data Governance Analytics (008), 810 Vermont Ave. NW, 
Washington, DC 20006, (202) 266-4688 or email [email protected]. 
Please refer to ``OMB Control No. 2900-0876'' in any correspondence.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 
    Authority: 44 U.S.C. 3501-21.
    Title: Clearance for A-11 Section 280 Improving Customer Experience 
Information Collection.
    OMB Control Number: 2900-0876.
    Type of Review: ICR Revision.
    Abstract: This ICR Revision seeks to extend the expiration date 
that currently expires in March 2023, and increase the burden hours 
associated with the Department of Veterans Affairs customer experience 
data collection system from 1,754,975 to 2,504,975, and the number of 
responses from 3,500,000 to 5,000,000.
    VA, when it submitted the original Clearance for A-11 Section 280 
Improving Customer Experience Information Collection, calculated total 
the burden needed based on the number of Customer Satisfaction surveys 
under management (43 in calendar year 2020) and our informed estimate 
of growth in number of surveys under management. As a result of 
unexpectedly strong and robust need (and corresponding requests) for 
new customer experience surveys by VA customers (stakeholders and 
partners), VA has already reached 147 surveys under management and 
anticipate reaching 200 by the end of Fiscal Year 2023. This 
anticipated FY23 growth, and per our models for growth from now until 
our current ICR expires in March, 2023, directly translates into a 
corresponding need for an increase in associated burden hours from 
1,754,975 to 2,504,975, and the number of responses from 3,500,000 to 
5,000,000, to accommodate the current and future demand.
    General Background on our Customer Experience data collection 
listening tools
    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. Veterans Experience Office 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. Veterans Experience Office 
will collect this information by electronic means when possible, as 
well as by mail, fax, telephone, technical discussions, and in-person 
interviews. Veterans Experience Office may also utilize observational 
techniques to collect this information.
    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.
    An agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required 
to respond to a collection of information unless it displays a 
currently valid OMB control number. The Federal Register Notice with a 
60-day comment period soliciting comments on this collection of 
information was published at 84 FR 149 on August 2, 2019, pages 37953 
and 37954. No comments on this data collection request were submitted 
by the public.
    Affected Public: Individuals or Households.
    Estimated Annual Burden: 2,504,975.
    Estimated Average Burden per Respondent: Varied, dependent upon the 
data collection method used. The possible response time to complete a 
questionnaire or survey may be 2 minutes or up to 2 hours to 
participate in an interview.
    Frequency of Response: Varied, dependent upon the data collection 
method used.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 5,000,000.

    By direction of the Secretary.
Maribel Aponte,
VA PRA Clearance Officer, Office of Enterprise and Integration, Data 
Governance Analytics, Department of Veterans Affairs.
[FR Doc. 2022-28064 Filed 12-23-22; 8:45 am]
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