[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 135 (Monday, July 17, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 45424-45425]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-15068]


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FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION


Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposed Collection; 
Comment Request; Extension

AGENCY: Federal Trade Commission.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Federal Trade Commission (FTC or Commission) is seeking 
public comment on its proposal to extend for an additional three years 
the current Paperwork Reduction Act clearance to participate in the 
Office of Management and Budget program ``Generic Clearance for the 
Collection of Qualitative Feedback on Service Delivery.'' The current 
clearance expires on July 31, 2023.

DATES: Comments must be filed by August 16, 2023.

ADDRESSES: Interested parties may file a comment online or on paper, by 
following the instructions in the Request for Comment part of the 
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section below. 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. The reginfo.gov web link is a United States 
Government website produced by the Office of Management and Budget 
(OMB) and the General Services Administration (GSA). Under PRA 
requirements, OMB's Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) 
reviews Federal information collections.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Bridget Small, Federal Trade 
Commission, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, CC-10402, Washington, DC 20580, 
(202) 326-3266.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 
    Title of Collection: Generic Clearance for the Collection of 
Qualitative Feedback on Agency Service Delivery.
    OMB Control Number: 3084-0159.
    Current Actions: Extension of approval for a collection of 
information.
    Affected Public: Individuals and Households, Businesses and 
Organizations, State, Local or Tribal Government.
    Estimated Number of Annual Respondents: 6,240.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 1,057.
    Abstract: The information collection activity will garner 
qualitative customer and stakeholder feedback in an efficient, timely 
manner, in accordance with the Administration's commitment to improving 
service delivery. Qualitative feedback is information that provides 
useful insights on perceptions and opinions, but 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 Commission and 
its customers and stakeholders. It will also allow feedback to 
contribute directly to the improvement of program management.
    Feedback collected under this generic clearance will provide useful 
information, but it will 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 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.
    Request for Comment: On April 24, 2023, the FTC sought public 
comment on the information collection requirements associated with the 
Rule. 88 FR 24798. One germane comment was received. Bruce Grimm opined 
that the three year extension be considered for approval ``[i]f the FTC 
can make sure that the information collected is going to provide 
accurate and reliable information in order to make informed agency 
policy changes and decisions that benefit the public.'' He also noted 
that, ``Surveying for the sake of gathering information should ensure 
that quantifiable data is provided and that it can be easily analyzed. 
Focus groups, on the other hand, tend to encourage good discussion, but 
they are found to be time consuming and costly, That kind of data can 
be harder to analyze.''
    The FTC responds that the use of this 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. 
The FTC will collect, analyze, and interpret information gathered 
through this generic clearance to identify strengths and weaknesses of 
current services and make improvements in service delivery based on 
feedback. Each collection will be low-burden and targeted to the 
solicitation of opinions from respondents who have experience with an 
FTC program or may have experience with the program in the near future.
    Pursuant to the OMB regulations, 5 CFR part 1320, that implement 
the PRA, 44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq., the FTC is providing this second 
opportunity for public comment while seeking OMB approval to renew the 
pre-existing clearance for the information collections.
    Your comment--including your name and your state--will be placed on 
the public record of this proceeding. Because your comment will be made 
public, you are solely responsible for making sure that your comment 
does not include any sensitive personal information, such as anyone's 
Social Security number; date of birth; driver's license number or other 
state identification number, or foreign country equivalent; passport 
number; financial account number; or credit or debit card number. You 
are also solely responsible for making sure that your comment does not 
include any sensitive health information, such as medical records or 
other individually identifiable health information. In addition, your 
comment should not include any ``trade secret or any commercial or 
financial information which . . . is privileged or confidential''--as 
provided by Section 6(f) of the FTC Act, 15 U.S.C. 46(f), and FTC Rule 
4.10(a)(2), 16 CFR 4.10(a)(2)--including in particular competitively 
sensitive information such as costs,

[[Page 45425]]

sales statistics, inventories, formulas, patterns, devices, 
manufacturing processes, or customer names.

Josephine Liu,
Assistant General Counsel for Legal Counsel.
[FR Doc. 2023-15068 Filed 7-14-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6750-01-P