[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 94 (Tuesday, May 14, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 41925-41926]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-10542]


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 Notices
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 This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains documents other than rules 
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  Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 94 / Tuesday, May 14, 2024 / 
Notices  

[[Page 41925]]



DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE


Notice of Information Collection, Request for Comment

AGENCY: Department of Agriculture (USDA).

ACTION: Notice and request for comments.

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SUMMARY: The Office of the Chief Information Officer, as part of its 
continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, invites 
the public to comment on the ``Generic Clearance for the Collection of 
Qualitative Feedback on Agency Service Delivery'' for approval under 
the Paperwork Reduction Act. This collection was developed as part of a 
Federal Government-wide effort to streamline the process for seeking 
feedback from the public on service delivery. This notice announces our 
intent to submit this collection to Office of Management and Budget 
(OMB) for approval and solicit comments on specific aspects for the 
proposed information collection.

DATES: Comments on this notice must be received by July 15, 2024 to be 
assured of consideration.

ADDRESSES: Interested persons are invited to submit comments on this 
notice. Comments may be submitted through the: Federal eRulemaking 
Portal: This website provides the ability to type short comments 
directly into the comment field on this web page or attach a file for 
lengthier comments. Go to http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the on-
line instructions at that site for submitting comments.
    You may also send comments to the Desk Officer for USDA, Office of 
Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management and Budget, 
Washington, DC 20503. All items submitted must include the Agency name 
and docket number Department of Agriculture, USDA-2022-0011. Comments 
received in response to this docket will be made available for public 
inspection and posted without change, including any personal 
information, to http://www.regulations.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Levi S. Harrell, email: 
[email protected]; telephone: (202) 924-0168. Person with 
disabilities who require alternative means for communication should 
contact the USDA Target Center at (202) 720-2600 (voice) or 844-433-
2774 (toll-free nationwide).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 
    Title: Generic Clearance for the Collection of Qualitative Feedback 
on Agency Service Delivery.
    OMB Number: 0503-0021.
    OMB Expiration Date of Approval: Three years from the approval 
date.
    Type of Request: Renewal/Extension of approval for a current 
information collection.
    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 improve service delivery. By qualitative feedback, we 
mean information that provides useful insights on perceptions and 
opinions, but not statistical surveys that yield quantitative results 
that can be generalized to the population. This feedback will, (1) 
provide insights into customer or stakeholder perceptions, experiences 
and expectations, (2) provide an early warning of issues with service 
and, (3) focus attention on areas where communication, training or 
changes in operations might improve delivery of products or services. 
This collection 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 future;
     Personally identifiable information (PII) is collected 
only to the extent necessary and is not retained;
     Information gathered will be used only internally for 
general service improvement and program management purposes and is not 
intended for release outside of the agency;
     Information gathered will not be used for 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 usage requires 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

[[Page 41926]]

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: Renewal/Extension of approval for a current 
information collection.
    Type of Review: Renewal.
    Affected Public: Individuals and Households, Businesses and 
Organizations, State, Local or Tribal Government.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 30,000.
    Below we provide projected average estimates for the next 3-years:
    Average Expected Annual Number of Activities: 20.
    Average Number of Respondents per Activity: 1.
    Annual Responses: 30,000.
    Frequency of Response: Once per request.
    Average Minutes per Response: 30.
    Burden Hours: 16,750.
    Request for Comments: Comments submitted in response to this notice 
will be summarized and/or included in the request for OMB approval. 
Comments are invited on: (a) 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; (b) the 
accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden of the collection of 
information; (c) ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of 
the information to be collected; (d) 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 (e) estimates of capital or start-up costs and costs of 
operation, maintenance, and purchase of services to provide 
information. Burden means the total time, effort, or financial 
resources expended by persons to generate, maintain, retain, disclose, 
or provide information to or for a Federal agency. This includes the 
time needed to review instructions to (1) develop, acquire, install, 
and utilize technology and systems for the purpose of collecting, 
validating and verifying information, processing and maintaining 
information, and disclosing and providing information; (2) train 
personnel and be able to respond to a collection of information, to 
search data sources, (3) complete and review the collection of 
information; and to transmit or otherwise disclose the information.
    All written comments will be available for public inspection at 
Regulations.gov.
    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 Office of Management and Budget control number.

Gary Washington,
Chief Information Officer, Office of the Chief Information Officer.
[FR Doc. 2024-10542 Filed 5-13-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-KR-P