DOE-887(71)EERE Web 2007 Survey

Department of Energy Washington, DC 20585

April 17, 2007

DOE Desk Officer

Department of Energy Desk Officer

Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs

Office of Management and Budget

Washington, DC 20503

SUBJECT: DOE-887(71), “USE OF GENERIC CLEARANCE FOR THE OFFICE OF ENERGY EFFICIENCY AND RENEWABLE ENERGY WEB SITE CUSTOMER SURVEY”

Dear DOE Desk Officer:

The Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) plans to use the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) approved generic clearance, DOE-887, (DOE Customer Surveys’ OMB No. 1901-0302, expiring December 31, 2009) to conduct a short survey of EERE’s web site customers. As agreed to under the DOE-887 “DOE Customer Surveys” clearance, we will anticipate your approval within two weeks. However, without the proper authority, we will not conduct these surveys. We will provide OMB with the results of this data collection when we submit the annual report of surveys conducted under the generic clearance.

The Department of Energy Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Web site was developed to make information available to support the office’s goals for increased U.S. industrial competitiveness, energy resources, science and technology, and environmental quality. It provides a gateway to online energy efficiency and renewable energy information sources.

The Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy has developed the attached user survey in response to Executive Order 12862, "Setting Customer Service Standards." This survey is a follow-on to two previous surveys (conducted in 2002 and 2004) and contains only minor changes for continuity of data. The responses to the proposed questions will be used to determine customer information needs for improving content and delivery of the site. The respondents of this survey will consist of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Web site users.

The request to complete the survey will be posted for two weeks on the Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Web site in a pop-up window that will open when users accesses the home page or the top page of a major subsite. The estimated number of monthly visits to the Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy home page is 70,000 with an estimated additional 30,000 visits on subsite pages on which the pop-up will deploy for a total of 100,000 visits. A response rate of approximately 5 % is of the 100,000 respondents (5,000) is expected. An invitation to take the survey also will be included in EERE Network News—a weekly electronic newsletter for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Web site users—once during the survey period. Currently, there are about 12,000 subscribers to EERE Network News. The survey itself will be an electronic form.

The intent of the survey is to obtain qualitative information that will be useful for making improvements in the navigation, content, and other aspects of the Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Web site. We recognize that the survey results will not be representative of all Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Web site users. The results will only reflect the opinions of those users who choose to participate.

All participation in this survey is voluntary. No self-identification information will be collected. All results will be presented in aggregate form. Subsequent analysis of the data collected will limit any divulgence of individual customer responses.

The attached survey will take approximately 5 minutes to answer and contains 10 questions. The burden for all the groups should not exceed 415 hours (5,000 respondents x 5 minutes).

Sarah Kirchen, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, is the point of contact for questions and may be contacted at 202-586-1893. Other questions should be directed to Grace Sutherland at 202.586.6264.

Sincerely,

/S/

Nancy J. Kirkendall

Director

Statistics and Methods Group

Energy Information Administration