Change Justification to Merge 0625-0147

Justification for Change Request for OMB Control No. 0625-0143

Merge of OMB Control No. 0625-0147

The Commercial Service’s (CS) “Services Order Form” 0625-0143 consists of forms that clients complete to provide the CS with specific client needs and requirements that enable the CS to tailor a particular service to meet the client objectives. CS would like to merge 0625-0147 “Participation Agreement and Trade Mission Application,” with modifications, into 0625-0143. The “Participation Agreement and Trade Mission Application” package contains forms that are very similar in content with the forms in 0625-0143. Additionally, the target audience is the same for all the forms in both collections.

The forms in both packages are related to the process a client goes through to request, order and pay for a service; and provide CS with the specific details that are needed in order to perform the requested service. The merger would also improve efficiency because one less collection will be required to go through the renewal process every 3 years.

Much of the information that CS request from clients is similar in the two collections and as CS continue to roll-out their internal client database system and as the client’s contact information and company details are saved in the system and become accessible to CS worldwide staff, clients will not be required to provide some information that is currently being requested in 0625-0143 because it will already have been captured in 0625-0147

Participation Agreement and Trade Mission Application 0625-0147

We have created a new fully electronic process whereby clients engage in a fee-based service with the Commercial Service. This applies to services which include International Partner Search, International Company Profile, Gold Key Matching Service and other CS “services.” Clients that wish to engage in a Commercial Service fee-based service must accept the terms of a Participation Agreement (which serves as a contract between the Commercial Service and the client) and pay for the service. The Participation Agreement is sent to clients electronically and clients can accept the terms of the agreement and pay for the service via an on-line payment link. A basic sample of a revised Participation Agreement (PA) is attached as a supplementary document in ROCIS.  Please note that the completed PA that a client would see will contain components that are not shown in the sample.  As a PA is created, specific service details are added and other components are added as it goes through the development process starting from the CS domestic office and then being approved by the appropriate CS overseas office.  Those components can only be seen when the PA is at the end of the development process and is ready to be sent to the client for acceptance.

A PA can be created either by a Commercial Service employee or by having a potential client fill out an electronic 'Interest Form.' The client submits the Interest Form to the Commercial Service and that interest form will automatically create a Participation Agreement. A Commercial Service Trade Specialist will add details to the PA and will send it electronically to the client for acceptance and payment.

A payment link (supplementary document in ROCIS) is a part of a PA and it asks clients to indicate their method of payment. If a client selects 'credit card' payment, the client will be asked to provide credit card details including name on card, credit card number, credit card type, expiration date and total amount.

The CS also provides U.S. companies with an opportunity to participate in export-related “events” such as seminars and webinars. The registration and PA process for events is slightly different than it is for services due to internal IT and budgetary constraints that currently prevent us from updating the process for “events.” CS event clients typically find out about an event through the ITA Export.gov website. Clients are able to search for appropriate trade events and register for them directly via a registration link from Export.gov. If a client is interested in participating in an event, the client will complete an on-line registration form which serves as a Participation Agreement between the client and the CS. The event registration form and the services interest form ask client to provide the same type of information. The event registration form is attached. A payment link is also a part of the event registration process. The payment link for events is the same as the payment link for services.

We would also like to add the trade mission application from package 0625-0147 into 0625-0143 because it is an order form that a company must complete to participate in the trade mission, and is basically the same as the forms included in 0625-0143.

The 0625-0147 information collection will contain an Interest Form that will populate a PA for services, an event registration form which serves as a PA for CS events, a Trade Mission application and a payment link which is a part of the PA for services and events.

IC Forms to be added to OMB Control No. 0625-0143

1. Interest form: The interest form may be used annually by approximately 1,000 new-to-CS clients to express their interest in contracting with the CS to obtain a fee-based export assistance service. It asks clients to provide their first and last name, company name, address, e-mail address, phone and fax numbers, number of employees and brief company description. (These are the same questions that are included in 0625-0143.) In many cases a CS staff member may enter the client’s contact and company information directly into a participation agreement during a counseling session with the client. A copy of the interest form is attached. We anticipate that clients will need an average of 5 minutes to provide this information.

2. Registration form for events: The event registration form serves as a PA for CS events and may be used annually by approximately 6,900 clients, primarily related to webinar registrations. Clients will need an average of 5 minutes to provide this information.

3. Trade Mission Registration: This is a specific registration form and PA that is used for trade missions. We estimate that 100 clients will complete this form annually. Clients will spend about 5 minutes to complete this form.

4. Payment link from Participation Agreement: After a Participation Agreement is created, either by a CS staff directly inputting the client details or having been automatically created when a client submits an interest form, the PA is sent to the client for acceptance and payment via e-mail link. If the client wishes to move forward with ordering the specific export service, the client must pay for the service and can execute payment via a payment link that is included in the Participation Agreement. The payment link, which is enclosed, asks the client to select the method of payment, and if applicable will request the client to provide a credit card number, name on the credit card and expiration date. The credit card data is obtained over a secure link following best practices regarding electronic fund transactions. A security feature is employed so that only the last 4 digits of the credit card number are viewable within CS systems.

CS anticipate that approximately 10,000 clients (for both CS services and events) will make payment through this electronic payment link. The estimated time is 2 minutes for clients to complete.

Burden Hour Calculation

	Time to complete form (minutes)	Annual # of respondents	Annual Burden hours
Currently Approved Services Order Form 0625-0143		9,035	1,505
Company questionnaire	10	3,250	541
ICP request form	10	2,600	433
Customized services form	10	3,120	520
U.S. supplier search form	10	65	11
Currently Approved Participation Agreement and Trade Event/Mission Application 0625-0147		7,500	2,768
Revised 0625-0147		18,000	999
Interest form	5	1,000	83
Event registration form	5	6,900	575
Trade mission registration form	5	100	8
Payment link	2	10,000	333
Currently Approved 0625-0143 + Revised 0625-0147		27,035	2,504