Business (For- and Not-for-Profit)

Appendix F20

Round 2
Third Party Processors (TPPs) Interview Guide

Third Party Processors (TPPs) Interview Guide

Round 2: Early Operations

Third party processors (TPPs) for stores within the Massachusetts HIP demonstration area of Hampden County will be interviewed in Round 2 to document early operations of HIP. The interviews will take place approximately 2-3 months after all HIP participants have begun earning incentives.

It is anticipated that interviews will occur over a one week period and will be completed by phone. Persons to be interviewed will include:

• The TPP’s Technical Contact with the applicable store or stores in Hampden County and, if different, TPP’s technical contact with ACS, the EBT contractor. (responsible for the technical aspects of the changes necessary to implement HIP at the integrated and third party retailers and ACS)

• The TPP’s Relationship Contact with the store or stores in Hampden County (responsible for the store relationship with the integrated retailer)

Interviews will include the following questions. Additional follow-up questions are anticipated, to clarify or expand responses.

Public reporting burden for this collection of information is estimated to average 90 minutes per response, including the time for reviewing instructions, searching existing data sources, gathering and maintaining the data needed, and completing and reviewing the collection of information. 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. Send comments regarding this burden estimate or any other aspect of this collection of information, including suggestions for reducing this burden, to: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Service, Office of Research and Analysis, 3101 Park Center Drive, Room 1014, Alexandria, VA 22302 ATTN: PRA (0584-xxxx). Do not return the completed form to this address.

GENERAL INFORMATION

1. Date and Time of Interview

2. Name(s) and Title(s) of Respondent(s)

3. Location of Interview

4. Provide a brief description of the respondent’s normal job functions and those specifically related to the HIP implementation if they have changed since the previous interview.

HIP OPERATIONS

5. Were required modifications to your TPP system made prior to HIP becoming operational? If yes, skip to question 6.

   1. When were they completed, tested and certified?

   2. Were there any issues during testing and how were they resolved?

   3. Please describe the greatest challenges in making the modifications and how they were addressed.

6. Have any modifications to your system been required to address HIP requirements since the previous interview? If yes, please describe.

7. Have all of your stores in Hampden County that agreed to participate in HIP now HIP-operational? If not, please explain.

   1. When are they expected to be HIP-operational?

   2. What further support do you need to provide to assist them in becoming HIP-operational (e.g., system changes, terminal upgrades, training, etc.)?

8. Have you made HIP changes available to participating clients’ stores outside of Hampden County? If so, please describe.

RETAILER SUPPORT

9. What type of HIP-related questions, if any, have you received from your clients concerning HIP?

   1. What is the major issue, if any, that retailers are reporting concerning HIP?

   2. Have your HIP retailers reported any issues with SNAP settlement or reconciliation since implementing HIP? If so, please describe.

   3. Given your experience to date, would you change your retailer training approach or materials for HIP (if applicable)?

ISSUES/LESSONS LEARNED

10. Looking back, is there anything you would have changed about the implementation process?

11. Other than previously discussed, what issues, if any, have you encountered during HIP implementation and operations to date, and how were they resolved?

12. What lessons learned can be derived from your experiences to date?