EERE Website Survey

Request for Approval under the “Generic Clearance for the Collection of
Routine Customer Feedback” (OMB Control Number: 1910-5160)
TITLE OF INFORMATION COLLECTION:
Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Website Audience Survey
PURPOSE:
The Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) has developed an online survey to help
the Web team better understand:
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Customer satisfaction with the current site

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Who is coming to the EERE site: their role, characteristics, distribution
What content or information visitors are looking for
How customers use EERE’s sites (i.e. do they travel between sites, etc.).

Information gathered from this survey will help gauge the effectiveness of the website and provide
guidance for making customer service improvements in preparation for moving the content into a new
template.
The survey questions are simple and friendly, and we ask only important, but brief questions. Follow up
questions (see indented bullets on survey form) are only asked of participants who select particular
responses, to ensure that we are respecting the time of all our participants.
If participants so choose, they can provide their name and email address at the end of the survey. We plan
to follow up with those participants who meet specific criteria (TBD based on survey) to see if they would
like to participate in our planned usability assessment of the website in early 2012.
Collection of responses: The survey will be administered using Survey Gizmo, an online survey tool. A
link to the survey will be placed on every page of the EERE website (http://www.eere.energy.gov).
Participation is completely voluntary, and timing of participation will be determined by each participant.
The survey will be available via the website for a period of three to eight weeks, starting on or about
October 20th and ending when we have receive 800 responses or by December 16th, whichever comes
first.
Data collected will not be publically disseminated. All results will be aggregated before analysis.
Burden to public: The survey contains 19 questions and will take an estimated five minutes to answer.
The total burden to the public is estimated to be 67 hours, assuming approximately 800 respondents.

DESCRIPTION OF RESPONDENTS:
The survey respondents will consist of anyone who visits the EERE website and chooses to complete the
survey. The survey is completely voluntary and open to the general public.

TYPE OF COLLECTION: (Check one)
[ ] Customer Comment Card/Complaint Form

[ X] Customer Satisfaction Survey

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[ ] Usability Testing (e.g., Website or Software)
[ ] Focus Group

[ ] Small Discussion Group
[ ] Other: ______________________

CERTIFICATION:
I certify the following to be true:
1. The collection is voluntary.
2. The collection is low-burden for respondents and low-cost for the Federal Government.
3. The collection is non-controversial and does not raise issues of concern to other federal
agencies.
4. The results are not intended to be disseminated to the public.

To assist review, please provide answers to the following question:
Personally Identifiable Information:
1. Is personally identifiable information (PII) collected? [X] Yes [ ] No (Name/Email can be
provided voluntarily if they wish to be contacted to provide more feedback)
2. If Yes, will any information that is collected be included in records that are subject to the
Privacy Act of 1974? [ ] Yes [X] No
3. If Yes, has an up-to-date System of Records Notice (SORN) been published? [ ] Yes [ ] No
Gifts or Payments:
Is an incentive (e.g., money or reimbursement of expenses, token of appreciation) provided to
participants? [ ] Yes [X] No

BURDEN HOURS
Category of Respondent
Website visitors

No. of
Participation
Respondents Time
800
5 mins/survey

Totals

800

5 mins/survey

Burden
67 hrs
67 hrs

FEDERAL COST: N/A – there is no additional cost to the federal government. The program
will use existing staff and an existing software account for the online survey tool.
If you are conducting a focus group, survey, or plan to employ statistical methods, please
provide answers to the following questions:
The selection of your targeted respondents

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1. Do you have a customer list or something similar that defines the universe of potential
respondents and do you have a sampling plan for selecting from this universe?
[ ] Yes [X] No
If the answer is yes, please provide a description of both below (or attach the sampling plan)? If
the answer is no, please provide a description of how you plan to identify your potential group of
respondents and how you will select them?
The survey may be voluntarily completed by anyone who visits the public EERE website.

Administration of the Instrument
1. How will you collect the information? (Check all that apply)
[X] Web-based or other forms of Social Media
[ ] Telephone
[ ] In-person
[ ] Mail
[ ] Other, Explain
2. Will interviewers or facilitators be used? [ ] Yes [X] No
Please make sure that all instruments, instructions, and scripts are submitted with the
request.

Instructions for completing Request for Approval under the “Generic
Clearance for the Collection of Routine Customer Feedback”
TITLE OF INFORMATION COLLECTION: Provide the name of the collection that is the
subject of the request. (e.g. Comment card for soliciting feedback on xxxx)
PURPOSE: Provide a brief description of the purpose of this collection and how it will be used.
If this is part of a larger study or effort, please include this in your explanation.
DESCRIPTION OF RESPONDENTS: Provide a brief description of the targeted group or
groups for this collection of information. These groups must have experience with the program.
TYPE OF COLLECTION: Check one box. If you are requesting approval of other
instruments under the generic, you must complete a form for each instrument.
CERTIFICATION: Please read the certification carefully. If you incorrectly certify, the
collection will be returned as improperly submitted or it will be disapproved.
Personally Identifiable Information: Provide answers to the questions. Note: Agencies
should only collect PII to the extent necessary, and they should only retain PII for the period of
time that is necessary to achieve a specific objective.
Gifts or Payments: If you answer yes to the question, please describe the incentive and provide
a justification for the amount.
BURDEN HOURS:

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Category of Respondents: Identify who you expect the respondents to be in terms of the
following categories: (1) Individuals or Households; (2) Private Sector; (3) State, local, or tribal
governments; or (4) Federal Government. Only one type of respondent can be selected per row.
No. of Respondents: Provide an estimate of the Number of respondents.
Participation Time: Provide an estimate of the amount of time required for a respondent to
participate (e.g. fill out a survey or participate in a focus group)
Burden: Provide the Annual burden hours: Multiply the Number of responses and the
participation time and divide by 60.
FEDERAL COST: Provide an estimate of the annual cost to the Federal government.
If you are conducting a focus group, survey, or plan to employ statistical methods, please
provide answers to the following questions:
The selection of your targeted respondents. Please provide a description of how you plan to
identify your potential group of respondents and how you will select them. If the answer is yes,
to the first question, you may provide the sampling plan in an attachment.
Administration of the Instrument: Identify how the information will be collected. More than
one box may be checked. Indicate whether there will be interviewers (e.g. for surveys) or
facilitators (e.g., for focus groups) used.
Submit all instruments, instructions, and scripts are submitted with the request.

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