Customer Service Survey Supporting_Statement_Part_B- 16 Jan 2014

SUPPORTING STATEMENT – PART B

B.  COLLECTIONS OF INFORMATION EMPLOYING STATISTICAL METHODS

If the collection of information employs statistical methods, it should be indicated in Item 17 of OMB Form 83-I, and the following information should be provided in this Supporting Statement:

1.  Description of the Activity

Although the collection of information does not require advanced statistical sampling methods, the following information is being provided. The potential respondent universe is any person or entity that receives a Department of the Army, Section 10 of the Rivers and Harbors Act or Section 404 if the Clean Water Act permit authorization. As an example, included in the permit packet sent to applicants is a request to full out a 100% voluntary online customer service survey. The majority of applicants do not submit a survey. The results of the submitted surveys are compiled and provided to those offices that received a response. This information may be used to inform any needed changes to existing practices in Corps districts or field offices. No overall inferences, trends or analysis are done using the small sample size. Rather, the results of each record are noted.

2.  Procedures for the Collection of Information

Describe any of the following if they are used in the collection of information:

a.  The total of all responses are averaged together (arithmetic mean) for the question - What is your OVERALL rating of the level of service provided by the Corps of Engineers Regulatory Program?.

3.  Maximization of Response Rates, Non-response, and Reliability

Since this survey is voluntary, the Corps does encourage, but does not mandate use of the customer service survey. Some districts include the survey url in the signature line of emails and post a link to their survey on their websites. The Corps is working to better automate and streamline the survey so that is takes less time to complete in the future and will be easier to fill out. The survey will be included in a Reg App being developed and a small screen rendering version will be created to allow those access the site with smart phones to more easily view and complete the survey. In the future, we envision streamlining and simplifying (reducing length and content) the form and will come in with a revision request to OMB do so in the next year or two before any changes are made.

4.  Tests of Procedures

No tests for procedures were performed. To improve the collection of instrument utility, clarification on the rating system was provided to ensure applicants were selecting the correct response.

5.  Statistical Consultation and Information Analysis

a.  Provide names and telephone number of individual(s) consulted on statistical aspects of the design – None

b.  Provide name and organization of person(s) who will actually collect and analyze the collected information – Results are obtained from the Corps website, in an excel format. This requires a login and password. Responses are then provided to districts, via email on a monthly basis. In the spreadsheet, a column is provided for each question, the result (if entered) is displayed in that column. Some only fill out portions of the survey. NA is the result used for items that are not applicable to that particular applicant, a null result is provided when a question was not answered. Headquarters reviews monthly data, noting high and low scores, and districts can use the information to note areas of strength/weakness for a particular office.

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