Supporting Statement

Request for Approval under the “Generic Clearance for the Collection of Routine Customer Feedback” (OMB Control Number: 1545-2256)

T ITLE OF INFORMATION COLLECTION:

PURPOSE:

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) enlists a balanced measurement system consisting of business results, customer satisfaction, and employee satisfaction. This initiative is part of the Service-wide effort to maintain a system of balanced organizational performance measures mandated by the IRS Restructuring and Reform Act (RRA) of 1998. This is also a result of Executive Order 12862 that requires all government agencies to survey their customers.

These customer surveys/questionnaires produce significant information about the key dimensions of the customers’ experience in dealing with IRS and W&I RICS and provide pointers to where improvement opportunities might lie.

In addition to the objective of measuring customer satisfaction to meet a balanced measures requirement, Return Integrity and Correspondence Services (RICS) management is motivated to use survey results to identify improvement opportunities and as the basis for enacting improvements.

A survey of financial, state agencies and banks associated with the RICS External Leads program. Expected to gather customer feedback with existing processes, identify possible improvement opportunities and efficiencies.  Given recent TIGTA and GAO audits related to the external leads program and identity theft, the survey results will help DMOS/RICS assess procedures and improve upon performance metrics.

DESCRIPTION OF RESPONDENTS:

Participants will be chosen from the voluntary partners that participate in the external leads program. Through the External Leads Program, the IRS receives external communications about questionable tax refunds identified by financial institutions, brokerage firms, government and law enforcement agencies, state agencies, tax preparation entities and various other sources. These leads may involve Treasury checks, refund anticipation loans or checks, direct deposits and pre-paid debit cards. The selection pool will consist of those entities that return funds to the IRS or have expressed an interest in participating in both the external leads back end process as well as the R17 Opt in program. Data on the leads provided is housed in IDRS and the Electronic Fraud Detection system. This information is not utilized during surveys but during the process of working leads provided by each source.

TYPE OF COLLECTION: (Check one)

[ ] Customer Comment Card/Complaint Form [ ] Customer Satisfaction Survey

[X] Usability Testing (e.g., Website or Software [ ] Small Discussion Group

[ ] Focus 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.

5. Information gathered will not be used for the purpose of substantially informing influential policy decisions.

6. The collection is targeted to the solicitation of opinions from respondents who have experience with the program or may have experience with the program in the future.

Name: Reginald Grimes

To assist review, please provide answers to the following question:

Personally Identifiable Information:

1. Is personally identifiable information (PII) collected? [ ] Yes [X] No

2. If Yes, will any information that is collected be included in records that are subject to the Privacy Act of 1974? [ ] Yes [ ] 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	No. of Respondents	Participation Time	Burden
Collection Non-participant	312	2 min.	10.4
Collection Expected Participants	770	14 min.	12.8
Totals			23.2

FEDERAL COST: The estimated annual cost to the Federal government is 0

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

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? [X] Yes [ ] 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?

All financial institutions, banks and state agencies that participate in the external leads program will receive and email requesting their participation in providing feedback on the external leads program.

Administration of the Instrument

1. How will you collect the information? (Check all that apply)

[ ] Web-based or other forms of Social Media

[ ] Telephone

[ ] In-person

[ ] Mail

[X] Other, Explain

-- Participants will submit their survey response to a secure email address. These results include answers to questions related to instructions, ease of use, comprehension, and perception of effectiveness regarding the external leads program. The survey will offer us an opportunity to improve processes and internal procedures related to the release of potentially questionable refunds. This process is voluntary and for the improvement and measurement of program success. The program is also voluntary and no adverse actions can be taken against participants in any way

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:

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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