Supporting Statement

Request for Approval under the “Generic Clearance for the Collection of Routine Customer Feedback” (OMB Control Number: 3060-1149)

TITLE OF THE STUDY: Generic Clearance for the Collection of Customer Feedback for the High Cost Broadband Data Submission Process.

PURPOSE:

The purpose of the study is to gather stakeholder feedback and input about the High Cost Broadband data submission process. The data collected will assist the Product Development and Communications teams in leveling an online application and messaging crafted to the users of the product. The objective of the study is to assess product design choices and allow potential users the opportunity to provide comments and feedback that can be used in the new application.

DESCRIPTION OF RESPONDENTS:

The respondents will consist of stakeholders from carriers and their contracted consultants.

TYPE OF COLLECTION: (Check one)

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

[ ] 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: Jonathan Lechter

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? N/A

3. If Yes, has an up-to-date System of Records Notice (SORN) been published? N/A

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
Stakeholders	500	.25 hours	125
Totals	500		125 hours

FEDERAL COST: There will be few, if any additional costs to the Commission because notice, enforcement, and policy analysis associated with the Universal Service Fund are already part of the Commission’s duties.  Moreover, there will be minimal cost to the Federal government since a third party (USAC) will administer the survey.

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?

USAC has a list of stakeholders who perform the role of data filing and/or are part of the High Cost program.

USAC plans to send an email to all of the 500 individuals who will be submitting broadband data for the High Cost program to invite them to participate in the customer satisfaction survey. No specific gender or age range will be targeted. While this list of stakeholders includes the potential group of respondents, we do not anticipate that all respondents will participate in the customer satisfaction survey. Because this survey is voluntary and being sent out to all account holders and service providers in order to gain useful feedback and insight into the High Cost Broadband data submission process, there is no intention to select only a certain group of respondents to participate in the customer satisfaction survey.

In addition, if respondents indicate an affirmative response to question 28 of the survey, USAC may contact up to 200 respondents to gather unstructured, general feedback on design mockups and wireframes. These responses would be collected using an online interface and in response to general solicitations for feedback. Participation will take no more than 15 minutes.

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.

See the attached document: High Cost Broadband Stakeholder Data Submission Survey Questions.

Instructions for completing Request for Approval under the “Online Survey 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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