Certification for NASS Customer Survey

Request for Approval under the “Generic Clearance for the Collection of Routine Customer Feedback” (OMB Control Number: 0503-0021)

TITLE OF INFORMATION COLLECTION:

Customer Opinion/Satisfaction Survey regarding 2012 Census of Agriculture communication and release materials.

PURPOSE:

The National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) conducts the Census of Agriculture once every five years by mailing a census questionnaire to all known and potential farm operations in the United States. After data are collected and summarized, a series of publications are released, covering both general and specific data series from the census. NASS is seeking input on the usefulness and effectiveness of these publications, in addition to the various news releases the agency issued announcing census publications. The results will be used to develop the 2017 Census of Agriculture communication plan and publications.

DESCRIPTION OF RESPONDENTS:

The survey participants (i.e., respondents) are Census of Agriculture data users.

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:_David Hancock, NASS OMB Clearance Officer________________________

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, is the information that will be collected included in records that are subject to the Privacy Act of 1974? [ ] Yes [ ] No

3. If Applicable, has a System or Records Notice been published? [ ] Yes [ ] No [X] 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
Census of Agriculture data users – completed survey	500	25 minutes	208 hours
Census of Agriculture data users – did not complete survey	2,000	2 minutes	67 hours
Totals	2,500		275 hours

The sample size for this satisfaction survey is 2,500. Of those, an estimated 20 percent are expected to respond on this internet-based survey. The industry norm response rate for surveys of this type is 10-15 percent; we are using 20 percent to ensure we have clearance for adequate response burden, should our survey perform better than the norm.

FEDERAL COST: The estimated annual cost to the Federal government is _$5,000___

The $5,000 includes the cost of NASS staff involved with the project and the annual subscription cost of the internet survey software. The Census of Agriculture data users who will be sampled for this satisfaction survey will be notified via email, so no postage costs will be incurred.

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?

This sampling population for this internet-based customer satisfaction survey will consist of the following two sources:

1. NASS’s “NASS Data User Community” participant list. This is a list of persons who voluntarily sign up on NASS’s public website to provide occasional feedback to NASS products and services.

2. The list of NASS data stakeholders and partner organizations that NASS’s Public Affairs Office works with during past Censuses of Agriculture.

All persons/entities on both of these two lists will be part of this survey’s sample. There is not believed to be any duplication between these lists.

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: Via Video Teleconference (VTC).

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.

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.

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.

Please make sure that all instruments, instructions, and scripts are submitted with the request.

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