Justification for a Survey



U.S. Department of the Interior

Office of Policy Analysis



Justification for a Survey under the Department of the Interior’s Programmatic Clearance for Customer Satisfaction Surveys

(OMB Control Number 1040-0001)



Revised June 2015

Instructions for Completing Justification for DOI Programmatic Clearance Submission, OMB Control Number 1040-0001



1. Survey Title/Date Submitted to the Office of Policy Analysis (PPA): Insert title for the proposed survey. Insert date that the expedited approval package will be submitted to PPA. Reminder: Please submit the package through your bureau/office Information Collection Clearance Officer.

2. Bureau/Office: Insert the name of the bureau/office conducting the survey.

3. Abstract: Summarize the proposed study with an abstract not to exceed 150 words.

4. Bureau/Office Point of Contact Information: Complete the bureau/office contact information. PPA will communicate with the point of contact listed here throughout the entire approval process.

5. Principal Investigator (PI) Conducting the Survey: Complete information about the PI who will be conducting the survey, if different than Point of Contact listed in #4. Otherwise note: Same as #4.

6. Name of Program Office Conducting Survey: Provide the name of the bureau program, office, or organizational unit conducting the survey.

7. Description of Customers and Services Provided: Provide a brief description of the customers who will be surveyed, the services provided by the program conducting the survey, and how these services are provided to customers.

8. Survey Dates: List the time period in which the survey will be conducted, including specific starting and ending dates. The starting date should be at least 45 days after the submission date. The request for expedited approval, and submission of a complete and accurate approval package, must be made at least 45 calendar days prior to the first day the PI wishes to administer the survey instrument to the public.

9. Type of Information Collection Instrument: Check the type(s) of information collection instrument(s) that will be used. If other, please explain.

10. Survey Development: Explain how the survey was developed. With whom did you consult during the development of the survey on content? On statistics? Did you pretest the survey? What actions did you take to improve the survey? What suggestions did you receive for improving the survey? Which of the six topic areas will be addressed? (Note: A description of any pre-testing and peer review of the methods and/or instrument is highly recommended.)

11. Survey Methodology: Explain how the survey will be conducted. Provide a description of the survey methodology including: (a) How will the customers be sampled? (if fewer than all customers will be surveyed); (b) What percentage of customers asked to take the survey will respond, and (c) What actions are planned to increase the response rate? If statistics are generated, this description must be specific and include each of the following:

- The respondent universe,

- The sampling plan and all sampling procedures;

- How the instrument will be administered;

- Expected response rate and confidence levels; and

- Strategies for dealing with potential non-response bias.

Note: Web-based surveys are not an acceptable method of sampling a broad population. Web-based surveys must be limited to services provided by the web site.

12. Total Number of Initial Contacts and Expected Number of Respondents: Provide an estimated total number of initial contacts and the total number of expected respondents.

13. Estimated Time to Complete Initial Contact and Time to Complete Survey Instrument: Estimate the time to complete the initial contact and the time to complete the survey instrument (in minutes).

14. Total Burden Hours: Provide the total number of burden hours. The total burden hours should account for the amount of time required to instruct the respondents in completing the survey, and the amount of time required for the respondent to complete the survey.

15. Reporting Plan: Provide a brief description of the reporting plan for the data being collected.

16. Justification, Purpose and Use: Provide a brief justification for the survey, its purpose, goals, and utility to managers. Specifically, describe how data will be tabulated and what statistical techniques will be used to generalize the results to the entire customer population. Describe how data from the survey will be used. Describe how you will acknowledge any limitations related to the data, particularly in cases where we obtain a lower than anticipated response rate. Note whether or not the survey is intended to measure a Government Performance and Results Act (GPRA) performance measure.

Justification for Submission under DOI Programmatic Clearance for Customer Satisfaction Surveys (OMB Control Number 1040-0001)

U.S. Department of the Interior Office of Policy Analysis (PPA)

PPA Tracking Number: (for PPA use only)

			Date Submitted to PPA:
1.	Survey Title:	Road Maintenance Improvement Project
2.	Bureau:	Bureau of Indian Affairs, Great Plains Regional Office, 115 4th Avenue, S.E., Suite 400, Aberdeen, South Dakota 57401



3.

Abstract: (not to exceed 150 words) The purpose of this survey is to gather information to help understand road maintenance needs and the assets you have available to maintain roads. The BIA and the Tribal Interior Budget Council sub-Com on Road Maint. (TBIC-RM) is seeking information to help improve the BIA Roads program. This survey is being distributed to all tribes and BIA agencies that operate a Road Maintenance program. The data will be analyzed by BIA and TBIC to help inform program decisions.

4.

Bureau/Office Point of Contact Information

First Name:

Ernest

Last Name:

Pourier

Title:

Budget Officer

Bureau/Office:

Bureau of Indian Affairs, Great Plains Regional Office

Street Address:

115 4th Avenue, S.E., Suite 400

City:

Aberdeen

State:

SD

Zip code:

57401

Phone:

(605) 226-7743

Fax:

(605) 226-7741

Email:

[email protected]

5.

Principal Investigator (PI) Information

First Name:

Daniel

Last Name:

Sine

Title:

Budget Analyst

Bureau/Office:

Bureau of Indian Affairs, Great Plains Regional Office

Address:

115 4th Avenue SE, Suite 400

City:

Aberdeen

State:

SD

Zip code:

57401

Phone:

605) 226-7742

Fax:

(605) 226-7741

Email:

[email protected]

6.

Name of Program or Office Conducting Survey:

TIBC Roads Maintenance Sub-Committee, Great Plains Regional Budget Office

7.

Description of Customers and Services Provided:

Tribal and Bureau operated Road Maintenance programs

8.

Survey Dates

(mm/dd/yyyy)

to

(mm/dd/yyyy)

March 5, 2018

April 5, 2018

9.

Type of Information Collection Instrument (Check ALL that Apply)

__Intercept

__Telephone

__Mail

_x_Web-based

__Focus Groups

__Comment Cards

__Other

Explain:

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSf7XwpyQUgfYuATISFCgoolp2Bi9VYqj1FBeGmin1xj1snsjA/viewform?usp=sf_link

10. Survey Development: (Who assisted in survey content development statistics? Was the survey pretested? How were improvements integrated? Which of the six topic areas will be addressed?) The origin of the survey began with members of the tribal road maintenance improvement in the Great Plains Region. Subsequent input was provided by subject matter experts such as federal highway engineer Tom Croymans in the Great Plains Regional Office and 2 individuals from the Central Office, Mr. LeRoy Gishi and Robert Fraizier. Mr. Dave Kelly, Road Maintenance Supervisor, of the Oglala Sioux Tribe also provided input. The survey was narrowed down quantitative questions for the overall ease of response and measurement. The survey will consist of 21 questions, ranging from ranking the top 3 critical road maintenance issues, provide cost per mile based on gravel, earth, asphalt, concrete, does the program work with state and other agencies to maintain roads and is there data collected regarding maintenance.
11. Survey Methodology: (Use as much space as needed; if necessary include additional explanation on separate page).
Respondent Universe		The BIA road maintenance program does not operate at all Tribal or Agency locations, but rather at 234 locations out of the 567 federally recognized Tribes. Of these 234 locations, 176 Tribal governments operate the road maintenance program, wherein 58 locations have BIA employees performing the work.
Sampling Plan/Procedure		This is a voluntary and confidential survey that will be sent to all 234 locations via e-mail and administered with the Google survey tool. The survey instrument will utilize Google software. The sample will consist of only BIA-funded locations.
Instrument Administration		The Great Plains Regional Office will send out a Google Survey internet link to invite participation. The data provided in this survey will assist in meeting this goal. Your participation is confidential and voluntary. The Tribal Interior Budget Council Sub-Committee on the Road Maintenance (TIBC-RM) is a functional work group of the TRIBAL-INTERIOR BUDGET COUNCIL (TIBC) March 2016 to develop funding and improve the functionality of the Roads Program within Indian Country. As with All Functional areas, there is a need to evaluate and develop the Roads Maintenance program. This data will be provided to the TIBC for their further use. This survey can be found at: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSf7XwpyQUgfYuATISFCgoolp2Bi9VYqj1FBeGmin1xj1snsjA/viewform?usp=sf_link Results will be tabulated from Google software on-line into an Excel spreadsheet without any staff interaction. These tabulated results will then be sent to the data analysts and statisticians to compute the data analysis. The data analysis staff will forward the survey results to the Great Plains Regional Budget Officer in Aberdeen, South Dakota, who will provide this data to the Tribal Budget Interior Committee Roads Maintenance Sub-Committee. Milestones 1.       Develop Survey instrument 2.       Pre-test of Survey instrument 3.       Review of Survey by GPRO Budget Officer/ Dave from Oglala Sioux Tribe, Pine Ridge, SD 4.       Forwarding via internet of survey to survey participants 5.       Suspense date of survey completion: August 10, 2017 6.       Consolidation and download of data/data entry into Excel spreadsheets 7.       Forward of Data to statisticians for analysis/ 8.   Data analysis. 9.   Complete write-up summary of analysis 10.   Complete summary of statistical methods 11.   Reproduce paper / electronic copies 12.   Review by 3rd party professional for critique/edit of finished document 13.   Edit and correct final changes 14.   Devise PowerPoint presentation
Expected Response Rate and Confidence Levels		We anticipate a response rate of 75% because 85% of the BIA-funded road miles are within 6 BIA regions. Each Regional Budget Officer will follow up with the survey respondents in their region to invite them to complete the survey. Since this survey is administered on the internet via a Google link, this survey will be more user friendly to the respondents.
Strategies for dealing with potential non-response bias		We will monitor completion of the survey through the use of the Google survey.
Description of any pre-testing and peer review of the methods and/or instrument (recommended)		We will pre-test this survey instrument with staff members of the Great Plains Regional office as well as Road Maintenance Program staff from the Oglala Sioux Tribe of South Dakota not to exceed 10 from that location.
12.	Total Number of Initial Contacts and Expected Number of Respondents		Total Contacts=234 Expected Respondents 175
13.	Estimated Time to Complete Initial Contact and Time to Complete Instrument		15 minutes
14.	Total Burden Hours Contacts Respondents ----------------- Total		234 Contacts X 15 minutes = 58.5 hours (100%) 175 Contacts X 15 minutes = 43.75 hours (94%)
15. Reporting Plan: The results will be tabulated and sent to the data analysis/statisticians for analysis. Upon completion, these results will be returned to the Great Plains Regional Budget Officer who will prepare the presentation to present to the TIBC Roads Maintenance Sub-Committee. The TIBC Roads Maintenance Sub-Committee will present this material to the TIBC during the General Assembly of TBIC in May, 2018 in Washington, DC.

16. Justification, Purpose, and Use:
Survey Justification and Purpose	As with all Functional Areas, evaluation needs to be completed periodically to assess the needs of the serviced reservation and to assess the following aspects of the road maintenance operations/scope 1) inquiry of operations relating to various metrics, 2) data collection, 3) cost measurement, 4) deferred maintenance needs, and 5) and how assets relative to roads maintenance.
Survey Goals	To collect baseline data on the extent to which tribes collect data on road maintenance needs, associated, costs, and inflation. Flat line funding is an issue relative to this functional area and needs to be realized as costs increase in time. In the future, we hope to accumulate data to show this, this survey being a beginning point relative this project.
Utility to Managers	This data is anticipated to be used in future budget requests to support the Roads Maintenance Program.
How will the results of the survey be analyzed and used?	Depending on the question, whether qualitative or quantitative, we will employ the use of histograms, and bar and pie charts to interpret the data. We will also request descriptive statistics on the quantitative portions of our survey.
How will the data be tabulated? What Statistical Techniques will be used to generalize the results to the entire customer population? How will limitations on use of data be handled? If the survey results in a lower than anticipated response rate, how will you address this when reporting the results? (Use as much space as needed; if necessary include additional explanation on separate page). Tabulation and analysis: The data will be tabulated in a spreadsheet and analyzed using techniques appropriate for each question, depending on whether the question is quantitive or qualatitive. Limitation: One key limitation of this study is that data is only being collected for a single period of time. This limits the ability to compare to previous time periods. Survey Questionnaire Qualitative measures Quantitative measures Needed Analysis Descriptive Statistics Univariate Analysis Correlation Validity Crosstabs Write-up summary of Analysis Write-up summary of Statistical research methods
Is this survey intended to measure a Government Performance and Results Act (GPRA) performance measure? If so, please include an excerpt from the appropriate document. (Use as much space as needed; if necessary include additional explanation on separate page). Does not apply.

Checklist for Submitting a Request to Use DOI Programmatic Clearance for Customer Satisfaction Surveys

• All questions in the survey instrument are within the scope of one of the DOI Programmatic Clearance for Customer Satisfaction Surveys topic areas.



• The approval package is being submitted to the Office of Policy Analysis at least 45 days prior to the first day the PI wishes to administer the survey to the public.



• A qualified statistician has reviewed and approved your request.



• Your bureau/office Information Collection Clearance Officer has reviewed and approved the approval package.



The approval package includes:

• A completed Justification

•  A signed Certification Form

• A copy of the survey instrument

• Other supporting materials, such as:

• Cover letters to accompany mail-back questionnaires

• Introductory scripts for initial contact of respondents

• Necessary Paperwork Reduction Act compliance language

• Follow-up letters/reminders sent to respondents



The survey methodology presented in the Justification includes a specific description of:

• The respondent universe

• The sampling plan and all sampling procedures, including how respondents will be selected

• How the instrument will be administered

• Expected response rate and confidence levels

•  Strategies for dealing with potential non-response bias

• A description of any pre-testing and peer review of the methods and/or the instrument is highly recommended.



• The burden hours reported in the Justification include the number of burden hours associated with the initial contact of all individuals in the sample (i.e., including refusals), if applicable, and the number of burden hours associated with individuals expected to complete the survey instrument.

• The package is properly formatted (Word) and submitted to the Office of Policy Analysis electronically. 

CERTIFICATION FORM FOR SUBMISSION UNDER OMB CONTROL NUMBER 1040-0001

This form should only be used if you are submitting a collection of information for approval under the DOI Programmatic Clearance for Customer Satisfaction Surveys.

If the collection does not satisfy the requirements of the Programmatic Clearance, you should follow the regular PRA clearance procedures described in 5 CFR 1320.

Bureau/Office Subgroup or Program Bureau of Indian Affairs, Great Plains Regions office in conjunction with the TIBC Roads Maintenance Sub-Committee
Title (Please be specific) Road Maintenance Improvement Project
Estimated Number Contacts Respondents		175	Time per Response Contacts Respondents				15 Minutes ,
			Total Burden Hours Contacts Respondents ----------------- Total				234 Contacts X 15 minutes = 58.5 hours (100%) 175 Contacts X 15 minutes = 43.75 hours (75%)
Bureau/Office Contact (who can best answer questions about content of the submission): Ernest Pourier, Great Plains Regional Budget Officer-605-226-7743 Daniel Sine, Budget Analyst, Great Plains Regional Budget Office -605-226-7742
Name				Phone
Certification: The collection of information requested by this submission meets the requirements of OMB control number 1040-0001
Bureau/Office Qualified Statistician						DATE
Bureau/Office Information Collection Clearance Officer						DATE
Office of Policy Analysis						DATE

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