Request for Approval

Request for Approval under the “DOI Generic Clearance for the Collection of Qualitative Feedback on Agency Service Delivery”

OMB Control Number: 1090-0011

TITLE OF INFORMATION COLLECTION: National Park Service Internship Program Qualitative Assessment

PURPOSE: The National Park Service (NPS) Natural Resources Stewardship and Science (NRSS) internship programs has not had a formal program assessment since its inception in 2010. A program assessment is long past due and is needed to determine if the intended impacts of the program are being realized by the participants. The NRSS directorate requested this study because they recognize the importance of periodically performing program assessments. The program leads are interested in identifying areas that may be perceived as weak or ineffective in order to find ways to improve the current program. This collection will use an on-line survey to gather feedback to provide evidence of the proposed outcomes from the perspective of previous interns. The interns’ experiences will be used to determine how the effective the program has been in meeting the intended professional development and career advancements. The information from this collection will provide recommendations for moving forward.

DESCRIPTION OF RESPONDENTS:

All past interns (n=96) that took part in the NRSS internship programs between 2010 and 2017

TYPE OF COLLECTION: (Check one)

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

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

[ ] Focus Group [ ] Other: ___On-line questionnaire___

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: Larry Perez

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

Personally Identifiable Information:

1. Is personally identifiable information (PII) collected? [ ] Yes [  ] 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

Gifts or Payments:

Is an incentive (e.g., money or reimbursement of expenses, token of appreciation) provided to participants? [ ] Yes [  ] No (If yes, please explain.)

BURDEN HOURS

Category of Respondents	No. of Respondents	Participation Time	Burden
Returned on line survey	40	20 Minutes	13 hours
Total			13 hours

FEDERAL COST:

Position	Grade/ Step	Hourly Rate*	Hourly Rate incl. benefits (1.5 x hourly pay rate)	Total Estimated time per task (hours)**	Annual Cost
Student intern (GIP) Project Manager Project Manager	N/A GS 12/2 GS 11/4	$17.21 $39.51 $35.09	$25.82 $59.27 $52.64	575 31 16	$14,844 $1,837 $842
	Total				$17,523

*

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? [  ] 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.

Respondent Universe and Sampling Plan:

An invitation to participate in an on-line survey will be sent via email to the known addresses of the interns (n=96) that participated in the program between 2010 and 2017. A spreadsheet will be used to track the returned surveys and the need to follow-up with non-respondents. The participants will receive the outreach email containing a link to the survey on immediately following OMB Approval.

Administration of the Instrument

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

[  ] Web-based or other forms of Social Media - This will be an on-line/email survey

[ ] Telephone

[ ] In-person

[ ] Mail

[ ] Other, Explain –

Instrument Administration:

2. Will interviewers or facilitators be used? [ ] Yes [  ] No

Anticipated Start date: April 2, 2018.

The survey instrument will be administered via email on April 2 to all past NRSS program interns (n=96). This collection will follow Dillman’s on-line survey methodology. All interns will be sent a follow-up email one week later reminding them to complete the survey if they have not already done so and a final follow-up email will be sent three weeks following the initial mailing.

The short length of the questionnaire will enable NPS staff to collect responses immediately. No follow up procedures are planned for this collection.

The study results will be presented in an internal report for program managers and an article will also be submitted to the National Park Service for publication. Response frequencies will be tabulated and measures of central tendency computed (e.g., mean, median, mode, as appropriate). Descriptive statistics will be used to develop the reports for this collection.

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

ATTACHED

1 Survey questionnaire

INSTRUCTIONS

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 in minutes 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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