G255 STEPP Pilot Program Survey Submission Request

Request for Approval under the “Generic Clearance for the Collection of Routine Customer Feedback” (OMB Control Number: 0651-0080)

TITLE OF INFORMATION COLLECTION: Stakeholder Training on Examination Practice and Procedure (STEPP) Pilot Program Surveys

PURPOSE: The Stakeholder Training on Examination Practice and Procedure (STEPP) program is designed to provide external stakeholders with a better understanding of how and why an examiner makes decisions while examining a patent application. The goal of the program is to increase examination procedure transparency, provide perspective on what examiners consider when preparing an office action, and aid in compact prosecution by explaining to external stakeholders how examiners use the Manual of Patent Examining Practice to interpret an applicant’s disclosure. The information collection items included in this Fast Track request—an initial interest form, a needs assessment survey, and a course satisfaction survey—allow the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) to gauge the interest from potential course attendees in a given course and to determine the successes/shortcomings of an offered course following a stakeholder’s completion of the class.

DESCRIPTION OF RESPONDENTS:

Respondents to the information collection items contained within this Fast Track request will be external stakeholders and/or other interested parties from outside the agency who wish to participate and/or have participated in a course offered by the USPTO through the STEPP program.

TYPE OF COLLECTION: (Check one or multiple)

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

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

[ ] Focus Group [X] Other: Customer Interest Survey

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.

Business Unit: ­­­____________/Edward Landrum/____________________

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

Personally Identifiable Information:

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

1a. If Yes, is the information that will be collected included in records that are subject to

the Privacy Act of 1974? [ ] Yes [ ] No

2. If applicable, has a System of 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 [X] No

BURDEN HOURS

Category of Respondent	No. of Respondents	Participation Time	Burden
Interest Form Respondents	300	2 minutes	10 hrs
Needs Assessment Survey Respondents	200	5 minutes	16.7 hrs
Course Survey Respondents	36	10 minutes	6 hrs
Totals	536		32.7 hrs

The USPTO estimates that 100% of the surveys (small discussions, focus groups, etc.) will be conducted electronically.

FEDERAL COST: The estimated annual cost to the Federal government is the average hourly rate of $27.21 per hour for a GS-7 step 10 + $8.16 (30%), for a fully-loaded hourly rate of $35.37 * 19.7 hours, which totals $696.79 for this information collection.

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 [X] 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?

Potential respondents for the needs assessment survey and/or the interest form will be based on the users who visit the STEPP website. Any interested party will be able to complete the needs assessment survey or the interest form through the STEPP website. Selection of respondents to take part in the course will be based on the level of intellectual property experience required to complete the course. All participants who complete the course will be asked to complete a course survey. The numbers provided above are based on the number of people we anticipate taking part in the course.

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

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