Request for Approval under the “Generic Clearance for the Collection of Routine Customer Feedback” (OMB Control Number: 0560-028

Request for Approval under the “Generic Clearance for the Collection of Routine Customer Feedback” (OMB Control Number: 0560-0286)

T ITLE OF INFORMATION COLLECTION:

USDA FPAC Customer Experience Service Center Survey

PURPOSE: The new USDA Farm Production and Conservation (FPAC) Customer Experience Service Center Survey gathers information from customers regarding the level of satisfaction with their most recent service provided by FPAC. The opportunity to complete the survey is offered to every customer after every visit. Information collected from the survey will allow FPAC to improve the quality and effectiveness of service in general and for customers seeking specific service. Additionally, the Farm Service Agency (FSA), as part of preparing for the move to the FPAC Business Center (which will provide services for FSA, the Natural Resources and Conservation Service (NRCS), and the Risk Management Agency) will use a survey for USDA FPAC Customer Experience prior to potential system-wide rollout of the survey to more customers. This survey will be provided in 40 offices as a test. Based on customer input on the test, the survey will be revised, if needed, and provided in a larger number of offices. Obtain opinion and sentiment from FPAC customers regarding their FSA and NRCS experience. Specifically, producers enrolled in FPAC programs as of 7/2018. Use the results of the survey to inform the FPAC Customer Experience measurement system scaling plan.

The goal is to keep the burden low in order to keep the survey approval covered under the approval for FSA’s Qualitative Feedback on Agency Service Delivery.

NOTE: FPAC has contracted with Jump Associates LLC (Jump) for this survey.

DESCRIPTION OF RESPONDENTS: In this request, respondents will include all customers who receives a survey after their visit or contact with Service Center. The majority of respondents will be USDA customers (“producers” - for example, farmers, ranchers, and foresters) who are enrolled or otherwise engaging with FSA and NRCS programs and staff in field offices. The response rate will comprise approximately 50 percent of all respondents.

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: Glenn Schafer 202-236-4983

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

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? [ ] Yes [ ] No

3. If Yes, has an up-to-date System of Records Notice (SORN) 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
(1) Private Sector	1000	Up to 5 min	84 hrs
Totals			84 hrs

No. of Respondents calculation:

4 districts x 10 offices per district x 5 producers per day = 200 producers

200 producers x 10 days = 2,000 producers

2,000 producers x 50% expected response rate = 1,000 total producers surveyed (cap responses)

FEDERAL COST: The estimated annual cost to the Federal government is ~$25,400.

DC CX Office Time: $9,339 for rollout, oversight, and processing surveys, mostly at GS13 level

Field Office Time: $8940 for 40 offices staff, 2 CEDs and 5 PTs administering surveys each

Materials: $2000 for printing, collection, mailing from field offices to DC (see below)

Contingencies $5108 for potential higher response rate and mailing costs

Total cost: $25,397

Paper survey printed on plain letter and handed out at office. Specify limit to print at each office, of max 50 surveys each)

Estimated $10 printing.

One collection box per test site. (Could even be a paper envelope).

$20 collection box.

Send completed surveys back as a batch at end of collection period to Jump or to FPAC DC office for analysis.

$20 FedEx/shipping.

Total per office: Estimated $50 in materials and mail.

4 districts, select 10 offices each = 40 offices (Maximum).

Total cost ~$2000

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?

Walk-in/in-person appointment traffic at FPAC Service Centers that are selected based on openness of service centers to testing customer experience improvements. The sample will represent a spread of producer categories and geographies.

Administration of the Instrument

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

[ ] Web-based or other forms of Social Media

[ ] Telephone

[X] In-person

[ ] Mail

[ ] Other, Explain

Will interviewers or facilitators be used? [ ] Yes [X] No

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

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