G220- Texas Recruitment Roadshow

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

TITLE OF INFORMATION COLLECTION: Texas Patents Recruitment Roadshow

PURPOSE: Patents recruiters are traveling to Texas to attend career fairs, meet and greets, host info sessions on college campuses and with local industry partners. The recruiters will also host a career open house over a two-day period with four consecutive info sessions, each day, that will cover an overview of the USPTO, its influence on the American economy and why USPTO is consistently ranked as one of the Best Places to work in the Federal Government®. The goal of the open house is to convert attendees into applicants for three current vacancies for the first class of patent examiners slated to begin in USPTO’s new Dallas regional office in January 2016. The responses to the info sessions gauges the level of interest of the students and experienced engineers within the region involved in the Patents Recruitment Roadshow; with ongoing partnerships with USPTO, likelihood in having USPTO host/attend future events, quality of information provided, and potential of recommending/applying to current and future USPTO jobs, and perceptions about USPTO as a top employer of choice.

DESCRIPTION OF RESPONDENTS:

Respondents will be limited to attendees of the info sessions who are interested in USPTO careers, or seek to learn more about the Agency.

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 [ ] 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.

Business Unit: OHR Sharon C. Grevious, Marketing and Communication Advisor

OCIO:__________________________________

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 [x] 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 [x] No

BURDEN HOURS

Category of Respondent	No. of Respondents	Participation Time	Burden
Road Show Survey	90	10 mins (.17 hours)	15 hours
Dallas Info Session	90	10 mins (.17 hours)	15 hours
Road Show Registration	90	5 mins (.08 hours)	7.5 hours
Dallas Open House Registration	90	5 mins (.08 hours)	7.5 hours
Totals	360		45 hours

The USPTO estimates that 100% of the surveys will be submitted electronically

FEDERAL COST: The estimated annual cost to the Federal government is the combined average hourly rate of $58.28 per hour for a GS-14 step 5 + $17.48 (30%) * 22.5 hours.

$75.76 * 22.5 hours = $1,704.60

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?

An advertising plan will target students and professional engineers within 300 mile radius of Dallas to build awareness and interest in attending the two-day career open house.

The registration site will provide a detailed overview of the event, and require would-be attendees to self-identify their eligibility to attend by answering the following questions (adapted based on language from previous vacancy announcements posted on USAJobs.gov):

“To secure an information session slot with USPTO recruiters, you must meet the following basic qualifications:

• I am a U.S. Citizen (or U.S. National), AND

• I live or I am willing to relocate and live/work in the Dallas area AND

• I possess (or will by December 2015) a Bachelor's Degree in Computer, Electrical or Mechanical Engineering”

In addition, the recruiters in Dallas will be hosting special info sessions to law school students, patent attorneys and for engineers with IP (patent prosecution and/or research) experience. Unpaid advertising through industry partners (i.e. local chapters of IEEE, local chambers of commerce and social media will help generate interest among this segment.)

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: live poll software

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

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