Fast Track Memo 2020 ACS Mail

Request for Approval under the “Generic Clearance for the Collection of Routine Customer Feedback” (OMB Control Number 0690-0030)

TITLE OF INFORMATION COLLECTION: 2019 American Community Survey (ACS) Due Date Test Experiment Cognitive Interviews

PURPOSE: There has been evidence from previous studies that using a due date can create a sense of urgency and compliance. To test if due dates will help increase the ACS response rates the Census Bureau developed alternative ACS mailing materials for the 2019 American Community Survey (ACS) Due Date Test Experiment. The purpose of this cognitive research is to evaluate whether revisions made to the ACS mail materials are effective at communicating that there is a due date and what will happen if a respondent does not respond by the listed due date.

DESCRIPTION OF RESPONDENTS: General population

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 [x] Other: Cognitive Interviews

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: ________________________________________________

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, 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? [x] Yes [ ] No

BURDEN HOURS

Category of Respondent	No. of Respondents	Participation Time	Burden
Screening	72	2 minutes	2.4 hours
Cognitive Interviews	24	60 minutes	24 hours
Totals			26.4 hours

FEDERAL COST: The estimated annual cost to the Federal government is minimal.

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?

Respondents will be recruited through fliers posted at local community organizations, advertisements on Craigslist.com, and broadcast messages distributed through the Census Bureau’s daily online newsletter. All recruiting materials are attached (see Enclosure 3). Our recruiting efforts will target respondents who are most likely to handle the mail and react to it in a household. We will recruit respondents who read at different literacy levels, using education as a proxy measure. We will also recruit respondents with diverse demographic characteristics and household composition to the maximum extent possible.

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

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

1.      Line of Business – General Government

2.      Subfunction - Central Records and Statistical Mgt.

3.      Number of Respondents for small entity - 0

4.      Affected Public – Individuals and Households

5.      Percentage of respondents reporting electronically - 0

Please submit all instruments, instructions, correspondences (emails, letters, etc.) to respondents, and scripts as separate documents along with this request document.

Every instrument must have the following displayed –

OMB Control No. 0690-0030

Expiration Date: 7/31/20