Justification for Non-Substantive Change 2900-0770

Non-Substantive Change Request for
“Generic Clearance for the Collection of Qualitative Feedback on
Agency Service Delivery”

2900-0770

Issue: Burden Increase

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is requesting approval for a Non-Substantive Change to the Generic Clearance for the Collection of Qualitative Feedback on Agency Service Delivery (OMB Number 2900-0770). VA wishes to increase the total burden for the agency by an additional 85,833 hours. This addition will increase the burden total to 300,000 hours. The total number of respondents and frequency of response remains unchanged.

Summary:

The increase in burden will help accommodate customer and qualitative satisfaction surveying needs of the agency’s Veterans Experience Office (VEO). VEO is dedicated to capturing, sharing and improving the experience of all those using the care and benefits of the VA. VEO listens to the voice of Veterans, their families, caregivers and survivors — aimed at enhancing their access to care, benefits and services.

The VEO was created as a top priority for the MyVA transformation: Improving the “Veteran Experience.” This new, permanent office reports directly to Secretary Shelanski – it is not aligned within the Veterans Health Administration (VHA), Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA), or National Cemetery Administration (NCA). However, VEO does work closely with all three administrations.

Executive Order 12862, “Improving Customer Service through Effective Performance Management”, allows the VA to conduct surveys to determine the level of satisfaction with existing services among their customers, including Veterans, beneficiaries, and associated personnel. VEO has conducted several large scale, low burden customer satisfaction surveys, which have absorbed quite a bit of burden hours under Generic Fast-track 2900-0770. This actually contributed to exhausting all hours that remained in 2017, prior to the control number’s renewal.

VEO will be immediately submitting several customer and veteran surveys over the course of the next 3 years. VA hopes that the increase can accommodate VEO’s survey efforts in the interim, should they eventually seek OMB guidance in establishing a generic package for their program.

From VA Clearance Officer: C. Harvey-Pryor