Request for Approval under the "Generic Clearance for the Collection of Routine Customer Feedback" OMB Control 3135-0130

Request for Approval under the “Generic Clearance for the Collection of Routine Customer Feedback” (OMB Control Number: 3135-0130)

T ITLE OF INFORMATION COLLECTION:

National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) Applicant Survey

PURPOSE:

This information collection request is for an NEA Applicant Survey to solicit opinions and feedback from recent grant applicants regarding the guidance, assistance, and technological platforms provided by NEA during their most recent experience preparing and submitting an NEA grant application. Each year, the survey will be administered by the NEA to a random sampling of grant applicants after each of the agency’s principal grant deadlines. Results will be aggregated and shared within the agency on an annual basis to improve customer service.

Since 2012, the NEA has administered an NEA Applicant Survey (OMB Control Number 3135-0112, Expires 5/31/18) to all of its grant applicants after every grant deadline to assess performance on one of the agency’s strategic objectives. While the agency’s new strategic plan for FY 2018-2022 no longer includes this specific measure, the NEA wishes to continue receiving regular feedback from its grant applicants through a simplified survey instrument and methodology.

DESCRIPTION OF RESPONDENTS:

The universe is a random sampling of applicants to up to five of the agency’s principal grant deadlines. Grant applicants include the following types of entities: nonprofit organizations, state governments, county governments, municipal governments, and tribal governments. The listing of grant applicants will be drawn from the primary contacts of submitted grant applications to each funding deadline.

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: Daniel Beattie

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 [X] No

3. If Yes, has an up-to-date System of Records Notice (SORN) been published? [ ] Yes [X] 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 (minutes)	Burden (hours)
Individuals (survey)	750	5	62.5
Totals

FEDERAL COST: The estimated annual cost to the Federal government is $0.

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?

The NEA estimates a total annual distribution of 750 randomly selected grant applicants out of a universe of approximately 3,500 applicants. Distributions per administration will range from approximately 25 to 300 based upon the estimated number of applicants to each grant deadline. This represents a sample size per administration ranging from 20% for grant deadlines with larger numbers of applications to 50% for grant deadlines with smaller applicant pools.

The NEA will administer the NEA Applicant Survey, using SurveyMonkey, within two days of each of the agency’s principal grant deadlines (up to five grant deadlines). An email invitation and a follow-up reminder email will be sent to each potential respondent. Each survey will be open for respondents to complete for five business days. We estimate a response rate of approximately 50% based upon our experience with previous applicant surveys.

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

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

Instructions for completing Request for Approval under the “Generic Clearance for the Collection of Routine Customer Feedback”

TITLE OF INFORMATION COLLECTION: Provide the name of the collection that is the subject of the request. (e.g. Comment card for soliciting feedback on xxxx)

PURPOSE: Provide a brief description of the purpose of this collection and how it will be used. If this is part of a larger study or effort, please include this in your explanation.

DESCRIPTION OF RESPONDENTS: Provide a brief description of the targeted group or groups for this collection of information. These groups must have experience with the program.

TYPE OF COLLECTION: Check one box. If you are requesting approval of other instruments under the generic, you must complete a form for each instrument.

CERTIFICATION: Please read the certification carefully. If you incorrectly certify, the collection will be returned as improperly submitted or it will be disapproved.

Personally Identifiable Information: Provide answers to the questions. Note: Agencies should only collect PII to the extent necessary, and they should only retain PII for the period of time that is necessary to achieve a specific objective.

Gifts or Payments: If you answer yes to the question, please describe the incentive and provide a justification for the amount.

BURDEN HOURS:

Category of Respondents: Identify who you expect the respondents to be in terms of the following categories: (1) Individuals or Households; (2) Private Sector; (3) State, local, or tribal governments; or (4) Federal Government. Only one type of respondent can be selected per row.

No. of Respondents: Provide an estimate of the Number of respondents.

Participation Time: Provide an estimate of the amount of time required for a respondent to participate (e.g. fill out a survey or participate in a focus group)

Burden: Provide the Annual burden hours: Multiply the Number of responses and the participation time and divide by 60.

FEDERAL COST: Provide an estimate of the annual cost to the Federal government.

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. Please provide a description of how you plan to identify your potential group of respondents and how you will select them. If the answer is yes, to the first question, you may provide the sampling plan in an attachment.

Administration of the Instrument: Identify how the information will be collected. More than one box may be checked. Indicate whether there will be interviewers (e.g. for surveys) or facilitators (e.g., for focus groups) used.

Submit all instruments, instructions, and scripts are submitted with the request.

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