Generic Clearance Form - STAT Survey

Request for Approval under the “Generic Clearance for the Collection of Routine Customer Feedback” (OMB Control Number: 1910-5160)

T ITLE OF INFORMATION COLLECTION:

Solar Technical Assistance Team 2014 Fiscal Year-End Feedback

PURPOSE:

NREL's technical assistance activities at the state and local levels focus on providing credible and unbiased information to guide decision makers. The laboratory receives support from the U.S. Department of Energy SunShot Initiative to address challenges, inefficiencies, and market barriers to solar technology deployment. The Solar Technical Assistance Team (STAT) currently offers a quick response program designed to answer questions within eight hours, an in-depth assistance program offered annually or biannually, and an online education component that provides information on solar technologies, resources, and the role that state and local governments play in supporting local solar market development. Since 2004, NREL's STAT program has fulfilled 1,400 different technical assistance requests. The purpose of this survey is gather feedback to take stock after a decade of service so STAT can improve future activities, products, and communication materials associated with the program.

DESCRIPTION OF RESPONDENTS:

Approximately 7,000 people have opted in to the STAT email newsletter. Subscribers choose to enroll in our e-communications by signing up through NREL's website. Our subscribers are primarily state and local government employees, as well as industry representatives who depend on state and local policy decisions. Subscribers are not asked to provided information about their location. We have an approximately 15% open rate with each message, so our hope is that 10% of subscribers choose to participate in this survey. We would like to ask for voluntary responses in the next edition of our newsletter, slated for the week of September 22.

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: Alexis Powers

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? [ ] Yes [X] No

BURDEN HOURS

Category of Respondent	No. of Respondents	Participation Time	Burden
State, local, or tribal governments	2000	4 minutes	113 hours
Private Sector	5000	4 minutes	333 hours
Totals	7000		446 hours

FEDERAL COST: The estimated annual cost to the Federal government is approximately $2,000, which is estimated by the number of hours that NREL is spending to develop, get approval, and assess the survey multiplied by the hourly rate for the communications office.

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?

We plan to send a request for volunteers to respond to this questionnaire via our email list. The list, which is opt-in only, currently includes about 7,000 subscribers. We will accept all responses from people who chose to participate.

Administration of the Instrument

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

[X] Web-based or other forms of Social Media (Survey Monkey)

[ ] 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 (in minutes) 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 Respondents and the Participation Time then 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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