Generic Clearance Submission_DOE_LM_Public Communications

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

TITLE OF INFORMATION COLLECTION: DOE Office of Legacy Management (LM)

Public Communications Survey

PURPOSE:

The objective of this information collection is to better understand public audiences’ expectations, motivations, and communications preferences, such as trusted media channels/influencers and the most important messaging themes to drive positive perceptions of DOE and LM’s priority sites/programs. The survey will be used to inform LM’s communications with the general public and community residents in priority site/program areas.

Responses will be assessed to inform LM’s communications planning and master narrative to improve or maintain the quality of service offered to its audiences and ultimately advance LM’s mission. The goal is to leverage feedback to improve LM’s communications, and more effectively reach and engage its audiences. If this information is not collected, vital feedback from audiences such as opinion leaders nationwide and community members within key DOE LM sites will be unavailable.

DESCRIPTION OF RESPONDENTS:

Online questionnaire among n=1,800 respondents total, comprised of n=1,000 opinion drivers nationwide and n=800 community residents (n=100 community members in each of the following LM priority site areas: Rocky Flats, Weldon Spring, Fernald, Bluewater, Split Rock*, Monticello, and Tuba City; and, community members in the Uranium Leasing Program (ULP) area). *Split Rock Site is not yet an LM Site.

The survey will be approximately 15 minutes in length (30 questions), and it will not include any open-ended questions. We anticipate that all opinion driver interviews will be conducted online, but that a mixed-mode methodology (both online and telephone) will be needed for community residents.

Opinion drivers are defined as those that: are ages 18+; currently live in the U.S.; follow news and events at least daily; pay attention very/somewhat closely to news and information about energy or the environment; and are very/somewhat likely to share their opinions on news and current events with others. Respondents will be screened to ensure that they meet this criteria prior to taking the survey.

Community residents are defined as those that: are ages 18+; currently live near each LM priority site area (as defined by the zip code of the respondent’s residence). Respondents will be screened to ensure that they meet this criteria prior to taking the survey.

Survey programming will begin upon OMB approval of this information collection request.

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:________________________________________________

To assist review, please provide answers to the following question:

Personally Identifiable Information:

1. Is personally identifiable information (PII) collected? [X] Yes [] 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 [ ] 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
(1) Individuals or households	1800	15 minutes	450 hours
Totals	1800	15 minutes	450 hours

FEDERAL COST: The estimated annual cost to the Federal government is $103,667.

This cost has been estimated using the following anticipated hours for DOE contactor staff to develop, execute, and report on the Stakeholder Satisfaction Survey at the contractor’s established DOE rates – (1) Senior Vice President, 10 hours ($279.65/hour), (2) Vice President, 70 hours ($191.40/hour), (3) Senior Account Executive, 85 hours ($128.83/hour), (4) Account Executive, 115 hours ($117.78/hour) and (5) Assistant Account Executive, 65 hours ($110.42/hour) as well as $55,800 in Other Direct Costs (ODCs).

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?

This will be a mixed-mode survey (online and telephone). n=1,000 respondents will be opinion drivers nationwide using third-party panel providers and defined as members of the public that follow news related to energy/natural resources and share their opinions with others. Then, n=800 will be community residents (n=100 community members in each of the following LM priority site areas: Rocky Flats, Weldon Spring, Fernald, Bluewater, Split Rock, Monticello, and Tuba City; and, n=100 community members in the Uranium Leasing Program (ULP) area).

Survey respondents will be recruited using a combination of third-party online convenience survey panels and both cell phone and landline telephone lists managed by top-rated sample providers, which will give DOE access to a potential respondent universe of about 4 million U.S. residents (approximately 2% of the total universe).

For the online survey, we will use survey panels, which have been built using a passive panel sourcing process (i.e., providers work with publishers and online service providers to embed recruitment efforts into their websites). Potential panel members are only be admitted into the panel after a validation process is complete, and for quality purposes, all panel members are de-duplicated at the registration stage and a continuous system of validation checks is in place to prevent professional survey takers from entering studies. The panel is built to look proportional to the general population by age, gender, ethnicity, and region. The survey will be e-mailed to a random list of U.S. panel members ages 18 and older. We expect invitations to be sent to randomly selected panel members on a rolling basis throughout the fielding of the study. Before entering the online questionnaire, each respondent will be screened based on the criteria listed under “Description of Respondents.” If qualified, the respondent will enter the survey and begin answering questions relevant to the needs of this study.

For community residents, we anticipate that a mixed-mode methodology will be needed; we will supplement the online survey with a telephone survey. We will use Random Digit Dialing (RDD) from purchased telephone lists comprised of both cell phone and landline samples targeted to residents in zip codes near each of the DOE priority site areas. Live interviewers will ask respondents a series of screener questions to ensure that respondents meet the criteria listed under “Description of Respondents” for community residents. If qualified, live interviewers will continue to ask respondents the main survey questions relevant to the needs of this study.

Sample Size Rationale

We aim to survey n=1,800 respondents across two audience groups to best ensure we recruit representative samples of opinion drivers and community residents alike. In recruiting n=1,000 opinion driver respondents, we expect a 3% margin of error at the 95% confidence interval. We are also recruiting n=100 residents at each of the eight (8) priority LM sites for a total of n=800 additional community resident respondents; with this total sample, we expect a 3% margin of error at the 95% confidence interval. With the robust sample size of our two audiences, we will also be able to confidently segment each audience to further identify insights and key findings across priority sub-audiences.

Administration of the Instrument

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

[X] Web-based or other forms of Social Media

[X] 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.

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