1090-0011 Fast Track Clearance - Guidelines for Submission (Updated 01-2022)

U.S. Department of the Interior (Rev. 01/2022) OMB Control No. 1090-0011

Office of Policy Analysis Expiration Date: 08/31/2024

G UIDELINES FOR SUBMISSION OF A REQUEST UNDER THE

DOI Generic Clearance for the Collection

of Qualitative Feedback on Agency Service Delivery

“fAST TRACK”

Purpose

The Department of the Interior (DOI) guidelines for the DOI “Fast Track” clearance process will help offices and bureaus successfully use the expedited generic clearance process to collect qualitative feedback on agency service delivery.

When can I use the new “Fast Track” Process?

The Fast Track process is designed for a wide range of information collections that focus on the awareness, understanding, attitudes, preferences, or experiences of customers or other stakeholders (e.g., delivery partners, co-regulators, potential customers) relating to existing or future services, products or communication materials. The objective of data collections eligible for the Fast Track process is to improve existing or future service deliveries, products, or communication materials.

When should an agency use the “Fast Track” Process?

You should consider using the Fast Track process for your data collection when the data collection meets all of the following criteria:

1. The purpose of the collection is to assist the agency in improving existing or future service deliveries, products, or communication materials;

2. Participation by respondents is voluntary;

3. The collection does not impose a significant burden on respondents (see the further discussion below, at VI);

4. The collection does not require statistical rigor in order to have practical utility for improving existing or future service deliveries, products, or communication materials; and

5. Agencies will not publically disseminate the results.

What types of activities are covered by the “Fast Track” Process?

As a general matter, the following kinds of collections fall under the Fast Track process:

• Comment cards or complaint forms;

• Customer satisfaction qualitative surveys (e.g., those designed to detect early warning signs of dissatisfaction with agency service delivery);

• On-line surveys;

• Moderated, un-moderated, in-person, and/or remote-usability studies;

• Advance testing of non-controversial information collections, including Federal forms, as part of in-person observations of users’ perceptions of the forms and questions (cognitive testing), web-based experiments, and randomized controlled experiments to refine questions; and

• Post-transaction customer surveys (e.g., by call centers).

What kinds of collections are generally not eligible for the “Fast Track” Process?

Examples of collections that would generally not qualify for the Fast Track process include:

• Surveys requiring statistical rigor for use by programs when making significant policy or resource allocation decisions;

• Collections whose results are intended to be published in peer-reviewed journals or similar outlets;

• Collections that that impose significant burden on respondents or significant costs on the Government;

• Collections that are on potentially controversial topics or that raise issues of significant concern to other agencies;

• Collections that are intended for the purpose of basic research and that do not directly benefit the agency’s customer service delivery; and

• Collections used for program evaluation and performance measurement purposes.

Can we survey potential customers and other stakeholders under the “Fast Track” Process?

Yes. As long as the purpose is improving current or future service delivery, and the collection satisfies the criteria outlined above, agencies may collect information from other stakeholders (such as past customers, potential future customers, co-regulators, and delivery partners) in order to inform service delivery improvement. The Fast Track process is not for the collections of information used for general program evaluation.

Is there a restriction on questions we may ask in the surveys?

Yes, you must develop your survey using questions from the approved “Suite of Questions” approved by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). Surveys must be limited to no more than 15 questions (with a maximum of 2 open-ended questions) and should take no longer than 10-15 minutes to complete. Please consult your bureau/office Information Collection Clearance Officer (ICCO) when developing your survey instrument.

How do we know if our collection is low-burden and thus eligible for the “Fast Track” Process?

Collections under the Fast Track process must be low-burden for respondents based on a consideration of the total burden hours for the collection, as well as in relation to the total number of respondents and the burden-hours per respondent. The following are illustrative examples:

• A fifteen-minute survey for 2,000 individuals would be low-burden because the total burden hours and the burden-hours per respondent would be small.

• A five-minute comment card filled out by 10,000 people would be low-burden because the total burden hours and the burden-hours per respondent would be small.

Can a service-related survey be eligible for the “Fast Track” Process even if it uses numerical scales in its answers? (e.g., 1-5 scale where 1 is not satisfied and 5 is very satisfied)

Yes. Eligible survey questions (from the Suite of Questions) can use numerical scales such as rank-order or Likert scales.

Can an agency collect personally identifiable information (PII) under the “Fast Track” Process?

Yes, but only in limited circumstances, such as when an agency collects contact information PII in order to have follow-up contact with a respondent (e.g., in order to provide remuneration, when appropriate, for participants of cognitive laboratory studies). In those limited circumstances, the agency may collect PII (through the Fast Track process) only to the extent that its collection is a necessary element of the Information Collection Request. Moreover, in such circumstances, the agency must comply (as is also the case with other PII that the agency collects) with the applicable requirements, restrictions and prohibitions of the Privacy Act and other privacy and confidentiality laws that govern the agency's collection, retention, use, and/or disclosure of such PII.

Direct all questions regarding Privacy Act considerations for a potential Fast Track survey to your bureau/office Privacy Act Officer.

May an agency publish results from any information collections under the “Fast Track” Process?

Generally, you may not publish collections approved under the Fast Track process. However, in some circumstances, agencies may have to make the information public. Where that occurs, agencies must communicate the qualitative nature of the results and indicate that they are not generalizable to the population of study.

What are the rules for payment for respondents or participants under the “Fast Track” Process?

Under the Fast Track process, the same rules apply that govern payments in connection with other information collections. Please refer to the most current Supporting Statement A for this collection or contact your bureau/office ICCO for more information.

How to Use the “Fast Track” Process

To use the Fast Track process, bureau and office ICCOs must ensure the proposed information collection is consistent with the intent of the Fast Track Clearance; i.e., to improve existing or future service deliveries, products, or communication materials.

Timelines for Requesting Approvals

Submit approval requests under the Fast Track process to your bureau/office ICCO at least 15 calendar days prior to the first day the bureau/office plans to administer the survey instrument to the public. The requester must receive notification of approval from their bureau/office ICCO before administering the survey.

Submission of request and Approval process

The steps in the Fast Track submission and approval process are as follows:

Step 1 - The requesting bureau/office completes the required justification form - DI-4011, “Request for Approval Under the DOI Generic Clearance for the Collection of Quantitative Feedback on Agency Service Delivery.”

Step 2 - The bureau/office submits a copy of the entire approval package to the bureau/office ICCO. The package must include:

• A completed and digitally signed/certified (pen/ink signatures are not accepted) Form DI-4011 that includes the following:

• Title of information collection,

• A short description of the purpose and use of the information,

• Required description of the respondents,

• Type of Collection,

• Responses regarding the collection of PII, gifts or payments/ and the Federal Enterprise Architecture (FEA) Business Reference Model,

• An estimate of the respondent burden hour requirements,

• Cost to the Federal government,

• Selection of targeted respondents,

• Administration of the instrument, and

• Use of interviewers or facilitators.

• A copy of the final survey instrument (developed using the most currently approved Suite of Questions) in the form or format that the questions will be asked (e.g., if you are asking questions using a web-based application, the screen shots must be provided);

• The necessary Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) and estimated burden compliance language inserted into the survey instrument (contact your bureau/office ICCO for assistance in developing the PRA and estimated burden language); and

• Any additional supporting materials necessary for OMB to make their approval determination.

If applicable, the package may also require the following:

• Introductory scripts used in contacting the public; and

• All cover letters, postcard reminders, or follow-up letters to be sent to potential respondents.

Step 3 - The bureau/office ICCO must review the package and digitally sign the Form DI-4011 before submitting it electronically to the Departmental ICCO (D-ICCO) for review.

Step 4 - Once approved by the D-ICCO, it will be transmitted to OMB for final approval.

Step 5 – Generally, within 15 calendar days, OMB will review the submission and notify the D-ICCO of approval or necessary revisions.

Step 6 - Upon approval by OMB, the D-ICCO will notify the requesting bureau/office ICCO. If OMB attaches any special conditions to the approval, the D-ICCO will inform the requesting bureau/office ICCO of the conditions required to conduct of the survey.

Should OMB reject the submission or have specific questions about the survey instrument, the D-ICCO will immediately inform the requesting bureau/office. The bureau/office may submit an amended package to comply with the feedback from OMB. The D-ICCO will submit the amended package to OMB and inform the bureau/office of the results.

Step 7 - The bureau/office ICCO notifies the requester their survey is approved. The requester must not begin administering the survey until they are notified of the approval.

Bureaus/offices may not make additions or changes to a survey instrument after OMB approves the request, even within the specific topic areas. However, bureaus/offices may delete questions after approval by OMB, if necessary.

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