3124-0012 Supporting Statement B (Final 2023)

U.S. Merit Systems Protection Board
Supporting Statement B for Paperwork Reduction Act Submissions

OMB Control Number: 3124-0012
Title: Reinstatement and Revision of a Previously Approved Information
Collection for Voluntary Customer Surveys
The U.S. Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB) is seeking to reinstate and revise a previously
approved information collection in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act. The
Information Collection Request (ICR) will be submitted to the Office of Management and
Budget (OMB) for review and clearance. This information collection is part of MSPB’s efforts
to improve customer service delivery. The information collection instruments consist of short
customer focused surveys distributed through Qualtrics. Through this collection and approval
process, MSPB is complying with normal clearance procedures and meeting our commitments
under Executive Order 12862 – Setting Customer Service Standards (September 11, 1993).
COLLECTIONS OF INFORMATION EMPLOYING STATISTICAL METHODS
1. Description of the potential respondent universe and any sampling selection methods to be
used.
The survey of appellants will use a stratified random sampling of the universe of adverse action
or other types of appeals received during a given year. Typically, there are about 8,000 appeals
received by the Board each year. In general, we survey the randomly sampled appellant, the
appellant's representative (if the appellant had one), and the agency representative associated who
participate in an appeal closed within a certain time period. We also survey a sample of
participants in settlement processes or in our mediation program. The sample may be stratified by
factors such as the appeal outcome (i.e., settle, appellant won, appellant lost) and by type of
respondent (appellant, appellant representative, agency representative), appellant representation
(i.e., self-representation, private attorney, union attorney or other). Respondents will be randomly
selected from each of the stratified groups. We also ensure that representatives that may appear
before MPSB on multiple cases are only surveyed once every few months.
The survey of readers of MSPB reports on studies of Federal merit systems will be sent to a
sample of readers randomly selected from our distribution lists. These lists contain several
thousand readers grouped by their background. Separate lists are maintained for Federal
agencies, members of Congress, representatives of state and local governments, academics, and
the general public. We will use stratified random sampling procedures to select target
respondents from each of these groups. As our digital services improve, we may also send webbased surveys to randomly selected web users who open our studies reports.
Surveys of those interested or involved in our OMB oversight functions will be sent to a random (or
stratified random) sample of adjudication participants (as described above) and recipients of merit
system studies.
We may also send web-based surveys to randomly selected users of our public-facing webpages,
especially those who use our web-based systems for filing appeals and submitting appeals documents.
Based upon our previous customer satisfaction surveys of we expect a return rate of about 20 percent.

U.S. Merit Systems Protection Board
Supporting Statement B for Paperwork Reduction Act Submissions

2. Description of procedures for collection of information.
The sample sizes discussed in the response to question 1 above were determined based on our
historical response, so that the overall accuracy of our results would be + or - 3 percent (95
percent confidence interval) for each survey. The results were designed to be within + or - 5
percent (95 percent confidence interval) for each of the stratified groupings.
3.

Description of methods to maximize response rates.

We may send each person receiving one of our customer satisfaction surveys a follow-up notice by
mail or email reminding them to complete and return our survey and providing them with a
website they can use to receive a new copy of the survey. Our primary way of dealing with
non-response issues is by looking at the response rates for each of the stratified groups and,
when needed, undertaking additional follow-up efforts to encourage greater participation.
4.

Description of test procedures.

Since the customer satisfaction survey has been used successfully in the past, no further tests of
the procedures will be undertaken.
5. Name and telephone number of individuals.
Person consulted on statistical design:
Acting MSPB Performance Improvement Officer (PIO), Dr. Tiffany Lightbourn, 202-254-4464
Persons who will conduct and analyze the information:
PIO and PIO analyst
Analysts available, as necessary, from MSPB’s Office of Policy and Evaluation