SUPPORTING STATEMENT - PART A
Fast Track Generic Clearance for the Collection of Qualitative Feedback on Agency Service Delivery: Interactive Customer Evaluation (ICE) System – 0704-0420
Summary of Changes from Previously Approved Collection
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1. Need for the Information Collection
Executive Order 12862 directs Federal agencies to provide service to the public that matches or exceeds the best service available in the private sector. In order to work continuously to ensure that our programs are effective and meet our customers’ needs, the Washington Headquarters Service/Enterprise Management Division of the Department of Defense (hereafter “the Agency”) seeks to obtain OMB approval of a generic clearance to collect qualitative feedback on our service delivery. By qualitative feedback we mean information that provides useful insights on perceptions and opinions, but are not statistical surveys that yield quantitative results that can be generalized to the population of study.
This collection of information is necessary to enable the Agency to garner customer and stakeholder feedback in an efficient, timely manner, in accordance with our commitment to improving service delivery. The information collected from our customers and stakeholders will help ensure that users have an effective, efficient, and satisfying experience with the Agency’s programs. This feedback will provide insights into customer or stakeholder perceptions, experiences and expectations, provide an early warning of issues with service, or focus attention on areas where communication, training or changes in operations might improve delivery of products or services. These collections will allow for ongoing, collaborative and actionable communications between the Agency and its customers and stakeholders. It will also allow feedback to contribute directly to the improvement of program management.
Members of the public who respond on the ICE system are authorized customers and have been provided a service through DoD customer service organizations. The system provides a direct channel for customer needs, complaints, and suggestions in areas such as Education, Housing, Medical Facilities, Pass and ID, and installation shopping centers.
In accordance with DoD Directive 5105.53, the Office of the Secretary of Defense, the Director of Administration and Management, has the responsibility to review, evaluate and develop recommendations to improve the organization, functions and management of DoD activities and programs. The ICE system provides a medium required by Executive Order 12862 to survey customers and make information, services and complaint systems easily accessible. The ICE system also furthers on the DoD’s information management goals, which implements Section 5123 of the Clinger-Cohen Act of 1996. The goal is to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of agency operations through the use of information technology by providing services that satisfy customer information needs.
2. Use of the Information
Improving agency programs requires ongoing assessment of service delivery, by which we mean systematic review of the operation of a program compared to a set of explicit or implicit standards, as a means of contributing to the continuous improvement of the program. The Agency will collect, analyze, and interpret information gathered through this generic clearance to identify strengths and weaknesses of current services and make improvements in service delivery based on feedback. The solicitation of feedback will target areas such as: timeliness, appropriateness, accuracy of information, courtesy, efficiency of service delivery, and resolution of issues with service delivery. Responses will be assessed to plan and inform efforts to improve or maintain the quality of service offered to the public. If this information is not collected, vital feedback from customers and stakeholders on the Agency’s services will be unavailable.
The Agency will only submit a collection for approval under this generic clearance if it meets the following conditions:
Information gathered will be used only internally for general service improvement and program management purposes and is not intended for release outside of the agency (if released, procedures outlined in Question 16 will be followed);
Information gathered will not be used for the purpose of substantially informing influential policy decisions 1;
Information gathered will yield qualitative information; the collections will not be designed or expected to yield statistically reliable results or used as though the results are generalizable to the population of study;
The collections are voluntary;
The collections are low-burden for respondents (based on considerations of total burden hours, total number of respondents, or burden-hours per respondent) and are low-cost for both the respondents and the Federal Government;
The collections are non-controversial and do not raise issues of concern to other Federal agencies;
Any 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 near future; and
With the exception of information needed to provide remuneration for participants of focus groups and cognitive laboratory studies, personally identifiable information (PII) is collected only to the extent necessary and is not retained.
If these conditions are not met, the Agency will submit an information collection request to OMB for approval through the normal PRA process.
To obtain approval for a collection that meets the conditions of this generic clearance, a standardized form will be submitted to OMB along with supporting documentation (e.g., a copy of the comment card). The submission will have automatic approval, unless OMB identifies issues within 5 business days.
The types of collections that this generic clearance covers include, but are not limited to:
Customer comment cards/complaint forms
Small discussion groups
Focus Groups of customers, potential customers, delivery partners, or other stakeholders
Cognitive laboratory studies, such as those used to refine questions or assess usability of a website;
Qualitative customer satisfaction surveys (e.g., post-transaction surveys; opt-out web surveys)
In-person observation testing (e.g., website or software usability tests)
The Agency has established a manager/managing entity to serve for this generic clearance and will conduct an independent review of each information collection to ensure compliance with the terms of this clearance prior to submitting each collection to OMB.
This system was developed to improve the timeliness, quality, and quantity of feedback given by customers to DoD service providers. Customers are able to access an appropriate comment card in ICE by going directly to the ICE website and search for the service provider. They are able to quickly fill out a short online questionnaire related to customer satisfaction. Customer responses are sent to the appropriate facility and/or service manager. The data resides in the ICE system. This timely feedback allows service providers to quickly improve the quality of their services, thereby enhancing the quality of life for all members of the defense community. It also gives community commanders, deputy commanders in chiefs, and others an opportunity to review, assess, and improve current service quality.
When setting up ICE comment cards, the service provider managers can choose from the following eighteen (18) questions and a text comment block:
• Facility Appearance (Excellent to Awful)
• Employee/Staff Attitude {Excellent to Awful}
• Timeliness of Service {Excellent to Awful}
• Hours of Service {Excellent to Awful}
• Did the product or service meet your needs? {Y/N}
• Were you satisfied with your experience at this office / facility? {Y/N}
Please provide your level of satisfaction with the following statements:
Overall experience (Very Satisfied to Very Dissatisfied)
Quality of the completed request (Very Satisfied to Very Dissatisfied)
Time it took to complete the entire service (Very Satisfied to Very Dissatisfied)
Please provide your level of agreement with the following statements:
Individual who provided service was professional. (Strongly Agree to Strongly Disagree)
Individual who provided service had the expertise to handle my request. (Strongly Agree to Strongly Disagree)
Individual who provided service understood my needs and requirements. (Strongly Agree to Strongly Disagree)
I was kept informed while my request was being processed. (Strongly Agree to Strongly Disagree)
I understood the service process and knew what to expect. (Strongly Agree to Strongly Disagree)
I was promptly informed about the completion of the service. (Strongly Agree to Strongly Disagree)
Please provide information about the service you requested:
How long did it take for the individual who provided service to respond to your initial contact?
How long did it take to complete the entire service?
Please provide information about yourself:
Please select the name of your organization:
In addition to the standard questions listed above and displayed on the screenshots included as part of the current OMB submission, one or more questions of the following types may be displayed on an individual comment card.
• Customer’s demographic grouping
For example:
o Your Status {list: Active Duty, Reserve, etc.}
o Your Rank {list: Officer, Enlisted, etc.}
o Your Branch of service {list: Air Force, Army, Navy, etc.}
Each survey will display a Privacy Advisory at the top of the form.
Privacy Advisory: If all fields are completed, this form contains personally identifiable information and is protected in accordance with the Privacy Act of 1974, as amended, DoD 5400.11-R and DoD Privacy Program.
3. Use of Information Technology
The ICE system is a totally web-based application that fully utilizes current information technology to collect customer feedback. 100% of the customers submit responses via the internet which minimizes burden and provides a very efficient method of providing valuable feedback to the service providers
4. Non-duplication
The information obtained through this collection is unique and is not already available for use or adaptation from another cleared source.
5. Burden on Small Businesses
This information collection does not impose any economic impact on businesses or entities.
6. Less Frequent Collection
Response is totally voluntary in nature and only occurs when the customer chooses to provide feedback to the service provider.
7. Paperwork Reduction Act Guidelines
This collection of information does not require collection to be conducted in a manner inconsistent with the guidelines delineated in 5 CFR 1320.5(d)(2).
8. Consultation and Public Comments
Part A: PUBLIC NOTICE
A 60-Day Federal Register Notice (FRN) for the collection published on Tuesday, December 1, 2020. The 60-Day FRN citation is 85 FRN 77185.
No comments were received during the 60-Day Comment Period.
A 30-Day Federal Register Notice for the collection published on Thursday, March 18, 2021. The 30-Day FRN citation is 86 FR 14738.
Part B: CONSULTATION
No additional consultation apart from soliciting public comments through the Federal Register was conducted for this submission.
9. Gifts or Payment
No payments or gifts are being offered to respondents as an incentive to participate in the collection.
10. Confidentiality
A Privacy Act Statement is not required since not requesting individuals to furnish person information for inclusion in a system of record. A Privacy Advisory is added to address any personal information that may be requested.
A System of Record Notice (SORN) is not required for this collection because records are not retrievable by PII, such as an individual's name or by some identifying number, symbol or other personal identifier that is assigned to the individual.
A Privacy Impact Assessment (PIA) is not required because user is given the option of contacting the site operator to provide feedback or obtain additional information.
Disposition Instruction and Retention Period: Destroy 5 year(s) after closure. Cutoff Instruction: Closed comment card responses and associated comments at the end of response period. GAO Approval Not Required Disposition Authority Number DAA-0330-2014-0010-0002
11. Sensitive Questions
No questions considered sensitive are being asked in this collection.
12. Respondent Burden and its Labor Costs
a. Estimation of Respondent Burden
1. Interactive Customer Evaluation Online
a. Number of Respondents: 80,652
b. Number of Responses Per Respondent: 1
c. Number of Total Annual Responses: 80,652
d. Response Time: 3 minutes
e. Respondent Burden Hours: 4,032.6 hours
Approximately 850,000 submissions by government employees and the public are collected by the ICE System yearly. This number is an average of three years of submissions from 2017 through 2020. We also estimate that approximately 10% of all submissions are made by the public (e.g., contractors, family members) based on the question that is asked on some of the ICE comment cards: Are you a federal government or military employee? Yes/No.
2. Total Submission Burden
a. Total Number of Respondents: 80,652
b. Total Number of Annual Responses: 80,652
c. Total Respondent Burden Hours: 4,033 hours
b. Labor Cost of Respondent Burden
1. Interactive Customer Evaluation Online
a. Number of Total Annual Responses: 80,652
b. Response Time: 3 minutes
c. Respondent Hourly Wage: $20.46
d. Labor Burden per Response: $1.02
e. Total Labor Burden: $82,507
2. Overall Labor Burden
a. Total Number of Annual Responses: 80,652
b. Total Labor Burden: $82,507
The Respondent Hourly Wage is based on GS7 Step 5 grade level or equivalent, determined by using the Office of Personnel Management 2021 General Schedule (GS) Locality Pay Tables (https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/pay-leave/salaries-wages/salary-tables/pdf/2021/GS_h.pdf).
13. Respondent Costs Other Than Burden Hour Costs
There are no annualized costs to respondents other than the labor burden costs addressed in Section 12 of this document to complete this collection.
14. Cost to the Federal Government
Part A: LABOR COST TO THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT
Interactive Customer Evaluation
Number of Total Annual Responses: 80,652
Processing Time per Response: 1 minute (.0167 hours)
Hourly Wage of Worker(s) Processing Responses: $25.02 (GS-9 Step 5, 2021)
Cost to Process Each Response: $0.42
Total Cost to Process Responses: $33,699.15
Overall Labor Burden to the Federal Government
Total Number of Annual Responses: 80,652
Total Labor Burden: $33,699.15
Part B: OPERATIONAL AND MAINTENANCE COSTS
Cost Categories
Equipment: $83,000
Printing: $0
Postage: $0
Software Purchases: $10,000
Licensing Costs: $20,000
Other: $348,772 for 3 FTEs to maintain the system and support user.
Total Operational and Maintenance Cost: $461,772
Part C: TOTAL COST TO THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT
Total Labor Cost to the Federal Government: $33,699
Total Operational and Maintenance Costs: $461,772
Total Cost to the Federal Government: $495,471
15. Reasons for Change in Burden
Respondent burden has decreased since the previous approval due to a decrease in participation from public respondents. Increase in cost to the Federal Government due to system maintenance costs that were previously unreported.
16. Publication of Results
The results of this information collection will not be published.
17. Non-Display of OMB Expiration Date
We are not seeking approval to omit the display of the expiration date of the OMB approval on the collection instrument.
18. Exceptions to “Certification for Paperwork Reduction Submissions”
We are not requesting any exemptions to the provisions stated in 5 CFR 1320.9.
1 As defined in OMB and agency Information Quality Guidelines, “influential” means that “an agency can reasonably determine that dissemination of the information will have or does have a clear and substantial impact on important public policies or important private sector decisions.”
| File Type | application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.wordprocessingml.document |
| Author | Kaitlin Chiarelli |
| File Modified | 0000-00-00 |
| File Created | 2023-09-06 |