G405 CI2 Concept Testing and Discussion Board Submission Request

Request for Approval under the “Generic Clearance for the Collection of Routine Customer Feedback” (OMB Control Number: 0651-0080)

TITLE OF INFORMATION COLLECTION: G405: United States Patent and Trademark Office Council for Inclusive Innovation (USPTO CI²) Discussion Board, Recruiting, Online Survey Screening, and Concept Testing

PURPOSE: The USPTO CI² is working with a contractor, CMRignite, to gather insights in order to guide a communications strategy that strengthens entrepreneurship and invention from people in underrepresented communities, with the goal to increase economic competitiveness in America. To do this the USPTO must gather insights and perspectives of underrepresented innovators who could be prospective applicants for patents and trademarks. We will be implementing an online Discussion Board, a secure platform that participants log into and share their opinions and perspectives by answering questions and exchanging comments. This will help us to qualitatively and quantitatively explore motivations, barriers to innovation, perceptions of USPTO and CI², communications needs and preferences, including factors impacting user experience on a microsite (website). The feedback received will indicate whether the concepts discussed are relevant and easy to understand.

This submission also includes the Concept Testing survey questions we will use to ask participants open-ended (free response) and closed-ended/poll (response scale) questions for the communications campaign, as well as the Discussion Board. Potential participants are sent recruiting communications, and Interested participants complete an online survey (screener) or can call us to see if they qualify for the Discussion Board.

At total of up to 100 participants will be recruited for a two-week Discussion Board. Participants can indicate at the end of two weeks if they would like to participate in upcoming Concept Testing. This is asynchronous research, where participants join in the online discussion at their own convenience during this period. They will spend up to 15 minutes over one week to respond to the Concept Testing questions on the Discussion Board. They will spend up to five hours responding to questions and interacting with other Discussion Board participants.

DESCRIPTION OF RESPONDENTS:

Our key audiences are adults, 18 years and older, living in the U.S. who are interested in exploring innovation and inventions (potential future applicants for patents and trademarks). We want to ensure inclusivity of individuals who are in underserved communities and who are underrepresented patentees:

• Those in economically disadvantaged communities in the U.S.

• Those residing in the south and rural areas of the U.S.

• People who are Black/African American, Hispanic, and Native American/Alaska Native

• Females

• Military veterans

• Those in various stages of behavioral readiness for exploring innovation

TYPE OF COLLECTION: (Check one or multiple)

[ ] Customer Comment Card/Complaint Form [ ] Customer Satisfaction Survey

[ ] Usability Testing (e.g., Website or Software) [] Small Discussion Group

[ ] Focus Group [X] Other: Discussion Board Concept Testing

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.

Business Unit: _________/Cara Duckworth - OCCO/_ _______________________

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

Personally Identifiable Information:

1. Is personally identifiable information (PII) collected? [X] Yes [] No

We will be collecting the following information from participants:

First and Last Name

State

Phone

Email

This information will be collected and used to confirm and schedule the participants for the Discussion Board. Some participants prefer to communicate via phone, text or email and we will use their preferred communication. The PII will be stored on a secure site and securely destroyed upon conclusion of the Discussion Board Concept Testing. The Discussion Board responses will be anonymous, and will be stored in Recollective, a system licensed with CMRignite. This information will be covered by General Records Schedule 6.5:010, public customer service operation records.

1a. If Yes, is the information that will be collected included in records that are subject to

the Privacy Act of 1974? [X] Yes [ ] No

2. If applicable, has a System of Records Notice been published? [X] Yes [ ] No

COMMERCE/PAT-TM-19 Dissemination Events and Registrations

Gifts or Payments:

Is an incentive (e.g., money or reimbursement of expenses, token of appreciation) provided to participants? [X] Yes [ ] No

We seek to use incentives under extraordinary circumstances because encouraging underrepresented communities to participate in research can be challenging as they often are hesitant to participate in research due to time commitments, historical mistrust of government agencies, and historical mistrust towards research. Incentives demonstrate our appreciation of their participation. We will distribute:

• $50 electronic gift card incentives to respondents who successfully complete the Discussion Board Concept Testing questions for appreciation of their time over the one-week period.

• $100 electronic gift card incentives to respondents who successfully complete the Discussion Board for appreciation of their time over the two-week period.

The gift cards are distributed through a secure platform, Rybbon/BHN Rewards, via email.

BURDEN HOURS

Category of respondent	Activity	No. of Respondents	Participation Time	Burden
Individuals or households	Reading/signing electronic Consent Form	100	5 minutes	8 hours
Individuals or households	Concept Testing on the Discussion Board for individuals who are interested in exploring inventions and other intellectual property	100	15 minutes	25 hours
Individuals or households	Reading/Responding to E-mail/Text Message	5,000	5 minutes	400
Individuals or households	Completing Screener Questions	300	10 minutes	51
Individuals or households	Reading/signing Consent Form	100	5 minutes	8
Individuals or households	Online Discussion Board	100	5 hours	500
Totals		5,700	- - -	992 hours

The USPTO estimates that 100% of the surveys (small discussions, focus groups, etc.) will be conducted electronically.

FEDERAL COST: The estimated annual cost to the federal government is based on the contractor’s pricing schedule and hours for this task and estimated at $56,700.

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?

A list of potential Discussion Board participants will be provided by our contractor’s sample provider/vendor, Marketing Systems Group (M-S-G). M-S-G provides contact information for a sample of individuals in households with our desired demographics across the United States. A random sample of individuals on the list will receive invitations to participate in the Discussion Board through email/text messages/calls. Those who are interested will complete the digital survey (programmed in Qualtrics survey platform) that includes screening questions to ensure they meet the criteria for inclusion on the Discussion Board. As the two-week Discussion Board activities conclude, we will ask respondents if they would like to participate in upcoming Concept Testing.

Administration of the Instrument

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

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

[ ] Telephone

[ ] In-person

[ ] Mail

[X ] Other, Explain: Digital Discussion Board platform, called Recollective. Participants log into the secure site on the Web and are able to answer the Concept Testing questions asynchronously over a one-week period.

2. Will interviewers or facilitators be used? [X] Yes [ ] No

The Concept Testing will take place on the Discussion Board, which is hosted on a secure digital platform called Recollective. The contractor will test the concepts by asking open-end, close-end, and poll questions. The moderator asks the survey questions for Concept Testing on the Discussion Board and can ask for clarification for understanding the participants’ perspectives. A discussion guide will be used by the moderator to help guide discussions, but may also probe for more information on topics that generate interest and insights about the key audiences.

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