Baldrige Performance Excellence Program (BPEP) Conference Information Collection - Supporting Statement

OMB Control No. # 0693-0031 – NIST Generic Request for Customer Service-Related Data Collections

Baldrige Performance Excellence Program (BPEP) Conference

(includes Quest for Excellence^© Conference)

FOUR STANDARD SURVEY QUESTIONS

1. Explain who will be surveyed and why the group is appropriate to survey.

The Baldrige Performance Excellence Program (BPEP) offers an annual Quest for Excellence Conference. BPEP is seeking feedback from the attendees of the conference to determine how to improve future conferences, as well as to ensure best-practice sharing, which is part of the Baldrige Program’s mission (public law 100-107).

Attendees of the BPEP conference pay to attend, so we need to know what delights and annoys them. The information collected will be used when choosing presenters/speakers and contracting services for the next year’s conference (e.g., food services, hotels), as well as planning the next conference; money can be saved and resources used most efficiently if we know how services are perceived by the attendees.

BPEP conference attendees would expect to be given the chance to offer feedback, especially on the registration process, presenters/speakers, food services, the location, and conference materials.

Quest conferences have between 500-1,000 participants each year.

2. Explain how the survey was developed including consultation with interested parties, pre-testing, and responses to suggestions for improvement.

The collection instrument was developed after a review of other conference surveys, including other conference surveys reviewed and approved by OMB and used by NIST. We have also listened and learned from attendees who offer their feedback on various aspects of conferences. Those aspects that can be approved upon for the next conference are part of the survey.

3. Explain how the survey will be conducted, how customers will be sampled if fewer than all customers will be surveyed, expected response rate, and actions your agency plans to take to improve the response rate.

We typically receive and expect a 70% response rate. To ensure that rate, attendees at the beginning of the conference are told by the emcee about the survey and that their feedback will be used to improve future conferences.

4. Describe how the results of the survey will be analyzed and used to generalize the results to the entire customer population.

Results of the survey will be used to improve the next conference. Improvements can be spotlighted at the next conference, with attendees always thanked for their feedback. Results might also be used to give feedback to a contractor (e.g., a vendor for food services or the hotel); an example would be if analysis of the collection instrument reveals that attendees were not satisfied with the food provided at the conference, that feedback might be given to the food vendor asking how it will improve offerings for the next conference or to cancel the contract with that vendor.