Request for Approval

DI-4014 (Rev. 07/2024)
U.S. Department of the Interior

OMB Control No. 1090-0012
Expires 02/28/2027

Request for Approval under the “Generic Clearance for
Improving Customer Experience:
OMB Circular A-11, Section 280 Implementation”
TITLE OF INFORMATION COLLECTION:

Seeking Feedback on the FWS Fish and Aquatic Conservation Program Strategic Plan 2025-2030
PURPOSE OF COLLECTION:
What are you hoping to learn / improve? How do you plan to use what you learn? Are there artifacts (user
personas, journey maps, digital roadmaps, summary of customer insights to inform service
improvements, performance dashboards) the data from this collection will feed?

The Fish and Aquatic Conservation (FAC) program of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) has
begun an effort to update its Strategic Plan. A strong underpinning for any strategic plan is to incorporate feedback
on existing efforts and program priorities from those who partner with and are served by FAC. During August and
September, a small FAC leadership team will be engaging with FAC's varied partners for feedback on: the current
value of FAC efforts, future program priorities, changes in the conservation landscape, and, most importantly, your
opinions on the most crucial roles that FAC can play in the larger conservation community.
Because FAC conducts a diverse set of activities, each with a distinct set of partners, stakeholders, and beneficiaries,
we have specific, tailored approaches to seek feedback through our existing advisory groups, or directly through
webinars or small group interviews.
TYPE OF ACTIVITY: (Check one)
Customer Research (Interview, Focus Groups, Surveys)
Customer Feedback Survey
Usability Testing of Products or Services
ACTIVITY DETAILS
1. If this is a survey, will the results of this survey be reported to Touchpoints as part of quarterly reporting
obligations specified in OMB Circular A-11 Section 280?
Yes
No
Not a survey
2. How will you collect the information? (Check all that apply)
Web-based or other forms of Social Media
Telephone
In-person
Mail
Other, Explain Voluntary email if the partners wish to submit comments separate from the webinar.
3. Who will you collect the information from?
Explain who will be interviewed and why the group is appropriate for the Federal program / service to connect
with. Please provide a description of how you plan to identify your potential group of respondents and if only a
sample will be solicited for feedback, how you will select them(e.g., anyone who provided an email address to
a call center rep, a representative sample of Veterans who received outpatient services in May 2019, do you
have a list of customers to reach out to (e.g., a CRM database that has the contact information, intercept
interviews at a particular field office?)

External partners/ federal agency partners/collaborating FWS programs (identified by the national Fisheries
Management Team and additional FWS internal partners) will receive an invitation letter to participate
describing the process and the focus questions. The invitation letter will describe specific target partner
groups and topics ( State Directors and Fish Chiefs, Federal Agency, Tribes and Tribal Consortia: Animal
Health, Federal Agency: Aquatic Conservation/Habitat Restoration, Conservation NGOs, Fish Health &
Medicines/Fish Technology, Federal Agency: Monitoring & Assessment, Federal Agency: Aquaculture Page
& Fish
1 of 4
Production, Tribal Interests, EJ/Access/ Recreation Space, Federal Agency: Applied Science)

DI-4014 (Rev. 07/2024)
U.S. Department of the Interior

OMB Control No. 1090-0012
Expires 02/28/2027

4. How will you ask a respondent to provide this information?
(e.g., after an application is submitted online, the final screen will present the opportunity to provide feedback
by presenting a link to a feedback form / an actual feedback form)

Responses will be collected during the webinar/interviews by note takers. Partners will be provided an
optional, voluntary opportunity to submit additional input via a group FAC FWS email inbox. All input will be
reviewed and summarized for the FAC Strategic Planning team by the contractor with assistance from
program volunteers.

5. What will the activity look like?
Describe the information collection activity – e.g. what happens when a person agrees to participate? Will
facilitators or interviewers be used? What’s the format of the interview/focus group? If a survey, describe
theoverall survey layout/length/other details? If User Testing, what actions will you observe / how will you have
respondents interact with a product you need feedback on?

Webinars will be scheduled and respondents will select the session(s) of interest. 1-2 interviewers (FWS FAC
staff) plus a response recorder will present and collect the information. There will be one slide deck with
introductory material used for all interviews and then a maximum of 4 questions will be posed. Each webinar
will be completed within a 90 minute window. Participants will be given a deadline in advance (in the written
invitation to participate with a reminder shared during the webinar) for optional input to be submitted by email.
6. Please provide your question list.
Paste here the questions or prompts presented to participants in your activity. If you have an interview /
facilitator guide, that can be attached to the submission and referenced here.

1. What strengths or weaknesses do you see with the current FAC activities within our key program areas?
2. What do you think are the most important program offerings that FAC provides? What do we do that is
unique or irreplaceable?
3. What new areas of focus, activity or innovation do you think FAC should consider?
4. What does a highly successful USFWS Fish and Aquatic Conservation Program look like in 10 years?
For Tribal
partners:
Please
make
sure that all instruments, instructions, and scripts are submitted with the request.
1. How can FAC better support tribal co-stewardship?
2. Are
there
ways that FAC can work with tribes to conserve and recover native fish and other
7.
When
willany
the innovative
activity happen?
aquatic
species?
Describe the time frame or number of events that will occur (e.g., We will conduct focus groups on May 13,14,15,
3. Where
tribal
perspectives
or traditional
improve
FAC
We
plan tomight
conduct
customer
intercept
interviewstribal
overknowledge
the coursehelp
of the
Summer
at approaches?
the field offices identified in
4. What do
youbased
think are
the most important
offerings
that
FACorprovides?
What
we doon
that
concluding
by Sept.
10th,
“This survey
willdo
remain
ouris website
response
to #2
on scheduling
logistics program
unique
or
irreplaceable?
in alignment with the timing of the overall clearance.”)

Webinar interviews will be conducted in September or October focused on 10 different session topics, for
60-90 minutes each session. Scheduling dependent on OPM clearance of process and questions.
8. Is an incentive (e.g., money or reimbursement of expenses, token of appreciation) provided to participants?
Yes
No
1:30-3
If Yes, describe:

Dave,
N/A Brian, Taylor L
EJ, Access,
and Recreation Space (note: replacement for outreach and education)
BURDEN
HOURS
9/13/24
Category of Respondent
1-2:30
12 webinar sessions
no estimate for optional email submissions
Tom
Totals
Federal Agency: Applied Science
9/17/24

No. of
Respondents
12

12

Participation
Time
90 min

90 min

Burden
Hours
18

18
Page 2 of 4

DI-4014 (Rev. 07/2024)
U.S. Department of the Interior

OMB Control No. 1090-0012
Expires 02/28/2027

CERTIFICATION:
I certify the following to be true:
1. The collections are voluntary;
2. The collections are low-burden for respondents (based on considerations of total burden hours or burdenhours per respondent) and are low-cost for both the respondents and the Federal Government;
3. The collections are non-controversial;
4. 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;
5. Personally identifiable information (PII) is collected only to the extent necessary and is not retained;
6. Information gathered is intended to be used for general service improvement and program management
purposes
7. The agency will follow the procedures specified in OMB Circular A-11 Section 280 for the required quarterly
reporting to OMB of trust data and experience driver data from surveys.
8. Outside of the quarterly reporting mentioned in the bullet immediately above, if the agency intends to
release journey maps, user personas, reports, or other data-related summaries stemming from this
collection, the agency must include appropriate caveats around those summaries, noting that conclusions
should not be generalized beyond the sample, considering the sample size and response rates. The
agency must submit the data summary itself (e.g., the report) and the caveat language mentioned above to
OMB before it releases them outside the agency. OMB will engage in a passback process with the agency.
Name and email address of person who developed this survey/focus group/interview:
Name:

signed by TERESA LEWIS
TERESA LEWIS Digitally
Date: 2024.09.10 06:33:56 -04'00'

Email address: [email protected]
All instruments used to collect information must include:
OMB Control No. 1090-0012
Expiration Date: 02/28/2027

Page 3 of 4

DI-4014 (Rev. 07/2024)
U.S. Department of the Interior

HELP SHEET

OMB Control No. 1090-0012
Expires 02/28/2027

TITLE OF INFORMATION COLLECTION: Provide the name of the collection that is the subject of the
request. (e.g. Comment card for soliciting feedback on xxxx)
PURPOSE: Provide a brief description of the purpose of this collection and how it will be used. If this is part of
a larger study or effort, please include this in your explanation.
TYPE OF COLLECTION: Check one box. If you are requesting approval of other instruments under the
generic, you must complete a form for each instrument.
CERTIFICATION: Please read the certification carefully. If you incorrectly certify, the collection will be
returned as improperly submitted or it will be disapproved.
Personally Identifiable Information: Agencies should only collect PII to the extent necessary, and they
should only retain PII for the period of time that is necessary to achieve a specific objective.
BURDEN HOURS:
Category of Respondents: Identify who you expect the respondents to be in terms of the following
categories: (1) Individuals or Households;(2) Private Sector; (3) State, local, or Tribal governments; or (4)
Federal Government. Only one type of respondent can be selected per row.
No. of Respondents: Provide an estimate of the Number of respondents.
Participation Time: Provide an estimate of the amount of time required for a respondent to participate
(e.g. fill out a survey or participate in a focus group)
Burden: Provide the Annual burden hours: Multiply the Number of responses and the participation time
and divide by 60.

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