SUPPORTING STATEMENT - PART A
Fast Track Generic Clearance for the Collection of Qualitative Feedback on Agency Service Delivery” – 0704-0553
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 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 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.
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.
3. Use of Information Technology
If appropriate, agencies will collect information electronically and/or use online collaboration tools to reduce burden. Estimated 95% are collected through electronic platforms.
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 a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small businesses or entities.
6. Less Frequent Collection
Without these types of feedback, the Agency will not have timely information to adjust its services to meet customer needs.
7. Paperwork Reduction Act and Other 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) or other policy.
This collection’s race/ethnicity question aligns with Figure 1 as described in the 2024 Statistical Policy Directive No. 15.
8. Consultation and Public Comments
Part A: PUBLIC NOTICE
A 60-Day Federal Register Notice (FRN) for the collection published on Monday, January 6, 2025. The 60-Day FRN citation is 90 FRN 620.
No comments were received during the 60-Day Comment Period.
A 30-Day Federal Register Notice for the collection published on Thursday, May 22, 2025. The 30-Day FRN citation is 90 FRN 21907.
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
If a confidentiality pledge is deemed useful and feasible, the Agency will only include a pledge of confidentiality that is supported by authority established in statute or regulation, that is supported by disclosure and data security policies that are consistent with the pledge, and that does not unnecessarily impede sharing of data with other agencies for compatible confidential use. If the agency includes a pledge of confidentiality, it will include a citation for the statute or regulation supporting the pledge.
11. Sensitive Questions
No questions considered sensitive are being asked in this collection.
12. Respondent Burden and its Labor Costs
Part A: ESTIMATION OF RESPONDENT BURDEN
Collection Instrument(s)
Number of Respondents: 300,000
Number of Responses Per Respondent: 1
Number of Total Annual Responses: 300,000
Response Time: 10 minutes
Respondent Burden Hours: 50,000 hours
Total Submission Burden
Total Number of Respondents: 300,000
Total Number of Annual Responses: 300,000
Total Respondent Burden Hours: 50,000 hours
Part B: LABOR COST OF RESPONDENT BURDEN
Collection Instrument(s)
Collection Instruments
Number of Total Annual Responses: 300,000
Response Time: 10 minutes
Respondent Hourly Wage: $23.80
Labor Burden per Response: $3.97
Total Labor Burden: $1,190,000
Overall Labor Burden
Total Number of Annual Responses: 300,000
Total Labor Burden: $1,190,000
The Respondent hourly wage was determined by using the all occupation median hourly wages from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Wage Estimate Website
https://www.bls.gov/news.release/ocwage.t01.htm
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
Collection Instrument(s)
Number of Total Annual Surveys: 400
Processing Time per Survey: 40 hours
Hourly Wage of Worker(s) Processing Responses: $50 (GS-13 2025 pay)
Cost to Process Each Survey: $2,000
Total Cost to Process Surveys: $800,000
This calculation was made from the information provided in the previous submission and updated due to using new 2025 GS pay scale (https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/pay-leave/salaries-wages/2025/general-schedule/). We changed the layout of the burden calculation to reflect the number of surveys (ICs) that would fall under this generic OMB control number opposed to the annual responses.
Overall Labor Burden to the Federal Government
Total Number of Annual Surveys: 400
Total Labor Burden: $800,000
Part B: OPERATIONAL AND MAINTENANCE COSTS
Cost Categories
Equipment: $0
Printing: $0
Postage: $0
Software Purchases: $0
Licensing Costs: $0
Other: $200 data storage or system maintenance
Part C: TOTAL COST TO THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT
Total Labor Cost to the Federal Government: $800,000
Total Operational and Maintenance Costs: $200
Total Cost to the Federal Government: $800,200
15. Reasons for Change in Burden
There has been no change in burden since the last approval.
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 | 2025-05-29 |