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[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 244 (Thursday, December 19, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 103772-103773]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-30232]

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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Food and Nutrition Service

Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection; 
Comment Request--Generic Clearance for the Fast Track Clearance for the 
Collection of Routine Customer Feedback

AGENCY: Food and Nutrition Service (FNS), USDA.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, this 
notice invites the general public and other public agencies to comment 
on this proposed information collection. This collection is an 
extension, without change, of a currently approved collection to 
collect qualitative customer and stakeholder feedback in an efficient 
and timely manner.

DATES: Written comments must be received on or before February 18, 
2025.

ADDRESSES: Comments are invited on: (1) Whether the proposed collection 
of information is necessary for the proper performance of the Agency's 
functions, including whether the information will have practical 
utility; (2) the accuracy of the Agency's estimate of the proposed 
information collection burden, including the validity of the 
methodology and assumptions used; (3) ways to enhance the quality, 
utility and clarity of the information to be collected; and (4) ways to 
minimize the burden of the collection of information on those who are 
to respond, including use of appropriate automated, electronic, 
mechanical, or other technological collection techniques or other forms 
of information technology.
    Comments may be sent to Jamia Franklin, Planning and Regulatory 
Affairs Office, Food and Nutrition Service, U.S. Department of 
Agriculture, 1320 Braddock Place, 5th floor, Alexandria, VA 22314. 
Comments may also be sent via email to [email protected] and. 
Comments will also be accepted through the Federal eRulemaking Portal. 
Go to https://www.regulations.gov and follow the online instructions 
for submitting comments electronically.
    All responses to this notice will be summarized and included in the 
request for Office of Management and Budget (OMB) approval. All 
comments will also become a matter of public record.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Requests for additional information or 
copies of this information collection should be directed to Jamia 
Franklin at (703) 305-2403 or via email at [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 
    Title: FNS Generic Clearance for the FNS Fast Track Clearance for 
the Collection of Routine Customer Feedback.
    OMB Number: 0584-0611.
    Expiration Date: November 30, 2025.
    Type of Request: Extension, without change, of a currently approved 
information collection request.
    Abstract: The proposed information collection activity provides a 
means to garner qualitative customer and stakeholder feedback in an 
efficient and timely manner. By ``qualitative feedback,'' we mean 
information that provides useful insights on perceptions and opinions, 
but are not statistical surveys yielding quantitative results that can 
be generalized to the population. This feedback will continue to: (1) 
provide insights into customer or stakeholder perceptions, experiences 
and expectations, (2) provide an early warning of issues with service 
and, (3) focus attention on areas where communication, training or 
changes in operations might improve delivery of products or services. 
This collection allows for ongoing, collaborative and actionable 
communications between the Agency and its customers and stakeholders. 
It also allows feedback to contribute directly to the improvement of 
program management.
    The solicitation of feedback targets areas such as: timeliness, 
appropriateness, accuracy of information, courtesy, efficiency of 
service delivery, and resolution of issues with service delivery. 
Responses are 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 continue to only submit a collection for approval 
under this generic clearance if it meets the following conditions:
     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

[[Page 103773]]

respondent) and are low-cost for both the respondents and the Federal 
Government;
     The collections 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;
     Personally identifiable information (PII) is collected 
only to the extent necessary and is not retained;
     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;
     Information gathered will not be used for the purpose of 
substantially informing influential policy decisions; and
     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.
    Feedback collected under this generic clearance provides useful 
information, but it does not yield data that can be generalized to the 
overall population. This type of generic clearance for qualitative 
information will not be used for quantitative information collections 
that are designed to yield reliably actionable results, such as 
monitoring trends over time or documenting program performance. Such 
data usage require more rigorous designs that address: the target 
population to which generalizations will be made, the sampling frame, 
the sample design (including stratification and clustering), the 
precision requirements or power calculations that justify the proposed 
sample size, the expected response rate, methods for assessing 
potential non-response bias, the protocols for data collection, and any 
testing procedures that were or will be undertaken prior to fielding 
the study. Depending on the degree of influence the results are likely 
to have, such collections may still be eligible for submission for 
other generic mechanisms that are designed to yield quantitative 
results. As a general matter, information collections do not result in 
any new system of records containing privacy information and does not 
ask questions of a sensitive nature, such as sexual behavior and 
attitudes, religious beliefs, and other matters that are commonly 
considered private.
    A variety of instruments and platforms are used to collect 
information from respondents. This includes but is not limited to 
customer feedback surveys, comment cards, and focus groups obtaining 
customer feedback on a variety of Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) 
programs or portions thereof including the Child Nutrition (CN) 
program, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Food 
Distribution Programs, nutrition policy and promotion, and the Special 
Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children and any 
associated challenges in implementing programs or subsets of programs. 
The annual burden hours requested (85,000) are based on the number of 
collections we expect to conduct over the requested period for this 
clearance.

                                        Estimated Annual Reporting Burden
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                                                      Annual
       Type of collection            Number of     frequency per     Responses       Hours per      Total hours
                                    respondents      response                        response
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Customer Feedback Surveys.......          25,000               2          50,000               1          50,000
Comment Cards...................           7,500               2          15,000               1          15,000
Focus Groups....................          10,000               2          20,000               1          20,000
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    Total.......................          42,500               2          85,000               1          85,000
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Annual Reporting Burden Estimates

    Affected Public: Individuals and Households, Businesses and 
Organizations, State, Local or Tribal Government.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 42,500.
    Estimated Number of Responses per Respondent: 2.
    Estimated Annual Responses: 85,000.
    Estimated Time per Response: 1.
    Burden Hours: 85,000.

Tameka Owens,
Acting Administrator and Assistant Administrator, Food and Nutrition 
Service.
[FR Doc. 2024-30232 Filed 12-18-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-30-P
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