[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 209 (Tuesday, October 31, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 50458-50459]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-23607]


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NATIONAL FOUNDATION ON THE ARTS AND THE HUMANITIES


Proposed Collection; Comment Request; 30-Day Notice for Generic 
Clearance for the Collection of Qualitative Feedback on Agency Service 
Delivery

AGENCY: National Endowment for the Arts.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: As part of a Federal Government-wide effort to streamline the 
process to seek feedback from the public on service delivery, The 
National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) has submitted a Generic 
Information Collection Request (Generic ICR): ``Generic Clearance for 
the Collection of Qualitative Feedback on Agency Service Delivery'' to 
OMB for approval under the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA). Copies of 
this ICR, with applicable supporting documentation, may be obtained by 
visiting www.Reginfo.gov.

DATES: Comments should be sent to the Office of Information and 
Regulatory Affairs, Attn: OMB Desk Officer for the National Endowment 
for the Arts, Office of Management and Budget, Room 10235, Washington, 
DC 20503, 202/395-7316, within 30 days from the date of this 
publication in the Federal Register.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The proposed information collection activity 
provides a means to garner qualitative customer and stakeholder 
feedback in an efficient, timely manner, in accordance with the 
Administration's commitment to improving service delivery. By 
qualitative feedback we mean information that provides useful insights 
on perceptions and opinions, but are not statistical surveys that yield 
quantitative results that can be generalized to the population of 
study. 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.
    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:
    <bullet> The collections are voluntary;
    <bullet> 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;
    <bullet> The collections are non-controversial and do not raise 
issues of concern to other Federal agencies;
    <bullet> 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;
    <bullet> Personally identifiable information (PII) is collected 
only to the extent necessary and is not retained;
    <bullet> Information gathered is used only internally for general 
service improvement and program management purposes and is not intended 
for release outside of the agency;
    <bullet> Information gathered is not used for the purpose of 
substantially informing influential policy decisions; and
    <bullet> Information gathered yields qualitative information; the 
collections are not 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 uses 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 will not result in any 
new system of records containing privacy information and will not ask 
questions of a sensitive nature, such as sexual behavior and attitudes, 
religious beliefs, and other matters that are commonly considered 
private.
    Title of Collection: Generic Clearance for the Collection of 
Qualitative Feedback on Agency Service Delivery.
    OMB Control Number: 3135-0130.
    Type of Review: Extension of approval for a collection of 
information.
    Affected Public: Individuals and Households, Businesses and 
Organizations, State, Local or Tribal Government.

[[Page 50459]]

    Total Estimated Number of Respondents Across All Three Years: 
15,000.
    Average Expected Annual Number of Activities: 3.
    Average Number of Respondents per Activity: 1,667.
    Total Estimated Number of Annual Responses: 5,000.
    Frequency of Response: Once per request.
    Average Minutes per Response: 15.
    Total Estimated Number of Annual Burden Hours: 1,167.
    Request for Comments: Comments submitted in response to this notice 
will be summarized and/or included in the request for OMB approval. 
Comments are invited on: (a) Whether the collection of information is 
necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the agency, 
including whether the information shall have practical utility; (b) the 
accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden of the collection of 
information; (c) ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of 
the information to be collected; (d) ways to minimize the burden of the 
collection of information on respondents, including through the use of 
automated collection techniques or other forms of information 
technology; and (e) estimates of capital or start-up costs and costs of 
operation, maintenance, and purchase of services to provide 
information. Burden means the total time, effort, or financial 
resources expended by persons to generate, maintain, retain, disclose 
or provide information to or for a Federal agency. This includes the 
time needed to review instructions; to develop, acquire, install and 
utilize technology and systems for the purpose of collecting, 
validating and verifying information, processing and maintaining 
information, and disclosing and providing information; to train 
personnel and to be able to respond to a collection of information, to 
search data sources, to complete and review the collection of 
information; and to transmit or otherwise disclose the information.
    All written comments will be available for public inspection at 
reginfo.gov.
    An agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required 
to respond to, a collection of information unless it displays a 
currently valid Office of Management and Budget control number.

    Dated: October 26, 2017.
Jillian Miller,
Director of Guidelines and Panel Operations, Administrative Services, 
National Endowment for the Arts.
[FR Doc. 2017-23607 Filed 10-30-17; 8:45 am]
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