Agency Information Collection Activities: Extension of an Approved Information Collection Request; Comment Request; Generic Clearance for the Collection of Qualitative Feedback on Agency Service Delivery

G. Kelly Regal
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration
7 February 2018

[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 26 (Wednesday, February 7, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 5508-5510]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-02439]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration

[Docket No. FMCSA-2017-0138]


Agency Information Collection Activities: Extension of an 
Approved Information Collection Request; Comment Request; Generic 
Clearance for the Collection of Qualitative Feedback on Agency Service 
Delivery

AGENCY: Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), DOT.

ACTION: Notice and request for comments.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, FMCSA 
announces its plan to submit the Information Collection Request (ICR) 
described below to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for its 
review and approval and invites public comment. The FMCSA requests 
approval to revise an existing ICR titled, ``Generic Clearance for the 
Collection of Qualitative Feedback on Agency Service Delivery,'' due to 
an increase in the annual cost to respondents. This ICR will allow for 
ongoing, collaborative and

[[Page 5509]]

actionable communication between FMCSA and its customers and 
stakeholders. It will also allow feedback to contribute directly to the 
improvement of program management. On August 10, 2017, FMCSA published 
a Federal Register notice allowing for a 60-day comment period on this 
ICR. The agency received no comments in response to that notice.

DATES: Please send your comments to this notice by March 9, 2018. OMB 
must receive your comments by this date to act quickly on the ICR.

ADDRESSES: All comments should reference Federal Docket Management 
System (FDMS) Docket Number FMCSA-2017-0138. Interested persons are 
invited to submit written comments on the proposed information 
collection to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office 
of Management and Budget. Comments should be addressed to the attention 
of the Desk Officer, Department of Transportation/Federal Motor Carrier 
Safety Administration, and sent via electronic mail to 
oira_submission@omb.eop.gov, faxed to (202) 395-6974, or mailed to the 
Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management and 
Budget, Docket Library, Room 10102, 725 17th Street NW, Washington, DC 
20503.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Martin Walker, Division Chief, 
FMCSA, Office of Research. Telephone (202) 385-2364; or email 
martin.walker@dot.gov. Department of Transportation, Federal Motor 
Carrier Safety Administration, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, Mail Stop 
W63-432, Washington, DC 20590.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 
    Background: Executive Order 12862, ``Setting Customer Service 
Standards,'' directs Federal agencies to provide service to the public 
that matches or exceeds the best service available in the private 
sector (58 FR 48257, Sept. 11, 1993). In order to work continuously to 
ensure that our programs are effective and meet our customers' needs, 
FMCSA seeks to extend OMB approval of a generic clearance to collect 
qualitative feedback from our customers on our service delivery. The 
surveys covered in this generic clearance provide a way for FMCSA to 
collect this data directly from our customers.
    The surveys covered by this collection provide 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. The 
information collected from our customers and stakeholders will help 
ensure that users have an effective, efficient, and satisfying 
experience with FMCSA's programs.
    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 only submits 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 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;
     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 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.
    FMCSA estimates that the annual burden hour for this information 
collection has decreased by approximately 1,218 hours from the 
previously approved 3,450 hours. This is due in part to (1) 
discontinuing a previously OMB approved mail-based customer 
satisfaction survey, and (2) adding the annual Analysis, Research, and 
Technology sessions.
    Additionally, because of discontinuing mail surveys, respondents 
will not incur any non-hour costs (e.g. stamps), which results in an 
estimated decrease of $440 annually. The expected annual cost to the 
Federal Government has decreased from $200,800 annually to $137,076 due 
in part to the cost difference in the discontinuation of the customer 
satisfaction survey using outreach materials previously approved and 
estimating the implementation of the ART Forum contracts.
    Title: Generic Clearance for the Collection of Qualitative Feedback 
on Agency Service Delivery.
    OMB Control Number: 2126-0049.
    Type of Request: Extension of a currently-approved information 
collection.
    Respondents: State and local agencies, the general public, 
stakeholders,

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original equipment manufacturers and suppliers to the commercial motor 
vehicle (CMV) industry, fleets, owner-operators, state CMV safety 
agencies, research organizations and contractors, news organizations, 
safety advocacy groups, and other Federal agencies.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 9,270.
    Estimated Time per Response: Range from 5-30 minutes.
    Expiration Date: March 31, 2018.
    Frequency of Response: Generally, on an annual basis.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden: 2,233.
    Public Comments Invited: You are asked to comment on any aspect of 
this information collection, including: (1) Whether the proposed 
collection is necessary for the performance of FMCSA's functions; (2) 
the accuracy of the estimated burden; (3) ways for FMCSA to enhance the 
quality, usefulness, and clarity of the collected information; and (4) 
ways that the burden could be minimized without reducing the quality of 
the collected information. The agency will summarize or include your 
comments in the request for OMB's clearance of this information 
collection.

    Issued under the authority of 49 CFR 1.87 on: January 31, 2018.
G. Kelly Regal,
Associate Administrator, Office of Research and Information Technology.
[FR Doc. 2018-02439 Filed 2-6-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4910-EX-P