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

Larry W. Minor
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration
9 July 2021

[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 129 (Friday, July 9, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 36316-36317]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-14620]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration

[Docket No. FMCSA-2020-0215]


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

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

ACTION: Notice.

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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 review 
and approval. FMCSA requests renewal of an approved ICR titled, 
``Generic Clearance for the Collection of Qualitative Feedback on 
Agency Service Delivery.'' This ICR allows for ongoing, collaborative 
and actionable communication between FMCSA and its customers and 
stakeholders. It also allows feedback to contribute directly to the 
improvement of program management.

DATES: Please send your comments by August 9, 2021. OMB must receive 
your comments by this date in order to act quickly on the ICR.

ADDRESSES: Written comments and recommendations for the proposed 
information collection should be sent within 30 days of publication of 
this notice to www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain. Find this particular 
information collection by selecting ``Currently under 30-day Review--
Open for Public Comments'' or by using the search function.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Dan Britton, Mathematical 
Statistician, FMCSA, Office of Research, Department of Transportation, 
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, 6th Floor, West Building, 
1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, Washington, DC 20590-0001. Telephone: 202-
366-9980; Email Address: dan.britton@dot.gov. Office hours are from 9 
a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, except Federal Holidays.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 
    Title: Generic Clearance for the Collection of Qualitative Feedback 
on Agency Service Delivery.
    OMB Control Number: 2126-0049.
    Type of Request: Renewal of an approved information collection.
    Respondents: State and local agencies, the general public and 
stakeholders, original equipment manufacturers and suppliers to the 
commercial motor vehicle (CMV) industry, CMV fleet owners, CMV 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 to 30 minutes.
    Expiration Date: August 31, 2021.
    Frequency of Response: Generally, on an annual basis.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden: 2,233 hours.

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 proposed future 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. 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 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:
     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;

[[Page 36317]]

     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.
    A 60-day notice for public comment was published on February 12, 
2021 (86 FR 9422). The comment period for that notice closed on April 
13, 2021, and a total of one comment was received. The comment was 
received from the National School Transportation Association, who was 
supportive of the efforts contained within this ICR. No changes were 
made to the ICR based on this comment.
    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 FMCSA to perform its functions; (2) the 
accuracy of the estimated burden; (3) ways for the 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.


    Issued under the authority delegated in 49 CFR 1.87.
Larry W. Minor,
Associate Administrator for Policy.
[FR Doc. 2021-14620 Filed 7-8-21; 8:45 am]
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