Clearance for the Collection of Qualitative Feedback on Agency Service Delivery, 19286-19287 [2015-08262]

Download as PDF 19286 Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 69 / Friday, April 10, 2015 / Notices the Workgroup to plan development of a new initiative pursuant to the Council’s Fishery Ecosystem Plan. The Council adopted this initiative, the Coordinated Ecosystem Indicator Review Initiative, at its March 2015 meeting. The Council requested the EWG, in concert with the Scientific and Statistical Committee’s EcosystemBased Fishery Management Subcommittee and NMFS’s Integrated Ecosystem Assessment Team, to evaluate ecosystem indicators presented in the Annual State of the California Current Ecosystem Report, identify potential new indicators, and coordinate review of indicators by the Pacific Council’s other advisory bodies. The EWG is expected to report back to the Pacific Council with a workload assessment and timeline later this year. Related matters stemming from the Pacific Council’s assignment also may be discussed. Public comment will be taken at the discretion of the EWG Chair. Although non-emergency issues not contained in the meeting agenda may be discussed, those issues may not be the subject of formal action during this meeting. Action will be restricted to those issues specifically listed in this document and any issues arising after publication of this document that require emergency action under section 305(c) of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, provided the public has been notified of the intent to take final action to address the emergency. Special Accommodations The meeting is physically accessible to people with disabilities. Requests for sign language interpretation or other auxiliary aids should be directed to Mr. Kris Kleinschmidt at (503) 820–2425 at least 5 days prior to the meeting date. Dated: April 7, 2015. Tracey L. Thompson, Acting Deputy Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service. [FR Doc. 2015–08269 Filed 4–9–15; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 3510–22–P DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES Patent and Trademark Office Clearance for the Collection of Qualitative Feedback on Agency Service Delivery ACTION: Proposed collection; comment request. The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), as part of its SUMMARY: VerDate Sep<11>2014 20:09 Apr 09, 2015 Jkt 235001 continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, invites the general public and other Federal agencies to comment on the Clearance for the Collection of Qualitative Feedback on Agency Service Delivery, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, Public Law 104–13 (44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)). DATES: Written comments must be submitted on or before June 9, 2015. ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by any of the following methods: • Email: InformationCollection@ uspto.gov. Include ‘‘0651–New: Generic Clearance comment’’ in the subject line of the message. • Federal Rulemaking Portal: https:// www.regulations.gov. • Mail: Marcie Lovett, Records Management Division Director, Office of the Chief Information Officer, United States Patent and Trademark Office, P.O. Box 1450, Alexandria, VA 22313– 1450. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Requests for additional information should be directed to Marcie Lovett, Records Management Division Director, Office of the Chief Information Officer, United States Patent and Trademark Office, P.O. Box 1450, Alexandria, VA 22313–1450; by telephone at 571–272– 8123; or by email to Marcie.Lovett@ uspto.gov with ‘‘Paperwork’’ in the subject line. Additional information about this collection can be found at https://www. reginfo.gov under ‘‘Information Collection Review.’’ SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: I. Abstract Executive Order 12862 (https:// www.archives.gov/federal-register/ executive-orders/pdf/12862.pdf) directs Federal agencies to provide services to the public that matches or exceeds the best services available in the private sector. In order to work continuously to ensure that its programs are effective and meet its customers’ needs, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (hereafter ‘‘USPTO’’ or ‘‘the Agency’’) seeks to obtain OMB approval of a generic clearance to collect qualitative feedback on its service delivery. Qualitative feedback refers to information that provides useful insights on perceptions and opinions, but is not in the form of statistical surveys which yield quantitative results that can be generalized to the population of study. Collecting feedback will allow for the Agency to have a pulse on customer satisfaction and adjust where necessary to meet and exceed expectations. This PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 feedback collection will provide for ongoing, collaborative, and actionable communication between the Agency and its customers and stakeholders. It also will enable the Agency to garner customer and stakeholder feedback in an efficient and timely manner, in accordance with the USPTO’s commitment to improving services. The information collected from Agency customers and stakeholders will help ensure users have an opportunity to convey their experience with USPTO programs. This collection will also provide insights into customer or stakeholder perceptions, experiences, and expectations, which will allow the Agency to focus attention on areas where communication, training, or changes in operations may be necessary. Improving Agency programs requires ongoing assessment. The Agency will collect, analyze, and interpret information gathered to identify strengths and weaknesses of current services. Based on feedback received, the Agency will identify operational changes needed to improve programs and services. 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. The Agency is committed to hearing feedback from its customers. Responses will be assessed to identify service areas in need of improvement. If this information is not collected, then the Agency will miss opportunities to obtain vital feedback from its customers and stakeholders on ways to improve their program and services. The Agency will only submit a collection for approval under this generic clearance if it meets the following conditions: • The collection is voluntary; • The collection is 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 collection is noncontroversial and does 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 only be used internally for general program and service improvement as well as program E:\FR\FM\10APN1.SGM 10APN1 19287 Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 69 / Friday, April 10, 2015 / Notices administrative purposes, and is not intended for release outside 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 are not designed or expected to yield statistically reliable results nor used as though the results are generalizable to the population of study. As a general matter, these information collections will not result in any new system of records containing privacy information and will not ask questions of a sensitive nature. II. Method of Collection The USPTO uses surveys, focus groups, interviews, questionnaires, and usability testing to collect feedback from its customers. These may be conducted via telephone, through electronic means, or in person. The USPTO expects customers will respond to the questionnaires and surveys primarily through electronic means, and to the focus groups, interviews, and usability testing primarily in person. III. Data OMB Number: 0651—New. IC Instruments and Forms: The individual instruments in this collection, as well as their associated forms, are listed in the table below. Type of Review: New. Affected Public: Individuals and households; businesses or other forprofits; and not-for-profit institutions. Estimated Number of Respondents: 27,900 responses per year. Estimated Time per Response: Between 5 minutes (0.08 hours) and 120 minutes (2 hours), depending on the instruments used and the item being completed. Estimated Total Annual Respondent Burden Hours: 5,059 hours. Estimated Total Annual Respondent (Hourly) Cost Burden: $917,348.47. The USPTO expects that attorneys, paralegals and pro se applicants will complete these applications. The professional hourly rate for attorneys is $389, and the hourly rates for paralegals and pro se applicants are $125 and $30, respectively. The average of the combined respondent rate is $181.33. Using this blended hourly rate, the USPTO estimates that the total respondent cost burden for this collection is $917,348.47 per year. Information collection item 1 .............................................................. 2 .............................................................. 3 .............................................................. 4 .............................................................. 5 .............................................................. Total (Three –Year Period) ............. mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES Comments are invited on: (a) Whether the proposed 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 (including hours and cost) of the proposed collection of information; (c) ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; and (d) ways to minimize the burden of the collection of information on respondents, e.g., the use of automated collection techniques or other forms of information technology. Comments submitted in response to this notice will be summarized or included in the request for OMB approval of this information collection; Jkt 235001 Estimated annual burden hours (b) (a) x (b) = (c) 20,000 300 1,667 25 $181.33 181.33 15 120 40 6,000 600 1,000 1,500 1,200 667 181.33 181.33 181.33 ........................ 27,900 (83,700) 5,059 (15,177) ................ they also will become a matter of public record. Dated: April 1, 2015. Marcie Lovett, Records Management Division Director, USPTO, Office of the Chief Information Officer. [FR Doc. 2015–08262 Filed 4–9–15; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 3510–16–P DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE Office of the Secretary [Docket ID: DoD–2015–OS–0031] Privacy Act of 1974; System of Records Office of the Secretary of Defense, DoD. ACTION: Notice to alter a System of Records. AGENCY: The Office of the Secretary of Defense proposes to alter a system of records, DMDC 12 DoD, entitled ‘‘Joint Personnel Adjudication System (JPAS)’’ in its inventory of record systems SUMMARY: PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 Rate (S/hr) 5 5 ................................................................. IV. Request for Comments 20:09 Apr 09, 2015 Estimated annual responses Customer Surveys .................................. Questionnaires/Customer Comment Cards/Complaint Forms. Focus Groups/Interviews ........................ Small Discussion Groups ....................... Usability Tests (In-person observation (i.e., Website/Software). Estimated Total Annual (Non-hour) Respondent Cost Burden: There are no capital start-up, maintenance, postage, or recordkeeping costs associated with this information collection. VerDate Sep<11>2014 Estimated time for response (minutes) (a) IC Number subject to the Privacy Act of 1974, as amended. This system is a DoD enterprise automated system for personnel security, providing a common, comprehensive medium to record, document, and identify personnel security actions within the Department including submitting adverse information, verification of clearance status (to include grants of interim clearances), requesting investigations, and supporting Continuous Evaluation activities. DATES: Comments will be accepted on or before May 11, 2015. This proposed action will be effective the date following the end of the comment period unless comments are received which result in a contrary determination. You may submit comments, identified by docket number and title, by any of the following methods: * Federal Rulemaking Portal: https:// www.regulations.gov. Follow the instructions for submitting comments. * Mail: Department of Defense, Office of the Deputy Chief Management Officer, Directorate of Oversight and ADDRESSES: E:\FR\FM\10APN1.SGM 10APN1

Agencies

[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 69 (Friday, April 10, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 19286-19287]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-08262]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

 Patent and Trademark Office


Clearance for the Collection of Qualitative Feedback on Agency 
Service Delivery

ACTION: Proposed collection; comment request.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), as part 
of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, 
invites the general public and other Federal agencies to comment on the 
Clearance for the Collection of Qualitative Feedback on Agency Service 
Delivery, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, Public 
Law 104-13 (44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)).

DATES: Written comments must be submitted on or before June 9, 2015.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by any of the following methods:
     Email: InformationCollection@uspto.gov. Include ``0651-
New: Generic Clearance comment'' in the subject line of the message.
     Federal Rulemaking Portal: https://www.regulations.gov.
     Mail: Marcie Lovett, Records Management Division Director, 
Office of the Chief Information Officer, United States Patent and 
Trademark Office, P.O. Box 1450, Alexandria, VA 22313-1450.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Requests for additional information 
should be directed to Marcie Lovett, Records Management Division 
Director, Office of the Chief Information Officer, United States Patent 
and Trademark Office, P.O. Box 1450, Alexandria, VA 22313-1450; by 
telephone at 571-272-8123; or by email to Marcie.Lovett@uspto.gov with 
``Paperwork'' in the subject line.
    Additional information about this collection can be found at https://www.reginfo.gov under ``Information Collection Review.''

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Abstract

    Executive Order 12862 (https://www.archives.gov/federal-register/executive-orders/pdf/12862.pdf) directs Federal agencies to provide 
services to the public that matches or exceeds the best services 
available in the private sector. In order to work continuously to 
ensure that its programs are effective and meet its customers' needs, 
the United States Patent and Trademark Office (hereafter ``USPTO'' or 
``the Agency'') seeks to obtain OMB approval of a generic clearance to 
collect qualitative feedback on its service delivery. Qualitative 
feedback refers to information that provides useful insights on 
perceptions and opinions, but is not in the form of statistical surveys 
which yield quantitative results that can be generalized to the 
population of study.
    Collecting feedback will allow for the Agency to have a pulse on 
customer satisfaction and adjust where necessary to meet and exceed 
expectations. This feedback collection will provide for ongoing, 
collaborative, and actionable communication between the Agency and its 
customers and stakeholders. It also will enable the Agency to garner 
customer and stakeholder feedback in an efficient and timely manner, in 
accordance with the USPTO's commitment to improving services. The 
information collected from Agency customers and stakeholders will help 
ensure users have an opportunity to convey their experience with USPTO 
programs. This collection will also provide insights into customer or 
stakeholder perceptions, experiences, and expectations, which will 
allow the Agency to focus attention on areas where communication, 
training, or changes in operations may be necessary.
    Improving Agency programs requires ongoing assessment. The Agency 
will collect, analyze, and interpret information gathered to identify 
strengths and weaknesses of current services. Based on feedback 
received, the Agency will identify operational changes needed to 
improve programs and services. 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. The Agency is committed to hearing feedback from its 
customers. Responses will be assessed to identify service areas in need 
of improvement. If this information is not collected, then the Agency 
will miss opportunities to obtain vital feedback from its customers and 
stakeholders on ways to improve their program and services.
    The Agency will only submit a collection for approval under this 
generic clearance if it meets the following conditions:
     The collection is voluntary;
     The collection is 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 collection is noncontroversial and does 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 only be used internally for 
general program and service improvement as well as program

[[Page 19287]]

administrative purposes, and is not intended for release outside 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 are not designed or expected to yield statistically 
reliable results nor used as though the results are generalizable to 
the population of study.
    As a general matter, these information collections will not result 
in any new system of records containing privacy information and will 
not ask questions of a sensitive nature.

II. Method of Collection

    The USPTO uses surveys, focus groups, interviews, questionnaires, 
and usability testing to collect feedback from its customers. These may 
be conducted via telephone, through electronic means, or in person. The 
USPTO expects customers will respond to the questionnaires and surveys 
primarily through electronic means, and to the focus groups, 
interviews, and usability testing primarily in person.

III. Data

    OMB Number: 0651--New.
    IC Instruments and Forms: The individual instruments in this 
collection, as well as their associated forms, are listed in the table 
below.
    Type of Review: New.
    Affected Public: Individuals and households; businesses or other 
for-profits; and not-for-profit institutions.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 27,900 responses per year.
    Estimated Time per Response: Between 5 minutes (0.08 hours) and 120 
minutes (2 hours), depending on the instruments used and the item being 
completed.
    Estimated Total Annual Respondent Burden Hours: 5,059 hours.
    Estimated Total Annual Respondent (Hourly) Cost Burden: 
$917,348.47. The USPTO expects that attorneys, paralegals and pro se 
applicants will complete these applications. The professional hourly 
rate for attorneys is $389, and the hourly rates for paralegals and pro 
se applicants are $125 and $30, respectively. The average of the 
combined respondent rate is $181.33. Using this blended hourly rate, 
the USPTO estimates that the total respondent cost burden for this 
collection is $917,348.47 per year.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                          Estimated time   Estimated      Estimated
             IC Number                   Information        for response     annual    annual  burden  Rate  (S/
                                       collection item       (minutes)     responses        hours         hr)
                                                                     (a)          (b)     (a) x (b) =
                                                                                                  (c)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1.................................  Customer Surveys....               5       20,000           1,667    $181.33
2.................................  Questionnaires/                    5          300              25     181.33
                                     Customer Comment
                                     Cards/Complaint
                                     Forms.
3.................................  Focus Groups/                     15        6,000           1,500     181.33
                                     Interviews.
4.................................  Small Discussion                 120          600           1,200     181.33
                                     Groups.
5.................................  Usability Tests (In-              40        1,000             667     181.33
                                     person observation
                                     (i.e., Website/
                                     Software).
                                                         -------------------------------------------------------
    Total (Three -Year Period)....  ....................  ..............       27,900           5,059  .........
                                                                             (83,700)        (15,177)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Estimated Total Annual (Non-hour) Respondent Cost Burden: There are 
no capital start-up, maintenance, postage, or recordkeeping costs 
associated with this information collection.

IV. Request for Comments

    Comments are invited on:
    (a) Whether the proposed 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 (including 
hours and cost) of the proposed collection of information;
    (c) ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the 
information to be collected; and
    (d) ways to minimize the burden of the collection of information on 
respondents, e.g., the use of automated collection techniques or other 
forms of information technology.
    Comments submitted in response to this notice will be summarized or 
included in the request for OMB approval of this information 
collection; they also will become a matter of public record.

    Dated: April 1, 2015.
Marcie Lovett,
Records Management Division Director, USPTO, Office of the Chief 
Information Officer.
[FR Doc. 2015-08262 Filed 4-9-15; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3510-16-P
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