REL Justification

DOCUMENTATION FOR THE GENERIC CLEARANCE

OF CUSTOMER SERVICE SATISFACTION COLLECTIONS

TITLE OF INFORMATION COLLECTION: U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences, Customer Satisfaction Survey: “Regional Educational Laboratory Bridge Events—Customer Satisfaction Survey.” (10-day review request)

[X ] SURVEY [ ] FOCUS GROUP [ ] SOFTWARE USABILITY TESTING

DESCRIPTION OF THIS SPECIFIC COLLECTION

1. Intended Purpose

This survey assesses the current satisfaction and preferences of persons who plan to participate in Bridge Events conducted by Regional Educational Laboratories (RELs) under contract to the U.S. Department of Education (ED), through the Institute of Education Sciences (IES). Bridge Events are intended to provide educators and policymakers with credible research evidence to improve education practices, while also allowing practice to inform future research. Bridge events vary in length and structure (from face-to-face all day meetings to a series of webinars) depending on the research topic and the intended audience. Regardless of the format, the specific goals for all Bridge events are for researchers, policy makers and practitioners to discuss together trustworthy research evidence and its implementation in policy and practice.

In this package, we are requesting approval to administer a customer satisfaction survey to Bridge Event attendees, with the goals of ascertaining:

• the quality and utility of the presentations and structure of the event,

• how the attendees intend to apply the information to their work,

• what attendees found particularly helpful, and

• suggestions about how Bridge Events might be improved.

2. Need for the Collection

Under the IES authorizing legislation, the Education Sciences Reform Act of 2002, Section 174 states that the primary mission of the Regional Educational Laboratories is to serve the educational needs of designated regions, using applied research, development, dissemination, and training and technical assistance, to bring the latest and best research and proven practices to school improvement issues.

This data collection effort is essential for (a) identifying the extent to which RELs are able to disseminate findings from IES-supported and other scientifically-based research for practical application, (b) determining whether the information is perceived as relevant and useful to its intended audience, (specifically, education practitioners, researchers, and policymakers), and (c) gathering suggestions for improving future Bridge Events.

3. Planned Use of the Data

The information collection will provide useful data to IES and RELs about how to more effectively target and meet the needs of education practitioners and policy makers through REL Bridge Events and other dissemination activities. The survey data will enable IES to determine the types of research evidence and dissemination activities that users find most useful and to identify research and products needed in the future. The data will enable IES to better serve the informational needs of its target audiences by bringing research evidence and proven practices into school improvement efforts through useful and engaging means.

Responses to the Participant Feedback Survey (Attachment A) will help the IES determine the following:

• How successful were the presenters/panelists and the structure of the event in achieving the goals of the session?

• To what extent did attendees perceive the Bridge Event as relevant to their needs and useful for their decision making or practice?

• To what extent did Bridge Event participants perceive that they could implement the research evidence presented? What other IES activities did participants believe would be important to further their learning on the research topic?

• In what ways can Bridge Events be improved to better meet the goal of engaging practitioners and policy makers with research?

Data from the survey will be analyzed to identify areas that are successful at achieving the intended goals of the Bridge events as well as areas in which action should be taken to improve customer satisfaction.

4. Date(s) and Location(s)

Data will be collected during FY2010 through FY2012 from August 2010 through September 2012. It is expected that the 10 RELs will hold a maximum of 30 events during FY2010, 120 events in FY 2011 and 120 events in FY2012. Data analysis and reporting will be ongoing beginning in August 2010.

5. Collection Procedures

All individuals who attend a REL Bridge Event will be asked to voluntarily complete the REL Bridge Event Participant Feedback Survey. The survey will be administered at the end of the event, either on-site in hard copy, or electronically if the event is webinar based. To help ensure confidentiality, REL Staff will have on-site participants place each completed survey in a sealed envelope that will be sent directly back to the sponsoring REL office. Those attending the Bridge Event remotely will be sent an e-mail invitation with an attached version of the feedback form that they can mail back anonymously or a link to an on-line feedback form that will not collect identifying information. Feedback surveys will not contain any names or other identifying information and will not be stored in a way that allows for identification of individual responses.

1. Number of Focus Groups, Surveys, Usability Testing Sessions

This request is for a single survey instrument to be administered at all IES-sponsored REL Bridge Events from August, 2010 to September, 2012.

2. Description of Respondents/Participants

The target population of this survey is educators or/and policymakers who have attended REL-sponsored Bridge events during the period from August, 2010 to September, 2012. The frame for this group will consist of approximately 20,250 individuals who will attend approximately 270 bridge events, 75 participants per event, during the data collection period. An 80 percent response rate is expected.

6. Procedures for Sampling Methods and Analysis

No sampling methods will be used. The Participant Feedback Survey is intended to be a census of all REL Bridge Event attendees (with an expected response rate of 80 percent).

AMOUNT OF ANY PROPOSED STIPEND OR INCENTIVE

No financial incentives or gifts will be offered to respondents.

BURDEN HOUR COMPUTATION (Number of respondents (X) estimated response or participation time in minutes (/60)=annual burden hours)

FY 2010 (August – September)
Category of Respondent	No. of Respondents	Participation Time	Total Burden
State/Local Government	2,250 respondents from 30 events with 75 participants per event	0.2 hour	450 hours
FY 2011 (October – September)
Category of Respondent	No. of Respondents	Participation Time	Total Burden
State/Local Government	9,000 respondents from 120 events with 75 participants per event	0.2 hour	1,800 hours
FY 2012(October – September)
Category of Respondent	No. of Respondents	Participation Time	Total Burden
State/Local Government	9,000 respondents from 120 events with 75 participants per event	0.2 hour	1,800 hours
Total (all years)	20,250 respondents		4,050 hours
Annual Total	6,750 respondents		1,350 hours

BURDEN COST COMPUTATION

There are no cost burdens to respondents.

REQUESTED APPROVAL DATE: August 1, 2010

NAME OF CONTACT PERSON: Karen Armstrong

TELEPHONE NUMBER: (202) 208-2415

MAILING LOCATION:

Institute of Education Sciences
555 New Jersey Ave, NW
Room 504C
Washington, DC 20208-5500

ED DEPARTMENT, OFFICE: Institute of Education Science