Supporting Statement for Paperwork Reduction Act Submission
Customer Satisfaction Survey for FTA’s Public Website Contact Us Tool
A. Justification
1. Circumstances that make the collection necessary.
Executive Order 12862 requires federal agencies that deliver services to the public to:
▪ identify the customers;
▪ survey customers to determine the kind and quality of services they want and their
level of satisfaction with existing services and
▪ make information, services, and complaint systems easily accessible
The survey covered under this clearance will be limited to data collections that solicit voluntary opinions and will not involve information that is required by regulations.
2. How, by whom, and for what purpose the information is to be used.
FTA has chosen to focus this survey on those individuals who use the Contact Us Tool (part of the FTA public website) to ask the agency specific questions. FTA’s public website is the face of the agency and one of our most important communication tools. The purpose of this targeted survey is part of FTA’s Quality Improvement Program and intended to measure customer service and satisfaction. FTA will use the information collected to respond to the Presidential Executive Order. The information will assist FTA in assessing customer needs, determining how well the agency is responding to those needs, and in improving service, if needed.
3. Describe whether collection of information involves information technology and any consideration of using information technology to reduce the burden.
Information technology will be employed for the collection of this information. The surveys are designed to minimize respondent burden by using survey software that is accessible via the internet.
4. Describe efforts to identify duplication. Show specifically why any similar information already available cannot be used or modified for use for the purposes described in Item 2.
The information requested in the customer satisfaction surveys is the only systematic source of information on the opinions of FTA customers relating to the FTA Public Website Contact Us Tool.
5. If the collection of information impacts small businesses or other small entities, describe any methods used to minimize burden.
Since the requirements are minimal and are not burdensome, no special methods are used for small businesses or other smaller entities.
6. Describe consequences to federal program or policy activities if information were not collected or collected less frequently, as well as any technical or legal obstacles to reducing burden.
FTA would be unable to meet the requirements of Executive Order 12862. The surveys contain specific questions concerning the actual and perceived levels of service delivery to FTA’s customers. The information obtained from FTA's customers will provide decision makers with the information necessary to determine current levels of service, establish realistic ongoing service delivery standards and opportunities for improvement, and establish mechanisms for ongoing monitoring of customer satisfaction.
7. Explain any special circumstances that would cause an information collection to be conducted in a manner inconsistent with 5 CFR 1320.6.
The information collection requirements are consistent with 5 CFR 1320.6.
8. Describe efforts to consult with persons outside the agency to obtain their views.
A 60-day Federal Register notice was published on December 26, 2007 (pages 73062 and 73062), soliciting comments prior to submission to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). No comments were received in response to that notice. The 30-day Federal Register notice was published on March 14, 2008 (page 13952). No comments were received.
9. Explain any decision to provide any payment or gift to respondents, other than remuneration of contractors or grantees.
No payment or gift is made to respondents.
10. Describe any assurance of confidentiality provided respondents.
Any information obtained from the survey will be maintained by FTA. This survey is meant to gauge the level of satisfaction with FTA’s customer service. Individual responses will remain anonymous and no personally identifiable information will be collected or stored.
11. Additional justification for any questions of a sensitive nature.
No sensitive information will be collected.
12. Estimates of the hour burden of the collection of information and annualized cost to respondents.
Number of Frequency Hour Burden Total Annual Hour
Respondents of Response per Response Burden
Survey 1,230 1 5 minutes 102.5
Total Burden Hours 102.5
Estimated Hourly Cost of Preparing Response $25.00
Total Estimated Cost to Respondents $2,562.50
The respondent universe of 1,230 was derived from the previous year’s submissions received through the agency’s Contact Us web form. It is estimated based on last year’s submissions that there will be approximately the same amount of submissions each year. The $25 hourly cost represents a range of individuals’ hourly rates that are likely to use the Contact Us Tool that could range from $15/hour to $35/hour ($15+$35=$50, $50/2=$25). We have polled several individuals to determine the average time to respond to the survey which equates to 5 minutes. The Total Annual Hour Burden was found by multiplying the number of respondents (1230) by the number of hours per response (5 minutes =.083 hours) .083 x 1,230 = 102.5 hours. The estimated hourly cost of preparing a response ($25) multiplied by the total annual hour burden (102.5) gives the total estimated cost to respondents ($2562.50).
13. Estimate of total annual cost burden to respondents or record keepers resulting from the collection of information (not including the cost of any hour burden shown in items 12 and 14).
There is no additional cost beyond that shown in items 12 and 14.
l4. Estimate of annualized cost to the federal government.
The survey will be conducted through an internet survey software program with questions entered into the database by a government staff member and analyzed by FTA staff. The total cost to the federal government is $5,000.
15. Explain the reasons for any program changes or adjustments reported in Items 13 or 14 of OMB Form 83-1.
This is a new information collection. There are no changes.
16. Plans for tabulation and publication for collections of information whose results will be published.
FTA does not plan to publish the results of the information collected for statistical use. FTA will use the results to improve customer service.
17. If seeking approval not to display the expiration date for OMB approval, explain the reasons.
There is no reason not to display the expiration date of OMB approval.
l8. Explain any exceptions to the certification statement identified in Item 19 of OMB Form
83-I.
No exceptions are stated.
Abstracts of Customer Service Surveys under this Request:
Customer Satisfaction Survey for FTA’s Public Website Contact Us Tool
Abstract: Data will be captured from the survey that will allow FTA offices to better
understand how the Contact Us Tool is perceived by its customers, learn about opportunities
for improvement and establish goals to measure results. Many FTA offices interact with transit agencies and stakeholders on responding to requests for information, and questions about policy, programs and guidance.
B. Collection of Information Employing Statistical Methods
1. Universe and respondent selection
Target population: The general public, and FTA stakeholders which include local governments, transit agencies, Metropolitan Planning Organizations, State agencies, tribal governments and eligible non-profit organizations.
FTA believes it is important to provide the opportunity for each stakeholder to complete the survey to provide us feedback on customer service; therefore, FTA does not intend to use a smaller sample size.
FTA does intend to stratify stakeholders based on size, type of organization and geographical location. We want to keep the stratification to a minimum so that stakeholders can preserve their anonymity and provide candid responses on their perception of FTA’s customer service.
The goal is at least a 40% participation rate.
Non-response Bias Study - Only very limited information is collected on the Contact Us respondent universe, limiting the analysis that can be performed in comparing responders to non-responders. Further, personally identifiable information is not obtained–only a business email address is collected. In order to ascertain the representativeness of responders, we will first examine the category of inquiry (collected during the Contact Us request) and use this information to monitor and analyze survey responses. Similarly, we will attempt to categorize the type of user to the extent that the business email address will allow. This information will allow us to monitor the type of user and inquiry and determine if the distribution of survey responders is similar to the non-responding sample. In the event that inquiries submitted by one user type or inquiry category does not reflect the distribution of the Contact Us responders, reminder emails could be sent to targeted individuals who have not responded. This will help ensure that a representative sample of Contact Us users is attained. Any differences in the responding sample will be noted and explained in the resultant analysis.
2. Procedures for collecting information
The survey will be conducted using an internet survey and software
that will tabulate the responses by question. Summary data will be
provided in chart and/or graphical presentation to show the rating
for each question. The plan is to leave the survey “open”
so feedback can continually be received to analyze trends in
customer service over time. The survey period is described as
“open,” meaning that as long as the Contact Us Tool is
available to the public, FTA will continue to collect and analyze
survey results to improve customer satisfaction. There is no intent
to end the survey period at this time.
The survey will be sent
by an electronic mail message seeking participation in order to
improve FTA’s customer service with a hyperlink to the
internet site that hosts the survey. This electronic mail message
containing the link to the survey will be sent once FTA has answered
the Contact Us submission.
There are no issues related to collecting Personally
Identifiable Information (PII) in the Contact Us Tool. Only an
individual’s Business email address is collected along with the
inquiry and category the inquiry is related to. The Privacy
Threshold Analysis was reviewed and approved by DOT’s Privacy
Officer, Habib Azarsina (OST) on Tuesday, April 29, 2008.
3. Methods to maximize response
FTA has set a goal to attain at least a 40% survey response rate. The electronic mail message that includes the link to the survey requests feedback from application users of the Contact Us Tool. Any time FTA provides a response to an inquiry, the application user will receive the request to provide feedback via the survey.
4. Tests of procedures
● A working group for the Contact Us Tool has been asked to review the survey to insure
that the questions are appropriate and relevant to FTA services provided and not
burdensome to the agency to respond. The working group consisted of 18 members,
including the Contact Us Tool administrators, FTA Program Office Contacts/FTA
employees who respond to inquiries received, and the contractor developing the web-
based application. There were no potential users of the Contact Us Tool included in the
working group. FTA did not intend for this small sample size of stakeholders to actually
take the survey, but they did provide us feedback on the robustness of the customer
service questions posed.
5. Contacts for statistical aspects and data collection
David Longo, FTA Office of Communications and Congressional Affairs, telephone 202-366-0608, david.longo@dot.gov
| File Type | application/msword |
| File Title | JUSTIFICATION STATEMENT |
| Author | BarneyS |
| Last Modified By | marions |
| File Modified | 2009-04-09 |
| File Created | 2009-04-07 |