SUPPORTING STATEMENT
U.S. Department of Commerce
Office of the Secretary
Office of Public Affairs
OMB Control No. 0690-XXXX
A. JUSTIFICATION
This is to request approval of a new information collection.
1. Explain the circumstances that make the collection of information necessary.
The Department of Commerce’s Office of Public Affairs (Director of New Media) (OPA) currently collect quantitative (number of visits to website) data about Commerce.gov’s web traffic. However, there is no qualitative data about what visitors are looking for from Commerce.gov and if they were satisfied with their experience. By asking these four simple questions, OPA will be able to ensure a better customer experience for their visitors.
In order to better serve users of Commerce.gov and the Department of Commerce bureaus’ Web sites, the Offices of Public Affairs will collect information from users about their experience on the Web sites. The bureaus will be offered the opportunity to use survey and will be added, with respective burden hours, when accepting the offer.
The DOC bureaus are:
2. Explain how, by whom, how frequently, and for what purpose the information will be used. If the information collected will be disseminated to the public or used to support information that will be disseminated to the public, then explain how the collection complies with all applicable Information Quality Guidelines.
The results will be examined monthly by the Director of New Media and members of Commerce’s Web Solutions team (or bureau OPA). Based upon those results, the website may be tweaked to better help the visitors find what they are looking for. For example, if the survey shows individuals are seeking information on careers at Commerce, we could add a button on the front page or a link from a drop-down menu.
Roughly 1% of all visitors will be asked via a pop-up box if they would like to participate in a survey to improve Commerce.gov. Those who voluntarily select “yes” will be taken to a simple four-question survey administered by iPerceptions. Regardless of their answer, no one will be asked again for 6 months. Each bureau office of public affairs can request a 1% to 100% range of visitors be asked to complete the survey.
The collected information will not be disseminated to the public. It is for internal DOC use only.
3. Describe whether, and to what extent, the collection of information involves the use of automated, electronic, mechanical, or other technological techniques or other forms of information technology.
The collection of information is completely automated. Using iPerceptions web interface, the Director of New Media sets how many results s/he would like in a given month. Based upon that desired outcome, the iPerceptions survey is served up to visitors automatically until that number of results is met.
4. Describe efforts to identify duplication.
Each response is unique to that visitor, no duplication
5. If the collection of information involves small businesses or other small entities, describe the methods used to minimize burden.
The collection of information does not involve small businesses.
6. Describe the consequences to the Federal program or policy activities if the collection is not conducted or is conducted less frequently.
If the information is not collected, the website will be less valuable to visitors and staff will not know what the general public wants from the Department of Commerce.
7. Explain any special circumstances that require the collection to be conducted in a manner inconsistent with OMB guidelines.
None.
8. Provide information of the PRA Federal Register Notice that solicited public comments on the information collection prior to this submission. Summarize the public comments received in response to that notice and describe the actions taken by the agency in response to those comments. Describe the efforts to consult with persons outside the agency to obtain their views on the availability of data, frequency of collection, the clarity of instructions and recordkeeping, disclosure, or reporting format (if any), and on the data elements to be recorded, disclosed, or reported.
The Federal Register Notice soliciting public comment was published on December 7, 2010 (Vol. 75, pg. 75962). No comments were received.
9. Explain any decisions to provide payments or gifts to respondents, other than remuneration of contractors or grantees.
The Department of Commerce provides no payments or gifts for completing the survey
10. Describe any assurance of confidentiality provided to respondents and the basis for assurance in statute, regulation, or agency policy.
No assurance of confidentiality given. Visitors are informed that the information is for internal use only. There is no personally identifiable information provided.
11. Provide additional justification for any questions of a sensitive nature, such as sexual behavior and attitudes, religious beliefs, and other matters that are commonly considered private.
Not Applicable.
12. Provide an estimate in hours of the burden of the collection of information.
It is estimated that 36,000 surveys will be completed annually at 2 minutes per response for a total of 1,200 burden hours.
13. Provide an estimate of the total annual cost burden to the respondents or record-keepers resulting from the collection (excluding the value of the burden hours in
Question 12 above).
There is no cost burden to the respondents.
14. Provide estimates of annualized cost to the Federal government.
This survey is provided free of charge. The only cost to the federal government would be the time of the New Media Director adjusting settings (percentage range) within the iPerceptions web interface. This would be 15 minutes a month (GS-13), total cost is $135.
15. Explain the reasons for any program changes or adjustments.
This is a new information collection.
16. For collections whose results will be published, outline the plans for tabulation and publication.
Not applicable.
17. If seeking approval to not display the expiration date for OMB approval of the information collection, explain the reasons why display would be inappropriate.
The standard Paperwork Reduction Act information will be provided on the homepage of each web site. iPerceptions does not allow customization of their form. It is technically impossible to put the OMB expiration date within the survey.
18. Explain each exception to the certification statement.
Not Applicable.
| File Type | application/msword |
| Author | mkruger |
| Last Modified By | gbanks |
| File Modified | 2011-02-08 |
| File Created | 2011-02-04 |