Template - Focus Groups National Communications Campaign

Request for Approval under the “Generic Clearance for the Collection of Routine Customer Feedback” (OMB Control Number: 0960-0788)

TITLE OF INFORMATION COLLECTION: Focus groups – Social Security Administration (SSA) National Communications Campaign

DESCRIPTION OF ACTIVITY:

Background: This customer satisfaction activity is in support of two of SSA’s fiscal year 2014 goals of increasing online services to the public. The current proposed contact seeks to evaluate SSA’s national communications campaign via online focus groups.

Objectives: Test various informational messages for online applications, Retire Online, my Social Security, and a combination of the two using online focus groups.

SSA is specifically seeking feedback to determine the following:

• Which messages best resonate with our customers?

• Which messages best inform our customers about our online services?

• Which messages best motivate our customers to use Social Security’s online services?

Methodology: We will recruit the participants for the focus groups via an SSA-approved contractor. We will conduct a series of 7 focus groups with 70 participants. The contractor will moderate the focus group discussions.

TYPE OF COLLECTION: (Check one)

[ ] Customer Comment Card/Complaint Form [ ] Customer Satisfaction Survey

[ ] Usability Testing (e.g., Website or Software) [ ] Small Discussion Group

[X] Focus Group [ ] Other: Intercepts

CERTIFICATION:

I certify the following to be true:

1. The collection is voluntary.

2. The collection is low-burden for respondents and low-cost for the Federal Government.

3. The collection is non-controversial and does not raise issues of concern to other Federal agencies.

4. The results are not intended to be disseminated to the public.

5. Information gathered will not be used for the purpose of substantially informing influential policy decisions.

6. The 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 future.

Name: Faye Lipsky, Reports Clearance Officer, Social Security Administration

To assist review, please provide answers to the following question:

Personally Identifiable Information:

1. Is personally identifiable information (PII) collected? [ ] Yes [X] No

2. If Yes, is the information that will be collected included in records that are subject to the Privacy Act of 1974? [ ] Yes [ ] No

3. If Applicable, has a System or Records Notice been published? [ ] Yes [X] No

Gifts or Payments:

Is an incentive (e.g., money or reimbursement of expenses, token of appreciation) provided to participants? [X] Yes, online focus group participants will be paid a $50 incentive.

BURDEN HOURS

Category of Respondent	No. of Respondents	Participation Time (minutes)	Burden (hours)
Individuals	70	90 min	105

BURDEN HOUR COMPUTATION (Number of responses (X) estimated response time

(/60) = annual burden hours):

FEDERAL COST: The estimated cost to the Federal Government is $70,000.

If you are conducting a focus group, survey, or plan to employ statistical methods, please provide answers to the following questions:

The selection of your targeted respondents

1. Do you have a customer list, or something similar, that defines the universe of potential respondents and do you have a sampling plan for selecting from this universe? [X] Yes

[ ] No

If the answer is yes, please provide a description of both below (or attach the sampling plan). If the answer is no, please provide a description of how you plan to identify your potential group of respondents and how you will select them?

The participant selection criterion for this research is as follows:

• Retire Online

  • 60 - 67 year olds, who are eligible for Social Security retirement benefits and have not yet retired
    
    

• my Social Security

• 61 - 75 year olds, some who receive Social Security benefits; and some who are eligible for, but do not yet receive Social
  Security benefits

• 45 - 60 year olds, some who receive Social Security benefits; and some who are eligible for, but do not yet receive Social
  Security benefits

• Combination of Retire Online and my Social Security

  • 45 - 75 year olds, some who receive Social Security benefits; and some who are eligible for, but do not yet receive Social Security benefits

Administration of the Instrument

1. How will you collect the information? (Check all that apply)

[ ] Web-based or other forms of Social Media

[ ] Telephone

[X] In-person

[ ] Mail

[ ] Other, Explain - Survey Sheet/Questionnaire

2. Will interviewers or facilitators be used? [X] Yes [ ] No

Please make sure that all instruments, instructions, and scripts are submitted with the request.

USE OF RESULTS:

SSA will use the results of the focus groups to enhance a comprehensive cross platform national marketing campaign.

See attached copies of the proposed online focus group and intercept questions.

NAME OF CONTACT PERSON: Debbie Larwood

PHONE NUMBER: 410-966-6135