NOAA CSC Technical Assistance Submission Request

Request for Approval under the “Generic Clearance for the Collection of Routine Customer Feedback” (OMB Control Number 0690-0030)

TITLE OF INFORMATION COLLECTION: Customer Satisfaction Survey of NOAA Coastal Services Center Technical Assistance

PURPOSE:

The NOAA Coastal Services Center (CSC) provides a vast array of technical assistance to a variety of customers, with the primary customer base being state and local coastal managers and planners, other federal agency partners, as well as non-profit organizations. CSC has defined technical assistance as “involving direct contact with customers performed by CSC staff (including contractors), but excluding training events.” The assistance provided by CSC covers a variety of areas, including facilitation and social science services, assistance with geographic information systems (GIS) data and mapping, working with coastal-related data maintained by CSC, and assistance with a variety of software and mapping tools developed and offered by CSC. The assistance is provided in a variety of formats including: in-person, telephone, email, web conferences and seminars, and through the CSC web site. CSC provides this assistance free of charge and places emphasis on timely and accurate responses to the requests made by customers.

In 2011, CSC consulted with Eastern Research Group, Inc. (ERG) to assess the degree to which CSC has been providing technical assistance and to identify areas where improvement may be needed. After conducting an OMB-approved evaluation, ERG developed detailed feedback on each of the program areas in which CSC provides assistance, and also developed performance measures for future use. ERG recommended that CSC track measures that are related to

(1) customer satisfaction with CSC’s technical assistance services and (2) customers’ ability to complete tasks and attain goals as a result of CSC’s assistance. ERG also acknowledged CSC’s need to assess the extent to which its customers’ requests are contributing to its own objective of improving coastal resiliency in coastal communities.

By using the proposed survey, CSC will be able to use the recommended performance measures to track customer satisfaction and goal attainment relating to the technical assistance provided, as well as CSC’s ability to meet its own objective of improving coastal resiliency in coastal communities. The information collected from the survey will be used internally by CSC and NOAA to report on performance measures and improve CSC’s technical assistance services.

DESCRIPTION OF RESPONDENTS:

"Coastal resource managers" represents the shorthand often used to identify the Center's constituent base, as Center products are applicable to most organizations and professionals whose job or interests involve the wise use of coastal resources. These include

• Coastal planners

• Natural resource agencies

• Regulatory agencies

• Emergency management officials

• Floodplain managers

• Conservation organizations

• Member organizations (such as the Coastal States Organization and the National Association of Counties)

• Regional ocean governance organizations

More specifically, those individuals/organizations that have received technical assistance over the past 12 months are the intended respondents for this proposed information collection.

TYPE OF COLLECTION: (Check one)

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

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

[ ] Focus Group [ ] Other: ______________________

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: Chris Ellis

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

3. If Yes, has an up-to-date System of Records Notice (SORN) been published? [ ] Yes [ ] No

Gifts or Payments:

Is an incentive (e.g., money or reimbursement of expenses, token of appreciation) provided to participants? [ ] Yes [X] No

BURDEN HOURS

Category of Respondent	No. of Respondents	Response Time	Burden Hours
State, local, or tribal governments	51	5 minutes	4.25 (4) hrs
Private Sector	8	5 minutes	.66 (1) hrs
Federal Government	60	5 minutes	5 hrs
Totals	119		10 hrs

FEDERAL COST: The estimated annual cost to the Federal government is

$350 (Project staff 10 hrs @ $35.00/hr)

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?

NOAA CSC provided 119 documented cases of technical assistance during FY12. Based on the relatively small N, we propose to survey the census of customers that received technical assistance. It should be highlighted that only 59 potential respondents represent non-federal agencies.

Administration of the Instrument

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

[X] Web-based or other forms of Social Media

[ ] Telephone

[ ] In-person

[ ] Mail

[ ] Other, Explain

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

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