Request for Approval

Request for Approval under the “DOI Generic Clearance for the Collection of Qualitative Feedback on Agency Service Delivery”

(OMB Control Number: 1090-0011)

TITLE OF INFORMATION COLLECTION:

FWS.Gov Website Redesign: Navigation Model Testing

PURPOSE:

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife is currently undergoing a website redesign and is seeking user feedback in order to improve the usability, findability, and comprehension of information on the site.   The overall goal of acquiring this feedback is to translate users’ actual and potential use of the site into explicit knowledge and design requirements for the redesign.

In order to obtain this feedback, we conducted a contextual inquiry with actual users of the site and produced a report of findings and recommendations.  These findings led to a proposed set of two alternative navigational models for an updated organization of the site.

We now are assessing the navigational models using Optimal Workshop’s Treejack software.  Treejack is a usability tool used to test information architecture by evaluating the findability of topics.  Treejack will present a number of tasks to participants, and participants will click through a proposed model of the site organization to show where they would expect to find particular information.  The results of this testing will show us where users expect to find information on the site, which will assist us in reorganizing the website content.

DESCRIPTION OF RESPONDENTS:

1. Wildlife Enthusiasts: Outdoor Sportsmen/women – Hunters, Fishers/Anglers, Birders/Bird Waters and individuals interested in spending time on wildlife refuges

2. Influencers: Advocate - Environmentalists, Conservationists, FWS Partners, NGOs, Non-profits, “Friends Of”

3. Influencers: Researcher - Faculty, educators or student researchers at high schools or universities studying subjects or conducting research related to conservation and management of wildlife and natural resources

4. Influencer: Communicator - Corporate Marketing and Communications, Journalists/Reporters, News media, Bloggers, Social media writers/managers, Legislative Assistant

5. Managers: Government – Representatives from federal, state, local and tribal agencies with land/resource management responsibilities that are working with FWS to manage public land and natural resources

6. Managers: Commercial – Commercial land developers involved with FWS in wildlife conservation – Developers that want to complete a project and are required to comply with regulations related to ESA and other statutes

7. FWS Job Seekers – Individuals in the US workforce currently looking for work at FWS and/or recently placed in a position with FWS

8. Wildlife Import/Export Permit Applicants – Businesses (companies, animal dealers/brokers, laboratory suppliers, trade show participants, collectors/hobbyists, etc.)

9. Organizations Supporting Urban Youth – Targeting urban youth via organizations, schools and nonprofits that are focused on providing youth programs targeting this demographic

TYPE OF COLLECTION: (Check one)

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

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

[ ] Focus Group [X] Other: Unmoderated, remote usability study

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:____David Yeargin____________________________________________

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

Personally Identifiable Information:

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

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

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

Gifts or Payments:

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

Non-government employees will be offered a $100 incentive fee to compensate individuals for their time in scheduling and participating in the research project. $100 incentive is deemed appropriate based on seniority and skill level of potential participants and geographical spread of the study (e.g. nationwide).

BURDEN HOURS
Category of Respondent	No. of Respondents	Participation Time per Response	Burden In Hours
Category 1: Individual or Household	12	40 min	8
Enthusiast [5 respondents]
Manager: Commercial [4 respondents]
Job Seeker [3 respondents]
Category 2: Private Sector	21	40 min	14
Influencer: Advocates
Influencer: Researcher
Influencer: Communications
Wildlife I/O
Organizations Supporting Urban Youth
Category 3: State/Tribal Agencies with land/resource management responsibilities	3	40 min	2
Government – State, Local, or tribal
Category 4: Federal Agencies with land/resource management responsibilities	4	40 min	2.66
Manager: Government - Federal
Totals	40		26.66

FEDERAL COST: The estimated annual cost to the Federal government is $4,443.79 ($843.79 in hour burden + $3,600 in incentives as shown below)

Federal Cost
	Fed Labor Hours	Non-Labor Cost	Total
Category 1: Individuals or Households	$253.20	$1,200	$1,453.20
Category 2: Private Sector	$443.10	$2,100	$2,543.10
Category 3: State, Local or Tribal Government	$63.30	$300	$ 363.30
Category 4: Federal Government	$84.19		$ 84.19
Total	$ 843.79	$3,600.00	$4,443.79

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.

Administration of the Instrument

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

[ ] Web-based or other forms of Social Media

[X] Telephone

[ ] In-person

[ ] Mail

[ ] Other - Explain:

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

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