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: New England Water Science Center Network Prioritization

PURPOSE:

The New England Water Science Center is undertaking a Data Network Prioritization Project that will help the center with decision making given future budget increases or decreases, changes in science initiatives and policy changes within USGS and DOI.

The data from the USGS surface-water network are used by a multitude of entities, including, but not limited to, state agencies, the National Weather Service, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, hydroelectric power plants, universities, non-governmental agencies, and the public. The surface-water network provides accurate and unbiased data on river flow and stage of rivers, lakes, reservoirs, and coastal tides in New England. These data are essential to safe-guarding lives and property, monitoring and managing water resources, forecasting riverine and coastal flooding, determining droughts, and understanding the effects of climate and land-use change on hydrology.

The Surface-Water Data Network Prioritization Project hopes to accomplish the following goals:

1. Understand the effectiveness of the current data network across New England

2. Understand the current and potential future uses of the network

3. Prioritize and identify the needs for new sites and network improvement, such as

   1. Adding to and enhancing the tide network

   2. Adding to and enhancing the climatological network

   3. Adding to and enhancing the soil moisture network

   4. Adding to and enhancing the reservoir network

4. Identify new and emerging issues and technologies

5. Prioritize a plan for future possible variations of funding at all levels

The information from this effort will assist in shaping the strategic plan and science plan for the New England Water Science Center, and ensure our cooperator’s needs are met.

DESCRIPTION OF RESPONDENTS:

Respondents will be cooperators from local, state and federal governments, private companies, and the general public. This project will include six Google Forms, one for each of the six states within the New England Water Science Center, that will ask our cooperators and collaborators to rank the priority of each gaging station in our network, define the uses of the data from each station, as well provide input on other areas of need in regards to monitoring.

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:_/S/ Nicholas W Stasulis_____ 6/6/18

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

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 Not Applicable

3. If Applicable, has a System or Records Notice been published? [ ] Yes [ ] No Not Applicable

Gifts or Payments:

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

BURDEN HOURS

Category of Respondents	No. of Respondents	Participation Time	Burden
Local/State Governments	150	20 mins	50 hrs
Private Companies	25	20 mins	8 hrs
General Public	100	20 mins	33 hrs
Federal Government	20	20 mins	7 hours
Totals	295	80 mins	98 hrs

FEDERAL COST: The estimated one-time cost to the Federal government is $30,000

(This includes the average salary cost for a GS-12 to answer the survey based on the estimates in the table above, and for the group managing the survey to disseminate the information and compile the results)

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

The New England Water Science Center has a well-defined list of cooperators and collaborating agencies. The survey will be sent to this entire list, and we will encourage the recipients to forward the request to other interested parties.

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.

Essentially, our plan will include reaching out to our entire network of existing cooperators and collaborating 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 – Internet Web Survey

2. Will interviewers or facilitators be used? [ ] Yes [X] No (Not for the collection portion.)

Please make sure that all instruments, instructions, and scripts are submitted with the request. The forms for each of the New England states can be found using the links below:

Maine - https://goo.gl/forms/Omx9IakNh6O2klmv1

New Hampshire - https://goo.gl/forms/DBsbAhCUBKUm76kj1

Vermont - https://goo.gl/forms/ohcGNjOJj8r9V26u1

Massachusetts - https://goo.gl/forms/F7UV65tXDKijGV9i2

Rhode Island - https://goo.gl/forms/aAiB0uwLmh8kZWSf2

Connecticut - https://goo.gl/forms/BGnnpwplWLUAyxkS2

INSTRUCTIONS

TITLE OF INFORMATION COLLECTION: Provide the name of the collection that is the subject of the request. (e.g., Comment card for soliciting feedback on xxxx)

PURPOSE: Provide a brief description of the purpose of this collection and how it will be used. If this is part of a larger study or effort, please include this in your explanation.

DESCRIPTION OF RESPONDENTS: Provide a brief description of the targeted group or groups for this collection of information. These groups must have experience with the program.

TYPE OF COLLECTION: Check one box. If you are requesting approval of other instruments under the generic, you must complete a form for each instrument.

CERTIFICATION: Please read the certification carefully. If you incorrectly certify, the collection will be returned as improperly submitted or it will be disapproved.

Personally Identifiable Information: Provide answers to the questions.

Gifts or Payments: If you answer yes to the question, please describe the incentive and provide a justification for the amount.

BURDEN HOURS:

Category of Respondents: Identify who you expect the respondents to be in terms of the following categories: (1) Individuals or Households; (2) Private Sector; (3) State, local, or tribal governments; or (4) Federal Government. Only one type of respondent can be selected.

No. of Respondents: Provide an estimate of the Number of respondents.

Participation Time: Provide an estimate of the amount of time required for a respondent to participate (e.g., fill out a survey or participate in a focus group)

Burden: Provide the Annual burden hours: Multiply the Number of responses and the participation time in minutes and divide by 60.

FEDERAL COST: Provide an estimate of the annual cost to the Federal government.

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. Please provide a description of how you plan to identify your potential group of respondents and how you will select them. If the answer is yes, to the first question, you may provide the sampling plan in an attachment.

Administration of the Instrument: Identify how the information will be collected. More than one box may be checked. Indicate whether there will be interviewers (e.g., for surveys) or facilitators (e.g., for focus groups) used.

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

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