EIA-819 and EIA-22M Focus Group Invitation

Dear [Respondent]

I’d like to invite you to participate in a research project sponsored by the Survey Development Team at the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). We are considering modifying Form EIA-819 to collect information from ethanol producers, and begin collecting production data from organizations that produce biodiesel fuels on Form EIA-22M. EIA is proposing to combine these two forms as a means of streamlining reporting. Ethanol plants and biodiesel plants are different entities, however EIA understands that many companies operate both types of plants. EIA wants to determine a consistent reporting method that is compatible with records kept in both these market segments. By combining these forms, EIA believes it will reduce respondent burden by decreasing the number of forms filed by company. To do this, EIA would like your feedback to assess the reporting of your production data on the new form, and to measure the impact associated with reporting. We are interested in talking with the person who completes either of these two survey forms. If you no longer fill out these forms, please forward this invitation to the appropriate person in your organization that handles this responsibility.

As part of this research effort we are conducting two online focus groups sessions on [INSERT DATE] at [Time with Time Zone] and [INSERT DATE] at [Time with Time Zone]. During the online focus group session, you will be able to view the components of the survey form and provide feedback on your understanding of terms, questions, and identify any issues with navigation or reporting information. The online focus group platform allows participants to participate in the focus groups from their own office via a computer with an internet connection.

If you would like to participate in one of these online focus groups, please follow click on the link below to register:

[This will be a link to a survey or form to register for one of the two scheduled sessions]

These focus groups will be limited to the first 10 participants from each survey. The online focus group session will take approximately 2 hour. Participation in these focus groups is voluntary and all responses are confidential. You have been selected because your input is valuable and we think you’ll enjoy participating.

Please reach out via email or telephone and contact me at [telephone] [email] if you have any questions.

Sincerely yours,