Generic Fast-Track Survey; MERIT Survey

Request for Approval under the “Generic Clearance for the Collection of
Routine Customer Feedback” (OMB Control Number: 3133-0188)

TITLE OF INFORMATION COLLECTION: Modern Examination and Risk Identification
Tool (MERIT) Survey
PURPOSE: Obtain feedback and suggestions for system enhancements and training before
MERIT and its related applications are available to all credit unions starting in 2021.
MERIT is NCUA’s modernized examination tool replacing it current legacy system. NCUA is
piloting MERIT with a limited number of NCUA staff, state supervisory authorities, and credit
unions. NCUA plans to use Survey Monkey to obtain credit union suggestions and feedback at
the conclusion of an examination or supervision contact throughout the pilot. The survey will be
sent to the participating credit union at the conclusion of an exam or contact completed in
MERIT.
DESCRIPTION OF RESPONDENTS: Approximately 31 federally-insured corporate and
natural person credit unions of varying asset sizes from the NCUA ONES, Eastern, Southern,
and Western regions. All credit union participation is voluntary and feedback will be obtained at
the conclusion of an examination or supervision contact.
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: System Feedback Survey

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.
Sign: _______________________________________
Program Contact: Amber Gravius, OBI

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Date: ____8/20/2020_____

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

Participation
Time
0.50 hours

Burden

Federally-insured credit unions

No. of
Respondents
31

Totals

31

0.50 hours

15.5 hrs.

15.5 hrs.

FEDERAL COST: The estimated annual cost to the Federal government is __$1,000__
Cost is related to time to train credit unions on the applications and analyze survey results.
There is no additional cost to the government as we already have NCUA, SSA, and credit
union staff using MERIT and are supporting all users.
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: 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 Office of Business Innovation (OBI) contacted the Agency’s Eastern, Southern, and
Western regional offices and requested the names of 4 -5 credit unions per region with an
exam or supervision contact between October 2020 and March 2021 with the following
recommended characteristics:
Assets* (one per
range, if possible)
CAMEL Rating

< $10M and/or $10M - $50M
$100M - $250M
$250M - $500M or $500M - $1B
> $1B
1, 2, or 3

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The regions provided possible credit union participants to pilot the MERIT application.
Additionally, OBI may survey the ONES credit unions. The ONES natural person credit
unions have had access to MERIT since September 2019 and corporate credit unions have
been added in July 2020. ONES is actively using MERIT for these examinations and
supervision contacts.
Administration of the Instrument
1. How will you collect the information? (Check all that apply)
[X] Web-based or other
[ ] In-person
forms of Social Media
[ ] Mail
[ ] Telephone
[ ] Other, Explain
2. Will interviewers or facilitators be used?

[ ] Yes

[X] No

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

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Instructions for completing Request for Approval under the “Generic Clearance for
the Collection of Routine Customer Feedback”
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. Note: Agencies should only
collect PII to the extent necessary, and they should only retain PII for the period of time that is necessary
to achieve a specific objective.
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 per row.
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 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.
Submit all instruments, instructions, and scripts are submitted with the request.
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