NIFA Generic Clearance Template

Request for Approval under the “Generic Clearance for Improving Customer Experience: OMB Circular A-11, Section 280 Implementation”

(OMB Control Number: 0503-0024)

TITLE OF INFORMATION COLLECTION: Web-based Customer Experience Survey on USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) Webpages

PURPOSE OF COLLECTION:

The goal is to collect feedback through an online web survey on an ongoing basis to gain qualitative insights from customers on how to enhance USDA-NIFA’s online presence and service to our Nation. USDA-NIFA will gather information regarding the website interaction, satisfaction with services provided and information available to USDA customers, and customer demographics.

USDA-NIFA’s overall objective is to invest in and support initiatives that support the long-term viability of agriculture. The USDA-NIFA website (https://www.nifa.usda.gov/) provides information on programs and grants for its external customers and resources such as reporting tools and official documents for the public.

Survey insights will be used to inform short-term site improvements, long-term strategic priorities, and build a data driven culture of feedback within USDA to improve customer experience performance.

A PDF representation of the survey is included in this submission.

TYPE OF ACTIVITY: (Check one)

[ ] Customer Research (Interview, Focus Groups)

[ X ] Customer Feedback Survey

[ ] User Testing

ACTIVITY DETAILS

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. Who will you collect the information from?

The survey will be offered to members of the public through the USDA-NIFA website, https://www.nifa.usda.gov/. The majority of USDA customers are private individuals, businesses, and USDA employees from across the nation that are looking for information regarding USDA programs and services.

3. How will you ask a respondent to provide this information?

Participants will self-select by clicking on a call-to-action feedback button on USDA-NIFA webpages. A survey window will display, which can be completed and submitted from within that window.

4. What will the activity look like?

Participants will have the opportunity to respond to 8 A-11 CX driver questions, 1 optional open-text question, and 1 optional demographic question for a total of 10 questions. We anticipate that the survey will take approximately 3 minutes to complete.

5. Please provide your question list.

A PDF representation of the survey is included in this submission.

6. When will the activity happen?

This survey will remain on our website in alignment with the timing of the overall clearance.

7. Is an incentive (e.g., money or reimbursement of expenses, token of appreciation) provided to participants?

[ ] Yes [ X ] No

If Yes, describe:

BURDEN HOURS

Category of Respondent	No. of Respondents	Participation Time	Burden Hours
Individuals – Public, Business, and Anyone visiting the USDA-NIFA website	1500	3 minutes	75
Totals	1500	3 minutes	75

CERTIFICATION:

I certify the following to be true:

1. The collections are voluntary;

2. The collections are low-burden for respondents (based on considerations of total burden hours or burden-hours per respondent) and are low-cost for both the respondents and the Federal Government;

3. The collections are non-controversial and do not raise issues of concern to other Federal agencies;

4. Any 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 near future;

5. Personally identifiable information (PII) is collected only to the extent necessary and is not retained;

6. Information gathered is intended to be used for general service improvement and program management purposes

7. Upon agreement between OMB and the agency aggregated data may be released as part of A-11, Section 280 requirements only on performance.gov. Summaries of customer research and user testing activities may be included in public-facing customer journey maps.

8. Additional release of data will be coordinated with OMB.

Name: Simchah Suveyke-Bogin, Chief Customer Experience Officer, Secretary’s Office of Customer Experience (OCX), 202-913-3020, Simchah.SuveykeBogin@USDA.gov

All instruments used to collect information must include:

OMB Control No. 0503-0024

Expiration Date: 04/30/2023

HELP SHEET

(OMB Control Number: 0503-0024)

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.

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: 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.

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.

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