FR3076_20210622_omb

Supporting Statement for the
Board Public Website Usability Surveys
(FR 3076; OMB No. 7100-0366)
Summary
The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (Board), under authority
delegated by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), has extended for three years,
without revision, the Board Public Website Usability Surveys (FR 3076; OMB No. 7100-0366).
The Board uses the ad hoc FR 3076 1 to seek input (1) from users or potential users of the
Board’s public website2 and social media tools, (2) about the Board’s outreach, and (3) about
other communication tools used by Board. The FR 3076 is offered to a diverse audience of
individuals including consumers, bankers, media, government employees, educators, and others.
Responses to the FR 3076 are used to help improve the usability and offerings on the Board’s
public website and other online public communications. The FR 3076 comprises two parts:
surveys and focus groups. The frequency of the surveys and content of the questions varies as
needs arise for feedback on different Board resources3 and from different audiences. The
FR 3076 surveys may be conducted up to 12 times per year. In addition, the Board plans to
conduct up to four focus group sessions per year.
The estimated total annual burden for the FR 3076 is 420 hours.
Background and Justification
The Board’s Office of Board Members communicates through the Board’s public website
with the Congress, other government agencies, the public, economic educators, economists,
financial institutions, financial literacy groups, and community development groups.
Communication of vast amounts of information can take the form of video, photos, and social
media. The Board strives to ensure that all online communications provide an up-to-date,
accurate, comprehensive, clear, easy to use, and easy to understand body of information to
support the Board’s missions, strategic objectives, and public outreach initiatives.
A 2012 Presidential Memorandum stated that “to enable data-driven decisions on service
performance, government agencies will be required to use analytics and customer satisfaction
Certain criteria apply to information collections conducted via the Board’s ad hoc clearance process. Such
information collections shall (1) be vetted by the Board’s clearance officer, as well as the Division director
responsible for the information collection, (2) display the OMB control number, (3) inform respondents that the
information collection has been approved, (4) be used only in such cases where response is voluntary, (5) not be
used to substantially inform regulatory actions or policy decisions, (6) be conducted only and exactly as described in
the OMB submission, (7) involve only noncontroversial subject matter that will not raise concerns for other Federal
agencies, (8) include information collection instruments that are each conducted only one time, (9) include a detailed
justification of the effective and efficient statistical survey methodology (if applicable), and (10) collect personally
identifiable information (PII) only to the extent necessary (if collecting sensitive PII, the form must display a current
Privacy Act notice). In addition, for each information collection instrument, respondent burden will be tracked and
submitted to OMB.
2
See https://www.federalreserve.gov/.
3
Different Board resources include web content or proposed web content, a new web application search function, a
major change in offerings of data formats or restructuring of content on the website.
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measurement tools on all .gov websites.”4
The U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) also issued a statement that “agencies
should ensure that they collect, analyze, and report on a minimum baseline set of performance
and customer satisfaction measures. It’s important to collect a variety of metrics—not just visits
or page views—to get a holistic picture of how well you’re delivering your digital services and
information.”5
In accordance the Presidential Memorandum and GSA recommendation, the Board
surveys website visitors about their web experience and needs to gain insight to help improve the
usability and offerings of the Board’s website. More specifically, the survey enables the Board to
conduct periodic reviews and evaluations of web materials and develop and evaluate web
materials under consideration for outreach.
This information is not available from other sources.
Description of Information Collection
The FR 3076 is used to gather qualitative and quantitative information directly from users
or potential users of the Board’s website such as the Congress, other government agencies, the
public, economic educators, economists, financial institutions, financial literacy groups, and
community development groups and more. Participation is voluntary.
The FR 3076 may seek information from users or potential users of various Board web
pages, including press releases, data releases and downloads, reports, supervision manuals,
brochures, new web pages, audio, video, and use of social media. Information gathered may also
include general input on users’ interests and needs, feedback on website navigation and layout,
distribution channels, or other factors which may affect the ability of users to locate and access
content online.
Qualitative collections conducted using the FR 3076 include data gathering methods such
as focus groups and individual interviews. Quantitative surveys conducted using the FR 3076
include surveys conducted online or via mobile device, telephone, mail, e-mails, or a
combination of these methods. The Board may contract with an outside vendor to conduct focus
groups, interviews, or surveys, or the Board may collect the data directly.
As the Board’s public website continues to evolve, the Board may seek input from users
or potential users of the Board’s public website on questions such as:
• Did you find the content and layout relevant and of value?
• How did you find the content you were looking for?
• Was the navigation useful?
• How did you learn about the content?
• How did you access the content? (e.g.: paper copy distributed at an event, online, or
4

See https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/sites/default/files/omb/egov/digital-government/digitalgovernment.html.
5
See https://digital.gov/2013/07/15/digital-metrics-for-federal-agencies/.

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mobile device). If online or through a mobile device, was the document printed, viewed
on a tablet, or on a computer screen?
What suggestions do you have for improving the format and appearance of online
presentation? (e.g.: readability - font size, charts, and graphs; organization of
information; and navigating - indexing, search tools, and links)
What other information would be of value to enhance the online tool or information?
Respondent Panel

The FR 3076 panel comprises individual users and potential users of the Board’s public
website.
Time Schedule for Information Collection
The time schedules for the collection and analysis of data and distribution of results for
each survey is determined during the planning phase prior to the start of the data collection.
Public Availability of Data
Before data collection begins, the voluntary respondents are given an explanation of the
purpose of the survey and how the data will be used. Such information may be provided on the
survey instrument or through communication from the Board or a contractor or partner working
with the Board. The data may be grouped with responses from other surveys. The Board does not
anticipate releasing or publishing the data but may share the data with Federal Reserve Banks,
contractors, or other outside parties that the Board may collaborate with in producing or
disseminating publications, or in evaluating online communication efforts.
Legal Status
The Board uses its website and social media to communicate important information to the
public about a variety of different issues. The Board is required to provide certain information on
its website. For example, under section 2B of the Federal Reserve Act the Board is required to
provide certain reports, audits, and other information that “the Board reasonably believes is
necessary or helpful to the public in understanding the accounting, financial reporting, and
internal controls of the Board and the Federal reserve banks” (12 U.S.C. § 225b(c)). In addition,
the Board uses its website to provide the public with information about a variety of other matters,
including information about the Board, its actions, and the economy. The responses to the
FR 3076 help the Board determine how to most effectively communicate this information to the
public in order to fulfill its statutory responsibilities. The FR 3076 is voluntary.
The information collected by the FR 3076 is not considered to be confidential.
Consultation Outside the Agency
There has been no consultation outside of the Federal Reserve System.

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Public Comments
On September 17, 2020, the Board published an initial notice in the Federal Register
(85 FR 58053) requesting public comment for 60 days on the extension, without revision, of the
FR 3076. The comment period for this notice expired on November 16, 2020. The Board did not
receive any comments. The Board adopted the extension, without revision of the FR 3076 as
originally proposed. On March 29, 2021, the Board published a final notice in the Federal
Register (86 FR 16363).
Estimate of Respondent Burden
As shown in the table below, the estimated total annual burden for the FR 3076 is 420
hours. It is anticipated that the information collection will involve as many as 12 surveys per
year. In addition, the Board anticipates conducting up to four focus group sessions per year. The
burden estimates are based on the average number of responses anticipated. These reporting
requirements represent less than 1 percent of the Board’s total paperwork burden.

FR 3076
Surveys
Focus groups

Estimated
Estimated
Estimated
Annual
number of
average hours annual burden
frequency
respondents6
per response
hours
100
12
0.25
300
20
4
1.50
120
Total
420

The estimated total annual cost to the public for the FR 3076 is $11,340.7
Sensitive Questions
Respondents may be asked to provide information on their age and gender; information
on race, if needed, would be collected under guidelines issued by the OMB. Such information
might be needed in a survey in order to assess the extent to which a sample of respondents
reflected views from different demographic groups in the population.
Estimate of Cost to the Federal Reserve System
The estimated cost to the Federal Reserve System for collecting and processing this
information collection is $28,200.

6

As this collection only affects individuals, there are no small entities as defined by the Small Bu siness
Administration.
7
The average consumer cost of $27 is estimated using data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), Occupational
Employment and Wages, May 2020, published March 31, 2021, https://www.bls.gov/news.release/ocwage.t01.htm.

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