U.S. Department of Commerce
International Trade Administration
Surveys for User Satisfaction, Impact, and Needs
OMB Control No. 0625-0275
SUPPORTING STATEMENT PART A - (Questions and Guidance for Responses)
The International Trade Administration provides a multitude of international trade related programs to help U.S. businesses. These programs include information products, services, and trade events. To accomplish its mission effectively, ITA needs ongoing feedback on its programs. This information collection item allows ITA to solicit clients’ opinions about the use of ITA products, services, and trade events. To promote optimal use and provide focused and effective improvements to ITA programs, we are requesting approval for this clearance package; including: use of Comment Cards (i.e. transactional-based surveys) to collect feedback immediately after ITA assistance is provided to clients; use of annual surveys (i.e. relationship-based surveys) to gauge overall satisfaction, impact and needs for clients with ITA assistance provided over a period time; use of multiple data collection methods (i.e. web-enabled surveys sent via email, telephone interviews, automated telephone surveys, and in-person surveys via mobile devices/laptops/tablets at trade events/shows) to enable clients to conveniently respond to requests for feedback; and a forecast of burden hours.
Explain the circumstances that make the collection of information necessary. Identify any legal or administrative requirements that necessitate the collection. Attach a copy of the appropriate section of each statute and regulation mandating or authorizing the collection of information.
The International Trade Administration’s (ITA) U.S. Commercial Service (CS) is mandated by Congress to broaden and deepen the U.S. exporter base. The CS accomplishes this by providing counseling, programs and services to help U.S. organizations export and conduct business in overseas markets. These programs include information products, services, and trade events. To accomplish its mission effectively, ITA needs ongoing feedback on its programs.
This information collection instrument allows ITA to solicit clients’ opinions about the use of ITA products, services, and trade events. To promote optimal use and provide focused and effective improvements to ITA programs, we are requesting approval for this clearance package; including: use of Comment Cards (i.e. transactional-based surveys) to collect feedback immediately after ITA assistance is provided to clients; use of annual surveys (i.e. relationship-based surveys) to gauge overall satisfaction, impact and needs for clients with ITA assistance provided over a period time. Without this information, ITA is unable to systematically determine the actual and relative levels of performance for its programs and products/services and to provide clear, actionable insights for managerial intervention. This information will be used for program evaluation and improvement, strategic planning, allocation of resources and stakeholder reporting.
More importantly, the update entails a revised list of questions that will be asked and each set of questions of will be tailored to a specific program type and will vary slightly with each program. ITA staff use this information to gain an understanding of client’s needs and objectives so that they can provide appropriate and effective export assistance tailored to an exporter’s particular requirements.
As a result, ITA requests approval to renew this information collection and the set of questions used to generate the customized forms have been approved under the aforementioned information collections.
Describe whether, and to what extent, the collection of information involves the use of automated, electronic, mechanical, or other technological collection techniques or other forms of information technology, e.g. permitting electronic submission of responses, and the basis for the decision for adopting this means of collection. Also, describe any consideration of using information technology to reduce burden.
ITA will use multiple data collection methods such as web-enabled surveys sent via email, telephone interviews, and in-person surveys via mobile devices/laptops/tablets at trade events/shows to enable clients to conveniently respond to requests for feedback; and a forecast of burden hours.
Describe efforts to identify duplication. Show specifically why any similar information already available cannot be used or modified for use for the purposes described in Question 2
There is no duplication of information within the DOC or another government entity. The information collected represents unique client feedback that is required by the CS to efficiently and effectively assess the service provided to U.S. exporters.
ITA maintains a Comment Card system and uses Qualtrics for its survey needs. Client information is stored in Comment Card and Qualtrics database and ITA staff can check to see whether they were sent a survey thereby eliminating duplication of resending the same survey.
This information collection involves small businesses. ITA only asks questions that are pertinent to assessing the service provided and minimal information will be collected to provide the best client feedback. Moreover, the majority of these forms have been in use by ITA for several years and during this time we have not received any negative feedback from either clients or client-facing staff regarding the use of these surveys.
If the collection is not conducted or is conducted less frequently, the quality of service that ITA provides to private sector clients may drastically decrease and we may be hindered in meeting our customer’s specific needs and requirements. Also, if approval is not granted for use of these documents, the CS’s ability to conduct its congressional mandate of broadening and deepening the export base may not be met.
Respondents will not receive payments or gifts.
All responses to this collection of information will be provided confidentiality to the extent allowed by law. This assurance will be printed at the bottom of each form.
Questions about the client’s ethnicity, disability, and sex will be asked and obtained in this information collection. As a result of President Biden’s Executive Order (EO) On Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Through the Federal Government, ITA is looking to capture information pertaining to the “underserved community.”
Per the EO, “’underserved communities’ refers to populations sharing a particular characteristic, as well as geographic communities, that have been systematically denied a full opportunity to participate in aspects of economic, social, and civic life.”; including:
minority-owned businesses ;
“persons who live in rural areas” or rural U.S. businesses;
“persons otherwise adversely affected by persistent poverty or inequality” (such women-owned businesses); and
members of religious minorities; lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ+) persons; and persons with disabilities.
Therefore, in order to better understand and serve the “underserved community,” ITA will need to capture this information from its clients.
ITA will also ensure that it will adhere to the guidance found in OMB’s Standards for the Classification of Federal Data on Race and Ethnicity.
ITA estimates that there will be 50,000 respondents. The average time to complete a survey is 30 minutes so the total annual burden hours will be 25,000.
Estimated Respondent Burden Hours
Information Collection Instrument (i.e., Type of Response) |
Type of Respondent / Occupational Title |
Number of Respondents (a) |
Number of Responses Per Respondent (b) |
Total Number of Responses (c) = (a) x (b) |
Burden Hours Per Response (d) |
Total Burden Hours (e) = (c) x (d) |
Combined Customer Survey Questions |
Business or other for-profit organizations; Not-for-profit institutions; State, Local, or Tribal government; and Federal government. |
50,000 |
1 |
50,000 |
.5 |
25,000 |
Total |
|
|
|
|
|
25,000 |
Based on the following customer makeup of CS’s client population shown below, and median salary data taken from glassdoor.com, CS estimates that the total annual to our respondents will be $754,651 (estimated total burden time is 25,000 hours).
Respondent Occupation |
% of Client Pop. |
Median Salary |
Hourly Rate |
Weighted Avg. Rate |
Executive |
27% |
$102,690.00 |
$49.37 |
$13.55 |
International Business Development |
25% |
$52,649.00 |
$25.31 |
$6.43 |
Sales |
20% |
$24,809.00 |
$11.93 |
$2.39 |
Customer Service |
9% |
$31,493.00 |
$15.14 |
$1.33 |
Government Relations |
7% |
$79,168.00 |
$38.06 |
$2.60 |
Export Logistics |
6% |
$50,612.00 |
$24.33 |
$1.43 |
Policy Director |
3% |
$78,029.00 |
$37.51 |
$1.16 |
External Consultant/Legal Representative |
1% |
$78,120.00 |
$37.56 |
$0.52 |
In-house Legal Counsel |
1% |
$143,307.00 |
$68.90 |
$0.78 |
Other |
8% |
$59,039.00 |
$28.38 |
$2.21 |
Weighted Avg. Hourly Rate |
|
|
|
$30.19 |
|
|
|
x 25,000 hours |
$754,651.33 |
Agencies may also aggregate cost estimates from Question 12, 13, and 14 in a single table.
It will take ITA staff approximately 5 minutes to review each response and the total burden hours to review 50,000 responses will total 4,166 hours.
4,166 hours x $25/hour staff time = $104,166.67
Explain the reasons for any program changes or adjustments reported in ROCIS.
There are no changes to the information collection since the last OMB approval
For collections of information whose results will be published, outline plans for tabulation and publication. Address any complex analytical techniques that will be used. Provide the time schedule for the entire project, including beginning and ending dates of the collection of information, completion of report, publication dates, and other actions.
Not applicable.
Not applicable.
The agency certifies compliance with 5 CFR 1320.9 and the related provisions of 5 CFR 1320.8(b)(3).
SUPPORTING STATEMENT PART B - (Questions and guidance for Responses)
Agencies are instructed to complete Supporting Statement Part B if they are using statistical methods, such as sampling, imputation, or other statistical estimation techniques; most research collections or program evaluations should also complete Part B. If an agency is planning to conduct a sample survey as part of its information collection, Part B of the ICR supporting statement must be completed, and an agency should also complete relevant portions of Part B when conducting a census survey (collections that are sent to the entire universe or population under study). For example, an agency doing a census of a small, well- defined population may not need to describe sampling procedures requested in Part B, but it should address what pretesting has taken place, what its data collection procedures are, how it will maximize response rates, and how it will deal with missing unit and item data.
Agencies conducting qualitative research studies or program evaluations, including case studies or focus groups, should also complete the relevant sections of Part B to provide a more complete description of the use of the information and the methods for collecting the information.
Collections of Information Employing Statistical Methods
The agency should be prepared to justify its decision not to use statistical methods in any case where such methods might reduce burden or improve accuracy of results. When Question 17 in ROCIS is checked "Yes", responses to the following questions should be included in the Supporting Statement to the extent that it applies to the methods proposed. If there are no statistical methods involved, a response stating this should be provided.
All clients who have received assistance from ITA will have the opportunity to fill out a transactional survey (i.e. comment card). The transactional comment card survey is not mandatory or predicated on receiving ITA assistance. The estimated number of clients that will have the opportunity to fill out a transaction comment card survey will be 30,000. Moreover, the estimated potential respondent universe will be around 6,300 based on a historic average response rate of 21 percent. Please see the table below for respondent universe and historic response rates.
Fiscal Year |
Surveys Sent |
Responses |
Percentage |
2020 |
57,541 |
5,519 |
10% |
2019 |
15,349 |
2,399 |
16% |
2018 |
17,026 |
2,919 |
17% |
2017 |
12,277 |
2,760 |
22% |
2016 |
10,826 |
2,218 |
20% |
2015 |
10,655 |
2,512 |
24% |
2014 |
6,030 |
1,462 |
24% |
2013 |
5,062 |
1,528 |
30% |
2012 |
6,904 |
1,427 |
21% |
2011 |
9,107 |
2,108 |
23% |
2010 |
20,187 |
4,758 |
24% |
2009 |
19,190 |
4,486 |
23% |
2008 |
10,878 |
2,551 |
23% |
In addition, clients will be randomly selected to receive an annual survey. The sampling methodology will be explained in further detail in question 2 below. The annual survey is also voluntary and sent to an average of 17,583 clients. The average response rate is 14 percent, based on previous years’ annual survey results. Please see the table below for respondent universe and historic response rates.
Fiscal Year |
Surveys Sent |
Responses |
Percentage |
2020 |
26,619 |
2,459 |
9% |
2019 |
27,787 |
2,279 |
8% |
2018 |
16,110 |
1,119 |
7% |
2017 |
12,338 |
1,646 |
13% |
2016 |
15,029 |
4,057 |
27% |
2015 |
7,616 |
1,263 |
17%% |
Individuals who will be or have been consulting on the statistical aspects of the design of the advocacy user satisfaction survey, as well as those individuals who will actually collect and/or analyze the information, are:
Joe Carter, International Trade Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce: (303) 844-5656
John Seo, International Trade Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce: (202) 809-5977
LEGAL AUTHORITY: PUBLIC LAW 15 U.S.C. et seq and 15 U.S.C. 171 et seq
Table 1
(NOTE: All data are for illustrative purposes only)
|
Industry 1 |
Industry 2 |
Industry 3 |
Industry 4 |
|
||||
Proportion of All Clients (A) |
50% |
25% |
15% |
10% |
|
||||
Business Size |
% Large |
% Small |
% Large |
% Small |
% Large |
% Small |
% Large |
% Small |
|
Proportion within the Industry (B) |
90 |
10 |
80 |
20 |
13 |
87 |
8 |
92 |
|
Proportion for Stratified, Random Sample (C) |
45.00% |
5.00% |
20.00% |
5.00% |
1.95% |
13.05% |
0.80% |
9.20% |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Proportion of Respondents Reporting Increased Revenues (D) |
35.00% |
30.00% |
40.00% |
52.00% |
32.00% |
18.00% |
22.00% |
17.00% |
|
Total Amt of Increased Revenues Reported (E) |
$110,000,000 |
$20,000,000 |
$15,000,000 |
$8,000,000 |
$75,000,000 |
$25,000,000 |
$8,817,000 |
$27,000,451 |
$288,817,451 |
Total Respondents Reporting Revenue Increases (F) |
20 |
30 |
19 |
31 |
18 |
32 |
17 |
37 |
204 |
Average Amt of Increased Revenues for this Segment (G) |
$5,500,000 |
$666,667 |
$789,474 |
$258,065 |
$4,166,667 |
$781,250 |
$518,647 |
$729,742 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Total Number of Clients for this Segment or "Cell" (H) |
4500 |
500 |
2000 |
500 |
195 |
1305 |
80 |
920 |
(S) 10,000 |
Total Number to Apply Avg to (J) |
1575 |
150 |
800 |
260 |
62 |
235 |
18 |
156 |
|
Total Estimated Revenue Increased for Segment (K) |
$8,662,500,000 |
$100,000,000 |
$631,578,947 |
$67,096,774 |
$260,000,000 |
$183,515,625 |
$9,128,188 |
$114,131,636 |
$10,027,951,171 |
Calculations in support of Table 1
Total number of clients in sampling frame x proportion industry is of total sampling frame x proportion business size is of the industry = number of clients in that segment (S x A x B = H)
Total amount of Increased Revenue (or number of Jobs Created or number of Jobs Safeguarded) reported / number or respondents reporting Increased Revenue (or Jobs Created or Jobs Safeguarded) = average Increased Revenue (or Jobs Created or Jobs Safeguarded) among those reporting Increased Revenue (or Jobs Created reported or Jobs Safeguarded reported)(E/F=G)
Total number of clients for the segment x proportion of reporting Increased Revenues (or Jobs Created or Jobs Safeguarded) = total number to apply the average amount of Increased Revenue (or Jobs Created or Jobs Safeguarded) to (H x D = J)
Average amount of Increased Revenues for this segment (or Jobs Created or Jobs Safeguarded) x total number to apply the average to = total estimated Increased Revenue (or Jobs Created or Jobs Safeguarded) (G x J = K)
Once the total estimated Increased Revenues (or Jobs Created or Jobs Safeguarded) are determined for each segment (or cell), sum those to have Total Estimated Revenue Increased (or Jobs Created or Jobs Safeguarded)
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File Type | application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.wordprocessingml.document |
File Title | DOC PRA TOOLS 2020 |
Subject | 2020 |
Author | Dumas, Sheleen (Federal) |
File Modified | 0000-00-00 |
File Created | 2021-10-04 |