SUPPORTING STATEMENT - PART A
Defense Organizational Climate Pulse (DOCP)—Version 1.0; OMB Control Number 0704-DOCP
1. Need for the Information Collection
The Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness issued a DoD Instruction (DoDI) 6400.11 (DoD Instruction 6400.11, "DoD Integrated Primary Prevention Policy for Prevention Workforce and Leaders," December 20, 2022 (whs.mil)) that established the Defense Organizational Climate Pulse (DOCP) as a new survey tool intended to provide insight into targeted topics that are relevant to groups within the DoD. The establishment of the DOCP aligns with the recommendation 3.7a made by the Secretary of Defense’s Independent Review Commission (IRC) on Sexual Assault in the Military (IRC-FULL-REPORT-FINAL-1923-7-1-21.PDF (defense.gov)), but as defined in the DoD 6400.11, the DOCP will be a permanent, continuous survey collection. The DOCP is a brief survey tool with flexible content that may be used as part of the command climate assessment process to provide timely feedback to unit commanders and organizational leaders. Unit commanders and organizational leaders can choose to field a DOCP once annually to get targeted information on specific areas of interest identified in the initial command climate assessment for their unit or organization; however, the DOCP may not be administered more than once a year [DoDI 6400.11, 5.d.3]. Unit commanders and organizational leaders will use the DOCP to inform or update their action plans (i.e., Comprehensive Integrated Primary Prevention plans).
2. Use of the Information
The target population for the DOCP is the entire DoD community. The DOCP will be administered at the unit level upon request by unit commanders or organizational leaders. The target population for a DOCP is Active Duty and Reserve component members in the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, and Space Force, DoD Civilians (including foreign national employees), and Military Service Academy (MSA) and MSA Preparatory School members (hereafter, MSA Prep School). Additionally, Active Duty, Reserve, and the Academy for the United States Coast Guard component are included in the target population. Each DOCP fielded acts as a census of a particular unit, organization, or Service Academy population and 100% of members in each unit, organization, MSA and MSA Prep School are contacted to participate in the survey. We anticipate a response rate of 40%.
The DOCP does not employ traditional sampling techniques to identify a subset of a population to be included in the survey sample. Instead, the DOCP is a unit-/organization-level survey that, for each unit or organization, is fielded as a census. The unit/organization survey administrator registers a DOCP by uploading a full roster of its unit/organization members. Because all DoD unit commanders and organization leaders have the opportunity to administer a DOCP annually, all DoD members are considered as part of the annual population frame with the exception of DoD contractors and units or organizations with less than 16 members. There is not a standardized method for defining at which level in the hierarchy units are required to take the DOCP, how to define a unit, or how to define unit membership.
In 2023, we estimate that 158,910 participants will complete a DOCP survey. Additionally, we anticipate a response rate of around 40%.
The DOCP is an approximately 7-minute, web-based questionnaire administered confidentially, and provides members of the DoD with a chance to be heard on issues directly affecting them. To reduce respondent burden, web-based surveys use “smart skip” technology to ensure respondents only answer questions that are applicable to them. The DOCP fields continuously, and each unit/organization may collect one DOCP annually. The DOCP is designed to provide respondents an opportunity to give confidential feedback to their leadership on their local organizational climate.
Each unit’s or organization’s survey administrator enrolls its members for the DOCP. Participants are primarily contacted via e-mail communications but commanders/leaders, survey administrators, and other DoD leaders also encourage the participation of their unit or organization members. To maximize response rates, Office of People Analytics (OPA) offers the survey via the web and uses reminder emails to encourage participation throughout the survey’s fielding window. E-mail reminders will be sent to unit members until they respond or indicate that they no longer wish to be contacted. The outreach communications include text highlighting the importance of the surveys. As DOCP are administered at the unit level, commanders conducting a DOCP are also able to monitor response rates and promote the DOCP in meetings, e-mails, and unit common areas.
The information gathered from the DOCP will be used the same way across each of the DOCPs by commanders, equal opportunity advisors/command climate specialists (EOAs/CCSs), survey administrators, Integrated Primary Prevention Workforce (IPPW), and other leaders to assess organizational climate topics relevant to the unit or organization. The DOCP is limited to a specific pool of controlled, curated survey items. The DOCP will be customizable in order to reduce the respondent burden by only including questions from the pool of curated survey items that relate to the specific topics that are relevant within the respondent’s unit/organization. The DOCP is designed to provide information related to DoD’s six strategic target outcomes (STOs): sexual assault, sexual harassment, racial/ethnic discrimination, suicide, readiness, and retention. The STOs are not specifically measured on the DOCP.
A DOCP is created by a survey administrator, based on the direction of the unit commander or organizational leader. The DOCP contains both fixed questions (FQ) and custom questions (CQ). FQs contain 12 demographic questions needed to report demographic breakouts and a single open-ended FQ. Skip logic is used to direct respondents to the relevant demographic questions (e.g., paygrade for military respondents and class year for MSA students). In contrast, all respondents are asked to answer the open-ended FQ and the CQs. CQs include closed-ended questions (e.g., a yes/no question) and open-ended questions. During the registration process, survey administrators also “build” their DOCP by selecting the CQs from the DOCP curated item pool.
The DOCP curated survey item pool includes questions recommended by subject matter experts in the DoD policy offices and the Services. All recommended questions were reviewed by OPA survey design specialists to assess their relevance and quality before inclusion on the DOCP. In “building” their DOCP, survey administrators may select no more than one open-ended item from the DOCP curated item pool. In addition, survey administrators must select between 1 and 15 closed-ended questions. The maximum number of CQs on a DOCP is 16 (up to 15 closed-ended questions and one open-ended question). For more details on the structure and CQ items available for selection, see the DOCP 1.0 (2023) Survey Instrument document provided.
DOCP data are used by commanders, leaders, and survey administrators to illuminate localized risk and protection, and are used the same way across each of the DOCPs. Additionally, these data operate as a tool for IPPW personnel and DoD leadership to define and implement action plans needed to improve the climates in units and organizations to enable the DoD to accomplish its mission. The results from each DOCP administration are used by the requesting commander or leader and are not generalizable beyond the unit, organization, or MSA who completed the survey. For data quality and to protect participant privacy, each unit/organization must have a minimum of 16 eligible respondents to receive results.
3. Use of Information Technology
100% of information is collected via the web. Specifically, we use proprietary software developed by OPA’s operations contractor, Data Recognition Corporation (DRC), to administer the survey on the web. Digitally signed e-mails, electronic files, and web-based technology will be used for respondent communications and data collection. To reduce respondent burden, web-based surveys use “smart skip” technology to ensure respondents only answer questions that are applicable to them.
4. Non-duplication
The information obtained through this collection is unique and is not already available for use or adaptation from another cleared source. The information gathered on the DOCP captures information about a specific military unit, organization, MSA, or MSA Prep School and speaks to their unique needs. Other surveys of this population do not allow this level of granularity and instead report on the Services as a whole.
5. Burden on Small Businesses
This information collection does not impose a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small businesses or entities.
6. Less Frequent Collection
The purpose of the DOCP data collection is to reduce the frequency of unit level surveys by providing unit commanders a voluntary opportunity to use standardized survey measures to address their local data needs as part of their annual command climate assessment. This unique survey design reduces respondent burden by providing commanders and leaders an opportunity to conduct a targeted climate assessment follow-up, if needed. To reduce redundancy and respondent burden, the new guidance (DoDI 6400.11) established the DOCP as the only approved survey for measuring command climate outside of the annual DEOCS (DoDI 6400.11, 5.d.5), the DOCP could only be fielded once annually, and identified that the DOCP is not a required data collection.
7. Paperwork Reduction Act Guidelines
This collection of information does not require collection to be conducted in a manner inconsistent with the guidelines delineated in 5 CFR 1320.5(d)(2).
8. Consultation and Public Comments
Part A: PUBLIC NOTICE
A 60-Day Federal Register Notice (FRN) for the collection published on Tuesday, November 15, 2022. The 60-Day FRN citation is 87 FR 68473.
No comments were received during the 60-Day Comment Period.
A 30-Day Federal Register Notice for the collection published on Wednesday, July 26, 2023. The 30-Day FRN citation is 88 FR 84213.
Part B: CONSULTATION
DoD policy offices including the Office of Force Resiliency (OFR), Office for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (ODEI), the Office of Legal Policy (OLP), Office of the General Counsel (OGC), and the military departments were consulted in developing survey content for the DEOCS. OUSD(P&R) and the Office of Secretary of Defense for Legislative Affairs (OSD[LA]) were also consulted in determining the measures included on the DEOCS. In addition, subject matter experts across DoD policy offices were consulted in the development of the DEOCS survey measures.
9. Gifts or Payment
No payments or gifts are being offered to respondents as an incentive to participate in the collection.
10. Confidentiality
The survey website includes a Privacy Advisory/Additional Information webpage that all sample members view before taking the survey.
The System of Record Notice (SORN) for this collection is DHRA 03 (Survey Data and Assessment [July 28, 2021, 86 FR 40498]). The SORN is located at: https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2021/07/28/2021-16054/privacy-act-of-1974-system-of-records
The data collection is covered by a PIA (Survey Database, [December 18, 2020], DHRA/OPA). PIA is published at: https://www.dhra.mil/Portals/52/Documents/Privacy/PIA/OPA%20-%20Survey%20Database.pdf
OPA currently has an SF-115 request for disposition authority for all survey records, to include the reports, labeled DAA-0330-2021-0008. That has a temporary retention of 30 years for confidential data, permanent retention of 30 years for public use data, and permanent retention of 30 years for reports.
11. Sensitive Questions
The goal of this study is to improve the measurement of command climate and help commanders and leaders understand and address the climate within their unit, organization, MSA, or MSA Prep School. To do so, the curated pool of DOCP items includes measures related to sexually or racially/ethnic harassing behaviors, suicide and sexual assault response by leadership, and prevention training, which are sensitive in nature. Demographic information, including race/ethnicity, is solely collected for developing policies, programs, and procedures to ensure no respondents are overlooked. DOCP results are aggregated so no individual respondent is identifiable. Resources are identified for those respondents who may experience distress associated with any of these questions. We have provided resources below for participants who experience discomfort and/or other emotions while completing this survey.
If you are a victim of sexual assault or a person who wishes to prevent or respond to this crime, please contact a Sexual Assault Response Coordinator (SARC) or Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Victim Advocate (SAPR VA). You can do this by contacting the DoD Safe Helpline, which is an anonymous, secure, and available worldwide, 24/7 by click, call, or text.
Toll-Free: 877-995-5247
DSN: 877-995-5247
Other: 202-540-5962
Worldwide: https://www.safehelpline.org/ or www.sapr.mil/
If you are a victim of sexual harassment or a person who wishes to prevent or respond to it, please contact your Service’s local Equal Opportunity (EO) Office or your Service’s EO Hotline listed below.
Air Force: 888-231-4058
Army: 800-267-9964
Coast Guard: 888-992-7387
Marine Corps: 703-784-9371
Navy: 800-253-0931
If you experience distress while taking this survey or you would like to talk to someone about issues related to suicide, please refer to the resources listed below.
To reach professionals trained to provide mental health referrals and crisis intervention services, please call the toll-free, 24/7 hotline numbers, or visit the web sites below:
National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 988 or https://suicidepreventionlifeline.org/chat/
Military OneSource: 1-800-342-9647 or https://www.militaryonesource.mil/
Military Crisis Line/Veterans Crisis Line: 988, Press “1”
For Service-specific suicide prevention programs and resources, please visit the web sites below.
Air Force Suicide Prevention: https://www.resilience.af.mil/Home/
Army Suicide Prevention Program: ARD: SP2 (army.mil)
Marine Corps Community Services: Suicide Prevention: https://usmc-mccs.org/services/support/suicide-prevention/
Navy Suicide Prevention Branch (OPNAV N171): https://www.mynavyhr.navy.mil/Support-Services/21st-Century-Sailor/Suicide-Prevention/
If you feel that you or someone else is at imminent risk of dying by suicide, please call 911 immediately.
12. Respondent Burden and its Labor Costs
Part A: ESTIMATION OF RESPONDENT BURDEN
Collection Instrument(s)
Defense Organizational Climate Pulse (DOCP)
Number of Respondents: 158,910
Number of Responses Per Respondent: 1
Number of Total Annual Responses: 158,910
Response Time: 7 minutes
Respondent Burden Hours: 18,539.5 hours
Total Submission Burden (Summation or average based on collection)
Total Number of Respondents: 158,910
Total Number of Annual Responses: 1
Total Respondent Burden Hours: 18,539.5 hours
Part B: LABOR COST OF RESPONDENT BURDEN
Collection Instrument(s)
Defense Organizational Climate Pulse (DOCP)
Number of Total Annual Responses: 158,910
Response Time: 7 minutes
Respondent Hourly Wage: $45
Labor Burden per Response: $5.25
Total Labor Burden: $834,277.50
Overall Labor Burden
Total Number of Annual Responses: 158,910
Total Labor Burden: $834,277.50
The Respondent hourly wage was determined by using the Department of Defense Cost Guidance Portal (https://www.cape.osd.mil/).
13. Respondent Costs Other Than Burden Hour Costs
There are no annualized costs to respondents other than the labor burden costs addressed in Section 12 of this document to complete this collection.
14. Cost to the Federal Government
Part A: LABOR COST TO THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT
Collection Instrument(s)
Number of Total Annual Responses: 158,910
Processing Time per Response: .02 hours
Hourly Wage of Worker(s) Processing Responses: $88.91
Cost to Process Each Response: $1.78
Total Cost to Process Responses: $282,860
Overall Labor Burden to the Federal Government
Total Number of Annual Responses: 158,910
Total Labor Burden: $282,860
Part B: OPERATIONAL AND MAINTENANCE COSTS
Cost Categories
Equipment: $0
Printing: $0
Postage: $0
Software Purchases: $0
Licensing Costs: $0
Other: $0
Total Operational and Maintenance Cost: $0
Part C: TOTAL COST TO THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT
Total Labor Cost to the Federal Government: $282,860
Total Operational and Maintenance Costs: $0
Total Cost to the Federal Government: $282,860
15. Reasons for Change in Burden
This is a new collection with a new associated burden
16. Publication of Results
The results from each DOCP administration are used by the requesting commander or leader and are not generalizable beyond the unit, organization, MSA, or MSA Prep School who completed the survey. The survey results report is automatically generated within 72 hours once the survey is closed and is provided to the commander or leader and their survey administrator. Commanders and leaders are required to share the results with their unit, organization, or Service Academy (i.e., respondents). As required by FY14 NDAA, DOCP results are automatically shared with the commander or leader’s supervisor.
17. Non-Display of OMB Expiration Date
We are not seeking approval to omit the display of the expiration date of the OMB approval on the collection instrument.
18. Exceptions to “Certification for Paperwork Reduction Submissions”
We are not requesting any exemptions to the provisions stated in 5 CFR 1320.9.
| File Type | application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.wordprocessingml.document |
| Author | Kaitlin Chiarelli |
| File Modified | 0000-00-00 |
| File Created | 2023-07-29 |