2024 Supporting Statement Generic Clearance

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

FEDERAL TRANSIT ADMINISTRATION

SUPPORTING STATEMENT - PART A

Generic Clearance for the Collection of Qualitative Feedback on Agency Service Delivery

(OMB Control No. 2132-0572)

ABSTRACT

This request is for the Office of Management and Budget’s (OMB) approval to extend OMB control number 2132-0572, titled “Generic Clearance for the Collection of Qualitative Feedback on Agency Service Delivery,” which is set to expire on November 30, 2024. The request seeks an extension without any changes to the currently approved information collection. There are no changes to the number of responses, respondents, or burden hours from the previous approval in 2021. However, FTA has updated the federal and respondent labor rates to reflect the current rates as posted by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. This is a voluntary information collection that allows FTA to efficiently gather feedback from customers and stakeholders, in alignment with the agency's commitment to improving service delivery. The information collected will help ensure that users have a positive, effective, and efficient experience with FTA’s programs.

1. JUSTIFICATION

1. Circumstances Making the Collection of Information Necessary

The collection of information is necessary to align with Executive Order 12862, which directs federal agencies to deliver public service that meets or exceeds the best service available in the private sector. To continuously improve the effectiveness of our programs and better meet the needs of our customers, the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) seeks OMB’s approval to renew an existing information collection, without changes, aimed at gathering qualitative feedback on our service delivery. This feedback provides valuable insights into customer and stakeholder perceptions and opinions, though it does not involve statistical surveys with quantitative results that can be generalized to a broader population.

The information collection is vital to allow the FTA to gather timely, actionable feedback from customers and stakeholders, supporting our commitment to improving service delivery. The collected data will help ensure that users have an effective, efficient, and satisfying experience with the Agency’s programs. It will offer insights into customer perceptions, experiences, and expectations, identify emerging issues with service, and highlight areas where communication, training, or operational changes may improve service delivery. Additionally, the feedback will foster ongoing, collaborative dialogue between the FTA and its customers and stakeholders, contributing directly to the continuous improvement of program management.

2. How, by whom, and for what purpose the information is to be used

Improving agency programs requires ongoing assessment of service delivery, by which we mean systematic review of the operation of a program compared to a set of explicit or implicit standards, as a means of contributing to the continuous improvement of the program. The Agency will collect, analyze, and interpret information gathered through this generic clearance to identify strengths and weaknesses of current services and make improvements in service delivery based on feedback. The solicitation of feedback will target areas such as: timeliness, appropriateness, accuracy of information, courtesy, efficiency of service delivery, and resolution of issues with service delivery. Responses will be assessed to plan and inform efforts to improve or maintain the quality of service offered to the public. If this information is not collected, vital feedback from customers and stakeholders on the Agency’s services will be unavailable.

The Agency will only submit a collection for approval under this generic clearance if it meets the following conditions:

• Information gathered will be used only internally for general service improvement and program management purposes and is not intended for release outside of the agency (if released, procedures outlined in Question 16 will be followed);

• Information gathered will not be used for the purpose of substantially informing influential policy decisions ¹;

• Information gathered will yield qualitative information; the collections will not be designed or expected to yield statistically reliable results or used as though the results are generalizable to the population of study; 

• The collections are voluntary;

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

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

• 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; and

• With the exception of information needed to provide remuneration for participants of focus groups and cognitive laboratory studies, personally identifiable information (PII) is collected only to the extent necessary and is not retained.

To obtain approval for a collection that meets the conditions of this generic clearance, a standardized form will be submitted to OMB along with supporting documentation (e.g., a copy of the comment card). The submission will have automatic approval, unless OMB identifies issues within 5 business days.

The types of collections that this generic clearance covers include, but are not limited to:

• Customer comment cards/complaint forms

• Small discussion groups

• Focus Groups of customers, potential customers, delivery partners, or other stakeholders

• Cognitive laboratory studies, such as those used to refine questions or assess usability of a website;

• Qualitative customer satisfaction surveys (e.g., post-transaction surveys; opt-out web surveys)

• In-person observation testing (e.g., website or software usability tests)

The Agency has established a manager/managing entity to serve for this generic clearance and will conduct an independent review of each information collection to ensure compliance with the terms of this clearance prior to submitting each collection to OMB.

3. Describe whether collection of information involves information technology and any consideration of using information technology to reduce the burden.

The agency will collect information electronically and/or use online collaboration tools to reduce burden. There are currently two, surveys approved by OMB under the generic clearance information collection that utilize 100% information technology. The first is for stakeholders to submit a general inquiry of any nature through FTA’s public website at Home Page - CUTExternal via the “Contact Us” tool. This page was updated in 2024 to include easy to select categories and frequently asked questions to make the experience easier. Following FTA’s response to the stakeholder, a Customer Satisfaction Survey is automatically generated and sent to the stakeholder requesting feedback on their level of satisfaction with the service provided. This information collection includes a total of (3) information collections instruments: 1. Contact Us-FTA Website Customer Inquiry Tool, PTASP Resources and Implementation Customer Stakeholder Survey and SMS in Practice: Advancing Safety Risk Management and Safety Assurance Post-Workshop Survey. In total, FTA is currently approved for 10, 000 responses and 7,582 burden hours and 100% information technology will be used when those surveys are developed.

4. 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 Item 2.

No similar data are gathered or maintained by the Agency or are available from other sources known to the Agency.

5. If the collection of information impacts small businesses or other small entities, describe any methods used to minimize burden.

Small business or other small entities may be involved in these efforts but the Agency will minimize the burden on them of information collections approved under this clearance by sampling, asking for readily available information, and using short, easy-to-complete information collection instruments.

6. Describe consequences to federal program or policy activities if information were not collected or collected less frequently, as well as any technical or legal obstacles to reducing burden.

Without these types of feedback, the Agency will not have timely information to adjust its services to meet customer needs.

7. Explain any special circumstances that would cause an information collection to be conducted in a manner inconsistent with 5 CFR 1320.6.

There are no special circumstances. The information collected will be voluntary and will not be used for statistical purposes.

8. Describe efforts to consult with persons outside the agency to obtain their views

A 60-day Federal Register notice was published on September 25, 2024, in Vol. 89, No. 186 (pages 78429-78430), soliciting comments prior to submission to OMB. No comments were received. A 30-day Federal Register notice was published on November XX, 2024, in Vol. 89, No. XXX (page XXXX).

FTA is seeking additional outreach beyond federal notices through the customer satisfaction survey. The survey includes a general question inviting the public to provide comments or suggestions on any aspect, including the estimated burden hours. Contractors routinely provide metrics based on the data collected, which confirmed that the estimated burden hours for completing the survey were accurate. Additionally, the feedback revealed the need for improvements to the “Contact Us” section on the public website. In response, FTA added FAQs and categorized sections with icons to help users better navigate and identify the appropriate category for their questions, reducing the need to submit inquiries altogether.

9. Explain any decision to provide any payment or gift to respondents, other than remuneration of contractors or grantees.

The Agency will not provide payment or other forms of remuneration to respondents of its various forms of collecting feedback. Focus groups and cognitive laboratory studies are the exceptions.

In the case of in-person cognitive laboratory and usability studies, the Agency may provide stipends of up to $40. In the case of in-person focus groups, the Agency may provide stipends of up to $75. If respondents participate in these kinds of studies remotely, via phone, or Internet, any proposed stipend needs to be justified to OMB and must be considerably less than that provided to respondents in in-person studies, who have to travel to the agency or other facility to participate. If such information collections include hard-to-reach groups and the agency plans to offer non-standard stipends, the Agency will provide OMB with additional justifications in the request for clearance of these specific activities.

10. Describe any assurance of confidentiality provided respondents.

If a confidentiality pledge is deemed useful and feasible, the Agency will only include a pledge of confidentiality that is supported by authority established in statute or regulation, that is supported by disclosure and data security policies that are consistent with the pledge, and that does not unnecessarily impede sharing of data with other agencies for compatible confidential use. If the agency includes a pledge of confidentiality, it will include a citation for the statute or regulation supporting the pledge.

11. Additional justification for any questions of a sensitive nature.

No questions will be asked that are of a personal or sensitive nature.

12. Estimates of the hour burden of the collection of information and annualized cost to respondents.

Estimated Annual Number of Respondents: 10,000

Estimated Annual Number of Responses: 10,000

Estimated Annual Burden Hours: 7582 hours

Estimated Cost to Respondents: $17,219

The is an extension without change of a previously approved information request. In 2021, FTA received OMB approval for 10,000 responses and 7,582 burden hours. This calculation includes the Contact Us Tool Customer Satisfaction Survey, the PTASP Resources and Implementation Survey and SMS in Practice Advancing Safety Risk Management and Safety Assurance-Post Workshop Survey.

Estimated Annual Reporting Burden
Type of Collection	No. of Respondents	Annual Frequency per Response	Hours per Response	Total Hours
Customer Satisfaction Survey – “Contact Us Tool” – Office of Safety and Security	450	1	.8	36
Customer Satisfaction Survey – “Contact Us Tool” – Office of Planning and Environment	150	1	.25	37.5
Customer Satisfaction Survey – “Contact Us Tool” – Office of Program Management	100	1	.083	8.3
S Customer Satisfaction Survey – “Contact Us Tool” – Customer Website Satisfaction	2,00 22,2,000000	1 1	.25	500500
FTA Stakeholder Survey PTASP Resources and Implementation	1200	1	.25	300
SMS in Practice: Advancing Safety Risk Management and Safety Assurance Post-Workshop Survey	40	1	3.75	150
TOTAL CURRENTLY	3,940	-	-	1,031.8
AVAILABLE FOR FUTURE SURVEYSs	6,060			6,550

Since the pool of respondents is extremely wide for this collection, FTA used the updated 2023 National median hourly wage estimate of $23.11 (Occupation Code 00-0000) plus FTA’s estimate of 28% for fringe benefits which brings the media hourly wage to $29.58. The median hourly wage is determined according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor and Statistics May 2023 National Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

$29.58 x 0.08 = $2.36 x 450 respondents = $1,064

$29.58 x .25mins = $7.40 x 150 respondents = $1,110

$29.58 x .083mins = $2.45 x 100 respondents = $245

$29.58 x .25mins = $7.40 x 2000 respondents = $14,800

$17,219 = Total Cost to Respondents

13. Estimate of total annual cost burden to respondents or record keepers resulting from the collection of information (not including the cost of any hour burden shown in items 12 and 14).

No costs are anticipated.

14. Estimate of annualized cost to the federal government

The anticipated cost to the Federal Government is approximately $6,400 annually. These costs are comprised of estimated contractor costs that are necessary to collect the information under this generic clearance.

15. Explain the reasons for any program changes or adjustments reported in Items 13 or 14 of OMB Form 83-1.

The current approved number of annual respondents is 10,000 along with 7,582 hours of burden. There is no change in the number of respondents, responses and burden hours since this IC was approved in 2021. However, the cost to the respondents increased due to updated 2023 Bureau of Labor Statistics hourly median wage figure May 2023 National Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates.

16. Plans for tabulation and publication for collections of information whose results will be published.

Feedback collected under this generic clearance provides useful information, but it does not yield data that can be generalized to the overall population. Findings will be used for general service improvement, but are not for publication or other public release.

Although the Agency does not intend to publish its findings, the Agency may receive requests to release the information (e.g., congressional inquiry, Freedom of Information Act requests). The Agency will disseminate the findings when appropriate, strictly following the Agency's "Guidelines for Ensuring the Quality of Information Disseminated to the Public", and will include specific discussion of the limitation of the qualitative results discussed above.

17. If seeking approval not to display the expiration date for OMB approval, explain the reasons.

We are requesting no exemption.

18. Explain any exceptions to the certification statement identified in Item 19 of OMB Form

83-I.

These activities comply with the requirements in 5 CFR 1320.9.

1 As defined in OMB and agency Information Quality Guidelines, “influential” means that “an agency can reasonably determine that dissemination of the information will have or does have a clear and substantial impact on important public policies or important private sector decisions.”