[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 69 (Friday, April 10, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 19286-19287]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-08262]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
Patent and Trademark Office
Clearance for the Collection of Qualitative Feedback on Agency
Service Delivery
ACTION: Proposed collection; comment request.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), as part
of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden,
invites the general public and other Federal agencies to comment on the
Clearance for the Collection of Qualitative Feedback on Agency Service
Delivery, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, Public
Law 104-13 (44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)).
DATES: Written comments must be submitted on or before June 9, 2015.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by any of the following methods:
Email: [email protected]. Include ``0651-
New: Generic Clearance comment'' in the subject line of the message.
Federal Rulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov.
Mail: Marcie Lovett, Records Management Division Director,
Office of the Chief Information Officer, United States Patent and
Trademark Office, P.O. Box 1450, Alexandria, VA 22313-1450.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Requests for additional information
should be directed to Marcie Lovett, Records Management Division
Director, Office of the Chief Information Officer, United States Patent
and Trademark Office, P.O. Box 1450, Alexandria, VA 22313-1450; by
telephone at 571-272-8123; or by email to [email protected] with
``Paperwork'' in the subject line.
Additional information about this collection can be found at http://www.reginfo.gov under ``Information Collection Review.''
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Abstract
Executive Order 12862 (http://www.archives.gov/federal-register/executive-orders/pdf/12862.pdf) directs Federal agencies to provide
services to the public that matches or exceeds the best services
available in the private sector. In order to work continuously to
ensure that its programs are effective and meet its customers' needs,
the United States Patent and Trademark Office (hereafter ``USPTO'' or
``the Agency'') seeks to obtain OMB approval of a generic clearance to
collect qualitative feedback on its service delivery. Qualitative
feedback refers to information that provides useful insights on
perceptions and opinions, but is not in the form of statistical surveys
which yield quantitative results that can be generalized to the
population of study.
Collecting feedback will allow for the Agency to have a pulse on
customer satisfaction and adjust where necessary to meet and exceed
expectations. This feedback collection will provide for ongoing,
collaborative, and actionable communication between the Agency and its
customers and stakeholders. It also will enable the Agency to garner
customer and stakeholder feedback in an efficient and timely manner, in
accordance with the USPTO's commitment to improving services. The
information collected from Agency customers and stakeholders will help
ensure users have an opportunity to convey their experience with USPTO
programs. This collection will also provide insights into customer or
stakeholder perceptions, experiences, and expectations, which will
allow the Agency to focus attention on areas where communication,
training, or changes in operations may be necessary.
Improving Agency programs requires ongoing assessment. The Agency
will collect, analyze, and interpret information gathered to identify
strengths and weaknesses of current services. Based on feedback
received, the Agency will identify operational changes needed to
improve programs and services. 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. The Agency is committed to hearing feedback from its
customers. Responses will be assessed to identify service areas in need
of improvement. If this information is not collected, then the Agency
will miss opportunities to obtain vital feedback from its customers and
stakeholders on ways to improve their program and services.
The Agency will only submit a collection for approval under this
generic clearance if it meets the following conditions:
The collection is voluntary;
The collection is 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 collection is noncontroversial and does 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;
Personally identifiable information (PII) is collected
only to the extent necessary and is not retained;
Information gathered will only be used internally for
general program and service improvement as well as program
[[Page 19287]]
administrative purposes, and is not intended for release outside the
Agency;
Information gathered will not be used for the purpose of
substantially informing influential policy decisions; and
Information gathered will yield qualitative information;
the collections are not designed or expected to yield statistically
reliable results nor used as though the results are generalizable to
the population of study.
As a general matter, these information collections will not result
in any new system of records containing privacy information and will
not ask questions of a sensitive nature.
II. Method of Collection
The USPTO uses surveys, focus groups, interviews, questionnaires,
and usability testing to collect feedback from its customers. These may
be conducted via telephone, through electronic means, or in person. The
USPTO expects customers will respond to the questionnaires and surveys
primarily through electronic means, and to the focus groups,
interviews, and usability testing primarily in person.
III. Data
OMB Number: 0651--New.
IC Instruments and Forms: The individual instruments in this
collection, as well as their associated forms, are listed in the table
below.
Type of Review: New.
Affected Public: Individuals and households; businesses or other
for-profits; and not-for-profit institutions.
Estimated Number of Respondents: 27,900 responses per year.
Estimated Time per Response: Between 5 minutes (0.08 hours) and 120
minutes (2 hours), depending on the instruments used and the item being
completed.
Estimated Total Annual Respondent Burden Hours: 5,059 hours.
Estimated Total Annual Respondent (Hourly) Cost Burden:
$917,348.47. The USPTO expects that attorneys, paralegals and pro se
applicants will complete these applications. The professional hourly
rate for attorneys is $389, and the hourly rates for paralegals and pro
se applicants are $125 and $30, respectively. The average of the
combined respondent rate is $181.33. Using this blended hourly rate,
the USPTO estimates that the total respondent cost burden for this
collection is $917,348.47 per year.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Estimated time Estimated Estimated
IC Number Information for response annual annual burden Rate (S/
collection item (minutes) responses hours hr)
(a) (b) (a) x (b) =
(c)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1................................. Customer Surveys.... 5 20,000 1,667 $181.33
2................................. Questionnaires/ 5 300 25 181.33
Customer Comment
Cards/Complaint
Forms.
3................................. Focus Groups/ 15 6,000 1,500 181.33
Interviews.
4................................. Small Discussion 120 600 1,200 181.33
Groups.
5................................. Usability Tests (In- 40 1,000 667 181.33
person observation
(i.e., Website/
Software).
-------------------------------------------------------
Total (Three -Year Period).... .................... .............. 27,900 5,059 .........
(83,700) (15,177)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Estimated Total Annual (Non-hour) Respondent Cost Burden: There are
no capital start-up, maintenance, postage, or recordkeeping costs
associated with this information collection.
IV. Request for Comments
Comments are invited on:
(a) Whether the proposed collection of information is necessary for
the proper performance of the functions of the agency, including
whether the information shall have practical utility;
(b) the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden (including
hours and cost) of the proposed collection of information;
(c) ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the
information to be collected; and
(d) ways to minimize the burden of the collection of information on
respondents, e.g., the use of automated collection techniques or other
forms of information technology.
Comments submitted in response to this notice will be summarized or
included in the request for OMB approval of this information
collection; they also will become a matter of public record.
Dated: April 1, 2015.
Marcie Lovett,
Records Management Division Director, USPTO, Office of the Chief
Information Officer.
[FR Doc. 2015-08262 Filed 4-9-15; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-16-P