Description of Survey of Virtual EDPNA Exam experience

Request for Approval under the “Generic Clearance for the Collection of Routine Customer Feedback” (OMB Control Number: 0960-0788)

TITLE OF INFORMATION COLLECTION: Survey of Virtual EDPNA Exam experience

PURPOSE:

One of the requirements for non-attorney representatives (i.e., applicants) to become eligible for direct pay is that they have to pass an examination. We administer the examination annually for all applicants. Due to COVID-19 this year, we switched from the traditional in-person examination to a virtual examination. We would like to administer this survey to better understand the applicants’ experience with taking a virtual examination. This will help us to plan the format of future examinations.

DESCRIPTION OF RESPONDENTS:

Our contractor, CPS HR, will send out the survey via email to the 160 non-attorney representatives who applied for the eligible for direct payment non–attorney (EDPNA) program in 2020. Our contractor will also collect the emailed survey responses and forward them to us for evaluation. To ensure that all 160 non-attorney representatives have an opportunity to provide feedback to us, we created two different surveys:

1. Applicants who withdrew from taking the virtual examination.

We want to hear why the applicant withdrew from the virtual examination.

2. Applicants who signed up to take the virtual examination.

We want to know the applicant’s experience (including any difficulties) in taking the virtual examination.

TYPE OF COLLECTION: (Check one)

[ ] Customer Comment Card/Complaint Form [X] Customer Satisfaction Survey

[ ] Usability Testing (e.g., Website or Software [ ] Small Discussion Group

[ ] Focus Group [ ] Other: ______________________

CERTIFICATION:

I certify the following to be true:

1. The collection is voluntary.

2. The collection is low-burden for respondents and low-cost for the Federal Government.

3. The collection is non-controversial and does not raise issues of concern to other federal agencies.

4. The results are not intended to be disseminated to the public.

5. Information gathered will not be used for the purpose of substantially informing influential policy decisions.

6. The 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 future.

Name: Liz Javed, Policy Analyst, ODP and Contract Officer Representative for EDPNA contract

To assist review, please provide answers to the following question:

Personally Identifiable Information:

1. Is personally identifiable information (PII) collected? [ ] Yes [X] No

2. If Yes, is the information that will be collected included in records that are subject to the Privacy Act of 1974? [ ] Yes [ ] No

3. If Applicable, has a System or Records Notice been published? [ ] Yes [X] No

Gifts or Payments:

Is an incentive (e.g., money or reimbursement of expenses, token of appreciation) provided to participants? [ ] Yes [X] No

BURDEN HOURS

Category of Respondent	No. of Respondents	Participation Time (minutes)	Burden (hours)
Participants	113	10	19
Withdrawn Applicants	47	10	8
Totals	160		27

FEDERAL COST: The estimated annual cost to the Federal government is $6,137

If you are conducting a focus group, survey, or plan to employ statistical methods, please provide answers to the following questions:

The selection of your targeted respondents

1. Do you have a customer list or something similar that defines the universe of potential respondents and do you have a sampling plan for selecting from this universe? [ X] Yes [ ] No

If the answer is yes, please provide a description of both below (or attach the sampling plan)? If the answer is no, please provide a description of how you plan to identify your potential group of respondents and how you will select them?

Customer list includes all 160 applicants for the EDPNA exam this year. This list is maintained by the contractor.

Administration of the Instrument

1. How will you collect the information? (Check all that apply)

[X] Web-based or other forms of Social Media

[ ] Telephone

[ ] In-person

[ ] Mail

[ ] Other, Explain

The contractor will contact the applicants via email.

2. Will interviewers or facilitators be used? [ ] Yes [X] No

Please make sure that all instruments, instructions, and scripts are submitted with the request.

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