ICR Template Coversheet OIG

Request for Approval under the “Generic Clearance for Improving Customer Experience: OMB Circular A-11, Section 280 Implementation”

(OMB Control Number:2900-0876)

TITLE OF INFORMATION COLLECTION: VA OIG Viewer Interest Project

PURPOSE OF COLLECTION:

What are you hoping to learn / improve? How do you plan to use what you learn? Are there artifacts (user personas, journey maps, digital roadmaps, summary of customer insights to inform service improvements, performance dashboards) the data from this collection will feed?

The purpose of this VA OIG Viewer Interest Project is to gather preferences from current and new subscribers to our agencies GovDelivery email bulletins. The types of questions that will be asked will be completely optional but will allow us to see more specifically what our viewers are interesting in reading more of and align our distribution to their geographical location and role in an effort to improve our subscriber engagement. We have currently 170,000 subscribers and from that population roughly 30,000 regularly interact with our bulletins. Based on that, we are expecting that about half of those users (15,000) will respond to our feedback questions and it should take no longer than 1 min for them to complete this task.

This information will be collected from our current GovDelivery Bulletin Subscribers via a bulletin which includes a link to collect the information. The optional selections include subscribers’ geographical location, role, and what type of content they prefer to view from us based on their interests. New subscribers will have the option to make the same selections during their initial subscription signup.

TYPE OF ACTIVITY: (Check one)

[ ] Customer Research (Interview, Focus Groups, Surveys)

[ X ] Customer Feedback Survey

[ ] Usability Testing of Products or Services

ACTIVITY DETAILS

1. If this is a survey, will the results of this survey be reported to Touchpoints as part of quarterly reporting obligations specified in OMB Circular A-11 Section 280?

[ ] Yes

[ X ] No

[ ] Not a survey

2. 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

3. Who will you collect the information from?

Explain who will be interviewed and why the group is appropriate for the Federal program / service to connect with. Please provide a description of how you plan to identify your potential group of respondents and if only a sample will be solicited for feedback, how you will select them(e.g., anyone who provided an email address to a call center rep, a representative sample of Veterans who received outpatient services in May 2019, do you have a list of customers to reach out to (e.g., a CRM database that has the contact information, intercept interviews at a particular field office?)

We will collect information from subscribers of the Department of Veteran Affairs GovDelivery email bulletins. The survey is optional and respondents can opt whether they want to take the survey or not and can abandon the survey at any time.

4. How will you ask a respondent to provide this information?

(e.g., after an application is submitted online, the final screen will present the opportunity to provide feedback by presenting a link to a feedback form / an actual feedback form)

Respondent will be presented a link to the survey when they sign up for a new subscription to GovDelivery email bulletins. Additionally, a bulletin will be published to existing email bulletin subscribers giving them the option to complete the survey.

5. What will the activity look like?

Describe the information collection activity – e.g. what happens when a person agrees to participate? Will facilitators or interviewers be used? What’s the format of the interview/focus group? If a survey, describe the overall survey layout/length/other details? If User Testing, what actions will you observe / how will you have respondents interact with a product you need feedback on?

Activity will be an optional online survey taking approximately a minute to complete. Respondents will have the option to abandon the survey at any time.

6. Please provide your question list.

Paste here the questions or prompts presented to participants in your activity. If you have an interview / facilitator guide, that can be attached to the submission and referenced here.

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

• What is your relationship to the VA OIG? (Select all that Apply)

Veteran

VA Employee

VSO Member

Congressional Member/Staffer

Media

Other (free text)

 

• Please select what VA OIG content you are most interested in receiving updates about. (Select all that Apply)

Fraud Prevention Tools

Investigative Updates and Press Releases

Monthly Highlights

Oversight Reports

• Healthcare Services

• Veterans Benefits

• Financial Management

• Facilities Management

• IT/Information Systems

• Leadership and Governance

• Misconduct

• Other (free text)

Podcasts

Semiannual Reports to Congress

Statements to Congress

Career Opportunities

 

• What is your primary location?

(Enter States as drop down)

7. When will the activity happen?

Describe the time frame or number of events that will occur (e.g., We will conduct focus groups on May 13,14,15, We plan to conduct customer intercept interviews over the course of the Summer at the field offices identified in response to #2 based on scheduling logistics concluding by Sept. 10^th, or “This survey will remain on our website in alignment with the timing of the overall clearance.”)

Activity will occur within a few weeks after the survey is approved by OMB

8. Is an incentive (e.g., money or reimbursement of expenses, token of appreciation) provided to participants?

[ ] Yes [ X ] No

If Yes, describe:

N/A

BURDEN HOURS

Category of Respondent	No. of Respondents	Participation Time	Burden Hours
Individuals	15,000	1 Minute	250 hours
Totals	15,000	1 Minute	250 hours

CERTIFICATION:

I certify the following to be true:

1. The collections are voluntary;

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

3. The collections are non-controversial;

4. 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;

5. Personally identifiable information (PII) is collected only to the extent necessary and is not retained;

6. Information gathered is intended to be used for general service improvement and program management purposes

7. Upon agreement between OMB and the agency aggregated data may be released as part of A-11, Section 280 requirements only on performance.gov. Summaries of customer research and user testing activities may be included in public-facing customer journey maps.

8. Additional release of data will be coordinated with OMB.

Name and email address of person who developed this survey/focus group/interview:

Name: ____Todd Stawicki________________

Email address: ___todd.stawicki@va.gov________

All instruments used to collect information must include:

OMB Control No. 2900-0876

Expiration Date: 02/28/2026

HELP SHEET

(OMB Control Number: XXXX-XXXX)

TITLE OF INFORMATION COLLECTION: Provide the name of the collection that is the subject of the request. (e.g. Comment card for soliciting feedback on xxxx)

PURPOSE: Provide a brief description of the purpose of this collection and how it will be used. If this is part of a larger study or effort, please include this in your explanation.

TYPE OF COLLECTION: Check one box. If you are requesting approval of other instruments under the generic, you must complete a form for each instrument.

CERTIFICATION: Please read the certification carefully. If you incorrectly certify, the collection will be returned as improperly submitted or it will be disapproved.

Personally Identifiable Information: Agencies should only collect PII to the extent necessary, and they should only retain PII for the period of time that is necessary to achieve a specific objective.

BURDEN HOURS:

Category of Respondents: Identify who you expect the respondents to be in terms of the following categories: (1) Individuals or Households;(2) Private Sector; (3) State, local, or tribal governments; or (4) Federal Government. Only one type of respondent can be selected per row.

No. of Respondents: Provide an estimate of the Number of respondents.

Participation Time: Provide an estimate of the amount of time required for a respondent to participate (e.g. fill out a survey or participate in a focus group)

Burden: Provide the Annual burden hours: Multiply the Number of responses and the participation time and divide by 60.

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