Federal Register: December 29, 2006 (Volume 71, Number 250)
DOCID: FR Doc E6-22337
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Institute of Standards and Technology
NOTICE: NOTICES
DOCUMENT ACTION: Notice.
SUBJECT CATEGORY:
Proposed Information Collection; Comment Request; Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award and Examiner Applications
DATES: Written comments must be submitted on or before February 27, 2007.
DOCUMENT SUMMARY:
The Department of Commerce, as part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, invites the general public and other Federal agencies to take this opportunity to comment on proposed and/or continuing information collections, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.
SUMMARY:
Agency information collection activities; proposals, submissions, and approvals,
SUPPLEMENTAL INFORMATION
I. Abstract
The Department of Commerce is responsible for the Baldrige National Quality Program and the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award. Directly associated with this Award is the Malcolm Baldrige Board of Examiners, an integral part of the National Quality Program. NIST, an agency of the Department's Technology Administration, manages the Baldrige Program. Applicants for the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award are required to perform two steps: (1) the applicant organization certifies that it meets eligibility requirements; and (2) the applicant organization prepares and completes an application form and the application process. The Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award Program Office will assist with or offer advice on any questions or issues that the applicant may have concerning the eligibility process or in completing the selfcertification forms. NIST will use the application package to assess and provide feedback on the applicant's quality and performance practices.
The application to be a member of the Malcolm Baldrige Board of Examiners is a onestep process. Each year the Award Program recruits highly skilled experts in the fields of manufacturing, service, small business, health care, and education, the five Award eligibility categories, to evaluate the applications that the Program receives. Examiners serve for a oneyear term; participation on the board is entirely voluntary.
II. Method of Collection
Award applicants must comply in writing according to the Baldrige Award Application Forms available at http://www.baldrige.nist.gov/Award_Application.htm .
The application for the 2007 Board of Examiners can be found at
http://www.baldrige.nist.gov/Examiner_Application.htm. III. Data
OMB Number: 06930006.
Form Number: None.
Type of Review: Regular submission.
Affected Public: Business or other forprofit organizations; not for profit institutions; and individuals or households.
Estimated Number of Respondents: 900 (Award, 100; and Board of Examiners, 800.
Estimated Time Per Response: Applications for the Malcolm Baldrige
Quality Award, 74 hours; and Applications for Board of Examiners, 30 minutes.
Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 7,800.
Estimated Total Annual Cost to Public: $0.
IV. Request for Comments
Comments are invited on: (a) Whether the proposed collection of information
[[Page 78404]]
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, including through the use of automated collection techniques or other forms of information technology.
Comments submitted in response to this notice will be summarized and/or included in the request for OMB approval of this information collection; they also will become a matter of public record.
Dated: December 22, 2006.
Gwellnar Banks,
Management Analyst, Office of the Chief Information Officer. [FR Doc. E622337 Filed 122806; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 351013P
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT
Requests for additional information or
copies of the information collection instrument and instructions should
be directed to JoAnne M. Surette, Baldrige National Quality Program,
Administration Building, Room 621, 100 Bureau Drive, Stop 1020,
National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD 20899
1020; telephone (301) 9755267, fax (301) 9483716, email
Joanne.surette@nist.gov.