81 FR 45184 - Agency Information Collection Activities: Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request

NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION

Federal Register Volume 81, Issue 133 (July 12, 2016)

[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 133 (Tuesday, July 12, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 45184-45185]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2016-16421]


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NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION


Agency Information Collection Activities: Submission for OMB 
Review; Comment Request

AGENCY: National Science Foundation.

ACTION: Submission for OMB review; comment request.

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    The National Science Foundation (NSF) has submitted the following 
information collection requirement to OMB for review and clearance 
under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, Public Law 104-13. This is 
the second notice for public comment; the first was published in the 
Federal Register at 81 FR 20688 and four comments were received. NSF is 
forwarding the proposed renewal submission to the Office of Management 
and Budget (OMB) for clearance simultaneously with the publication of 
this second notice. The full submission may be found at: http://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain.
    Comments: Comments regarding (a) whether the collection of 
information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of 
the agency, including whether the information will have practical 
utility; (b) the accuracy of the agency's estimate of burden including 
the validity of the methodology and assumptions used; (c) ways to 
enhance the quality, utility and clarity of the information to be 
collected; or (d) ways to minimize the burden of the collection of 
information on those who are to respond, including through the use of 
appropriate automated, electronic, mechanical, or other technological 
collection techniques or other forms of information technology should 
be addressed to: Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs of OMB, 
Attention: Desk Officer for National Science Foundation, 725-17th 
Street NW., Room 10235, Washington, DC 20503, and to Suzanne H. 
Plimpton, Reports Clearance Officer, National Science Foundation, 4201 
Wilson Boulevard, Suite 1265, Arlington, Virginia 22230 or send email 
to [email protected]. Comments regarding these information collections 
are best assured of having their full effect if received within 30 days 
of this notification. Copies of the submission(s) may be obtained by 
calling 703-292-7556. Individuals who use a telecommunications device 
for the deaf (TDD) may call the Federal Information Relay Service 
(FIRS) at 1-800-877-8339, which is accessible 24 hours a day, 7 days a 
week, 365 days a year (including federal holidays).
    NSF may not conduct or sponsor a collection of information unless 
the collection of information displays a currently valid OMB control 
number and the agency informs potential persons who are to respond to 
the collection of information that such persons are not required to 
respond to the collection of information unless it displays a currently 
valid OMB control number.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 
    Comments: As required by 5 CFR 1320.8(d), comments on the 
information collection activities as part of this study were solicited 
through publication of a 60-Day Notice in the Federal Register on 
January 11, 2016, at 81 FR 20688. Four comments were received, to which 
we here respond. One comment came from the Federation of American 
Societies for Experimental Biology. They expressed support for the 
survey, stating that it is a unique data resource that they often use 
in development of their own reports and factsheets. They wrote that the 
utility of the survey would be enhanced if it were available on a more 
frequent basis and if the data were available more rapidly. NSF 
understands that data users need more timely data and thus we 
continually look for procedural changes to reduce the time required to 
collect and publish the data. Our changes have resulted in the survey 
data being published by November each year, approximately 6 months 
following the close of the survey and data follow up activities. 
Previously the data were not published until the spring of the 
following year, or one year following the official close of the survey. 
We plan to continue looking for ways to improve the timeliness of the 
survey data release, but we have no plans to survey institutions more 
frequently than annually at this time.
    The second comment came from Jason Owen-Smith, Executive Director, 
Institute for Research on Innovation & Science (IRIS) at the University 
of Michigan. He expressed support for the survey and asked NSF to 
consider linking the administrative data maintained by IRIS into the 
HERD survey data to increase the survey data's utility. NSF is very 
interested in the administrative data maintained by IRIS and was an 
active participant in the Star Metrics project (predecessor of 
UMetrics). We will contact Dr. Owen-Smith to discuss the possibilities 
for data linking in the coming year.
    The third comment came from Marc Kastner, President of the Science 
Philanthropy Alliance. He expressed support for the survey and 
requested more data on the amount of funding devoted to basic research 
versus applied research. Currently the survey does measure the split 
between basic research, applied research and experimental development 
by overall federal and nonfederal totals. We have no plans to expand 
the survey to obtain this split by all sources of funding or field due 
to the burden that would place on universities in responding to the 
survey.
    A fourth comment came from the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA). 
They expressed general support for the survey and requested a few 
additional data elements to be considered for future collection. NSF is 
in regular contact with BEA about their data needs and the feasibility 
of adding questions to the HERD or FFRDC Surveys to address these 
needs. As part of the survey redesign, NSF added several items 
requested by BEA to the questionnaire, where the additional detail 
posed no significant increase in burden for the institutions. NSF will 
continue to consider additional items in future years while still 
prioritizing respondent burden. There are no plans to incorporate these 
data items on the HERD or FFRDC Surveys for FY 2016.
    Title of Collection: Higher Education Research and Development 
Survey
    OMB Approval Number: 3145-0100.
    Expiration Date of Current Approval: September 30, 2016.
    Summary of Collection: The Higher Education Research and 
Development (R&D) Survey (formerly known as the Survey of R&D 
Expenditures at Universities and Colleges) originated in fiscal year 
(FY) 1954 and has been conducted annually since FY 1972. The survey 
represents one facet of the higher education component of the NSF's 
National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics (NCSES) 
statistical program authorized by the America COMPETES Reauthorization 
Act of 2010 Sec.  505, codified in the National Science Foundation Act 
of 1950 (NSF Act), as amended, at 42 U.S.C. 1862. Under paragraph 
``b'', NCSES is directed to ``(1) collect, acquire, analyze, report, 
and disseminate statistical data related to the science and engineering 
enterprise

[[Page 45185]]

in the U.S. and other nations that is relevant and useful to 
practitioners, researchers, policymakers, and the public, including 
statistical data on
    (A) research and development trends;
    (B) the science and engineering workforce;
    (C) U.S. competitiveness in science, engineering, technology, and 
research and development. . .''
    Use of the information: The proposed project will continue the 
annual survey cycle for three years. The Higher Education R&D Survey 
will provide continuity of statistics on R&D expenditures by source of 
funding, type of R&D (basic research, applied research, or 
development), and field of R&D, with separate data requested on 
research equipment by field. Further breakdowns are collected on funds 
passed through to subrecipients and funds received as a subrecipient, 
and on R&D expenditures by field from specific federal agency sources. 
As of FY 2010, the survey also requests total R&D expenditures funded 
from foreign sources, R&D within an institution's medical school, 
clinical trial expenditures, R&D by type of funding mechanism 
(contracts vs. grants), and R&D by cost category (salaries, equipment, 
software, etc.). The survey also requests headcounts of principal 
investigators and other personnel paid from R&D funds.
    Data are published in NSF's annual publication series Higher 
Education Research and Development, available on the web at http://www.nsf.gov/statistics/srvyherd/.
    Expected respondents: The FY 2016 Higher Education R&D Survey will 
be administered to approximately 700 institutions. In addition, a 
shorter version of the survey asking for R&D expenditures by source of 
funding and broad field will be sent to approximately 300 institutions 
spending under $1 million on R&D in their previous fiscal year. We also 
expect approximately 150 institutions to respond to the population 
screener form sent to determine eligibility for the survey. Finally, a 
survey requesting R&D expenditures by source of funds, cost categories, 
and type of R&D will be administered to the 42 Federally Funded 
Research and Development Centers.
    Estimate of burden: The survey is a fully automated web data 
collection effort and is handled primarily by administrators in 
university sponsored programs and accounting offices. To minimize 
burden, institutions are provided with an abundance of guidance and 
resources on the web, and are able to respond via downloadable 
spreadsheet if desired. Each institution's record is pre-loaded with 
the 2 previous years of comparable data that facilitate editing and 
trend checking. Response to this voluntary survey has exceeded 95 
percent each year.
    The average burden estimate is 1 hour for the approximately 150 
institutions responding to the population screener form, 55 hours for 
the approximately 700 institutions reporting over $1 million in R&D 
expenditures on the standard form, 8 hours for the approximately 300 
institutions reporting less than $1 million on the short form, and 12 
hours for the 42 organizations completing the FFRDC survey. The total 
calculated burden across all forms is 40,812 hours.

    Dated: July 6, 2016.
Suzanne H. Plimpton,
Reports Clearance Officer, National Science Foundation.
[FR Doc. 2016-16421 Filed 7-11-16; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 7555-01-P