83_FR_6647 83 FR 6616 - Notice of Intent To Seek Approval To Renew an Information Collection System

83 FR 6616 - Notice of Intent To Seek Approval To Renew an Information Collection System

NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION

Federal Register Volume 83, Issue 31 (February 14, 2018)

Page Range6616-6619
FR Document2018-03002

Under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, and as part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, the National Science Foundation (NSF) is inviting the general public or other Federal agencies to comment on this proposed continuing information collection.

Federal Register, Volume 83 Issue 31 (Wednesday, February 14, 2018)
[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 31 (Wednesday, February 14, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 6616-6619]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2018-03002]


=======================================================================
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NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION


Notice of Intent To Seek Approval To Renew an Information 
Collection System

AGENCY: National Science Foundation.

ACTION: Notice and request for comments.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: Under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, and as part of its 
continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, the 
National Science Foundation (NSF) is inviting the general public or 
other Federal agencies to comment on this proposed continuing 
information collection.

DATES: Written comments on this notice must be received by April 16, 
2018, to be assured consideration. Comments received after that date 
will be considered to the extent practicable. Send comments to address 
below.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Suzanne H. Plimpton, Reports Clearance 
Officer, National Science Foundation, 2415 Eisenhower Avenue, Suite 
W18200, Alexandria, Virginia 22314; telephone (703) 292-7556; or send 
email to [email protected]. 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).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 
    Comments: Comments are invited on: (a) Whether the proposed 
collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of 
the functions of the Foundation, including whether the information will 
have practical utility; (b) the accuracy of the Foundation's estimate 
of the burden 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 those who are to respond, including through the use of 
automated collection techniques or other forms of information 
technology.
    Title of Collection: Engineering Program Monitoring Data 
Collections.
    OMB Number: 3145-0238.
    Expiration Date of Approval: April 30, 2018.
    Type of Request: Intent to seek approval to renew an information 
collection for post-award output and outcome monitoring system.
    Abstract:
    Proposed Project: NSF provides nearly 20 percent of federal funding 
for basic research to academic institutions.\1\ Within NSF, the 
Directorate for Engineering (ENG) has primary responsibility for 
promoting the progress of engineering in the United States in order to 
enable the Nation's capacity to perform. Its investments in engineering 
research and education aim to build and strengthen a national capacity 
for innovation that can lead over time to the creation of new shared 
wealth and a better quality of life. Most NSF programs in engineering 
are funded through the Directorate for Engineering, which also sponsors 
the NSF's Industrial Innovation and Partnerships (IIP) Division. To 
these ends, ENG provides support for research and implementation 
activities that may meet national needs. While scientists seek to 
discover what is not yet known, engineers apply fundamental science to 
design and develop new devices and engineered systems to solve societal 
problems. ENG also focuses on broadening participation in engineering 
research and careers.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \1\ National Science Foundation. (2012). NSF at a glance. 
Retrieved from http://www.nsf.gov/about/glance.jsp.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The Directorate for Engineering (ENG) requests of the Office of 
Management and Budget (OMB) renewal of this clearance that will allow 
NSF-ENG to improve the rigor of our surveys for evaluations and program 
monitoring, as well as to initiate new data collections to monitor the 
immediate, intermediate and long-term outcomes of our investments by 
periodically surveying the grantees and their students involved in the 
research. The clearance will allow any program in the Directorate for 
Engineering at NSF to rigorously develop, test, and implement survey 
instruments and methodologies.
    Some NSF-ENG programs regularly conduct a variety of data 
collection activities that include routine program monitoring, program 
evaluations, and education-related data collections from federally 
funded institutions of higher education. The primary objective of this 
clearance is to allow other programs in NSF-ENG to collect outcome and 
output data from grantees, their partners and students, which will 
enable the evaluation of the impact of its investments in engineering 
research over time. With that purpose, this clearance will allow us to 
use a bank of approved question items as needed as long as the 
resources consumed to do not exceed this request. The second related 
objective is to improve our questionnaires and/or data collection 
procedures through pilot tests and other survey methods used in these 
activities

[[Page 6617]]

for different programs. Under this clearance a variety of surveys could 
be pre-tested, modified and used. The exact combination of questions 
from the question bank is currently unknown for each program, but it 
will be based on their respective logic models and program goals. 
Following standard OMB requirements, NSF will submit to OMB an 
individual request for each survey project it undertakes under this 
clearance. NSF will request OMB approval in advance and provide OMB 
with a copy of the questionnaire (if one is used) and materials 
describing the project.
    In doing so, this request seeks approval for multiple data 
collections that have similar elements and purposes and will provide 
essential information for program monitoring purposes through multiple 
possible methods of collection. Data collected by ENG program outcome 
monitoring systems will be used for program planning, management, 
evaluation, and audit purposes. Summaries of output and outcome 
monitoring data are used to respond to queries from Congress, the 
public, NSF's external merit reviewers who serve as advisors, including 
Committees of Visitors (COVs), and NSF's Office of the Inspector 
General. These data are needed for effective administration, program 
and project monitoring, evaluation, strategic reviews and for measuring 
attainment of NSF's program and strategic goals, as identified by the 
President's Accountable Government Initiative, the Government 
Performance and Results Act (GPRA) Modernization Act of 2010, and NSF's 
Strategic Plan.
    Outcome and output monitoring data represented in this collection 
is complementary to the data collected in the RPPR both with respect to 
type of questions and indicators (content) and timeliness of the 
collection. All questions asked are questions that are NOT included in 
the final or annual report and the intention is to ask them even beyond 
the period of performance on voluntary basis in order to capture 
impacts of the research that occur beyond the life of the award. 
Questionnaire items fall into the category of general items that could 
be used across programs as well as items of interest to a particular 
division. We are seeking to collect additional information from the 
grantees about the outcomes of their research that go above and beyond 
the standard reporting requirements used by the NSF and could span a 
period of up to 10 years after the award.
    The six (6) divisions or offices in NSF-ENG which oversee multiple 
programs are included in this request. They are designed to assist in 
management of specific programs, divisions, or multi-agency initiatives 
and to serve as data resources for current and future program 
evaluations.

------------------------------------------------------------------------
             Program/Office                      Type of program
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Emerging Frontiers in Research and       Fundamental Research.
 Innovation (EFRI).
Engineering Education and Centers (EEC)  Large research center's
                                          research (Implementation &
                                          Development) & Research and
                                          Education.
Industrial Innovation and Partnerships   Translational Research.
 (IIP).
Chemical, Bioengineering,                Fundamental Research.
 Environmental, and Transport Systems
 (CBET).
Civil, Mechanical, and Manufacturing     Fundamental Research.
 Innovation (CMMI).
Electrical, Communications, and Cyber    Fundamental Research.
 Systems (ECCS).
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    ENG-funded projects could include research opportunities and 
mentoring for educators, scholars, and university students, as well as 
outreach programs that help stir the imagination of K-12 students, 
often with a focus on groups underrepresented in science and 
engineering. The surveys to be tested and implemented would be designed 
to assist in management of specific division programs, divisions, or 
multi-agency initiatives and to serve as data resources for current and 
future program evaluations.
    This data collection effort will enable program officers to 
longitudinally monitor outputs and outcomes given the unique goals and 
purpose of their programs. This is very important to enable appropriate 
and accurate evidence-based management of the programs and to determine 
whether or not the specific goals of the programs are being met.
    Grantees will be invited to submit this information on a periodic 
basis to support performance review and the management of ENG grants by 
ENG officers. Once the survey tool for a specific program is tested, 
ENG grantees will be invited to submit these indicators to NSF via data 
collection methods that include but are not limited to online surveys, 
interviews, focus groups, phone interviews, etc. These indicators are 
both quantitative and descriptive and may include, for example, the 
characteristics of project personnel and students; sources of 
complementary cash and in-kind support to the ENG project; 
characteristics of industrial and/or other sector participation; 
research activities; education activities; knowledge transfer 
activities; patents, licenses; publications; descriptions of 
significant advances and other outcomes of the ENG-funded effort.
    Use of the Information: The data collected will be used for NSF 
internal reports, historical data, program level studies and 
evaluations, and for securing future funding for the ENG program 
maintenance and growth. These data could be used for program evaluation 
purposes if deemed necessary for a particular program. Evaluation 
designs could make use of metadata associated with the award, and other 
characteristics to identify a comparison group to evaluate the impact 
of the program funding and other interesting research questions. 
Different designs could be possible based on the research questions 
varying from program to program but the fact that NSF-ENG has already 
collected data on the outcomes of interest will result in substantial 
savings on the evaluation per se.

[[Page 6618]]



                                               Estimate of Burden
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                   Annual number
                        Collection title                             Number of     of responses/    Annual hour
                                                                    respondents     respondent        burden
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Emerging Frontiers in Research and Innovation (EFRI)............              85            0.25           21.25
Civil, Mechanical, and Manufacturing Innovation (CMMI)..........           1,300            0.25             325
Chemical, Bioengineering, Environmental, and Transport Systems             1,750            0.25           437.5
 (CBET).........................................................
Electrical, Communications, and Cyber Systems (ECCS)............           1,000            0.25             250
Engineering Education and Centers (EEC).........................             100            0.25             100
Industrial Innovation and Partnerships (IIP)....................           1,000               4           4,000
                                                                 -----------------------------------------------
    Total.......................................................           5,235  ..............        5,133.75
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Below is an example that shows how the hour burden was estimated 
for the monitoring system.
    The estimated average number of annual respondents is 5,235, with 
an estimated annual response burden of 5,133.75 hours. For post-award 
monitoring systems, most divisions expect to collect data at 1, 2, 5, 
and 10 years post-award, in order to have the best chance of capturing 
the more immediate outcomes expected by 1-2 years post-award, 
intermediate outcomes at 5 years post-award, and long-term outcomes/
impacts at 10 years post award. These four (4) data collections spread 
over the span of 10 years; this averages to 0.25 data collections/year. 
For the IIP division, many awards are made in translational research, 
such that we might expect a shorter and more condensed timeline of 
outcomes and impacts. Thus, some programs may wish to collect data 
quarterly for the first two years of the award, and then once annually 
at 5 and 10 years post-award. The annual number of responses for the 
first 2 years post award is included in this table.
    For life-of-award monitoring, the data collection burden to 
awardees will be limited to no more than 2 hours of the respondents' 
time in each instance.
    Respondents: The respondents are either PIs or program 
coordinators. One PI or program coordinator per award completes the 
questionnaire.
    Estimates of Annualized Cost to Respondents for the Hour Burdens: 
The overall annualized cost to the respondents is estimated to be 
$214,635. The following table shows the annualized estimate of costs to 
PI/program coordinator respondents, who are generally university 
professors. This estimated hourly rate is based on a report from the 
American Association of University Professors, ``Annual Report on the 
Economic Status of the Profession, 2011-12,'' Academe, March-April 
2012, Survey Report Table 4. According to this report, the average 
salary of an associate professor across all types of doctoral-granting 
institutions (public, private-independent, religiously affiliated) was 
$86,319. When divided by the number of standard annual work hours 
(2,080), this calculates to approximately $41 per hour.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                     Number of     Burden hours   Average hourly     Estimated
                 Respondent type                    respondents   per respondent       rate         annual cost
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
PIs/Program Coordinators (EFRI, CBET, CMMI,                4,235            0.25             $41        $173,635
 ECCS, EEC).....................................
PIs/Program Coordinators (IIP Division).........           1,000               1              41          41,000
                                                 ---------------------------------------------------------------
    Total.......................................           5,235  ..............  ..............         214,635
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Estimated Number of Responses per Report: Data collection for the 
collections involves all awardees in the programs involved. The table 
below shows the total universe and sample size for each of the 
collections.

 Respondent Universe and Sample Size of ENG Program Monitoring Clearance
                               Collections
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                            Universe of
            Collection title                respondents     Sample size
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Emerging Frontiers in Research and                    85              85
 Innovation (EFRI)......................
Civil, Mechanical, and Manufacturing               1,300           1,300
 Innovation (CMMI)......................
Chemical, Bioengineering, Environmental,           1,750           1,750
 and Transport Systems (CBET)...........
Electrical, Communications, and Cyber              1,000           1,000
 Systems (ECCS).........................
Engineering Education and Centers (EEC).             100             100
Industrial Innovation and Partnerships             1,000           1,000
 (IIP)..................................
------------------------------------------------------------------------



[[Page 6619]]

    Dated: February 9, 2018.
Suzanne H. Plimpton,
Reports Clearance Officer, National Science Foundation.
[FR Doc. 2018-03002 Filed 2-13-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 7555-01-P



                                               6616                      Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 31 / Wednesday, February 14, 2018 / Notices

                                               will be sent to the Office of Management                NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION                           basic research to academic institutions.1
                                               and Budget (OMB) for review, as                                                                               Within NSF, the Directorate for
                                               required by the provisions of the                       Notice of Intent To Seek Approval To                  Engineering (ENG) has primary
                                               Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.                        Renew an Information Collection                       responsibility for promoting the
                                               DATES: Comments on this information                     System                                                progress of engineering in the United
                                               collection must be submitted on or                                                                            States in order to enable the Nation’s
                                                                                                             National Science Foundation.
                                                                                                       AGENCY:                                               capacity to perform. Its investments in
                                               before April 16, 2018.
                                                                                                             Notice and request for
                                                                                                       ACTION:                                               engineering research and education aim
                                               ADDRESSES: Submit comments by email
                                                                                                       comments.                                             to build and strengthen a national
                                               to Mr. Joel Schwartz, Chief Guidelines
                                               Officer, at jschwartz@neh.gov.                                                                                capacity for innovation that can lead
                                                                                                       SUMMARY:    Under the Paperwork                       over time to the creation of new shared
                                               SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: NEH will                     Reduction Act of 1995, and as part of its             wealth and a better quality of life. Most
                                               submit the proposed information                         continuing effort to reduce paperwork                 NSF programs in engineering are funded
                                               collection to OMB for review, as                        and respondent burden, the National                   through the Directorate for Engineering,
                                               required by the Paperwork Reduction                     Science Foundation (NSF) is inviting                  which also sponsors the NSF’s
                                               Act of 1995 (Pub. L. 104–13, 44 U.S.C.                  the general public or other Federal                   Industrial Innovation and Partnerships
                                               35). This notice is soliciting comments                 agencies to comment on this proposed                  (IIP) Division. To these ends, ENG
                                               from members of the public and affected                 continuing information collection.                    provides support for research and
                                               agencies. NEH is particularly interested                DATES: Written comments on this notice                implementation activities that may meet
                                               in comments which help the agency to:                   must be received by April 16, 2018, to                national needs. While scientists seek to
                                               (1) Evaluate whether the proposed                       be assured consideration. Comments                    discover what is not yet known,
                                               collection of information is necessary                  received after that date will be                      engineers apply fundamental science to
                                               for the proper performance of the                       considered to the extent practicable.                 design and develop new devices and
                                               functions of the agency, including                      Send comments to address below.                       engineered systems to solve societal
                                               whether the information will have                                                                             problems. ENG also focuses on
                                               practical utility; (2) Evaluate the                     FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
                                                                                                       Suzanne H. Plimpton, Reports Clearance                broadening participation in engineering
                                               accuracy of the agency’s estimate of the                                                                      research and careers.
                                               burden of the proposed collection of                    Officer, National Science Foundation,
                                                                                                                                                                The Directorate for Engineering (ENG)
                                               information, including the validity of                  2415 Eisenhower Avenue, Suite
                                                                                                                                                             requests of the Office of Management
                                               the methodology and assumptions used;                   W18200, Alexandria, Virginia 22314;
                                                                                                                                                             and Budget (OMB) renewal of this
                                               (3) Enhance the quality, utility, and                   telephone (703) 292–7556; or send email
                                                                                                                                                             clearance that will allow NSF–ENG to
                                               clarity of the information to be                        to splimpto@nsf.gov. Individuals who
                                                                                                                                                             improve the rigor of our surveys for
                                               collected; and (4) Minimize the burden                  use a telecommunications device for the
                                                                                                                                                             evaluations and program monitoring, as
                                               of the collection of information on those               deaf (TDD) may call the Federal
                                                                                                                                                             well as to initiate new data collections
                                               who are to respond, including through                   Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 1–
                                                                                                                                                             to monitor the immediate, intermediate
                                               the use of electronic submissions of                    800–877–8339, which is accessible 24
                                                                                                                                                             and long-term outcomes of our
                                               responses.                                              hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a
                                                                                                                                                             investments by periodically surveying
                                                  This Notice also lists the following                 year (including federal holidays).
                                                                                                                                                             the grantees and their students involved
                                               information:                                            SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:                            in the research. The clearance will allow
                                                  Type of Review: Extension of a                          Comments: Comments are invited on:                 any program in the Directorate for
                                               currently approved collection.                          (a) Whether the proposed collection of                Engineering at NSF to rigorously
                                                  Agency: National Endowment for the                   information is necessary for the proper               develop, test, and implement survey
                                               Humanities.                                             performance of the functions of the                   instruments and methodologies.
                                                 Title of Proposal: Generic Clearance                  Foundation, including whether the                        Some NSF–ENG programs regularly
                                               Authority for the National Endowment                    information will have practical utility;              conduct a variety of data collection
                                               for the Humanities.                                     (b) the accuracy of the Foundation’s                  activities that include routine program
                                                 OMB Number: 3136–0134.                                estimate of the burden of the proposed                monitoring, program evaluations, and
                                                 Affected Public: Applicants to NEH                    collection of information; (c) ways to                education-related data collections from
                                               grant programs, reviewers of NEH grant                  enhance the quality, utility, and clarity             federally funded institutions of higher
                                               applications, and NEH award recipients.                 of the information to be collected; and               education. The primary objective of this
                                                 Total Respondents: 7,815.                             (d) ways to minimize the burden of the                clearance is to allow other programs in
                                                 Frequency of Collection: On occasion.                 collection of information on those who                NSF–ENG to collect outcome and
                                                 Total Responses: 7,815.                               are to respond, including through the                 output data from grantees, their partners
                                                 Average Time per Response: Varies                     use of automated collection techniques                and students, which will enable the
                                               according to type of information                        or other forms of information                         evaluation of the impact of its
                                               collection.                                             technology.                                           investments in engineering research
                                                 Estimated Total Burden Hours: 88,885                     Title of Collection: Engineering                   over time. With that purpose, this
                                               hours.                                                  Program Monitoring Data Collections.                  clearance will allow us to use a bank of
                                                 Comments submitted in response to                        OMB Number: 3145–0238.                             approved question items as needed as
                                               this notice will be summarized and/or                      Expiration Date of Approval: April 30,             long as the resources consumed to do
                                               included in the request for OMB                         2018.                                                 not exceed this request. The second
                                               approval of the information collection                                                                        related objective is to improve our
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                                                                                                          Type of Request: Intent to seek
                                               request. These comments will also                                                                             questionnaires and/or data collection
                                                                                                       approval to renew an information
                                               become a matter of public record.                                                                             procedures through pilot tests and other
                                                                                                       collection for post-award output and
                                               Jon Parrish Peede,                                      outcome monitoring system.                            survey methods used in these activities
                                               Senior Deputy Chairman.                                    Abstract:
                                                                                                                                                               1 National Science Foundation. (2012). NSF at a
                                               [FR Doc. 2018–02941 Filed 2–13–18; 8:45 am]                Proposed Project: NSF provides                     glance. Retrieved from http://www.nsf.gov/about/
                                               BILLING CODE 7536–01–P                                  nearly 20 percent of federal funding for              glance.jsp.



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                                                                            Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 31 / Wednesday, February 14, 2018 / Notices                                                 6617

                                               for different programs. Under this                           management, evaluation, and audit                        NOT included in the final or annual
                                               clearance a variety of surveys could be                      purposes. Summaries of output and                        report and the intention is to ask them
                                               pre-tested, modified and used. The                           outcome monitoring data are used to                      even beyond the period of performance
                                               exact combination of questions from the                      respond to queries from Congress, the                    on voluntary basis in order to capture
                                               question bank is currently unknown for                       public, NSF’s external merit reviewers                   impacts of the research that occur
                                               each program, but it will be based on                        who serve as advisors, including                         beyond the life of the award.
                                               their respective logic models and                            Committees of Visitors (COVs), and                       Questionnaire items fall into the
                                               program goals. Following standard OMB                        NSF’s Office of the Inspector General.                   category of general items that could be
                                               requirements, NSF will submit to OMB                         These data are needed for effective                      used across programs as well as items of
                                               an individual request for each survey                        administration, program and project                      interest to a particular division. We are
                                               project it undertakes under this                             monitoring, evaluation, strategic                        seeking to collect additional information
                                               clearance. NSF will request OMB                              reviews and for measuring attainment of                  from the grantees about the outcomes of
                                               approval in advance and provide OMB                          NSF’s program and strategic goals, as                    their research that go above and beyond
                                               with a copy of the questionnaire (if one                     identified by the President’s                            the standard reporting requirements
                                               is used) and materials describing the                        Accountable Government Initiative, the                   used by the NSF and could span a
                                               project.                                                     Government Performance and Results                       period of up to 10 years after the award.
                                                  In doing so, this request seeks                           Act (GPRA) Modernization Act of 2010,
                                               approval for multiple data collections                       and NSF’s Strategic Plan.                                   The six (6) divisions or offices in
                                               that have similar elements and purposes                        Outcome and output monitoring data                     NSF–ENG which oversee multiple
                                               and will provide essential information                       represented in this collection is                        programs are included in this request.
                                               for program monitoring purposes                              complementary to the data collected in                   They are designed to assist in
                                               through multiple possible methods of                         the RPPR both with respect to type of                    management of specific programs,
                                               collection. Data collected by ENG                            questions and indicators (content) and                   divisions, or multi-agency initiatives
                                               program outcome monitoring systems                           timeliness of the collection. All                        and to serve as data resources for
                                               will be used for program planning,                           questions asked are questions that are                   current and future program evaluations.

                                                                                  Program/Office                                                                        Type of program

                                               Emerging Frontiers in Research and Innovation (EFRI) ..........................              Fundamental Research.
                                               Engineering Education and Centers (EEC) .............................................        Large research center’s research (Implementation & Development) &
                                                                                                                                              Research and Education.
                                               Industrial Innovation and Partnerships (IIP) .............................................   Translational Research.
                                               Chemical, Bioengineering, Environmental, and Transport Systems                               Fundamental Research.
                                                 (CBET).
                                               Civil, Mechanical, and Manufacturing Innovation (CMMI) .......................               Fundamental Research.
                                               Electrical, Communications, and Cyber Systems (ECCS) .......................                 Fundamental Research.



                                                 ENG-funded projects could include                            Grantees will be invited to submit this                   Use of the Information: The data
                                               research opportunities and mentoring                         information on a periodic basis to                       collected will be used for NSF internal
                                               for educators, scholars, and university                      support performance review and the                       reports, historical data, program level
                                               students, as well as outreach programs                       management of ENG grants by ENG                          studies and evaluations, and for
                                               that help stir the imagination of K–12                       officers. Once the survey tool for a                     securing future funding for the ENG
                                               students, often with a focus on groups                       specific program is tested, ENG grantees                 program maintenance and growth.
                                               underrepresented in science and                              will be invited to submit these                          These data could be used for program
                                               engineering. The surveys to be tested                        indicators to NSF via data collection                    evaluation purposes if deemed
                                               and implemented would be designed to                         methods that include but are not limited                 necessary for a particular program.
                                               assist in management of specific                             to online surveys, interviews, focus
                                                                                                                                                                     Evaluation designs could make use of
                                               division programs, divisions, or multi-                      groups, phone interviews, etc. These
                                                                                                                                                                     metadata associated with the award, and
                                               agency initiatives and to serve as data                      indicators are both quantitative and
                                                                                                            descriptive and may include, for                         other characteristics to identify a
                                               resources for current and future program
                                               evaluations.                                                 example, the characteristics of project                  comparison group to evaluate the
                                                 This data collection effort will enable                    personnel and students; sources of                       impact of the program funding and
                                               program officers to longitudinally                           complementary cash and in-kind                           other interesting research questions.
                                               monitor outputs and outcomes given the                       support to the ENG project;                              Different designs could be possible
                                               unique goals and purpose of their                            characteristics of industrial and/or other               based on the research questions varying
                                               programs. This is very important to                          sector participation; research activities;               from program to program but the fact
                                               enable appropriate and accurate                              education activities; knowledge transfer                 that NSF–ENG has already collected
                                               evidence-based management of the                             activities; patents, licenses;                           data on the outcomes of interest will
                                               programs and to determine whether or                         publications; descriptions of significant                result in substantial savings on the
                                               not the specific goals of the programs                       advances and other outcomes of the                       evaluation per se.
                                               are being met.                                               ENG-funded effort.
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                                               6618                                Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 31 / Wednesday, February 14, 2018 / Notices

                                                                                                                                           ESTIMATE OF BURDEN
                                                                                                                                                                                                                               Annual num-
                                                                                                                                                                                                      Number of                     ber                   Annual hour
                                                                                                            Collection title                                                                         respondents               of responses/                burden
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                respondent

                                               Emerging Frontiers in Research and Innovation (EFRI) .............................................................                                                     85                       0.25              21.25
                                               Civil, Mechanical, and Manufacturing Innovation (CMMI) ...........................................................                                                  1,300                       0.25                325
                                               Chemical, Bioengineering, Environmental, and Transport Systems (CBET) ..............................                                                                1,750                       0.25              437.5
                                               Electrical, Communications, and Cyber Systems (ECCS) ..........................................................                                                     1,000                       0.25                250
                                               Engineering Education and Centers (EEC) .................................................................................                                             100                       0.25                100
                                               Industrial Innovation and Partnerships (IIP) ................................................................................                                       1,000                          4              4,000

                                                     Total ......................................................................................................................................                  5,235       ........................       5,133.75



                                                 Below is an example that shows how                                        research, such that we might expect a                                        respondents is estimated to be $214,635.
                                               the hour burden was estimated for the                                       shorter and more condensed timeline of                                       The following table shows the
                                               monitoring system.                                                          outcomes and impacts. Thus, some                                             annualized estimate of costs to PI/
                                                 The estimated average number of                                           programs may wish to collect data                                            program coordinator respondents, who
                                               annual respondents is 5,235, with an                                        quarterly for the first two years of the                                     are generally university professors. This
                                               estimated annual response burden of                                         award, and then once annually at 5 and                                       estimated hourly rate is based on a
                                               5,133.75 hours. For post-award                                              10 years post-award. The annual                                              report from the American Association of
                                               monitoring systems, most divisions                                          number of responses for the first 2 years                                    University Professors, ‘‘Annual Report
                                               expect to collect data at 1, 2, 5, and 10                                   post award is included in this table.                                        on the Economic Status of the
                                               years post-award, in order to have the                                         For life-of-award monitoring, the data                                    Profession, 2011–12,’’ Academe,
                                               best chance of capturing the more                                           collection burden to awardees will be                                        March–April 2012, Survey Report Table
                                               immediate outcomes expected by 1–2                                          limited to no more than 2 hours of the                                       4. According to this report, the average
                                               years post-award, intermediate                                              respondents’ time in each instance.                                          salary of an associate professor across
                                               outcomes at 5 years post-award, and                                            Respondents: The respondents are                                          all types of doctoral-granting
                                               long-term outcomes/impacts at 10 years                                      either PIs or program coordinators. One                                      institutions (public, private-
                                               post award. These four (4) data                                             PI or program coordinator per award                                          independent, religiously affiliated) was
                                               collections spread over the span of 10                                      completes the questionnaire.                                                 $86,319. When divided by the number
                                               years; this averages to 0.25 data                                              Estimates of Annualized Cost to                                           of standard annual work hours (2,080),
                                               collections/year. For the IIP division,                                     Respondents for the Hour Burdens: The                                        this calculates to approximately $41 per
                                               many awards are made in translational                                       overall annualized cost to the                                               hour.

                                                                                                                                                                                                        Burden
                                                                                                                                                                            Number of                                              Average                 Estimated
                                                                                            Respondent type                                                                                            hours per
                                                                                                                                                                           respondents                                            hourly rate             annual cost
                                                                                                                                                                                                      respondent

                                               PIs/Program Coordinators (EFRI, CBET, CMMI, ECCS, EEC) ......................                                                            4,235                       0.25                         $41         $173,635
                                               PIs/Program Coordinators (IIP Division) ..........................................................                                       1,000                          1                          41           41,000

                                                     Total ..........................................................................................................                   5,235       ........................   ........................        214,635



                                                 Estimated Number of Responses per                                         collections involves all awardees in the                                     shows the total universe and sample
                                               Report: Data collection for the                                             programs involved. The table below                                           size for each of the collections.

                                                               RESPONDENT UNIVERSE AND SAMPLE SIZE OF ENG PROGRAM MONITORING CLEARANCE COLLECTIONS
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 Universe of
                                                                                                                          Collection title                                                                                                                Sample size
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                respondents

                                               Emerging Frontiers in Research and Innovation (EFRI) .........................................................................................                                                    85                 85
                                               Civil, Mechanical, and Manufacturing Innovation (CMMI) .......................................................................................                                                 1,300              1,300
                                               Chemical, Bioengineering, Environmental, and Transport Systems (CBET) ..........................................................                                                               1,750              1,750
                                               Electrical, Communications, and Cyber Systems (ECCS) ......................................................................................                                                    1,000              1,000
                                               Engineering Education and Centers (EEC) .............................................................................................................                                            100                100
                                               Industrial Innovation and Partnerships (IIP) ............................................................................................................                                      1,000              1,000
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                                                                         Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 31 / Wednesday, February 14, 2018 / Notices                                             6619

                                                 Dated: February 9, 2018.                              see ‘‘Obtaining Information and                       remove identifying or contact
                                               Suzanne H. Plimpton,                                    Submitting Comments’’ in the                          information.
                                               Reports Clearance Officer, National Science             SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of                    If you are requesting or aggregating
                                               Foundation.                                             this document.                                        comments from other persons for
                                               [FR Doc. 2018–03002 Filed 2–13–18; 8:45 am]             FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:                      submission to the NRC, then you should
                                               BILLING CODE 7555–01–P                                  Maurice Heath, Office of Nuclear                      inform those persons not to include
                                                                                                       Material Safety and Safeguards, U.S.                  identifying or contact information that
                                                                                                       Nuclear Regulatory Commission,                        they do not want to be publicly
                                               NUCLEAR REGULATORY                                      Washington, DC 20555–0001; telephone:                 disclosed in their comment submission.
                                                                                                       301–415–3137; email: Maurice.Heath@                   Your request should state that the NRC
                                               COMMISSION
                                                                                                       nrc.gov.                                              does not routinely edit comment
                                               [NRC–2018–0026]                                                                                               submissions to remove such information
                                                                                                       SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:                            before making the comment
                                               Very Low-Level Radioactive Waste                        I. Obtaining Information and                          submissions available to the public or
                                               Scoping Study                                           Submitting Comments                                   entering the comment submissions into
                                               AGENCY:  Nuclear Regulatory                                                                                   ADAMS.
                                                                                                       A. Obtaining Information
                                               Commission.                                                                                                   II. Background
                                                                                                          Please refer to Docket ID NRC–2018–
                                               ACTION: Scoping study; public meeting                                                                            In 2007, following developments in
                                                                                                       0026 when contacting the NRC about
                                               and request for comment.                                                                                      the national program for Low-Level
                                                                                                       the availability of information for this
                                               SUMMARY:    The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory                 action. You may obtain publicly-                      Radioactive Waste (LLRW) disposal, as
                                               Commission (NRC) is conducting a very                   available information related to this                 well as changes in the regulatory
                                               low-level radioactive waste (VLLW)                      action by any of the following methods:               environment, the NRC conducted a
                                               scoping study to identify possible                         • Federal Rulemaking website: Go to                strategic assessment of its regulatory
                                               options to improve and strengthen the                   http://www.regulations.gov and search                 program for LLRW. The results of this
                                               NRC’s regulatory framework for the                      for Docket ID NRC–2018–0026.                          assessment were published in late 2007
                                               disposal of the anticipated large                          • NRC’s Agencywide Documents                       in SECY–07–0180, ‘‘Strategic
                                                                                                       Access and Management System                          Assessment of Low-Level Radioactive
                                               volumes of VLLW associated with the
                                                                                                       (ADAMS): You may obtain publicly-                     Waste Regulatory Program’’ (ADAMS
                                               decommissioning of nuclear power
                                                                                                       available documents online in the                     Accession No. ML071350299). The
                                               plants and material sites, as well as
                                                                                                       ADAMS Public Documents collection at                  strategic assessment identified the need
                                               waste that might be generated by
                                                                                                       http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/                        to coordinate with other agencies on
                                               alternative waste streams that may be
                                                                                                       adams.html. To begin the search, select               consistency in regulating LAW disposal
                                               created by operating reprocessing
                                                                                                       ‘‘ADAMS Public Documents’’ and then                   and to develop guidance that
                                               facilities or a radiological event. The
                                                                                                       select ‘‘Begin Web-based ADAMS                        summarizes disposition options for low-
                                               NRC is seeking stakeholder input and
                                                                                                       Search.’’ For problems with ADAMS,                    end materials and waste.
                                               perspectives on this action.                                                                                     In 2016, the NRC staff conducted a
                                               Respondents are asked to consider                       please contact the NRC’s Public
                                                                                                       Document Room (PDR) reference staff at                programmatic assessment of the LLRW
                                               specific questions posed by the NRC                                                                           program to identify and prioritize tasks
                                               staff and other Federal agencies in this                1–800–397–4209, 301–415–4737, or by
                                                                                                       email to pdr.resource@nrc.gov. The                    that the NRC could undertake to ensure
                                               notice when preparing their responses.                                                                        a stable, reliable, and adaptable
                                                                                                       ADAMS Accession Number for each
                                               DATES: Submit comments by May 15,                                                                             regulatory framework for effective
                                                                                                       document referenced (if it is available in
                                               2018. Comments received after this date                 ADAMS) is provided the first time that                LLRW management. The results of this
                                               will be considered if it is practical to do             it is mentioned in the SUPPLEMENTARY                  assessment were published in October
                                               so, but the NRC is able to ensure                       INFORMATION section.                                  2016, in SECY–16–0118, ‘‘Programmatic
                                               consideration only for comments                            • NRC’s PDR: You may examine and                   Assessment of Low-Level Radioactive
                                               received on or before this date.                        purchase copies of public documents at                Waste Regulatory Program’’ (ADAMS
                                               ADDRESSES: You may submit comments                      the NRC’s PDR, Room O1–F21, One                       Accession No. ML15243A192). The
                                               by any of the following methods (unless                 White Flint North, 11555 Rockville                    programmatic assessment identified the
                                               this document describes a different                     Pike, Rockville, Maryland 20852.                      need to perform a LAW scoping study
                                               method for submitting comments on a                                                                           as a medium priority.
                                               specific subject):                                      B. Submitting Comments                                   In International Atomic Energy
                                                  • Federal Rulemaking website: Go to                    Please reference Docket ID NRC–                     Agency (IAEA) Safety Guide No. GSG–
                                               http://www.regulations.gov and search                   2018–0026 in your comment                             1, ‘‘Classification of Radioactive Waste’’
                                               for Docket ID NRC–2018–0026. Address                    submission. If your comment contains                  (http://www-pub.iaea.org/MTCD/
                                               questions about NRC dockets to Jennifer                 proprietary or sensitive information,                 publications/PDF/Pub1419_web.pdf),
                                               Borges; telephone: 301–287–9127;                        please contact the individual listed in               the IAEA defines VLLW as waste that
                                               email: Jennifer.Borges@nrc.gov. For                     the FOR INFORMATION CONTACT section of                does not meet the criteria of exempt
                                               technical questions, contact the                        this document to determine the most                   waste, but does not need a high level of
                                               individual listed in the FOR FURTHER                    appropriate method for submitting your                containment and isolation, and,
                                               INFORMATION CONTACT section of this                     comment.                                              therefore, is suitable for disposal in a
                                               document.                                                 The NRC cautions you not to include                 near surface landfill type facility with
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                                                 • Mail comments to: May Ma, Office                    identifying or contact information that               limited regulatory control. The NRC
                                               of Administration, Mail Stop: OWFN–2–                   you do not want to be publicly                        currently does not have a formal
                                               A13, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory                            disclosed in your comment submission.                 regulatory definition for VLLW, nor has
                                               Commission, Washington, DC 20555–                       All comment submissions are posted at                 it adopted the IAEA definition.
                                               0001.                                                   http://www.regulations.gov and entered                However, the NRC uses the term VLLW
                                                 For additional direction on obtaining                 into ADAMS. The NRC does not                          consistent with the international
                                               information and submitting comments,                    routinely edit comment submissions to                 regulatory structure. In general, the NRC


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Document Created: 2018-02-14 03:59:08
Document Modified: 2018-02-14 03:59:08
CategoryRegulatory Information
CollectionFederal Register
sudoc ClassAE 2.7:
GS 4.107:
AE 2.106:
PublisherOffice of the Federal Register, National Archives and Records Administration
SectionNotices
ActionNotice and request for comments.
DatesWritten comments on this notice must be received by April 16, 2018, to be assured consideration. Comments received after that date
ContactSuzanne H. Plimpton, Reports Clearance Officer, National Science Foundation, 2415 Eisenhower Avenue, Suite W18200, Alexandria, Virginia 22314; telephone (703) 292-7556; or send email to [email protected] 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).
FR Citation83 FR 6616 

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