Comment Request: National Science Foundation Proposal-Large Facilities Manual, 66419-66421 [2014-26444]
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Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 216 / Friday, November 7, 2014 / Notices
mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
(m) should be deleted and a reference to
subsections (l),(n),(o),and(p) should be
inserted;
Accordingly, after giving full
consideration and review to the entire
record, including the written comments
from the commenter, FDI and the
Department, the Department has
decided to grant the exemption, as
amended and clarified above.
Comments and responses submitted to
the Department have been included as
part of the public record of the
exemption application. The complete
application file (D–11777), including all
supplemental submissions received by
the Department is available for
inspection in the Public Disclosure
Room of the Employee Benefits Security
Administration, Room N–1515, U.S.
Department of Labor, 200 Constitution
Ave. NW., Washington, DC 20210.
For a complete statement of the facts
and representations supporting the
Department’s decision to grant this
exemption refer to the Notice published
in the Federal Register on July 24, 2014
at 79 FR 43082.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Angelena C. Le Blanc, Office of
Exemption Determinations, Employee
Benefits Security Administration, U.S.
Department of Labor, telephone (202)
693–8551. (This is not a toll-free
number.)
General Information
The attention of interested persons is
directed to the following:
(1) The fact that a transaction is the
subject of an exemption under section
408(a) of the Act and/or section
4975(c)(2) of the Code does not relieve
a fiduciary or other party in interest or
disqualified person from certain other
provisions to which the exemption does
not apply and the general fiduciary
responsibility provisions of section 404
of the Act, which among other things
require a fiduciary to discharge his
duties respecting the plan solely in the
interest of the participants and
beneficiaries of the plan and in a
prudent fashion in accordance with
section 404(a)(1)(B) of the Act; nor does
it affect the requirement of section
401(a) of the Code that the plan must
operate for the exclusive benefit of the
employees of the employer maintaining
the plan and their beneficiaries;
(2) These exemptions are
supplemental to and not in derogation
of, any other provisions of the Act and/
or the Code, including statutory or
administrative exemptions and
transactional rules. Furthermore, the
fact that a transaction is subject to an
administrative or statutory exemption is
not dispositive of whether the
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transaction is in fact a prohibited
transaction; and
(3) The availability of each exemption
is subject to the express condition that
the material facts and representations
contained in the applicable application
accurately describes all material terms
of the transaction which is the subject
of the exemption.
Signed at Washington, DC, this 3rd day of
November 2014.
Lyssa E. Hall,
Director of Exemption Determinations,
Employee Benefits Security, Administration,
U.S. Department Of Labor.
66419
is important to keep the values of
objects to be indemnified, and the
methods of transportation and security
measures confidential, I have
determined that that the meeting will be
closed to the public pursuant to
subsection (c)(4) of section 552b of Title
5, United States Code. I have made this
determination under the authority
granted me by the Chairman’s
Delegation of Authority to Close
Advisory Committee Meetings, dated
July 19, 1993.
[FR Doc. 2014–26432 Filed 11–6–14; 8:45 am]
Dated: November 4, 2014.
Lisette Voyatzis,
Committee Management Officer.
BILLING CODE 4510–29–P
[FR Doc. 2014–26545 Filed 11–6–14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7536–01–P
NATIONAL FOUNDATION ON THE
ARTS AND THE HUMANITIES
Federal Council on the Arts and the
Humanities
Arts and Artifacts Indemnity Panel
Advisory Committee
National Endowment for the
Humanities.
ACTION: Notice of Meeting.
AGENCY:
Pursuant to the Federal
Advisory Committee Act, notice is
hereby given that the Federal Council
on the Arts and the Humanities will
hold a meeting of the Arts and Artifacts
International Indemnity Panel.
DATES: The meeting will be held on
Thursday, November 20, 2014, from
12:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.
ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held by
teleconference originating at the
National Endowment for the Arts,
Washington, DC 20506.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Lisette Voyatzis, Committee
Management Officer, 400 7th Street
SW., Room 4060, Washington, DC
20506; (202) 606–8322; evoyatzis@
neh.gov. Hearing-impaired individuals
who prefer to contact us by phone may
use NEH’s TDD terminal at (202) 606–
8282.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The
purpose of the meeting is for panel
review, discussion, evaluation, and
recommendation on applications for
Certificates of Indemnity submitted to
the Federal Council on the Arts and the
Humanities, for exhibitions beginning
on or after January 1, 2015. Because the
meeting will consider proprietary
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in confidence by indemnity applicants,
and material that is likely to disclose
trade secrets or other privileged or
confidential information, and because it
SUMMARY:
PO 00000
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Fmt 4703
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NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION
Comment Request: National Science
Foundation Proposal—Large Facilities
Manual
National Science Foundation.
Notice.
AGENCY:
ACTION:
The National Science
Foundation (NSF) is announcing plans
to request establishment of this
collection. In accordance with the
requirement of Section 3506(c)(2)(A) of
the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995,
we are providing opportunity for public
comment on this action.
After obtaining and considering
public comment, NSF will prepare the
submission requesting OMB clearance
of this collection for no longer than 3
years.
Comments are invited on: (a) Whether
the proposed collection of information
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 of
the proposed collection of information;
(c) ways to enhance the quality, utility,
and clarity of the information on
respondents, including through the use
of automated collection techniques or
other forms of information technology;
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.
DATES: Written comments should be
received by January 6, 2015 to be
assured of consideration. Comments
received after that date will be
considered to the extent practicable.
ADDRESSES: Written comments
regarding the information collection and
requests for copies of the proposed
SUMMARY:
E:\FR\FM\07NON1.SGM
07NON1
mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
66420
Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 216 / Friday, November 7, 2014 / Notices
information collection request should be
addressed to Suzanne Plimpton, Reports
Clearance Officer, National Science
Foundation, 4201 Wilson Blvd., Rm.
1265, Arlington, VA 22230, or by email
to splimpto@nsf.gov.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Suzanne Plimpton on (703) 292–7556 or
send email to splimpto@nsf.gov.
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:
Title of Collection: ‘‘Large Facilities
Manual’’
OMB Approval Number: 3145–NEW.
Expiration Date of Approval: Not
applicable.
Type of Request: Intent to seek
approval to establish an information
collection for three years.
Proposed Project:
The National Science Foundation Act
of 1950 (Pub. L. 81–507) set forth NSF’s
mission and purpose:
‘‘To promote the progress of science;
to advance the national health,
prosperity, and welfare; to secure the
national defense. . . . ’’ The Act
authorized and directed NSF to initiate
and support:
• Basic scientific research and
research fundamental to the engineering
process;
• Programs to strengthen scientific
and engineering research potential;
• Science and engineering education
programs at all levels and in all the
various fields of science and
engineering;
• Programs that provide a source of
information for policy formulation; and
• Other activities to promote these
ends.
Among Federal agencies, NSF is a
leader in providing the academic
community with advanced
instrumentation needed to conduct
state-of-the-art research and to educate
the next generation of scientists,
engineers and technical workers. The
knowledge generated by these tools
sustains U.S. leadership in science and
engineering (S&E) to drive the U.S.
economy and secure the future. NSF’s
responsibility is to ensure that the
research and education communities
have access to these resources, and to
provide the support needed to utilize
them optimally, and implement timely
upgrades.
The scale of advanced
instrumentation ranges from small
research instruments to shared
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19:12 Nov 06, 2014
Jkt 235001
resources or facilities that can be used
by entire communities. The demand for
such instrumentation is very high, and
is growing rapidly, along with the pace
of discovery. For large facilities and
shared infrastructure, the need is
particularly high. This trend is expected
to accelerate in the future as increasing
numbers of researchers and educators
rely on such large facilities,
instruments, and databases to provide
the reach to make the next intellectual
leaps.
NSF currently provides support for
facility construction from two accounts:
The Major Research Equipment and
Facility Construction (MREFC) account,
and the Research and Related Activities
(R&RA) account. The MREFC account,
established in FY 1995, is a separate
budget line item that provides an
agency-wide mechanism, permitting
directorates to undertake large facility
projects that exceed 10% of the
Directorate’s annual budget; or roughly
$100M or greater. Smaller projects
continue to be supported from the
R&RA Account.
Facilities are defined as shared-use
infrastructure, instrumentation and
equipment that are accessible to a broad
community of researchers and/or
educators. Facilities may be centralized
or may consist of distributed
installations. They may incorporate
large-scale networking or computational
infrastructure, multi-user instruments or
networks of such instruments, or other
infrastructure, instrumentation and
equipment having a major impact on a
broad segment of a scientific or
engineering discipline. Historically,
awards have been made for such diverse
projects as accelerators, telescopes,
research vessels and aircraft, and
geographically distributed but
networked sensors and instrumentation.
The growth and diversification of
large facility projects require that NSF
remain attentive to the ever-changing
issues and challenges inherent in their
planning, construction, operation,
management and oversight. Most
importantly, dedicated, competent NSF
and awardee staff are needed to manage
and oversee these projects; giving the
attention and oversight that good
practice dictates and that proper
accountability to taxpayers and
Congress demands. To this end, there is
also a need for consistent, documented
requirements and procedures to be
understood and used by NSF program
managers and awardees for all such
large projects.
Use of the Information: Facilities are
an essential part of the science and
engineering enterprise, and supporting
them is one major responsibility of the
PO 00000
Frm 00070
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
National Science Foundation (NSF).
NSF makes awards to external entities—
primarily universities, consortia of
universities or non-profit
organizations—to undertake
construction, management and
operation of facilities. Such awards
frequently take the form of cooperative
agreements. NSF does not directly
construct or operate the facilities it
supports. However, NSF retains
responsibility for overseeing their
development, management and
successful performance. The Large
Facilities Manual is intended to:
• Provide step-by-step guidance for
NSF staff and awardees to carry out
effective project planning, management
and oversight of large facilities while
considering the varying requirements of
a diverse portfolio;
• Clearly state the policies, processes
and procedures pertinent at each stage
of a facility’s life cycle from
development through construction,
operations, and termination; and
• Document and disseminate ‘‘best
practices’’ identified over time so that
NSF and awardees can carry out their
responsibilities more effectively.
This version of the Large Facilities
Manual reflects recent changes in
organization and formatting to improve
readability and facilitate period
revision. It also up-dates sections
related to contingency and cost
estimating requirements. The Manual
does not replace existing formal
procedures required for all NSF awards,
which are described in the Grant
Proposal Guide and The Award and
Administration Guide. Instead, it draws
upon and supplements them for the
purpose of providing detailed guidance
regarding NSF management and
oversight of facilities projects. All
facilities projects require merit and
technical review, as well as approval of
certain deliverables. The level of review
and approval varies substantially from
standard grants, as does the level of
oversight needed to ensure appropriate
and proper accountability for federal
funds. The requirements, recommended
procedures and best practices presented
in the Manual apply to any facility
significant enough to require close and
substantial interaction with the
Foundation and the National Science
Board.
This Manual will be updated
periodically to reflect changes in
requirements, policies and/or
procedures. Award Recipients are
expected to monitor and adopt the
requirements and best practices
included in the Manual which are
aimed at improving management and
oversight of large facilities projects and
E:\FR\FM\07NON1.SGM
07NON1
Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 216 / Friday, November 7, 2014 / Notices
at enabling the most efficient and costeffective delivery of tools to the research
and education communities.
The submission of proposals and
subsequent project documentation to
the Foundation related to the
development, construction and
operations of Large Facilities is part of
the collection of information. This
information is used to help NSF fulfill
this responsibility in supporting meritbased research and education projects in
all the scientific and engineering
disciplines. The Foundation also has a
continuing commitment to provide
oversight on facilities development and
construction which must be balanced
against monitoring its information
collection so as to identify and address
any excessive reporting burdens.
NSF has approximately twenty-two
(22) Large Facilities in various stages of
development, construction, operations
and termination. One to two (1 to 2)
new awards are made approximately
every five (5) years based on science
community infrastructure needs and
availability of funding. Of the twentytwo large facilities, there are
approximately eight (8) facilities
annually that are either in development
or construction. These stages require the
highest level of reporting and
management documentation per the
Large Facilities Manual.
Burden To The Public: The
Foundation estimates that an average of
three (3) Full Time Equivalents (FTEs)
are necessary for each facility project in
development or construction (Total
Project Cost of $200–$500M) to respond
to NSF routine reporting and project
management documentation
requirements on an annual basis; or
6240 hours per year. The Foundation
estimates an average of one (1) FTE for
a facility in operations; or 2080 hours
per year. Assuming an average of eight
(8) facilities in construction and the
balance in operations, this equates to
roughly 80,000 public burden hours
annually.
Dated: November 3, 2014.
Suzanne H. Plimpton,
Reports Clearance Officer, National Science
Foundation.
[FR Doc. 2014–26444 Filed 11–6–14; 8:45 am]
mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
BILLING CODE 7555–01–P
OFFICE OF PERSONNEL
MANAGEMENT
Submission for Review: OPM Online
Form 1417, Combined Federal
Campaign Results Report
Office of Personnel
Management.
AGENCY:
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19:12 Nov 06, 2014
Jkt 235001
30-Day notice and request for
comments.
ACTION:
The Office of Combined
Federal Campaign, Office of Personnel
Management (OPM) offers the general
public and other Federal agencies the
opportunity to comment on an
information collection request (ICR)
3206–0193, OPM 1417, the Combined
Federal Campaign Results Report. As
required by the Paperwork Reduction
Act of 1995, (Pub. L. 104–13, 44 U.S.C.
chapter 35) as amended by the ClingerCohen Act (Pub. L. 104–106), OPM is
soliciting comments for this collection.
The information collection was
previously published in the Federal
Register on July, 16, 2014 at 79 FR
41600 allowing for a 60-day public
comment period. No comments were
received for this information collection.
The purpose of this notice is to allow an
additional 30 days for public comments.
DATES: Comments are encouraged and
will be accepted until December 8,
2014. This process is conducted in
accordance with 5 CFR 1320.1.
ADDRESSES: Interested persons are
invited to submit written comments on
the proposed information collection to
the Office of Information and Regulatory
Affairs, Office of Management and
Budget, 725 17th Street NW.,
Washington, DC 20503, Attention: Desk
Officer for the Office of Personnel
Management or sent via electronic mail
to oira_submission@omb.eop.gov or
faxed to (202) 395–6974.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: A
copy of this ICR, with applicable
supporting documentation, may be
obtained by contacting the Office of
Information and Regulatory Affairs,
Office of Management and Budget, 725
17th Street NW., Washington, DC 20503,
Attention: Desk Officer for the Office of
Personnel Management or sent via
electronic mail to oira_submission@
omb.eop.gov or faxed to (202) 395–6974.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Office
of Management and Budget is
particularly interested in comments
that:
1. Evaluate whether the proposed
collection of information is necessary
for the proper performance of the
functions of the agency, including
whether the information will have
practical utility;
2. Evaluate the accuracy of the
agency’s estimate of the burden of the
proposed collection of information,
including the validity of the
methodology and assumptions used;
3. Enhance the quality, utility, and
clarity of the information to be
collected; and
SUMMARY:
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Fmt 4703
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66421
4. 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,
e.g., permitting electronic submissions
of responses.
The Combined Federal Campaign
(CFC) is the world’s largest and most
successful annual workplace
philanthropic giving campaign, with
151 CFC campaigns throughout the
country and overseas raising millions of
dollars each year. The mission of the
CFC is to promote and support
philanthropy through a program that is
employee focused, cost-efficient, and
effective in providing all federal
employees the opportunity to improve
the quality of life for all.
The CFC OPM Online Form 1417
collects information from the 151 local
CFC charities to verify campaign results
and collect contact information.
Revisions to the form include clarifying
edits to item number 13 of the
Campaign Results Totals screen;
clarifying edits and expansion of item
numbers 14 and 17 of the Campaign
Results Totals screen; the elimination of
item numbers 16, 18, and 19 of the
Campaign Results Totals screen; and the
inclusion of verbiage on the Summary
Report screen that states that the OPM
Form 1417 is not complete without the
submission, by email, of the relevant
designation data.
Analysis
Agency: Combined Federal Campaign,
Office of Personnel Management.
Title: OPM Online Form 1417,
Combined Federal Campaign Results
Report.
OMB Number: 3206–0193.
Affected Public: Principal Combined
Fund Organizations.
Number of Respondents: 151.
Estimated Time Per Respondent: 40
minutes.
Total Burden Hours: 101 hours.
U.S. Office of Personnel Management.
Katherine Archuleta,
Director.
[FR Doc. 2014–26468 Filed 11–6–14; 8:45 am]
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POSTAL REGULATORY COMMISSION
[Docket Nos. CP2015–8; Order No. 2237]
New Postal Product
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Notice.
AGENCY:
ACTION:
E:\FR\FM\07NON1.SGM
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Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 216 (Friday, November 7, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 66419-66421]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-26444]
=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION
Comment Request: National Science Foundation Proposal--Large
Facilities Manual
AGENCY: National Science Foundation.
ACTION: Notice.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The National Science Foundation (NSF) is announcing plans to
request establishment of this collection. In accordance with the
requirement of Section 3506(c)(2)(A) of the Paperwork Reduction Act of
1995, we are providing opportunity for public comment on this action.
After obtaining and considering public comment, NSF will prepare
the submission requesting OMB clearance of this collection for no
longer than 3 years.
Comments are invited on: (a) Whether the proposed collection of
information 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 of the
proposed collection of information; (c) ways to enhance the quality,
utility, and clarity of the information on respondents, including
through the use of automated collection techniques or other forms of
information technology; 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.
DATES: Written comments should be received by January 6, 2015 to be
assured of consideration. Comments received after that date will be
considered to the extent practicable.
ADDRESSES: Written comments regarding the information collection and
requests for copies of the proposed
[[Page 66420]]
information collection request should be addressed to Suzanne Plimpton,
Reports Clearance Officer, National Science Foundation, 4201 Wilson
Blvd., Rm. 1265, Arlington, VA 22230, or by email to splimpto@nsf.gov.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Suzanne Plimpton on (703) 292-7556 or
send email to splimpto@nsf.gov. 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:
Title of Collection: ``Large Facilities Manual''
OMB Approval Number: 3145-NEW.
Expiration Date of Approval: Not applicable.
Type of Request: Intent to seek approval to establish an
information collection for three years.
Proposed Project:
The National Science Foundation Act of 1950 (Pub. L. 81-507) set
forth NSF's mission and purpose:
``To promote the progress of science; to advance the national
health, prosperity, and welfare; to secure the national defense. . . .
'' The Act authorized and directed NSF to initiate and support:
Basic scientific research and research fundamental to the
engineering process;
Programs to strengthen scientific and engineering research
potential;
Science and engineering education programs at all levels
and in all the various fields of science and engineering;
Programs that provide a source of information for policy
formulation; and
Other activities to promote these ends.
Among Federal agencies, NSF is a leader in providing the academic
community with advanced instrumentation needed to conduct state-of-the-
art research and to educate the next generation of scientists,
engineers and technical workers. The knowledge generated by these tools
sustains U.S. leadership in science and engineering (S&E) to drive the
U.S. economy and secure the future. NSF's responsibility is to ensure
that the research and education communities have access to these
resources, and to provide the support needed to utilize them optimally,
and implement timely upgrades.
The scale of advanced instrumentation ranges from small research
instruments to shared resources or facilities that can be used by
entire communities. The demand for such instrumentation is very high,
and is growing rapidly, along with the pace of discovery. For large
facilities and shared infrastructure, the need is particularly high.
This trend is expected to accelerate in the future as increasing
numbers of researchers and educators rely on such large facilities,
instruments, and databases to provide the reach to make the next
intellectual leaps.
NSF currently provides support for facility construction from two
accounts: The Major Research Equipment and Facility Construction
(MREFC) account, and the Research and Related Activities (R&RA)
account. The MREFC account, established in FY 1995, is a separate
budget line item that provides an agency-wide mechanism, permitting
directorates to undertake large facility projects that exceed 10% of
the Directorate's annual budget; or roughly $100M or greater. Smaller
projects continue to be supported from the R&RA Account.
Facilities are defined as shared-use infrastructure,
instrumentation and equipment that are accessible to a broad community
of researchers and/or educators. Facilities may be centralized or may
consist of distributed installations. They may incorporate large-scale
networking or computational infrastructure, multi-user instruments or
networks of such instruments, or other infrastructure, instrumentation
and equipment having a major impact on a broad segment of a scientific
or engineering discipline. Historically, awards have been made for such
diverse projects as accelerators, telescopes, research vessels and
aircraft, and geographically distributed but networked sensors and
instrumentation.
The growth and diversification of large facility projects require
that NSF remain attentive to the ever-changing issues and challenges
inherent in their planning, construction, operation, management and
oversight. Most importantly, dedicated, competent NSF and awardee staff
are needed to manage and oversee these projects; giving the attention
and oversight that good practice dictates and that proper
accountability to taxpayers and Congress demands. To this end, there is
also a need for consistent, documented requirements and procedures to
be understood and used by NSF program managers and awardees for all
such large projects.
Use of the Information: Facilities are an essential part of the
science and engineering enterprise, and supporting them is one major
responsibility of the National Science Foundation (NSF). NSF makes
awards to external entities--primarily universities, consortia of
universities or non-profit organizations--to undertake construction,
management and operation of facilities. Such awards frequently take the
form of cooperative agreements. NSF does not directly construct or
operate the facilities it supports. However, NSF retains responsibility
for overseeing their development, management and successful
performance. The Large Facilities Manual is intended to:
Provide step-by-step guidance for NSF staff and awardees
to carry out effective project planning, management and oversight of
large facilities while considering the varying requirements of a
diverse portfolio;
Clearly state the policies, processes and procedures
pertinent at each stage of a facility's life cycle from development
through construction, operations, and termination; and
Document and disseminate ``best practices'' identified
over time so that NSF and awardees can carry out their responsibilities
more effectively.
This version of the Large Facilities Manual reflects recent changes
in organization and formatting to improve readability and facilitate
period revision. It also up-dates sections related to contingency and
cost estimating requirements. The Manual does not replace existing
formal procedures required for all NSF awards, which are described in
the Grant Proposal Guide and The Award and Administration Guide.
Instead, it draws upon and supplements them for the purpose of
providing detailed guidance regarding NSF management and oversight of
facilities projects. All facilities projects require merit and
technical review, as well as approval of certain deliverables. The
level of review and approval varies substantially from standard grants,
as does the level of oversight needed to ensure appropriate and proper
accountability for federal funds. The requirements, recommended
procedures and best practices presented in the Manual apply to any
facility significant enough to require close and substantial
interaction with the Foundation and the National Science Board.
This Manual will be updated periodically to reflect changes in
requirements, policies and/or procedures. Award Recipients are expected
to monitor and adopt the requirements and best practices included in
the Manual which are aimed at improving management and oversight of
large facilities projects and
[[Page 66421]]
at enabling the most efficient and cost-effective delivery of tools to
the research and education communities.
The submission of proposals and subsequent project documentation to
the Foundation related to the development, construction and operations
of Large Facilities is part of the collection of information. This
information is used to help NSF fulfill this responsibility in
supporting merit-based research and education projects in all the
scientific and engineering disciplines. The Foundation also has a
continuing commitment to provide oversight on facilities development
and construction which must be balanced against monitoring its
information collection so as to identify and address any excessive
reporting burdens.
NSF has approximately twenty-two (22) Large Facilities in various
stages of development, construction, operations and termination. One to
two (1 to 2) new awards are made approximately every five (5) years
based on science community infrastructure needs and availability of
funding. Of the twenty-two large facilities, there are approximately
eight (8) facilities annually that are either in development or
construction. These stages require the highest level of reporting and
management documentation per the Large Facilities Manual.
Burden To The Public: The Foundation estimates that an average of
three (3) Full Time Equivalents (FTEs) are necessary for each facility
project in development or construction (Total Project Cost of $200-
$500M) to respond to NSF routine reporting and project management
documentation requirements on an annual basis; or 6240 hours per year.
The Foundation estimates an average of one (1) FTE for a facility in
operations; or 2080 hours per year. Assuming an average of eight (8)
facilities in construction and the balance in operations, this equates
to roughly 80,000 public burden hours annually.
Dated: November 3, 2014.
Suzanne H. Plimpton,
Reports Clearance Officer, National Science Foundation.
[FR Doc. 2014-26444 Filed 11-6-14; 8:45 am]
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