Proposed Information Collection; Comment Request; Survey of State Government Research and Development (R&D), 58703-58704 [2015-24768]

Agencies

• Census Bureau
• DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 189 (Wednesday, September 30, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 58703-58704]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-24768]



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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

Census Bureau


Proposed Information Collection; Comment Request; Survey of State 
Government Research and Development (R&D)

AGENCY: U.S. Census Bureau, Commerce.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Department of Commerce, as part of its continuing effort 
to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, invites the general public 
and other Federal agencies to take this opportunity to comment on 
proposed and/or continuing information collections, as required by the 
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.

DATES: To ensure consideration, written comments must be submitted on 
or before November 30, 2015.

ADDRESSES: Direct all written comments to Jennifer Jessup, Departmental 
Paperwork Clearance Officer, Department of Commerce, Room 6616, 14th 
and Constitution Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20230 (or via the Internet 
at jjessup@doc.gov).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Requests for additional information or 
copies of the information collection instrument(s) and instructions 
should be directed to Lisa McNelis, U.S. Census Bureau, Economic 
Reimbursable Surveys Division, 4600 Silver Hill Road, Washington, DC 
20233-6900; (888) 340-7525 (or via the Internet at 
erd.sgrd@census.gov.).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Abstract

    The United States Census Bureau plans to continue to conduct the 
Survey of State Government Research and Development (SGRD) on behalf of 
the National Science Foundation (NSF) to measure research and 
development performed and funded by state governments in the United 
States.
    The NSF Act of 1950, as amended, includes a statutory charge to 
``provide a central clearinghouse for the collection, interpretation, 
and analysis of data on scientific and engineering resources and to 
provide a source of information for policy formulation by other 
agencies in the Federal Government.'' Under the aegis of this 
legislative mandate, NSF has sponsored surveys of research and 
development (R&D) since 1953, including since 2006 the Survey of State 
Government R&D. The Census Bureau's authorization to undertake this 
work is found at 13 U.S.C. Section 8(b) which provides that the Census 
Bureau ``may make special statistical compilations and surveys for 
departments, agencies, and establishments of the Federal government, 
the government of the District of Columbia, the government of any 
possession or area (including political subdivisions thereof) . . . 
State or local agencies, or other public and private persons and 
agencies.''
    The Survey of State Government R&D is the only comprehensive source 
of state government research and development expenditure data collected 
on a nationwide scale using uniform definitions, concepts, and 
procedures. The collection covers the expenditures of all agencies in 
the fifty state governments, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico 
that perform or fund R&D. The National Science Foundation has 
coordinated with the Census Bureau for the data collection. The NSF 
uses this collection to satisfy, in part, its need to collect research 
and development expenditures data.
    Fiscal data provided by respondents aid data users in measuring the 
effectiveness of resource allocation. The products of this data 
collection make it possible for data users to obtain information on 
such things as expenditures according to source of funding (e.g., 
federal funds or state funds), by performer of the work (e.g., 
intramural and extramural to state agencies), by function (e.g., 
agriculture, energy, health, transportation, etc.), by type of work 
(e.g., basic research, applied research, or experimental development) 
for intramural performance of R&D, and by R&D plant (e.g., construction 
projects). Final results produced by NSF contain state and national 
estimates useful to a variety of data users interested in research and 
development performance including: The National Science Board; the 
Office of Management and Budget; the Office of Science and Technology 
Policy and other science policy makers; institutional researchers; and 
private organizations.
    In order to increase the timeliness of the statistics, we plan to 
change the collection from a biennial survey which collected two years 
of data to an annual survey collecting one year of data. The state 
coordinators will no longer be asked to monitor agency response. As a 
result of this change, the average burden for state coordinators will 
decrease from 4 hours to 1 hour per response. We are also changing the 
response mode for state coordinators from a web form to an emailed 
Excel spreadsheet. We are making changes to the content of the web form 
which agency respondents are asked to complete. The changes are 
designed to capture specific information on source of funds (e.g., 
internal or external) for R&D performer type (e.g., intramural and 
extramural); collect information on intramural R&D by type-of-work 
(e.g., basic research, applied research, and experimental development); 
and to collect specific information on federal support to states for 
R&D. In order to obtain this information, we are: (i) Asking state 
agencies to provide information on the source of funds for extramural 
performance; (ii) Asking state agencies to provide information on basic 
research, applied research, and experimental development, but instead 
of asking for these on the agencies' total R&D expenditures (as was 
done previously) this question only applies to agencies with intramural 
R&D; and (iii) No longer asking agencies to identify how much of their 
total R&D was supported from federal funds, but have replaced this with 
a question asking how much R&D funds did the state receive from a list 
of specific federal departments and independent agencies. These changes 
will increase the agencies' average burden from one hour and 45 minutes 
to 2 hours per response. The total respondent burden will increase as a 
net result of these changes.
    The survey announcements and forms used in the research and 
development survey are:
    Survey Announcement. The Governor's letter is mailed to the 
Governor's Office to announce the survey collection and to solicit 
assignment of a State Coordinator. The State Coordinator's Announcement 
is sent electronically at the beginning of each survey period to 
solicit assistance in identifying state agencies which may perform or 
fund R&D activities.
    Form SRD-1. This form contains item descriptions and definitions of 
the research and development items collected by the Census Bureau on 
behalf of the NSF. It is used primarily as a worksheet and instruction 
guide by the state agencies providing research and development 
expenditure data in their respective states. All states supply their 
data by electronic means.

II. Method of Collection

    The Census Bureau will use a web-based collection strategy. State 
governors are emailed a request to appoint a state coordinator for the 
survey. Governors are asked to respond within 30 days. State 
coordinators are then emailed an Excel spreadsheet asking them to 
identify state agencies that may be active R&D performers. State 
coordinators are asked to respond within 30 days. State agencies 
identified

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by their respective state coordinators are emailed a pdf version of the 
form and directed to the Census Bureau's Business Help Site where they 
can complete the survey form online. Agencies are asked to respond 
within 60 days.

III. Data

    OMB Control Number: 0607-0933.
    Form Number(s): SRD-1.
    Type of Review: Regular submission.
    Affected Public: State Government Agencies.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 52 governors, 52 state 
coordinators and approximately 500 state government agencies.
    Estimated Time per Response: 5 minutes for each governor, 1 hour 
for each state coordinator and 2 hours for each state agency surveyed.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 1,056.
    Estimated Total Annual Cost to Public: $0.
    Respondent's Obligation: Voluntary.
    Legal Authority: Title 42 U.S.C. 1861-76: ``National Science 
Foundation Act of 1950'' as amended. Title 13, U.S.C. Section 8(b).

IV. Request for Comments

    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 
(including hours and cost) of the proposed collection of information; 
(c) ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the 
information to be collected; and (d) ways to minimize the burden of the 
collection of information on respondents, including through the use of 
automated collection techniques or other forms of information 
technology.
    Comments submitted in response to this notice will be summarized 
and/or included in the request for OMB approval of this information 
collection; they also will become a matter of public record.

    Dated: September 25, 2015.
Glenna Mickelson,
Management Analyst, Office of the Chief Information Officer.
[FR Doc. 2015-24768 Filed 9-29-15; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3510-07-P