Comment Request: National Science Foundation Proposal-Large Facilities Manual, 28107-28108 [2016-10793]
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Federal Register / Vol. 81, No. 89 / Monday, May 9, 2016 / Notices
NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION
Sunshine Act Meetings; National
Science Board
The National Science Board, pursuant
to NSF regulations (45 CFR part 614),
the National Science Foundation Act, as
amended, (42 U.S.C. 1862n–5), and the
Government in the Sunshine Act (5
U.S.C. 552b), hereby gives notice of the
addition of an agenda item in the
plenary open session of the National
Science Board meetings on May 6, 2016,
as shown below. The original notice
appeared in the Federal Register on
Friday, April 29, 2016 at 81 FR 25721–
22.
AMENDED AGENDA:
Plenary Board
Open session: 1:00–2:30 p.m.
• Approval of open plenary minutes for
February, 2016
• NSB Chair’s opening remarks
• Introduction of the NSF ‘‘LIGO Team’’
• NSF Director’s remarks
• Review and approval of annual
Executive Committee report
• OIG Semiannual report (ADDED)
• Open committee reports
• Discharge NPP
• Presentations to outgoing Board
members
• NSB Chair’s closing remarks
UPDATES: Please refer to the National
Science Board Web site for additional
information. Meeting information and
schedule updates (time, place, subject
matter or status of meeting) may be
found at https://www.nsf.gov/nsb/
meetings/notices.jsp.
AGENCY CONTACT: Ron Campbell,
jrcampbe@nsf.gov, 703–292–7000.
Dated: May 5, 2016.
Suzanne Plimpton,
Management Analyst, National Science
Foundation.
[FR Doc. 2016–10991 Filed 5–5–16; 4:15 pm]
BILLING CODE 7555–01–P
NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION
Comment Request: National Science
Foundation Proposal—Large Facilities
Manual
National Science Foundation.
Notice.
mstockstill on DSK3G9T082PROD with NOTICES
AGENCY:
ACTION:
The National Science
Foundation (NSF) is announcing plans
to request renewed clearance 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
SUMMARY:
VerDate Sep<11>2014
17:44 May 06, 2016
Jkt 238001
comment on the NSF Large Facilities
Manual (LFM) and the accompanying
Large Facilities Financial Data
Collection Tool. The primary purpose of
this revision is to implement financial
management policy and requirements as
well as to update and clarify existing
content. The draft versions of the NSF
LFM and the accompanying Large
Facilities Financial Data Collection Tool
are available on the NSF Web site at:
https://www.nsf.gov/bfa/lfo/lfo_
documents.jsp.
To facilitate review, a Change Log
with brief comment explanations of the
changes is provided in the manual. NSF
is particularly interested in public
comment on the financial management
changes identified in the LFM and on
the Large Facilities Financial Data
Collection Tool for use in incurred cost
reporting. After obtaining and
considering public comment, NSF will
prepare the submission requesting OMB
clearance of this collection for no longer
than 3 years.
In addition to the type of comments
identified above, comments are also
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 July 8, 2016 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
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
PO 00000
Frm 00062
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
28107
day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year
(including federal holidays).
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Title of Collection: ‘‘Large Facilities
Manual’’
OMB Approval Number: 3145–0239.
Expiration Date of Approval: 6/30/
2018.
Type of Request: Intent to seek
approval to extend with revision 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:
E:\FR\FM\09MYN1.SGM
09MYN1
mstockstill on DSK3G9T082PROD with NOTICES
28108
Federal Register / Vol. 81, No. 89 / Monday, May 9, 2016 / Notices
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:
VerDate Sep<11>2014
17:44 May 06, 2016
Jkt 238001
• 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 up-dates sections related to
contingency policy, cost estimating
requirements, and cost incurred audits.
As part of the implementation of
incurred cost reporting, a Large
Facilities Financial Data Collection Tool
is referenced in the Manual and
included in the request for comment.
This version also reflects revisions to
improve readability and facilitate period
revision. 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
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 merit-
PO 00000
Frm 00063
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
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 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 (FTE’s) 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: May 3, 2016.
Suzanne H. Plimpton,
Reports Clearance Officer, National Science
Foundation.
[FR Doc. 2016–10793 Filed 5–6–16; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7555–01–P
NUCLEAR REGULATORY
COMMISSION
Advisory Committee on Reactor
Safeguards (ACRS); Meeting of the
ACRS Subcommittee on Digital I&C;
Cancellation of the May 17, 2016,
ACRS Subcommittee Meeting
The ACRS Subcommittee meeting on
Digital I&C scheduled for May 17, 2016,
1:00 p.m. until 5:00 p.m., has been
cancelled.
The notice of this meeting was
previously published in the Federal
Register on Wednesday, April 27, 2016,
(81 FR 24894).
Information regarding this meeting
can be obtained by contacting Christina
E:\FR\FM\09MYN1.SGM
09MYN1
Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 89 (Monday, May 9, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 28107-28108]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-10793]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
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 renewed clearance 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 the NSF Large
Facilities Manual (LFM) and the accompanying Large Facilities Financial
Data Collection Tool. The primary purpose of this revision is to
implement financial management policy and requirements as well as to
update and clarify existing content. The draft versions of the NSF LFM
and the accompanying Large Facilities Financial Data Collection Tool
are available on the NSF Web site at: https://www.nsf.gov/bfa/lfo/lfo_documents.jsp.
To facilitate review, a Change Log with brief comment explanations
of the changes is provided in the manual. NSF is particularly
interested in public comment on the financial management changes
identified in the LFM and on the Large Facilities Financial Data
Collection Tool for use in incurred cost reporting. After obtaining and
considering public comment, NSF will prepare the submission requesting
OMB clearance of this collection for no longer than 3 years.
In addition to the type of comments identified above, comments are
also 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 July 8, 2016 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 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: 3145-0239.
Expiration Date of Approval: 6/30/2018.
Type of Request: Intent to seek approval to extend with revision 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:
[[Page 28108]]
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 up-dates sections
related to contingency policy, cost estimating requirements, and cost
incurred audits. As part of the implementation of incurred cost
reporting, a Large Facilities Financial Data Collection Tool is
referenced in the Manual and included in the request for comment. This
version also reflects revisions to improve readability and facilitate
period revision. 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 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 (FTE's) 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: May 3, 2016.
Suzanne H. Plimpton,
Reports Clearance Officer, National Science Foundation.
[FR Doc. 2016-10793 Filed 5-6-16; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7555-01-P