Notice of Intent To Seek Approval To Renew an Information Collection System, 6616-6619 [2018-03002]
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6616
Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 31 / Wednesday, February 14, 2018 / Notices
will be sent to the Office of Management
and Budget (OMB) for review, as
required by the provisions of the
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.
DATES: Comments on this information
collection must be submitted on or
before April 16, 2018.
ADDRESSES: Submit comments by email
to Mr. Joel Schwartz, Chief Guidelines
Officer, at jschwartz@neh.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: NEH will
submit the proposed information
collection to OMB for review, as
required by the Paperwork Reduction
Act of 1995 (Pub. L. 104–13, 44 U.S.C.
35). This notice is soliciting comments
from members of the public and affected
agencies. NEH is particularly interested
in comments which help the agency to:
(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 (4) Minimize the burden
of the collection of information on those
who are to respond, including through
the use of electronic submissions of
responses.
This Notice also lists the following
information:
Type of Review: Extension of a
currently approved collection.
Agency: National Endowment for the
Humanities.
Title of Proposal: Generic Clearance
Authority for the National Endowment
for the Humanities.
OMB Number: 3136–0134.
Affected Public: Applicants to NEH
grant programs, reviewers of NEH grant
applications, and NEH award recipients.
Total Respondents: 7,815.
Frequency of Collection: On occasion.
Total Responses: 7,815.
Average Time per Response: Varies
according to type of information
collection.
Estimated Total Burden Hours: 88,885
hours.
Comments submitted in response to
this notice will be summarized and/or
included in the request for OMB
approval of the information collection
request. These comments will also
become a matter of public record.
Jon Parrish Peede,
Senior Deputy Chairman.
[FR Doc. 2018–02941 Filed 2–13–18; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7536–01–P
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NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION
Notice of Intent To Seek Approval To
Renew an Information Collection
System
National Science Foundation.
Notice and request for
comments.
AGENCY:
ACTION:
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 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:
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
SUMMARY:
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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.
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
1 National Science Foundation. (2012). NSF at a
glance. Retrieved from https://www.nsf.gov/about/
glance.jsp.
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Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 31 / Wednesday, February 14, 2018 / Notices
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
6617
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 Innovation (EFRI) ..........................
Engineering Education and Centers (EEC) .............................................
Fundamental Research.
Large research center’s research (Implementation & Development) &
Research and Education.
Translational Research.
Fundamental Research.
Industrial Innovation and Partnerships (IIP) .............................................
Chemical, Bioengineering, Environmental, and Transport Systems
(CBET).
Civil, Mechanical, and Manufacturing Innovation (CMMI) .......................
Electrical, Communications, and Cyber Systems (ECCS) .......................
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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 multiagency 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.
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Fundamental Research.
Fundamental Research.
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.
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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.
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Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 31 / Wednesday, February 14, 2018 / Notices
ESTIMATE OF BURDEN
Number of
respondents
Collection title
Annual number
of responses/
respondent
Annual hour
burden
Emerging Frontiers in Research and Innovation (EFRI) .............................................................
Civil, Mechanical, and Manufacturing Innovation (CMMI) ...........................................................
Chemical, Bioengineering, Environmental, and Transport Systems (CBET) ..............................
Electrical, Communications, and Cyber Systems (ECCS) ..........................................................
Engineering Education and Centers (EEC) .................................................................................
Industrial Innovation and Partnerships (IIP) ................................................................................
85
1,300
1,750
1,000
100
1,000
0.25
0.25
0.25
0.25
0.25
4
21.25
325
437.5
250
100
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
Number of
respondents
Respondent type
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, privateindependent, religiously affiliated) was
$86,319. When divided by the number
of standard annual work hours (2,080),
this calculates to approximately $41 per
hour.
Burden
hours per
respondent
Average
hourly rate
Estimated
annual cost
PIs/Program Coordinators (EFRI, CBET, CMMI, ECCS, EEC) ......................
PIs/Program Coordinators (IIP Division) ..........................................................
4,235
1,000
0.25
1
$41
41
$173,635
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
respondents
Collection title
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Emerging Frontiers in Research and Innovation (EFRI) .........................................................................................
Civil, Mechanical, and Manufacturing Innovation (CMMI) .......................................................................................
Chemical, Bioengineering, Environmental, and Transport Systems (CBET) ..........................................................
Electrical, Communications, and Cyber Systems (ECCS) ......................................................................................
Engineering Education and Centers (EEC) .............................................................................................................
Industrial Innovation and Partnerships (IIP) ............................................................................................................
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85
1,300
1,750
1,000
100
1,000
Sample size
85
1,300
1,750
1,000
100
1,000
Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 31 / Wednesday, February 14, 2018 / Notices
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
NUCLEAR REGULATORY
COMMISSION
[NRC–2018–0026]
see ‘‘Obtaining Information and
Submitting Comments’’ in the
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of
this document.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Maurice Heath, Office of Nuclear
Material Safety and Safeguards, U.S.
Nuclear Regulatory Commission,
Washington, DC 20555–0001; telephone:
301–415–3137; email: Maurice.Heath@
nrc.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Very Low-Level Radioactive Waste
Scoping Study
I. Obtaining Information and
Submitting Comments
Nuclear Regulatory
Commission.
ACTION: Scoping study; public meeting
and request for comment.
A. Obtaining Information
Please refer to Docket ID NRC–2018–
0026 when contacting the NRC about
the availability of information for this
action. You may obtain publiclyavailable information related to this
action by any of the following methods:
• Federal Rulemaking website: Go to
https://www.regulations.gov and search
for Docket ID NRC–2018–0026.
• NRC’s Agencywide Documents
Access and Management System
(ADAMS): You may obtain publiclyavailable documents online in the
ADAMS Public Documents collection at
https://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/
adams.html. To begin the search, select
‘‘ADAMS Public Documents’’ and then
select ‘‘Begin Web-based ADAMS
Search.’’ For problems with ADAMS,
please contact the NRC’s Public
Document Room (PDR) reference staff at
1–800–397–4209, 301–415–4737, or by
email to pdr.resource@nrc.gov. The
ADAMS Accession Number for each
document referenced (if it is available in
ADAMS) is provided the first time that
it is mentioned in the SUPPLEMENTARY
INFORMATION section.
• NRC’s PDR: You may examine and
purchase copies of public documents at
the NRC’s PDR, Room O1–F21, One
White Flint North, 11555 Rockville
Pike, Rockville, Maryland 20852.
AGENCY:
The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory
Commission (NRC) is conducting a very
low-level radioactive waste (VLLW)
scoping study to identify possible
options to improve and strengthen the
NRC’s regulatory framework for the
disposal of the anticipated large
volumes of VLLW associated with the
decommissioning of nuclear power
plants and material sites, as well as
waste that might be generated by
alternative waste streams that may be
created by operating reprocessing
facilities or a radiological event. The
NRC is seeking stakeholder input and
perspectives on this action.
Respondents are asked to consider
specific questions posed by the NRC
staff and other Federal agencies in this
notice when preparing their responses.
DATES: Submit comments by May 15,
2018. Comments received after this date
will be considered if it is practical to do
so, but the NRC is able to ensure
consideration only for comments
received on or before this date.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments
by any of the following methods (unless
this document describes a different
method for submitting comments on a
specific subject):
• Federal Rulemaking website: Go to
https://www.regulations.gov and search
for Docket ID NRC–2018–0026. Address
questions about NRC dockets to Jennifer
Borges; telephone: 301–287–9127;
email: Jennifer.Borges@nrc.gov. For
technical questions, contact the
individual listed in the FOR FURTHER
INFORMATION CONTACT section of this
document.
• Mail comments to: May Ma, Office
of Administration, Mail Stop: OWFN–2–
A13, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory
Commission, Washington, DC 20555–
0001.
For additional direction on obtaining
information and submitting comments,
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SUMMARY:
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B. Submitting Comments
Please reference Docket ID NRC–
2018–0026 in your comment
submission. If your comment contains
proprietary or sensitive information,
please contact the individual listed in
the FOR INFORMATION CONTACT section of
this document to determine the most
appropriate method for submitting your
comment.
The NRC cautions you not to include
identifying or contact information that
you do not want to be publicly
disclosed in your comment submission.
All comment submissions are posted at
https://www.regulations.gov and entered
into ADAMS. The NRC does not
routinely edit comment submissions to
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6619
remove identifying or contact
information.
If you are requesting or aggregating
comments from other persons for
submission to the NRC, then you should
inform those persons not to include
identifying or contact information that
they do not want to be publicly
disclosed in their comment submission.
Your request should state that the NRC
does not routinely edit comment
submissions to remove such information
before making the comment
submissions available to the public or
entering the comment submissions into
ADAMS.
II. Background
In 2007, following developments in
the national program for Low-Level
Radioactive Waste (LLRW) disposal, as
well as changes in the regulatory
environment, the NRC conducted a
strategic assessment of its regulatory
program for LLRW. The results of this
assessment were published in late 2007
in SECY–07–0180, ‘‘Strategic
Assessment of Low-Level Radioactive
Waste Regulatory Program’’ (ADAMS
Accession No. ML071350299). The
strategic assessment identified the need
to coordinate with other agencies on
consistency in regulating LAW disposal
and to develop guidance that
summarizes disposition options for lowend materials and waste.
In 2016, the NRC staff conducted a
programmatic assessment of the LLRW
program to identify and prioritize tasks
that the NRC could undertake to ensure
a stable, reliable, and adaptable
regulatory framework for effective
LLRW management. The results of this
assessment were published in October
2016, in SECY–16–0118, ‘‘Programmatic
Assessment of Low-Level Radioactive
Waste Regulatory Program’’ (ADAMS
Accession No. ML15243A192). The
programmatic assessment identified the
need to perform a LAW scoping study
as a medium priority.
In International Atomic Energy
Agency (IAEA) Safety Guide No. GSG–
1, ‘‘Classification of Radioactive Waste’’
(https://www-pub.iaea.org/MTCD/
publications/PDF/Pub1419_web.pdf),
the IAEA defines VLLW as waste that
does not meet the criteria of exempt
waste, but does not need a high level of
containment and isolation, and,
therefore, is suitable for disposal in a
near surface landfill type facility with
limited regulatory control. The NRC
currently does not have a formal
regulatory definition for VLLW, nor has
it adopted the IAEA definition.
However, the NRC uses the term VLLW
consistent with the international
regulatory structure. In general, the NRC
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]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 31 (Wednesday, February 14, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 6616-6619]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-03002]
=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
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 https://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
