Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection; Comment Request, 65757-65759 [2018-27622]

Agencies

• NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION

[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 245 (Friday, December 21, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 65757-65759]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-27622]


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NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION


Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection; 
Comment Request

AGENCY: National Science Foundation.

ACTION: Notice and request for comments.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the requirement of the Paperwork Reduction 
Act of 1995, the National Science Foundation (NSF) is providing 
opportunity for public comment on the NSF Major Facilities Guide (MFG) 
and the accompanying NSF Financial Data Collection Tool for Major 
Facilities. The Major Facilities Guide was previously cleared under the 
title Large Facilities Manual. The primary purpose of this revision is 
to update the roles and responsibilities for NSF staff for oversight of 
Major Facilities, provide requirements for mid-scale projects, and 
provide content in previously reserved Sections as well as clarify 
existing content. The draft versions of the NSF MFG and the 
accompanying NSF Financial Data Collection Tool for Major Facilities 
are available on the NSF website 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 guide. NSF is particularly interested 
in public comment on the new content provided in Section 5 Guidance for 
Mid-Scale Research Infrastructure Projects and the previously reserved 
sections.

DATES: Written comments should be received by February 19, 2019 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: 
    Comments: 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. After obtaining and considering public comment, NSF will 
prepare the submission requesting OMB clearance of this collection for 
no longer than 3 years.
    Title of Collection: Major Facilities Guide.
    OMB Approval Number: 3145-0239.
    Expiration Date of Approval: 6/30/2020.
    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:
    [square] Basic scientific research and research fundamental to the 
engineering process;
    [square] Programs to strengthen scientific and engineering research 
potential;
    [square] Science and engineering education programs at all levels 
and in all the various fields of science and engineering;
    [square] Programs that provide a source of information for policy 
formulation; and

[[Page 65758]]

    [square] 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 major 
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 $70M 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 major 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 Major Facilities Guide is intended to:
     Provide guidance for NSF staff and awardees to carry out 
effective project planning, management and oversight of major 
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 design, construction, operations, and divestment; 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 Major Facilities Guide adds a section for 
guidance on mid-scale research infrastructure projects; updates 
sections related to NSF policy on research infrastructure, roles and 
responsibilities for NSF staff, divestment stage, earned value 
management, cybersecurity, and property management; and clarifies cost 
estimating requirements, the construction stage total project costs 
including NSF policy on contingency and reporting requirements. As part 
of the implementation of incurred cost reporting, a NSF Financial Data 
Collection Tool for Major Facilities is referenced in the Guide and 
included in the request for comment. This version also reflects 
revisions to improve readability and facilitate period revision. The 
Guide 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 Guide apply to any facility significant enough to require close and 
substantial interaction with the Foundation and the National Science 
Board.
    This Guide 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 Guide which are aimed at improving management and oversight of 
major 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 design, construction and operations of 
Major 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 design 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-four (24) Major Facilities in various 
stages of design, construction, operations and divestment. Facilities 
undergoing a major upgrade may be classified in both design or 
construction and operations at the same time. Two to four (2 to 4) new 
construction awards are made approximately every five (5) years based 
on science community infrastructure needs and availability of funding. 
Among the twenty-four major facilities, there are approximately seven 
(7)

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facilities that are either in design or construction. These stages 
require the highest level of reporting and management documentation per 
the Major Facilities Guide. NSF estimates there will be four (4) mid-
scale projects in progress at a given time.
    Burden to the Public: The Foundation estimates that approximately 
five (5) Full Time Equivalents (FTE's) are necessary for each major 
facility project in design or construction to respond to NSF 
performance and financial reporting and project management 
documentation requirements on an annual basis; or 10,400 hours per 
year. The Foundation estimates approximately one and half (1.5) FTE for 
a major facility in operations to respond to NSF performance and 
financial reporting on an annual basis; or 3,120 hours per year. For 
mid-scale projects, the Foundation estimates approximately one (1) Full 
Time Equivalent (FTE's) is necessary for each mid-scale project to 
respond to NSF project management documentation requirements on an 
annual basis; or 2,080 hours per year. With seven (7) major facilities 
in design or construction and twenty-one (21) in operations and four 
(4) mid-scale projects, this equates to roughly 150,000 public burden 
hours annually.

    Dated: December 17, 2018.
Suzanne H. Plimpton,
Reports Clearance Officer, National Science Foundation.
[FR Doc. 2018-27622 Filed 12-20-18; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7555-01-P