Proposed Information Collection; Comment Request; Survey of State Government Research and Development, 3607-3609 [2020-00978]

Agencies

• Census Bureau
• DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 14 (Wednesday, January 22, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 3607-3609]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-00978]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

Census Bureau


Proposed Information Collection; Comment Request; Survey of State 
Government Research and Development

AGENCY: U.S. Census Bureau, Commerce.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Department of Commerce, as part of its continuing

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effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, invites the general 
public and other Federal agencies to take this opportunity to comment 
on a proposed revision and extension of the Survey of State Government 
Research and Development, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 
1995.

DATES: To ensure consideration, written comments must be submitted on 
or before March 23, 2020.

ADDRESSES: Direct all written comments to Thomas Smith, PRA Liaison, 
U.S. Census Bureau, 4600 Silver Hill Road, Room 7K250A, Washington, DC 
20233 (or via the internet at [email protected]). You may also submit 
comments, identified by Docket Number USBC-2019-0021, to the Federal e-
Rulemaking Portal: https://www.regulations.gov. All comments received 
are part of the public record. No comments will be posted to https://www.regulations.gov for public viewing until after the comment period 
has closed. Comments will generally be posted without change. All 
Personally Identifiable Information (for example, name and address) 
voluntarily submitted by the commenter may be publicly accessible. Do 
not submit Confidential Business Information or otherwise sensitive or 
protected information. You may submit attachments to electronic 
comments in Microsoft Word, Excel, or Adobe PDF file formats.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Requests for additional information or 
copies of the information collection instrument(s) and instructions 
should be directed to Michael Flaherty, U.S. Census Bureau, HQ-6H051, 
4600 Silver Hill Rd., Suitland, MD 20746, (301) 763-7699 (or via the 
internet at [email protected]).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION

I. Abstract

    The United States Census Bureau plans to make revisions to the 
Survey of State Government Research and Development (SGRD). The Census 
Bureau conducts the SGRD to measure research and development performed 
and funded by state government agencies in the United States. The 
Census Bureau conducts the survey on behalf of the National Center for 
Science and Engineering Statistics (NCSES) within the National Science 
Foundation.
    The National Science Foundation 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.'' This mandate 
was further codified in the America COMPETES Reauthorization Act of 
2010 Sec.  505, which requires NCSES to ``collect, acquire, analyze, 
report, and disseminate . . . statistical data on (A) research and 
development trends . . . '' Under the aegis of these legislative 
mandates, NCSES has sponsored surveys of research and development (R&D) 
since 1951, including the SGRD since 2006. 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 SGRD 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 NCSES coordinates with the Census Bureau for the data 
collection. The NCSES 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 NCSES 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.
    Beginning with the 2020 survey (planned launch late summer, 2020), 
we plan to ask for head counts and full-time equivalent (FTEs) for 
agency personnel who perform R&D. Adding these new questions to the 
SGRD will improve measures of the national R&D workforce. Based on 
record-keeping interviews with business respondents to similar 
questions, we do not anticipate that these two questions will add any 
substantive burden to respondents. We have added approximately 200 
state agencies to the survey frame of agencies with the potential to 
perform or fund R&D activities. Adding these 200 agencies will result 
in a 400-hour increase in the survey's total burden hour estimate.
    The survey announcements and forms used in the SGRD are:
    Survey Announcement. An introductory letter from the Directors of 
the NCSES and the Census Bureau 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 NCSES. All states supply their data by electronic means.

II. Method of Collection

    The Census Bureau mails the 50 state governors, the mayor of DC, 
and the governor of Puerto Rico a letter requesting that they appoint a 
state coordinator for the survey. They are asked to respond within 30 
days. The Census Bureau then emails the state coordinators a 
spreadsheet asking them to identify state agencies that may be active 
R&D performers. State coordinators are asked to respond within 30 days. 
The Census Bureau subsequently emails the survey form to each state 
agency identified by the respective state coordinators. The form 
contains embedded data checks and auto-summing functionality. Agencies 
are asked to complete and email back the form within 60 days. 
Alternatively, agencies are able to report to the Census Bureau by 
telephone.

III. Data

    OMB Control Number: 0607-0933.
    Form Number(s): SRD-1.
    Type of Review: Regular submission.
    Affected Public: State government agencies.

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    Estimated Number of Respondents: 51 governors, 1 mayor, 52 state 
coordinators, and approximately 700 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: 1,456.
    Estimated Total Annual Cost to Public: $0 (This is not the cost of 
respondents' time, but the indirect costs respondents may incur for 
such things as purchases of specialized software or hardware needed to 
report, or expenditures for accounting or records maintenance services 
required specifically by the collection.)
    Respondent's Obligation: Voluntary.
    Legal Authority: National Science Foundation Act of 1950 as amended 
and the America COMPETES Reauthorization Act of 2010, Title 42 U.S.C. 
1861-76; 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.

Sheleen Dumas,
Department PRA Clearance Officer, Office of the Chief Information 
Officer, Commerce Department.
[FR Doc. 2020-00978 Filed 1-21-20; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3510-07-P