Agency Information Collection Activities: Comment Request, 50183-50185 [2021-19262]

Agencies

• NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION

[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 170 (Tuesday, September 7, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 50183-50185]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-19262]


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NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION


Agency Information Collection Activities: Comment Request

AGENCY: National Science Foundation.

ACTION: Submission for OMB review; comment request.

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SUMMARY: The National Science Foundation (NSF) has submitted the 
following information collection requirement to OMB for review and 
clearance under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. This is the second 
notice for public comment; the first was published in the Federal 
Register and 22 comments were received. NSF is forwarding the proposed 
renewal submission to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for 
clearance simultaneously with the publication of this second notice.

DATES: Written comments and recommendations for the proposed 
information collection should be sent within 30 days of publication of 
this notice to www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAmain. Find this particular 
information collection by selecting ``Currently under 30-day Review--
Open for Public Comments'' or by using the search function.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Suzanne H. Plimpton, Reports Clearance 
Officer, National Science Foundation, 2415 Eisenhower Avenue, 
Alexandria, VA 22314, 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). Comments regarding this information collection are 
best assured of having their full effect if received within 30 days of 
this notification. Copies of the submission(s) may be obtained by 
calling 703-292-7556.
    NSF may not conduct or sponsor a collection of information unless 
the collection of information displays a currently valid OMB control 
number, and the agency informs potential persons who are to respond to 
the collection of information that such persons are not required to 
respond to the collection of information unless it displays a currently 
valid OMB control number.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Summary of Comments on the National Science Foundation's Major 
Facilities Guide

    The draft Major Facilities Guide were made available for review by 
the public on the NSF website at https://www.nsf.gov/bfa/lfo/lfo_documents.jsp. In response to the Federal Register notice published 
February 2, 2021, at 86 FR 7884, NSF received 22 comments from 2 
different institutions/individuals. A summary of the comments on the 
Major Facilities Guide follows:
     7 requested clarifications and content regarding the 
fourth pillar, Mission Alignment, of information security programs for 
major facility cybersecurity programs;
     12 requested clarifications and updates on the processes 
and requirements associated with NSF oversight of the various stages of 
the facility lifecycle; and
     3 requested clarifications regarding NSF ``No Cost 
Overrun'' Policy and budget contingency for the construction stage of 
major facility projects.
    The full comments and NSF's response may be found via: https://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain and https://www.nsf.gov/bfa/lfo/lfo_documents.jsp.
    Title of Collection: Major Facilities Guide.

[[Page 50184]]

    OMB Approval Number: 3145-0239.
    Type of Request: Intent to seek approval to renew with revisions 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 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 major 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 major facility projects greater than $100M 
and mid-scale research infrastructure projects between $20M and $100M. 
Smaller mid-scale and research instrumentation 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 major 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 step-by-step 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 construction, operations, and termination; and
     Document and disseminate ``good practices'' identified 
over time so that NSF and awardees can carry out their responsibilities 
more effectively.
    This version of the Major Facilities Guide reflects new legislation 
applicable to major facilities, NSF's expectations for construction 
schedules for alignment with good practices, minimum competencies for 
project personnel, and guidance on the content of Segregation of 
Funding Plans and how to scale earned value management systems (EVMS). 
The Guide does not replace existing formal procedures required for all 
NSF awards, which are described in the, Proposal & Award Policies & 
Procedures Guide (PAPPG). Instead, it draws upon and supplements it for 
the purpose of providing detailed guidance on NSF policy and procedures 
related to the planning and oversight of major facilities and mid-scale 
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 development, 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 development 
and construction which must be balanced against monitoring its 
information

[[Page 50185]]

collection so as to identify and address any excessive reporting 
burdens.
    NSF has approximately twenty-two (22) major facilities in various 
stages of development, construction, operations and termination. 
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 awards are made approximately every five (5) years based on science 
community infrastructure needs and availability of funding. Among the 
twenty-five major facilities, there are approximately seven (7) 
facilities annually that are either in development or construction. 
These stages require the highest level of reporting and management 
documentation per the Major Facilities Guide. NSF estimates there will 
be twelve (12) mid-scale projects in progress at a given time.
    Burden to the Public: The Foundation estimates that approximately 
five (5) Full Time Equivalents (FTEs) 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 eighteen (18) in operations and twelve 
(12) mid-scale projects, this equates to roughly 165,000 public burden 
hours annually.

    Dated: September 1, 2021.
Suzanne H. Plimpton,
Reports Clearance Officer, National Science Foundation.
[FR Doc. 2021-19262 Filed 9-3-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7555-01-P