Agency Information Collection Activities: Comment Request; Convergence Accelerator Evaluation & Monitoring Plan, 1440-1441 [2022-00336]

Download as PDF khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with NOTICES 1440 Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 7 / Tuesday, January 11, 2022 / Notices Communities Through the Federal Government, NASA has been working to identify and address barriers that underserved communities and individuals may face in taking advantage of procurement, contracting, or grant opportunities. To address these barriers, NASA has taken a few actions including proposing the term and condition described above. NASA is taking this action to ensure that entities funded by NASA are compliant with the procurement standards in the uniform guidance. NASA’s expectation is that this action will result in an increase in contracting opportunities for small and/ or minority businesses, women’s business enterprises and labor surplus area firms that contract with NASA financial assistance recipients. DATES: Comments must be received by February 10, 2022. ADDRESSES: Comments should be addressed to National Aeronautics and Space Administration Headquarters, 300 E Street SW, Rm. 6O87, Washington, DC 20546 or sent by email to HQfedregcomments@nasa.gov; Phone Number: 202–358–2180, FAX Number: 202–358–3336. We encourage respondents to submit comments electronically to ensure timely receipt. We cannot guarantee that comments mailed will be received before the comment closing date. Please include ‘‘Requirement to obtain a quotation from small and/or minority businesses, women’s business enterprises or labor surplus area firms’’ in the subject line of the email message. Please also include the full body of your comments in the text of the message and as an attachment. Include your name, title, organization, postal address, telephone number, and email address in your message. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Christiane S. Diallo, email: Christiane.diallo@nasa.gov, telephone (202) 358–5179. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On January 25, 2021, President Biden issued E.O. 13985, Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Through the Federal Government, outlining a comprehensive approach to advancing equity for all, including people of color and others who have been historically underserved, marginalized, and adversely affected by persistent poverty and inequality. Given that advancing equity requires a systematic approach to embedding fairness in the decision-making process, the E.O. instructs agencies to recognize and work to redress inequities in their policies and programs that serve as barriers to equal opportunity. VerDate Sep<11>2014 20:03 Jan 10, 2022 Jkt 256001 In response to E.O. 13985, NASA has been working to identify and address barriers that underserved communities and individuals may face in taking advantage of procurement, contracting, or grant opportunities. Through focused engagement with stakeholders and comments received from 86 FR 31735, June 15, 2021, Request for Information on Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities in NASA Programs, Contracts and Grants Process, NASA has learned that access to information and a lack of resources and opportunities are just some of the barriers faced by underserved communities. As such, GPC has reviewed NASA’s grants management policies and procedures and has identified a few actions that can be taken to reduce these barriers, including a proposed implementation of a new term and condition that requires recipients of NASA financial assistance to obtain a quotation from small and/or minority businesses, women’s business enterprises or labor surplus area firms when the acquisition of goods or services exceeds the simplified acquisition threshold. The full text of the new term and condition is provided below: Requirement To Obtain a Quotation From Small and/or Minority Businesses, Women’s Business Enterprises or Labor Surplus Area Firms Pursuant to the requirements in 2 CFR 200.321, Contracting with small and minority businesses, women’s business enterprises, and labor surplus area firms, grant and cooperative agreement recipients shall, to the extent practicable, obtain at least one quotation in response to a recipient-issued Request for Quotation (RFQ) from a small and/or minority business, women’s business enterprise or labor surplus area firms when the acquisition of goods or services exceeds the simplified acquisition threshold (SAT) as defined in the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) part 2.101, Definitions (currently the SAT is $250,000). In the event that recipients are unable to obtain at least one quote from a small and/or minority business women’s business enterprise or labor surplus area firm, a written justification indicating why this was not possible must be maintained in the recipient’s records. End of Proposed Term and Condition Implementation Upon receipt and resolution of all comments, it is NASA’s intention to implement the new term through a revision to the NASA Grant and PO 00000 Frm 00049 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 Cooperative Agreement Manual (GCAM). These revised terms and conditions will become effective thirty days from the final notice publication date in the Federal Register and will be available in the GCAM. The new term and condition will be applied to all new NASA awards and funding amendments to existing awards made on or after the effective date. Cheryl Parker, Federal Register Liaison Officer. [FR Doc. 2022–00302 Filed 1–10–22; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 7510–13–P NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION Agency Information Collection Activities: Comment Request; Convergence Accelerator Evaluation & Monitoring Plan National Science Foundation. Notice. AGENCY: ACTION: The National Science Foundation (NSF) is announcing plans for a new data collection. In accordance with the requirements of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, we are providing an opportunity for public comment on this action. After obtaining and considering public comment, NSF will prepare the submission requesting Office of Management and Budget (OMB) clearance of this collection for no longer than three years. DATES: Written comments on this notice must be received within March 14, 2022 to be assured consideration. Comments received after that date will be considered to the extent practicable. Please send comments to the address below. SUMMARY: 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: Title of Collection: Generic Clearance for the Convergence Accelerator Evaluation & Monitoring Plan. OMB Number: 3145–NEW. Expiration Date of Approval: Not applicable. Type of Request: New information collection. E:\FR\FM\11JAN1.SGM 11JAN1 khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with NOTICES Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 7 / Tuesday, January 11, 2022 / Notices Abstract: The information collection will enable the Evaluation and Assessment Capability (EAC) Section within NSF to garner quantitative and qualitative information that will be used to inform programmatic improvements, efficiencies, and enhanced program monitoring for the Convergence Accelerator (CA). This information collection, which entails collecting information from CA applicants and grantees through a series of surveys, interviews, and case studies, is in accordance with the Agency’s commitment to improving service delivery as well as the Agency’s strategic goal to ‘‘advance the capability of the Nation to meet current and future challenges.’’ For this effort, four survey instruments have been developed, each of which will include closed-ended and open-ended questions to generate quantitative and qualitative data. For ease of use for our respondent pool, each of the four survey instruments will be programmed into interactive web surveys and distributed to eligible respondents by email. The surveys, which will serve as a census for all applicable CA applicants and/or grantees, will be used to collect baseline measures at the start of the program and vital information on how grantees progress through the program. Followup interviews will be conducted with project team leaders, such as Principal Investigators (PIs) and Principal Directors (PDs), and case studies that will use a project team as the unit of analysis will be used to collect qualitatively rich discursive and observational information that cannot be collected within a web survey. Both follow-up interviews and case studies will be conducted virtually with the possibility of in-person interviews and non-participant observation to be held in the future. NSF/EAC will only submit a collection for approval under this generic clearance if it meets the following conditions: Æ The collection is voluntary; Æ The collection has a reasonably low burden for respondents (based on considerations of total burden hours, total number of respondents, or burdenhours per respondent) and is low-cost for the Federal government; Æ The collection is non-controversial and does not raise issues of concern for other Federal agencies; Æ The collection is targeted to the solicitation of opinions from respondents who have applied to the CA program (including those that have submitted successful grant applications and subsequently received funding); VerDate Sep<11>2014 20:03 Jan 10, 2022 Jkt 256001 Æ Personally identifiable information (PII) is collected only to the extent necessary; and Æ Information gathered will be used for the dual and interrelated purposes of disseminating information about the CA program and using this information to make programmatic improvements, efficiencies, and enhanced program monitoring for the CA. Feedback collected under this generic clearance provides useful information for the continued evolution of the CA program, but it may not yield data that can be generalized to the overall population in all instances. Our qualitative data collection activities— follow-up interviews and case studies— are designed to investigate outlier CA teams or CA teams that demonstrate exceptional performance or successfully overcome significant challenges in their work with the CA. While the web surveys, which will be deployed at different times during the program, will collect data that will help the EAC monitor trends over time and assess overall program performance, the follow-up interviews and case studies will gather supplemental data that is more specific to individual CA teams. As a general matter, this information collection will not include questions of a sensitive nature, such as sexual behavior and attitudes, religious beliefs, and other matters that are commonly considered private. Below we provide NSF’s projected average estimates for the next three years: Affected Public: Individuals and households, Businesses and other forprofit organizations, Not-for-profit institutions, Federal government. Average Expected Annual Number of Activities: 10. Respondents: 300 per activity. Annual Responses: 3,000. Frequency of Response: Once per request. Average Minutes per Response: 75. Burden Hours: 1,400. 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 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 those who are to respond, including through the use of PO 00000 Frm 00050 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 1441 appropriate automated, electronic, mechanical, or other technological collection techniques or other forms of information technology. Dated: January 6, 2022. Suzanne H. Plimpton, Reports Clearance Officer, National Science Foundation. [FR Doc. 2022–00336 Filed 1–10–22; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 7555–01–P NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION [Docket No. 52–049; NRC–2020–0088] Oklo Power LLC, a subsidiary of Oklo Inc.; Oklo Aurora Combined License Application Idaho National Laboratory Nuclear Regulatory Commission. ACTION: Combined license application; denial, opportunity to demand a hearing and to petition for leave to intervene. AGENCY: Oklo Power LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Oklo Inc., submitted a custom combined license application for one Aurora reactor to be located at the Idaho National Laboratory in Idaho on March 11, 2020. The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has denied the Oklo Aurora custom combined license application for failure to provide information in response to NRC staff requests for additional information (RAIs). The agency is denying the application without prejudice, and Oklo is free to resubmit its application supplemented by additional information that was previously requested. DATES: A demand for a hearing or petition for leave to intervene must be filed by February 10, 2022. ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID NRC–2020–0088 when contacting the NRC about the availability of information regarding this document. You may obtain publicly available information related to this document using any of the following methods: • Federal Rulemaking website: Go to https://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC–2020–0088. Address questions about Docket IDs in Regulations.gov to Stacy Schumann; telephone: 301–415–0624; email: Stacy.Schumann@nrc.gov. For technical questions, contact the individual listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section of this document. • NRC’s Agencywide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS): You may obtain publicly available documents online in the ADAMS Public Documents collection at SUMMARY: E:\FR\FM\11JAN1.SGM 11JAN1

Agencies

[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 7 (Tuesday, January 11, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 1440-1441]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-00336]


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NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION


Agency Information Collection Activities: Comment Request; 
Convergence Accelerator Evaluation & Monitoring Plan

AGENCY: National Science Foundation.

ACTION: Notice.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: The National Science Foundation (NSF) is announcing plans for 
a new data collection. In accordance with the requirements of the 
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, we are providing an opportunity for 
public comment on this action. After obtaining and considering public 
comment, NSF will prepare the submission requesting Office of 
Management and Budget (OMB) clearance of this collection for no longer 
than three years.

DATES: Written comments on this notice must be received within March 
14, 2022 to be assured consideration. Comments received after that date 
will be considered to the extent practicable. Please send comments to 
the 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:
    Title of Collection: Generic Clearance for the Convergence 
Accelerator Evaluation & Monitoring Plan.
    OMB Number: 3145-NEW.
    Expiration Date of Approval: Not applicable.
    Type of Request: New information collection.

[[Page 1441]]

    Abstract: The information collection will enable the Evaluation and 
Assessment Capability (EAC) Section within NSF to garner quantitative 
and qualitative information that will be used to inform programmatic 
improvements, efficiencies, and enhanced program monitoring for the 
Convergence Accelerator (CA). This information collection, which 
entails collecting information from CA applicants and grantees through 
a series of surveys, interviews, and case studies, is in accordance 
with the Agency's commitment to improving service delivery as well as 
the Agency's strategic goal to ``advance the capability of the Nation 
to meet current and future challenges.''
    For this effort, four survey instruments have been developed, each 
of which will include closed-ended and open-ended questions to generate 
quantitative and qualitative data. For ease of use for our respondent 
pool, each of the four survey instruments will be programmed into 
interactive web surveys and distributed to eligible respondents by 
email. The surveys, which will serve as a census for all applicable CA 
applicants and/or grantees, will be used to collect baseline measures 
at the start of the program and vital information on how grantees 
progress through the program. Follow-up interviews will be conducted 
with project team leaders, such as Principal Investigators (PIs) and 
Principal Directors (PDs), and case studies that will use a project 
team as the unit of analysis will be used to collect qualitatively rich 
discursive and observational information that cannot be collected 
within a web survey. Both follow-up interviews and case studies will be 
conducted virtually with the possibility of in-person interviews and 
non-participant observation to be held in the future.
    NSF/EAC will only submit a collection for approval under this 
generic clearance if it meets the following conditions:
    [cir] The collection is voluntary;
    [cir] The collection has a reasonably low burden for respondents 
(based on considerations of total burden hours, total number of 
respondents, or burden-hours per respondent) and is low-cost for the 
Federal government;
    [cir] The collection is non-controversial and does not raise issues 
of concern for other Federal agencies;
    [cir] The collection is targeted to the solicitation of opinions 
from respondents who have applied to the CA program (including those 
that have submitted successful grant applications and subsequently 
received funding);
    [cir] Personally identifiable information (PII) is collected only 
to the extent necessary; and
    [cir] Information gathered will be used for the dual and 
interrelated purposes of disseminating information about the CA program 
and using this information to make programmatic improvements, 
efficiencies, and enhanced program monitoring for the CA.
    Feedback collected under this generic clearance provides useful 
information for the continued evolution of the CA program, but it may 
not yield data that can be generalized to the overall population in all 
instances. Our qualitative data collection activities--follow-up 
interviews and case studies--are designed to investigate outlier CA 
teams or CA teams that demonstrate exceptional performance or 
successfully overcome significant challenges in their work with the CA. 
While the web surveys, which will be deployed at different times during 
the program, will collect data that will help the EAC monitor trends 
over time and assess overall program performance, the follow-up 
interviews and case studies will gather supplemental data that is more 
specific to individual CA teams.
    As a general matter, this information collection will not include 
questions of a sensitive nature, such as sexual behavior and attitudes, 
religious beliefs, and other matters that are commonly considered 
private.
    Below we provide NSF's projected average estimates for the next 
three years:
    Affected Public: Individuals and households, Businesses and other 
for-profit organizations, Not-for-profit institutions, Federal 
government.
    Average Expected Annual Number of Activities: 10.
    Respondents: 300 per activity.
    Annual Responses: 3,000.
    Frequency of Response: Once per request.
    Average Minutes per Response: 75.
    Burden Hours: 1,400.
    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 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 those who are 
to respond, including through the use of appropriate automated, 
electronic, mechanical, or other technological collection techniques or 
other forms of information technology.

    Dated: January 6, 2022.
Suzanne H. Plimpton,
Reports Clearance Officer, National Science Foundation.
[FR Doc. 2022-00336 Filed 1-10-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7555-01-P
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