Agency Information Collection Activities: Comment Request, 53793-53795 [2022-18847]
Download as PDF
<![CDATA[
Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 169 / Thursday, September 1, 2022 / Notices
Desk Officer for the National
Endowment for the Arts, Office of
Management and Budget, Room 10235,
Washington, DC 20503, (T) 202–395–
7316.
The Office
of Management and Budget (OMB) is
particularly interested in comments
which: (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) Could help minimize the burden of
the collection of information on those
who are to respond, including through
the use of electronic submission of
responses through Grants.gov.
Agency: National Endowment for the
Arts
Title of Collection: Blanket
Justification for National Endowment
for the Arts Funding Application
Guidelines and Requirements.
OMB Number: 3135–0112.
Frequency: Annually.
Affected Public: Nonprofit
organizations, government agencies, and
individuals.
Estimated Number of Respondents:
6,713.
Estimated Time Per Respondent: 20
hours.
Total Burden Hours: 131,032.
Total Annualized Capital/Startup
Costs: 0.
Total Annual Costs (Operating/
Maintaining Systems or Purchasing
Services): 0.
The National Endowment for the Arts
requests the review of its funding
application guidelines and
requirements. Application guidelines
elicit relevant information from
individuals, nonprofit organizations,
and government agencies that apply for
funding from the National Endowment
for the Arts. This information is
necessary for the accurate, fair, and
thorough consideration of competing
proposals in the review process. This
request is issued by the National
Endowment for the Arts and contains
the following information: (1) the title of
the form; (2) how often the required
information will be collected; (3) who
will be required or asked to use the
form; (4) what the form will be used for;
(5) an estimate of the number of
responses; (6) the average burden hours
per response; (7) an estimate of the total
jspears on DSK121TN23PROD with NOTICES
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
VerDate Sep<11>2014
17:15 Aug 31, 2022
Jkt 256001
number of hours needed to prepare the
form. This entry is not subject to 44
U.S.C. 3504(h).
Dated: August 29, 2022.
Daniel Beattie,
Director, Office of Guidelines and Panel
Operations, National Endowment for the Arts.
[FR Doc. 2022–18878 Filed 8–31–22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7537–01–P
NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION
Agency Information Collection
Activities: Comment Request
National Center for Science and
Engineering Statistics, National Science
Foundation.
ACTION: Notice.
AGENCY:
The National Center for
Science and Engineering Statistics
(NCSES) within the National Science
Foundation (NSF), as the Standard
Application Process (SAP) Program
Management Office designated by the
Office of Management and Budget
(OMB), is announcing plans to establish
a common form information collection.
NCSES will request approval for an SAP
Portal information collection as a
Common Form to permit other federal
agency users to streamline the
information collection in coordination
with OMB. The purpose of this notice
is to allow for 60 days of public
comment on the proposed SAP Portal
information collection as a Common
Form, prior to the submission of the
information collection request (ICR) to
OMB for approval.
DATES: Written comments on this notice
must be received by October 31, 2022 to
be assured of consideration. Comments
received after that date will be
considered to the extent practicable.
Send comments to the address below.
Comments: Comments are invited on
(a) whether the proposed collection of
information is necessary for the proper
performance of the functions of the
federal statistical agencies, including
whether the information will have
practical utility; (b) the accuracy of the
NSF’s estimate of the burden of the
proposed collection of information; (c)
ways to enhance the quality, use, 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.
SUMMARY:
PO 00000
Frm 00084
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
53793
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Suzanne H. Plimpton, Reports Clearance
Officer, National Science Foundation,
2415 Eisenhower Avenue, Suite
W18253, 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: The
Foundations for Evidence-Based
Policymaking Act of 2018 mandates that
OMB establish a Standard Application
Process (SAP) for requesting access to
certain confidential data assets. While
the adoption of the SAP is required for
statistical agencies and units designated
under CIPSEA, it is recognized that
other agencies and organizational units
within the Executive branch may benefit
from the adoption of the SAP to accept
applications for access to confidential
data assets. The SAP is to be a process
through which agencies, the
Congressional Budget Office, State,
local, and Tribal governments,
researchers, and other individuals, as
appropriate, may apply to access
confidential data assets held by a federal
statistical agency or unit for the
purposes of developing evidence. With
the Interagency Council on Statistical
Policy (ICSP) as advisors, the entities
upon whom this requirement is levied
are working with the SAP Project
Management Office (PMO) and with
OMB to implement the SAP. The SAP
Portal is to be a single web-based
common application for the public to
request access to confidential data assets
from federal statistical agencies and
units. In accordance with the
requirements of the Paperwork
Reduction Act of 1995, NCSES is
providing an opportunity for public
comment on this action. After obtaining
and considering public comment,
NCSES will prepare the submission
requesting that OMB approve clearance
of this collection for three years.
This request is on behalf of the
following federal statistical agencies and
units, which may use the Common
Form:
• Bureau of Economic Analysis
(Department of Commerce)
• Bureau of Justice Statistics
(Department of Justice)
• Bureau of Labor Statistics
(Department of Labor)
• Bureau of Transportation Statistics
(Department of Transportation)
• Census Bureau (Department of
Commerce)
E:\FR\FM\01SEN1.SGM
01SEN1
jspears on DSK121TN23PROD with NOTICES
53794
Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 169 / Thursday, September 1, 2022 / Notices
• Economic Research Service
(Department of Agriculture)
• Energy Information Administration
(Department of Energy)
• National Agricultural Statistics
Service (Department of Agriculture)
• National Center for Education
Statistics (Department of Education)
• National Center for Health Statistics
(Department of Health and Human
Services)
• National Center for Science and
Engineering Statistics (National Science
Foundation)
• Office of Research, Evaluation, and
Statistics (Social Security
Administration)
• Statistics of Income Division
(Income Revenue Service)
• Microeconomic Surveys Unit
(Federal Reserve Board)
• Center for Behavioral Health
Statistics and Quality (Department of
Health and Human Services)
• National Animal Health Monitoring
System (Department of Agriculture)
Title of collection: Standard
Application Process (SAP) Portal.
OMB Control Number: 3145–NEW.
Expiration Date of Current Approval:
Not Applicable.
Type of Request: Intent to seek
approval to collect information from the
public through the Standard
Application Process (SAP) Portal, as a
Common Form.
Abstract: Established within the NSF
by the America COMPETES
Reauthorization Act of 2010 § 505,
codified in the National Science
Foundation Act of 1950, as amended,
the National Center for Science and
Engineering Statistics (NCSES) serves as
a central Federal clearinghouse for the
collection, interpretation, analysis, and
dissemination of objective data on
science, engineering, technology, and
research and development for use by
practitioners, researchers, policymakers,
and the public.
Title III of the Foundations for
Evidence-Based Policymaking Act of
2018 (hereafter referred to as the
Evidence Act) mandates that OMB
establish a Standard Application
Process (SAP) for requesting access to
certain confidential data assets.
Specifically, the Evidence Act requires
OMB to establish a common application
process through which agencies, the
Congressional Budget Office, State,
local, and Tribal governments,
researchers, and other individuals, as
appropriate, may apply for access to
confidential data assets collected,
accessed, or acquired by a statistical
agency or unit. This new process will be
implemented while maintaining
stringent controls to protect
VerDate Sep<11>2014
17:15 Aug 31, 2022
Jkt 256001
confidentiality and privacy, as required
by the law.
The Evidence Act requires that each
statistical agency or unit establish an
identical application process. The
Evidence Act further requires that
federal statistical agencies establish
common criteria for determining
whether to approve an application for
confidential data, timeframes for prompt
determination, an appeals process for
adverse determinations, and standards
for transparency. In response to these
requirements, the statistical agencies
and units will operate a web-based
portal (referred to as the SAP Portal) on
behalf of OMB to provide the common
application form to applicants. The
objective of the SAP Portal is to increase
public access to confidential data for the
purposes of evidence building and
reduce the burden of applying for
confidential data, which currently
involves separate processes with each of
the federal statistical agencies and units.
Data collected, accessed, or acquired
by statistical agencies and units is vital
for developing evidence on conditions,
characteristics, and behaviors of the
public and on the operations and
outcomes of public programs and
policies. This evidence can benefit the
stakeholders in the programs, the
broader public, as well as policymakers
and program managers at the local,
State, Tribal, and National levels. The
many benefits of access to data for
evidence building notwithstanding, the
process of discovering confidential data,
applying for access, and, in certain
cases, revising an application or
appealing an adverse determination
through the SAP Portal still places a
burden on the public, as outlined below.
The SAP Policy: At the
recommendation of the ICSP, the SAP
Policy establishes the SAP to be
implemented by statistical agencies and
units and incorporates directives from
the Evidence Act. The policy is
intended to provide guidance as to the
application and review processes using
the SAP Portal, setting forth clear
standards that enable statistical agencies
and units to implement a common
application form and a uniform review
process. The methods of collection
outlined below are in accordance with
the SAP Policy. The SAP Policy was
submitted to the public for comment in
January 2022 (87 FR 2459, 2022). The
policy is currently under review and has
not yet been finalized.
For the purpose of the SAP Policy, the
application process begins with an
applicant discovering a confidential
data asset for which a statistical agency
or unit is accepting applications to
access for the purpose of building
PO 00000
Frm 00085
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
evidence and ends with the agency or
unit’s determination on whether to grant
access. In the case of an adverse
determination, the application process
ends with the conclusion of an appeals
process if the applicant elects to appeal
the determination.
The SAP Portal: The SAP Portal is an
application interface connecting
applicants seeking data with a catalog of
data assets owned by the federal
statistical agencies and units. The SAP
Portal is not a new data repository or
warehouse; confidential data assets will
continue to be stored in secure data
access facilities owned and hosted by
the federal statistical agencies and units.
The Portal will provide a streamlined
application process across agencies,
reducing redundancies in the
application process. This single SAP
Portal will improve the process for
applicants, tracking and communicating
the application process throughout its
lifecycle. This reduces redundancies
and burden on applicants that request
access to data from multiple agencies.
The SAP Portal will automate key tasks
to save resources and time, and will
bring agencies into compliance with the
Evidence Act statutory requirements.
Data Discovery: Individuals begin the
process of accessing restricted use data
by discovering confidential data assets
through the SAP data catalog,
maintained by federal statistical
agencies at www.researchdatagov.org.
Potential applicants can search by
agency, topic, or keyword to identify
data of interest or relevance. Once they
have identified data of interest,
applicants can view metadata outlining
the title, description or abstract, scope
and coverage, and detailed methodology
related to a specific data asset to
determine its relevance to their
research.
While statistical agencies and units
shall endeavor to include metadata in
the SAP data catalog on all confidential
data assets for which they accept
applications, it may not be feasible to
include metadata for some data assets
(e.g., potential curated versions of
administrative data). A statistical agency
or unit may still accept an application
through the SAP Policy even if the
requested data asset is not listed in the
SAP data catalog.
SAP Application Process: Individuals
who have identified and wish to access
confidential data assets will be able to
apply for access through the SAP Portal
when it is released to the public in late
2022. Applicants must create an account
and follow all steps to complete the
application. Applicants begin by
entering their personal, contact, and
institutional information, as well as the
E:\FR\FM\01SEN1.SGM
01SEN1
jspears on DSK121TN23PROD with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 169 / Thursday, September 1, 2022 / Notices
personal, contact, and institutional
information of all individuals on their
research team. Applicants proceed to
provide summary information about
their proposed project, to include
project title, duration, funding, timeline,
and other details including the data
asset(s) they are requesting and any
proposed linkages to data not listed in
the SAP data catalog, including nonfederal data sources. Applicants then
proceed to enter detailed information
regarding their proposed project,
including a project abstract, research
question(s), literature review, project
scope, research methodology, project
products, and anticipated output.
Applicants must demonstrate a need for
confidential data, outlining why their
research question cannot be answered
using publicly available information.
Submission for Review: Upon
submission of their application,
applicants will receive a notification
that their application has been received
and is under review by the data-owning
agency or agencies (in the event where
data assets are requested from multiple
agencies). At this point, applicants will
also be notified that application
approval does not alone grant access to
confidential data, and that, if approved,
applicants must comply with the dataowning agency’s security requirements
outside of the SAP Portal, which may
include a background check.
In accordance with the Evidence Act
and the direction of the ICSP, agencies
will approve or reject an application
within a prompt timeframe. In some
cases, agencies may determine that
additional clarity, information, or
modification is needed and request the
applicant to ‘‘revise and resubmit’’ their
application. This is also in accordance
with the SAP Policy, which was
submitted to the public for comment in
January 2022 (87 FR 2459, 2022). The
policy is currently under review and has
not yet been finalized.
Appeals Process: In the event of an
adverse determination, the applicant
will be provided justification through
the SAP Portal detailing the
determination. The SAP Portal will
provide the applicant with the option to
submit an appeal for reconsideration by
the data-owning agency or agencies.
Applicants can also file an appeal for
noncompliance with SAP Policy.
Access to Restricted Use Data: In the
event of a positive determination, the
applicant will be notified that their
proposal has been accepted. The
positive or final adverse determination
concludes the SAP Portal process. In the
instance of a positive determination, the
data-owning agency (or agencies) will
contact the applicant to provide
VerDate Sep<11>2014
17:15 Aug 31, 2022
Jkt 256001
instructions on the agency’s security
requirements that must be completed to
gain access to the confidential data. The
completion and submission of the
agency’s security requirements will take
place outside of the SAP Portal and is
therefore not included in the estimate of
burden below.
Estimate of Burden: The amount of
time to complete an application within
the SAP Portal may vary depending on
the number of individuals on the
application, the topic of the proposal,
and the data assets being requested. To
request access to NCSES data assets, it
is estimated that the average time to
complete and submit an application
within the SAP Portal is 60 minutes.
This estimate includes the time needed
to complete the SAP Portal application
fields (applicant information and
research proposal); it does not include
an estimate of the time needed to
develop a research proposal itself. The
research proposal is developed outside
of the SAP Portal and may be written for
multiple audiences (e.g., to solicit
funding); therefore, it is not included in
the estimate of burden for the SAP
Portal.
The expected number of applications
submitted to NCSES in a given year may
vary. Overall, NCSES estimates it may
receive 20 application submissions
within the SAP Portal per year. NCSES
estimates that the total burden for the
SAP Portal over the course of the threeyear OMB clearance will be about 60
hours and, as a result, an average annual
burden of 20 hours.
Dated: August 26, 2022.
Suzanne H. Plimpton,
Reports Clearance Officer, National Science
Foundation.
[FR Doc. 2022–18847 Filed 8–31–22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7555–01–P
53795
is entitled, ‘‘Criteria and Procedures for
Determining Eligibility for Access to or
Control Over Special Nuclear Material.’’
DATES: Submit comments by October 31,
2022. Comments received after this date
will be considered if it is practical to do
so, but the Commission 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: The
NRC encourages electronic comment
submission through the Federal
rulemaking website:
• Federal rulemaking website: Go to
https://www.regulations.gov and search
for Docket ID NRC–2022–0090. 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.
• Mail comments to: David C.
Cullison, Office of the Chief Information
Officer, Mail Stop: T–6 A10M, U.S.
Nuclear Regulatory Commission,
Washington, DC 20555–0001.
For additional direction on obtaining
information and submitting comments,
see ‘‘Obtaining Information and
Submitting Comments’’ in the
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of
this document.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
David C. Cullison, Office of the Chief
Information Officer, U.S. Nuclear
Regulatory Commission, Washington,
DC 20555–0001; telephone: 301–415–
2084; email: Infocollects.Resource@
nrc.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Obtaining Information and
Submitting Comments
A. Obtaining Information
NUCLEAR REGULATORY
COMMISSION
[NRC–2022–0090]
Information Collection: Criteria and
Procedures for Determining Eligibility
for Access to or Control Over Special
Nuclear Material
Nuclear Regulatory
Commission.
ACTION: Renewal of existing information
collection; request for comment.
AGENCY:
The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory
Commission (NRC) invites public
comment on the renewal of Office of
Management and Budget (OMB)
approval for an existing collection of
information. The information collection
SUMMARY:
PO 00000
Frm 00086
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
Please refer to Docket ID NRC–2022–
0090 when contacting the NRC about
the availability of information for this
action. You may obtain publicly
available 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–2022–0090.
• NRC’s Agencywide Documents
Access and Management System
(ADAMS): You may obtain publicly
available documents online in the
ADAMS Public Documents collection at
https://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/
adams.html. To begin the search, 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–
E:\FR\FM\01SEN1.SGM
01SEN1
]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 169 (Thursday, September 1, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 53793-53795]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-18847]
=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION
Agency Information Collection Activities: Comment Request
AGENCY: National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics,
National Science Foundation.
ACTION: Notice.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics
(NCSES) within the National Science Foundation (NSF), as the Standard
Application Process (SAP) Program Management Office designated by the
Office of Management and Budget (OMB), is announcing plans to establish
a common form information collection. NCSES will request approval for
an SAP Portal information collection as a Common Form to permit other
federal agency users to streamline the information collection in
coordination with OMB. The purpose of this notice is to allow for 60
days of public comment on the proposed SAP Portal information
collection as a Common Form, prior to the submission of the information
collection request (ICR) to OMB for approval.
DATES: Written comments on this notice must be received by October 31,
2022 to be assured of consideration. Comments received after that date
will be considered to the extent practicable. Send comments to the
address below.
Comments: Comments are invited on (a) whether the proposed
collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of
the functions of the federal statistical agencies, including whether
the information will have practical utility; (b) the accuracy of the
NSF's estimate of the burden of the proposed collection of information;
(c) ways to enhance the quality, use, 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.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Suzanne H. Plimpton, Reports Clearance
Officer, National Science Foundation, 2415 Eisenhower Avenue, Suite
W18253, 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: The Foundations for Evidence-Based
Policymaking Act of 2018 mandates that OMB establish a Standard
Application Process (SAP) for requesting access to certain confidential
data assets. While the adoption of the SAP is required for statistical
agencies and units designated under CIPSEA, it is recognized that other
agencies and organizational units within the Executive branch may
benefit from the adoption of the SAP to accept applications for access
to confidential data assets. The SAP is to be a process through which
agencies, the Congressional Budget Office, State, local, and Tribal
governments, researchers, and other individuals, as appropriate, may
apply to access confidential data assets held by a federal statistical
agency or unit for the purposes of developing evidence. With the
Interagency Council on Statistical Policy (ICSP) as advisors, the
entities upon whom this requirement is levied are working with the SAP
Project Management Office (PMO) and with OMB to implement the SAP. The
SAP Portal is to be a single web-based common application for the
public to request access to confidential data assets from federal
statistical agencies and units. In accordance with the requirements of
the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, NCSES is providing an opportunity
for public comment on this action. After obtaining and considering
public comment, NCSES will prepare the submission requesting that OMB
approve clearance of this collection for three years.
This request is on behalf of the following federal statistical
agencies and units, which may use the Common Form:
Bureau of Economic Analysis (Department of Commerce)
Bureau of Justice Statistics (Department of Justice)
Bureau of Labor Statistics (Department of Labor)
Bureau of Transportation Statistics (Department of
Transportation)
Census Bureau (Department of Commerce)
[[Page 53794]]
Economic Research Service (Department of Agriculture)
Energy Information Administration (Department of Energy)
National Agricultural Statistics Service (Department of
Agriculture)
National Center for Education Statistics (Department of
Education)
National Center for Health Statistics (Department of
Health and Human Services)
National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics
(National Science Foundation)
Office of Research, Evaluation, and Statistics (Social
Security Administration)
Statistics of Income Division (Income Revenue Service)
Microeconomic Surveys Unit (Federal Reserve Board)
Center for Behavioral Health Statistics and Quality
(Department of Health and Human Services)
National Animal Health Monitoring System (Department of
Agriculture)
Title of collection: Standard Application Process (SAP) Portal.
OMB Control Number: 3145-NEW.
Expiration Date of Current Approval: Not Applicable.
Type of Request: Intent to seek approval to collect information
from the public through the Standard Application Process (SAP) Portal,
as a Common Form.
Abstract: Established within the NSF by the America COMPETES
Reauthorization Act of 2010 Sec. 505, codified in the National Science
Foundation Act of 1950, as amended, the National Center for Science and
Engineering Statistics (NCSES) serves as a central Federal
clearinghouse for the collection, interpretation, analysis, and
dissemination of objective data on science, engineering, technology,
and research and development for use by practitioners, researchers,
policymakers, and the public.
Title III of the Foundations for Evidence-Based Policymaking Act of
2018 (hereafter referred to as the Evidence Act) mandates that OMB
establish a Standard Application Process (SAP) for requesting access to
certain confidential data assets. Specifically, the Evidence Act
requires OMB to establish a common application process through which
agencies, the Congressional Budget Office, State, local, and Tribal
governments, researchers, and other individuals, as appropriate, may
apply for access to confidential data assets collected, accessed, or
acquired by a statistical agency or unit. This new process will be
implemented while maintaining stringent controls to protect
confidentiality and privacy, as required by the law.
The Evidence Act requires that each statistical agency or unit
establish an identical application process. The Evidence Act further
requires that federal statistical agencies establish common criteria
for determining whether to approve an application for confidential
data, timeframes for prompt determination, an appeals process for
adverse determinations, and standards for transparency. In response to
these requirements, the statistical agencies and units will operate a
web-based portal (referred to as the SAP Portal) on behalf of OMB to
provide the common application form to applicants. The objective of the
SAP Portal is to increase public access to confidential data for the
purposes of evidence building and reduce the burden of applying for
confidential data, which currently involves separate processes with
each of the federal statistical agencies and units.
Data collected, accessed, or acquired by statistical agencies and
units is vital for developing evidence on conditions, characteristics,
and behaviors of the public and on the operations and outcomes of
public programs and policies. This evidence can benefit the
stakeholders in the programs, the broader public, as well as
policymakers and program managers at the local, State, Tribal, and
National levels. The many benefits of access to data for evidence
building notwithstanding, the process of discovering confidential data,
applying for access, and, in certain cases, revising an application or
appealing an adverse determination through the SAP Portal still places
a burden on the public, as outlined below.
The SAP Policy: At the recommendation of the ICSP, the SAP Policy
establishes the SAP to be implemented by statistical agencies and units
and incorporates directives from the Evidence Act. The policy is
intended to provide guidance as to the application and review processes
using the SAP Portal, setting forth clear standards that enable
statistical agencies and units to implement a common application form
and a uniform review process. The methods of collection outlined below
are in accordance with the SAP Policy. The SAP Policy was submitted to
the public for comment in January 2022 (87 FR 2459, 2022). The policy
is currently under review and has not yet been finalized.
For the purpose of the SAP Policy, the application process begins
with an applicant discovering a confidential data asset for which a
statistical agency or unit is accepting applications to access for the
purpose of building evidence and ends with the agency or unit's
determination on whether to grant access. In the case of an adverse
determination, the application process ends with the conclusion of an
appeals process if the applicant elects to appeal the determination.
The SAP Portal: The SAP Portal is an application interface
connecting applicants seeking data with a catalog of data assets owned
by the federal statistical agencies and units. The SAP Portal is not a
new data repository or warehouse; confidential data assets will
continue to be stored in secure data access facilities owned and hosted
by the federal statistical agencies and units. The Portal will provide
a streamlined application process across agencies, reducing
redundancies in the application process. This single SAP Portal will
improve the process for applicants, tracking and communicating the
application process throughout its lifecycle. This reduces redundancies
and burden on applicants that request access to data from multiple
agencies. The SAP Portal will automate key tasks to save resources and
time, and will bring agencies into compliance with the Evidence Act
statutory requirements.
Data Discovery: Individuals begin the process of accessing
restricted use data by discovering confidential data assets through the
SAP data catalog, maintained by federal statistical agencies at
www.researchdatagov.org. Potential applicants can search by agency,
topic, or keyword to identify data of interest or relevance. Once they
have identified data of interest, applicants can view metadata
outlining the title, description or abstract, scope and coverage, and
detailed methodology related to a specific data asset to determine its
relevance to their research.
While statistical agencies and units shall endeavor to include
metadata in the SAP data catalog on all confidential data assets for
which they accept applications, it may not be feasible to include
metadata for some data assets (e.g., potential curated versions of
administrative data). A statistical agency or unit may still accept an
application through the SAP Policy even if the requested data asset is
not listed in the SAP data catalog.
SAP Application Process: Individuals who have identified and wish
to access confidential data assets will be able to apply for access
through the SAP Portal when it is released to the public in late 2022.
Applicants must create an account and follow all steps to complete the
application. Applicants begin by entering their personal, contact, and
institutional information, as well as the
[[Page 53795]]
personal, contact, and institutional information of all individuals on
their research team. Applicants proceed to provide summary information
about their proposed project, to include project title, duration,
funding, timeline, and other details including the data asset(s) they
are requesting and any proposed linkages to data not listed in the SAP
data catalog, including non-federal data sources. Applicants then
proceed to enter detailed information regarding their proposed project,
including a project abstract, research question(s), literature review,
project scope, research methodology, project products, and anticipated
output. Applicants must demonstrate a need for confidential data,
outlining why their research question cannot be answered using publicly
available information.
Submission for Review: Upon submission of their application,
applicants will receive a notification that their application has been
received and is under review by the data-owning agency or agencies (in
the event where data assets are requested from multiple agencies). At
this point, applicants will also be notified that application approval
does not alone grant access to confidential data, and that, if
approved, applicants must comply with the data-owning agency's security
requirements outside of the SAP Portal, which may include a background
check.
In accordance with the Evidence Act and the direction of the ICSP,
agencies will approve or reject an application within a prompt
timeframe. In some cases, agencies may determine that additional
clarity, information, or modification is needed and request the
applicant to ``revise and resubmit'' their application. This is also in
accordance with the SAP Policy, which was submitted to the public for
comment in January 2022 (87 FR 2459, 2022). The policy is currently
under review and has not yet been finalized.
Appeals Process: In the event of an adverse determination, the
applicant will be provided justification through the SAP Portal
detailing the determination. The SAP Portal will provide the applicant
with the option to submit an appeal for reconsideration by the data-
owning agency or agencies. Applicants can also file an appeal for
noncompliance with SAP Policy.
Access to Restricted Use Data: In the event of a positive
determination, the applicant will be notified that their proposal has
been accepted. The positive or final adverse determination concludes
the SAP Portal process. In the instance of a positive determination,
the data-owning agency (or agencies) will contact the applicant to
provide instructions on the agency's security requirements that must be
completed to gain access to the confidential data. The completion and
submission of the agency's security requirements will take place
outside of the SAP Portal and is therefore not included in the estimate
of burden below.
Estimate of Burden: The amount of time to complete an application
within the SAP Portal may vary depending on the number of individuals
on the application, the topic of the proposal, and the data assets
being requested. To request access to NCSES data assets, it is
estimated that the average time to complete and submit an application
within the SAP Portal is 60 minutes. This estimate includes the time
needed to complete the SAP Portal application fields (applicant
information and research proposal); it does not include an estimate of
the time needed to develop a research proposal itself. The research
proposal is developed outside of the SAP Portal and may be written for
multiple audiences (e.g., to solicit funding); therefore, it is not
included in the estimate of burden for the SAP Portal.
The expected number of applications submitted to NCSES in a given
year may vary. Overall, NCSES estimates it may receive 20 application
submissions within the SAP Portal per year. NCSES estimates that the
total burden for the SAP Portal over the course of the three-year OMB
clearance will be about 60 hours and, as a result, an average annual
burden of 20 hours.
Dated: August 26, 2022.
Suzanne H. Plimpton,
Reports Clearance Officer, National Science Foundation.
[FR Doc. 2022-18847 Filed 8-31-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7555-01-P
