Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for Review and Approval; Comment Request; Survey of State Government Research and Development, 20469-20470 [2023-07241]

Agencies

• Census Bureau
• DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 66 (Thursday, April 6, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 20469-20470]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-07241]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

Census Bureau


Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the 
Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for Review and Approval; Comment 
Request; Survey of State Government Research and Development

    The Department of Commerce will submit the following information 
collection request to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for 
review and clearance in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 
1995, on or after the date of publication of this notice. We invite the 
general public and other Federal agencies to comment on proposed, and 
continuing information collections, which helps us assess the impact of 
our information collection requirements and minimize the public's 
reporting burden. Public comments were previously requested via the 
Federal Register on October 31, 2022 during a 60-day comment period. 
This notice allows for an additional 30 days for public comments.
    Agency: U.S. Census Bureau, Department of Commerce.
    Title: Survey of State Government Research and Development.
    OMB Control Number: 0607-0933.
    Form Number(s): SRD-1.
    Type of Request: Regular submission, request for an extension, 
without change, of a currently approved collection.
    Number of Respondents: 51 governors, 1 mayor, 52 state 
coordinators, and approximately 700 State government agencies.
    Average Hours per Response: 5 minutes for each governor or mayor, 1 
hour for each state coordinator, and 2 hours for each State agency 
surveyed.
    Burden Hours: 1,456.
    Needs and Uses: The Census Bureau conducts the Survey of State 
Government Research and Development (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 section 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. 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

[[Page 20470]]

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.
    We have analyzed responses to a question about burden which appears 
on the instrument. That analysis indicates that the average burden for 
agency respondents should be 2 hours rather than the current estimate 
of 3 hours. We are adjusting the burden of the collection downward 
accordingly.
    The survey announcements and forms used in the SGRD are:
    Survey Announcement. An introductory email from the Directors of 
the NCSES and the Census Bureau is sent to Chief of Staff of 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.
    The Census Bureau emails Chief of Staff for the 50 state governors, 
the mayor of DC, and the governor of Puerto Rico requesting that they 
appoint a state coordinator for the survey. The Census Bureau then 
emails the state coordinators a spreadsheet asking them to identify 
State agencies that may have the capacity to perform or fund R&D. 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. Alternatively, agencies can report 
to the Census Bureau by telephone.
    Frequency: Annually.
    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. 8(b).
    This information collection request may be viewed at 
www.reginfo.gov. Follow the instructions to view the Department of 
Commerce collections currently under review by OMB.
    Written comments and recommendations for the proposed information 
collection should be submitted within 30 days of the publication of 
this notice on the following website 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 and entering either the title of the collection or the OMB 
Control Number 0607-0933.

Sheleen Dumas,
Department PRA Clearance Officer, Office of the Under Secretary for 
Economic Affairs, Commerce Department.
[FR Doc. 2023-07241 Filed 4-5-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-07-P