[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 147 (Wednesday, July 31, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 46326-46328]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-18411]
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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
Office of the Secretary
[Docket ID DoD-2013-OS-0169]
Proposed Collection: Comment Request
AGENCY: Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Research and
Engineering, DoD.
ACTION: Notice.
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In compliance with Section 3506(c)(2)(A) of the Paperwork Reduction
Act of 1995, the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for
Research and Engineering announces a proposed public information
collection and seeks public comment on the provisions thereof. 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
information collection; (c) ways to enhance the quality, utility, and
clarity of the information to be collected; and (d) ways to minimize
the burden of the information collection on respondents, including
through the use of automated collection techniques or other forms of
information technology.
DATES: Consideration will be given to all comments received by
September 30, 2013.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by docket number and
title, by any of the following methods:
Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov.
Follow the instructions for submitting comments.
Mail: Federal Docket Management System Office, 4800 Mark
Center Drive,
[[Page 46327]]
East Tower, Suite 02G09, Alexandria, VA 22350-3100.
Instructions: All submissions received must include the agency
name, docket number and title for this Federal Register document. The
general policy for comments and other submissions from members of the
public is to make these submissions available for public viewing on the
Internet at http://www.regulations.gov as they are received without
change, including any personal identifiers or contact information.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: To request more information on this
proposed information collection or to obtain a copy of the proposal and
associated collection instruments, please write to the Office of the
Assistant Secretary of Defense (Research and Engineering), Basic
Research Office, Mark Center 17C08, 4800 Mark Center Dr., Alexandria,
VA 22311-1882, ATTN: Dr. Mark Herbst, or call 571-372-6547.
Title; Associated Form; and OMB Number: Title: Research Performance
Progress Report (RPPR). OMB Control Number: 0704-TBD.
Needs and Uses: DoD research grants and cooperative agreements
require recipients to periodically report on progress made towards
achieving the objectives of their awards, and to document
accomplishments and identify reasons for failure to meet planned
objectives. This periodic reporting is required by section 32.51 of 32
CFR part 32, the DoD implementation of OMB Circular A-110. In April
2010, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and Office of Science
and Technology (OSTP) issued a policy memorandum to the heads of
Executive Departments and Agencies on usage of a new format--the
Research Performance Progress Report (RPPR)--for doing interim progress
reporting (e.g., annual reports during the award performance period,
other than the final report that is due after the end of that period).
The information collection requirement under this Notice is part of the
Department's implementation of the RPPR, usage of which will
consolidate interim progress reporting requirements of the multiple DoD
offices that award research grants and cooperative agreements. DoD's
implementation of the RPPR will:
Make DoD research offices' requirements for grants and
cooperative agreements more uniform with each other, as each office has
historically specified its reporting requirements separately from other
awarding offices.
Make DoD offices' reporting requirements more common with
those of other Federal agencies that make research awards, as each of
them implements the guidance from OMB and OSTP.
Enable broadening of RPPR usage to basic research
contracts awarded by DoD offices, any of which may adopt the RPPR
format for basic research contract progress reporting in lieu of their
existing basic research contract reporting requirements. This will
benefit entities having both research grant and contract awards, and is
consistent with the joint OMB and OSTP policy memorandum.
Affected Public: Colleges and universities, nonprofit
organizations, business and industry.
Annual Burden Hours: 72,000.
Number of Respondents: 2,000.
Responses per Respondent: 6.
Average Burden per Response: 6 hours.
Frequency: On occasion.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Summary of Information Collection
The RPPR is a uniform format for use by federal agencies to obtain
interim progress reports from recipients of research and research
training grants and cooperative agreements. DoD intends to adopt the
RPPR in lieu of existing progress reports for interim progress
reporting on its research grants and cooperative agreements, and, for
some DoD awarding offices, interim progress reporting on basic research
contracts. Background information on the RPPR may be found at the
National Science Foundation Web site http://www.nsf.gov/bfa/dias/policy/rppr/.
The RPPR consists of a required ``Cover Page'' and multiple
optional components. For DoD, the ``Cover Page'' and
``Accomplishments'' component will be mandatory, however DoD awarding
offices may require recipients to complete fields in one or more of the
optional RPPR reporting components, as specified in the terms and
conditions of their awards. DoD awarding offices will implement the
RPPR through means such as web portals or fillable electronic forms.
Some DoD awarding offices have identified supplemental reporting
elements for use within the Cover Page and other RPPR components in
addition to the standard RPPR elements. DoD awarding offices will
individually determine which optional RPPR fields will be requested
from recipients. Therefore, not all of the DoD supplemental data
elements will be required for all DoD awards using the RPPR. The
following are the supplemental reporting elements that some DoD
awarding offices may require for their interim reporting purposes,
listed under the applicable RPPR reporting component.
Cover Page--Report Information
Distribution Statement. A one-character code that
indicates what type of limitations there are, if any, on the release of
the report to the general public. Required by DoD Instruction 5230.24
``Distribution Statements on Technical Documents'', dated 23 August
2012.
Accomplishments
Honors and Awards. A text field where the recipient
describes any project-related honors and awards that were received
during the reporting period. Project-related honors and awards are
often used as markers or indicators of the significance of the
research. They are a natural extension of the list of accomplishments
that funded research may yield but should be reported separate from the
actual research accomplishments.
Regulatory Protocol and Activity Status. A text field for
use in awards involving human and/or animal subjects to describe
changes in research protocol or problems. This information is required
by DoD Instruction 3216.01, Use of Animals in DoD Programs, or DoD
Instruction 3216.02, Protection of Human Subjects and Adherence to
Ethical Standards in DoD-Supported Research, so that changes can be
reviewed and approved by a DoD Animal Care and Use Review Official or a
DoD Human Research Protection Official.
Products--Publications: Journal Articles
Keywords. A text field to provide keywords related to each
publication. Awarding offices will provide public access to these
publications by means such as posting on agency Web sites, providing
links to other Web sites containing the publications, and/or providing
these publications to the Defense Technical Information Center. The use
of keywords for categorizing the content of the publication assists
members of the public in searching for and finding the document, and
relating it to the original research, which helps to ensure the best
cross-discipline use of the science.
Abstract. A text field that summarizes the journal
article. Awarding offices will provide public access to these
publications by means such as posting on agency Web sites, providing
links to other Web sites containing the publications, and/or providing
these publications to the Defense Technical Information Center.
[[Page 46328]]
An abstract of the article helps members of the public find articles of
interest, which helps to ensure the best cross-discipline use of the
science.
Distribution Statement. A text field that describes how
distribution of the article should be restricted, if applicable.
Required by DoD Instruction 5230.24 dated August 23, 2012.
Submitted Date. A date field that indicates when the
author submitted the article for publication, whether or not
publication actually took place. Funded research yields products of
many forms. Some are submitted for publication but may not be
published. Unpublished articles may be available from the DoD awarding
office. The submitted date provides a useful time context for the
unpublished research when members of the public are searching for
research on DoD public-facing web portals.
Products--Publications: Conference Papers and Presentations
Publication Date. A date field indicating the publication
date of the conference proceedings. If a conference is funded, the
proceedings and resulting published records may have dates that are
subsequent to the conference. For the fullest use of the funded
research, the publication date provides timeframe context for
application of the science in the future.
Intellectual Property--Inventions
The following three fields supplement the existing RPPR data fields
on invention reporting and will be used only if the awarding office
elects to use the RPPR for interim contract reporting. These fields
support certain invention reporting requirements for contracts awarded
under Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Part 27, Patents, Data, and
Copyrights, and Defense FAR Supplement Part 227, Patents, Data, and
Copyrights. The RPPR may be used to collect these data fields in lieu
of collecting them on other existing reporting mechanisms used for
contracts, such as the DD Form 882, Report of Inventions and
Subcontracts.
Name of Employer. A text field indicating the name of the
inventor's employer.
Address of Employer. A text field indicating the address
of the inventor's employer.
Confirmatory Instrument. A Yes/No field indicating if a
confirmatory instrument or assignment was forwarded to the DoD
Contracting Officer.
Participants
National Academy Member. A Yes/No field to indicate if a
participant on the project is, or became, a National Academy of Science
member during the reporting period. This data is used for statistical
purposes to determine the number of National Academy members
participating in the funded research.
Special Reporting Requirements
Clinical trial(s) issues. A text field for use in awards
involving clinical trials to describe any enrollment issues, retention
problems, and adverse event/unanticipated problems involving risks to
subjects or others, and actions or plans for mitigation. DoD
Instruction 3216.02, Protection of Human Subjects and Adherence to
Ethical Standards in DoD-Supported Research, requires that any changes
to previously-approved clinical trials be reported for review by the
DoD Human Research Protection Official.
The following two fields are for awards to Historically Black
Colleges and Universities and Minority-Serving Institutions (HBCU/MI),
to help evaluate the outcomes of HBCU/MI investments:
Number of undergraduate and graduate student Science,
Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) participants. A numeric
field to indicate the number of student participants enrolled in STEM
disciplines during the reporting period. This data will be useful in
assessing the impact of DoD funding on STEM education at HBCU/MI.
Number of student participants that received a STEM
degree. A numeric field to indicate the number of student participants
that received a STEM degree during the reporting period. This data will
be useful in assessing the impact of DoD funding on STEM education at
HBCU/MI.
Dated: July 26, 2013.
Aaron Siegel,
Alternate OSD Federal Register Liaison Officer, Department of Defense.
[FR Doc. 2013-18411 Filed 7-30-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 5001-06-P