[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 33 (Wednesday, February 19, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 9485-9488]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-03534]
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NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION
Notice of Intent To Seek Approval To Establish an Information
Collection System
AGENCY: National Science Foundation.
ACTION: Notice and request for comments.
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SUMMARY: Under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, Public Law 104-13
(44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.), and as part of its continuing effort to
reduce paperwork and respondent burden, the National Science Foundation
(NSF) is inviting the general public or other Federal agencies to
comment on this proposed continuing information collection.
Comments: Comments are invited on: (a) Whether the proposed
collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of
the functions of the Foundation, including whether the information will
have practical utility; (b) the accuracy of the Foundation's estimate
of the burden of the proposed collection of information; (c) ways to
enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be
collected; and (d) ways to minimize the burden of the collection of
information on those who are to respond, including through the use of
automated collection techniques or other forms of information
technology.
DATES: Written comments on this notice must be received by April 21,
2014, to be assured consideration. Comments received after that date
will be considered to the extent practicable. Send comments to address
below.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Suzanne H. Plimpton, Reports
Clearance Officer, National Science Foundation, 4201 Wilson Boulevard,
Suite 1265, Arlington, Virginia 22230; 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: Engineering Program Monitoring Data
Collections.
OMB Number: 3145-NEW.
Expiration Date of Approval: Not applicable.
Type of Request: Intent to seek approval to establish an
information collection for post-award output and outcome monitoring
system.
Abstract:
Proposed Project:
NSF provides nearly 20 percent of federal funding for basic
research to academic institutions.\1\ Within NSF, the Directorate for
Engineering (ENG) has primary responsibility for promoting the progress
of engineering in the United States in order to enable the Nation's
capacity to perform. Its investments in engineering research and
education aim to build and strengthen a national capacity for
innovation that can lead over time to the creation of new shared wealth
and a better quality of life. Most NSF programs in engineering are
funded through the Directorate for Engineering, which also sponsors the
NSF's Industrial Innovation and Partnerships (IIP) Division. To these
ends, ENG
[[Page 9486]]
provides support for research and implementation activities that may
meet national needs. While scientists seek to discover what is not yet
known, engineers apply fundamental science to design and develop new
devices and engineered systems to solve societal problems. ENG also
focuses on broadening participation in engineering research and
careers.
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\1\ National Science Foundation. (2012). NSF at a glance.
Retrieved from http://www.nsf.gov/about/glance.jsp.
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The Directorate for Engineering (ENG) requests of the Office of
Management and Budget (OMB) a clearance that will allow NSF-ENG to
improve the rigor of our surveys for evaluations and program
monitoring, as well as to initiate new data collections to monitor the
immediate, intermediate and long-term outcomes of our investments by
periodically surveying the grantees and their students involved in the
research. The clearance will allow any program in the Directorate for
Engineering at NSF to rigorously develop, test, and implement survey
instruments and methodologies.
Some NSF-ENG programs regularly conduct a variety of data
collection activities that include routine program monitoring, program
evaluations, and education-related data collections from federally
funded institutions of higher education. The primary objective of this
clearance is to allow other programs in NSF-ENG to collect outcome and
output data from grantees, their partners and students, which will
enable the evaluation of the impact of its investments in engineering
research over time. With that purpose, this clearance will allow us to
use a bank of approved question items as needed as long as the
resources consumed to do not exceed this request. The second related
objective is to improve our questionnaires and/or data collection
procedures through pilot tests and other survey methods used in these
activities for different programs. Under this clearance a variety of
surveys could be pre-tested, modified and used. The exact combination
of questions from the question bank is currently unknown for each
program, but it will be based on their respective logic models and
program goals. Following standard OMB requirements, NSF will submit to
OMB an individual request for each survey project it undertakes under
this clearance. NSF will request OMB approval in advance and provide
OMB with a copy of the questionnaire (if one is used) and materials
describing the project.
In doing so, this request seeks approval for multiple data
collections that have similar elements and purposes and will provide
essential information for program monitoring purposes through multiple
possible methods of collection. Data collected by ENG program outcome
monitoring systems will be used for program planning, management,
evaluation, and audit purposes. Summaries of output and outcome
monitoring data are used to respond to queries from Congress, the
public, NSF's external merit reviewers who serve as advisors, including
Committees of Visitors (COVs), and NSF's Office of the Inspector
General. These data are needed for effective administration, program
and project monitoring, evaluation, strategic reviews and for measuring
attainment of NSF's program and strategic goals, as identified by the
President's Accountable Government Initiative, the Government
Performance and Results Act (GPRA) Modernization Act of 2010, and NSF's
Strategic Plan.
Outcome and output monitoring data represented in this collection
is complementary to the data collected in the RPPR both with respect to
type of questions and indicators (content) and timeliness of the
collection. All questions asked are questions that are NOT included in
the final or annual report and the intention is to ask them even beyond
the period of performance on voluntary basis in order to capture
impacts of the research that occur beyond the life of the award.
Questionnaire items fall into the category of general items that could
be used across programs as well as items of interest to a particular
division. We are seeking to collect additional information from the
grantees about the outcomes of their research that go above and beyond
the standard reporting requirements used by the NSF and could span a
period of up to 10 years after the award.
The six (6) divisions or offices in NSF-ENG which oversee multiple
programs are included in this request. They are designed to assist in
management of specific programs, divisions, or multi-agency initiatives
and to serve as data resources for current and future program
evaluations.
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Program/office Type of program
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Emerging Frontiers in Research and Fundamental Research.
Innovation (EFRI).
Engineering Education and Centers (EEC)... Large research center's
research (Implementation &
Development) & Research and
Education.
Industrial Innovation and Partnerships Translational Research.
(IIP).
Chemical, Bioengineering, Environmental, Fundamental Research.
and Transport Systems (CBET).
Civil, Mechanical, and Manufacturing Fundamental Research.
Innovation (CMMI).
Electrical, Communications, and Cyber Fundamental Research.
Systems (ECCS).
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ENG-funded projects could include research opportunities and
mentoring for educators, scholars, and university students, as well as
outreach programs that help stir the imagination of K-12 students,
often with a focus on groups underrepresented in science and
engineering. The surveys to be tested and implemented would be designed
to assist in management of specific division programs, divisions, or
multi-agency initiatives and to serve as data resources for current and
future program evaluations.
This data collection effort will enable program officers to
longitudinally monitor outputs and outcomes given the unique goals and
purpose of their programs. This is very important to enable appropriate
and accurate evidence-based management of the programs and to determine
whether or not the specific goals of the programs are being met.
Grantees will be invited to submit this information on a periodic
basis to support performance review and the management of ENG grants by
ENG officers. Once the survey tool for a specific program is tested,
ENG grantees will be invited to submit these indicators to NSF via data
collection methods that include but are not limited to online surveys,
interviews, focus groups, phone interviews, etc. These indicators are
both quantitative and descriptive and may include, for example, the
characteristics of project personnel and students; sources of
complementary cash and in-kind support to the ENG project;
characteristics of industrial and/or other sector participation;
research activities; education activities; knowledge transfer
activities; patents, licenses; publications; descriptions of
significant advances and other outcomes of the ENG-funded effort.
Use of the Information: The data collected will be used for NSF
internal reports, historical data, program level studies and
evaluations, and for securing future funding for the ENG program
maintenance and growth. These data could be used for program
[[Page 9487]]
evaluation purposes if deemed necessary for a particular program.
Evaluation designs could make use of metadata associated with the
award, and other characteristics to identify a comparison group to
evaluate the impact of the program funding and other interesting
research questions. Different designs could be possible based on the
research questions varying from program to program but the fact that
NSF-ENG has already collected data on the outcomes of interest will
result in substantial savings on the evaluation per se.
Estimate of Burden:
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Annual number
Collection title Number of of responses/ Annual hour
respondents respondent burden
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Emerging Frontiers in Research and Innovation (EFRI)............ 85 0.25 21.25
Civil, Mechanical, and Manufacturing Innovation (CMMI).......... 1300 0.25 325
Chemical, Bioengineering, Environmental, and Transport Systems 1750 0.25 437.5
(CBET).........................................................
Electrical, Communications, and Cyber Systems (ECCS)............ 1000 0.25 250
Engineering Education and Centers (EEC)......................... 100 0.25 100
Industrial Innovation and Partnerships (IIP).................... 1000 4 4000
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Total....................................................... 5,235 .............. 5,133.75
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Below is an example that shows how the hour burden was estimated
for the monitoring system.
The estimated average number of annual respondents is 5,235, with
an estimated annual response burden of 5,133.75 hours. For post-award
monitoring systems, most divisions expect to collect data at 1, 2, 5,
and 10 years post-award, in order to have the best chance of capturing
the more immediate outcomes expected by 1-2 years post-award,
intermediate outcomes at 5 years post-award, and long-term outcomes/
impacts at 10 years post-award. These four (4) data collections spread
over the span of 10 years; this averages to 0.25 data collections/year.
For the IIP division, many awards are made in translational research,
such that we might expect a shorter and more condensed timeline of
outcomes and impacts. Thus, some programs may wish to collect data
quarterly for the first two years of the award, and then once annually
at 5 and 10 years post-award. The annual number of responses for the
first 2 years post-award is included in this table.
For life-of-award monitoring, the data collection burden to
awardees will be limited to no more than 2 hours of the respondents'
time in each instance.
Respondents: The respondents are either PIs or program
coordinators. One PI or program coordinator per award completes the
questionnaire.
Estimates of Annualized Cost to Respondents for the Hour Burdens
The overall annualized cost to the respondents is estimated to be
$214,635. The following table shows the annualized estimate of costs to
PI/program coordinator respondents, who are generally university
professors. This estimated hourly rate is based on a report from the
American Association of University Professors, ``Annual Report on the
Economic Status of the Profession, 2011-12,'' Academe, March-April
2012, Survey Report Table 4. According to this report, the average
salary of an associate professor across all types of doctoral-granting
institutions (public, private-independent, religiously affiliated) was
$86,319. When divided by the number of standard annual work hours
(2,080), this calculates to approximately $41 per hour.
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Number of Burden hours Average hourly Estimated
Respondent type respondents per respondent rate annual cost
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PIs/Program Coordinators (EFRI, CBET, CMMI, 4,235 0.25 $41 $173,635
ECCS, EEC).....................................
PIs/Program Coordinators (IIP Division)......... 1,000 1 41 41,000
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Total....................................... 5,235 .............. .............. 214,635
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Estimated Number of Responses per Report: Data collection for the
collections involves all awardees in the programs involved. The table
below shows the total universe and sample size for each of the
collections.
Respondent Universe and Sample Size of ENG Program Monitoring Clearance
Collections
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Universe of
Collection title respondents Sample size
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Emerging Frontiers in Research and 85 85
Innovation (EFRI)......................
Civil, Mechanical, and Manufacturing 1300 1300
Innovation (CMMI)......................
Chemical, Bioengineering, Environmental, 1750 1750
and Transport Systems (CBET)...........
Electrical, Communications, and Cyber 1000 1000
Systems (ECCS).........................
Engineering Education and Centers (EEC). 100 100
Industrial Innovation and Partnerships 1000 1000
(IIP)..................................
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[[Page 9488]]
Dated: February 12, 2014.
Suzanne H. Plimpton,
Reports Clearance Officer, National Science Foundation.
[FR Doc. 2014-03534 Filed 2-18-14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7555-01-P