[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 89 (Monday, May 9, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 28107-28108]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-10793]
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NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION
Comment Request: National Science Foundation Proposal--Large
Facilities Manual
AGENCY: National Science Foundation.
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: The National Science Foundation (NSF) is announcing plans to
request renewed clearance of this collection. In accordance with the
requirement of Section 3506(c)(2)(A) of the Paperwork Reduction Act of
1995, we are providing opportunity for public comment on the NSF Large
Facilities Manual (LFM) and the accompanying Large Facilities Financial
Data Collection Tool. The primary purpose of this revision is to
implement financial management policy and requirements as well as to
update and clarify existing content. The draft versions of the NSF LFM
and the accompanying Large Facilities Financial Data Collection Tool
are available on the NSF Web site at: http://www.nsf.gov/bfa/lfo/lfo_documents.jsp.
To facilitate review, a Change Log with brief comment explanations
of the changes is provided in the manual. NSF is particularly
interested in public comment on the financial management changes
identified in the LFM and on the Large Facilities Financial Data
Collection Tool for use in incurred cost reporting. After obtaining and
considering public comment, NSF will prepare the submission requesting
OMB clearance of this collection for no longer than 3 years.
In addition to the type of comments identified above, comments are
also 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 respondents, including through the use of automated
collection techniques or other forms of information technology.
DATES: Written comments should be received by July 8, 2016 to be
assured of consideration. Comments received after that date will be
considered to the extent practicable.
ADDRESSES: Written comments regarding the information collection and
requests for copies of the proposed information collection request
should be addressed to Suzanne Plimpton, Reports Clearance Officer,
National Science Foundation, 4201 Wilson Blvd., Rm. 1265, Arlington, VA
22230, or by email to [email protected].
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Suzanne Plimpton on (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: ``Large Facilities Manual''
OMB Approval Number: 3145-0239.
Expiration Date of Approval: 6/30/2018.
Type of Request: Intent to seek approval to extend with revision an
information collection for three years.
Proposed Project: The National Science Foundation Act of 1950 (Pub.
L. 81-507) set forth NSF's mission and purpose:
``To promote the progress of science; to advance the national
health, prosperity, and welfare; to secure the national defense. * *
*''
The Act authorized and directed NSF to initiate and support:
Basic scientific research and research fundamental to the
engineering process;
Programs to strengthen scientific and engineering research
potential;
Science and engineering education programs at all levels
and in all the various fields of science and engineering;
Programs that provide a source of information for policy
formulation; and
Other activities to promote these ends.
Among Federal agencies, NSF is a leader in providing the academic
community with advanced instrumentation needed to conduct state-of-the-
art research and to educate the next generation of scientists,
engineers and technical workers. The knowledge generated by these tools
sustains U.S. leadership in science and engineering (S&E) to drive the
U.S. economy and secure the future. NSF's responsibility is to ensure
that the research and education communities have access to these
resources, and to provide the support needed to utilize them optimally,
and implement timely upgrades.
The scale of advanced instrumentation ranges from small research
instruments to shared resources or facilities that can be used by
entire communities. The demand for such instrumentation is very high,
and is growing rapidly, along with the pace of discovery. For large
facilities and shared infrastructure, the need is particularly high.
This trend is expected to accelerate in the future as increasing
numbers of researchers and educators rely on such large facilities,
instruments, and databases to provide the reach to make the next
intellectual leaps.
NSF currently provides support for facility construction from two
accounts:
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the Major Research Equipment and Facility Construction (MREFC) account,
and the Research and Related Activities (R&RA) account. The MREFC
account, established in FY 1995, is a separate budget line item that
provides an agency-wide mechanism, permitting directorates to undertake
large facility projects that exceed 10% of the Directorate's annual
budget; or roughly $100M or greater. Smaller projects continue to be
supported from the R&RA Account.
Facilities are defined as shared-use infrastructure,
instrumentation and equipment that are accessible to a broad community
of researchers and/or educators. Facilities may be centralized or may
consist of distributed installations. They may incorporate large-scale
networking or computational infrastructure, multi-user instruments or
networks of such instruments, or other infrastructure, instrumentation
and equipment having a major impact on a broad segment of a scientific
or engineering discipline. Historically, awards have been made for such
diverse projects as accelerators, telescopes, research vessels and
aircraft, and geographically distributed but networked sensors and
instrumentation.
The growth and diversification of large facility projects require
that NSF remain attentive to the ever-changing issues and challenges
inherent in their planning, construction, operation, management and
oversight. Most importantly, dedicated, competent NSF and awardee staff
are needed to manage and oversee these projects; giving the attention
and oversight that good practice dictates and that proper
accountability to taxpayers and Congress demands. To this end, there is
also a need for consistent, documented requirements and procedures to
be understood and used by NSF program managers and awardees for all
such large projects.
Use of the Information: Facilities are an essential part of the
science and engineering enterprise, and supporting them is one major
responsibility of the National Science Foundation (NSF). NSF makes
awards to external entities--primarily universities, consortia of
universities or non-profit organizations--to undertake construction,
management and operation of facilities. Such awards frequently take the
form of cooperative agreements. NSF does not directly construct or
operate the facilities it supports. However, NSF retains responsibility
for overseeing their development, management and successful
performance. The Large Facilities Manual is intended to:
Provide step-by-step guidance for NSF staff and awardees
to carry out effective project planning, management and oversight of
large facilities while considering the varying requirements of a
diverse portfolio;
Clearly state the policies, processes and procedures
pertinent at each stage of a facility's life cycle from development
through construction, operations, and termination; and
Document and disseminate ``best practices'' identified
over time so that NSF and awardees can carry out their responsibilities
more effectively.
This version of the Large Facilities Manual up-dates sections
related to contingency policy, cost estimating requirements, and cost
incurred audits. As part of the implementation of incurred cost
reporting, a Large Facilities Financial Data Collection Tool is
referenced in the Manual and included in the request for comment. This
version also reflects revisions to improve readability and facilitate
period revision. The Manual does not replace existing formal procedures
required for all NSF awards, which are described in the Grant Proposal
Guide and The Award and Administration Guide. Instead, it draws upon
and supplements them for the purpose of providing detailed guidance
regarding NSF management and oversight of facilities projects. All
facilities projects require merit and technical review, as well as
approval of certain deliverables. The level of review and approval
varies substantially from standard grants, as does the level of
oversight needed to ensure appropriate and proper accountability for
federal funds. The requirements, recommended procedures and best
practices presented in the Manual apply to any facility significant
enough to require close and substantial interaction with the Foundation
and the National Science Board.
This Manual will be updated periodically to reflect changes in
requirements, policies and/or procedures. Award Recipients are expected
to monitor and adopt the requirements and best practices included in
the Manual which are aimed at improving management and oversight of
large facilities projects and at enabling the most efficient and cost-
effective delivery of tools to the research and education communities.
The submission of proposals and subsequent project documentation to
the Foundation related to the development, construction and operations
of Large Facilities is part of the collection of information. This
information is used to help NSF fulfill this responsibility in
supporting merit-based research and education projects in all the
scientific and engineering disciplines. The Foundation also has a
continuing commitment to provide oversight on facilities development
and construction which must be balanced against monitoring its
information collection so as to identify and address any excessive
reporting burdens.
NSF has approximately twenty-two (22) Large Facilities in various
stages of development, construction, operations and termination. One to
two (1 to 2) new awards are made approximately every five (5) years
based on science community infrastructure needs and availability of
funding. Of the twenty-two large facilities, there are approximately
eight (8) facilities annually that are either in development or
construction. These stages require the highest level of reporting and
management documentation per the Large Facilities Manual.
Burden to the Public: The Foundation estimates that an average of
three (3) Full Time Equivalents (FTE's) are necessary for each facility
project in development or construction (Total Project Cost of $200-
$500M) to respond to NSF routine reporting and project management
documentation requirements on an annual basis; or 6240 hours per year.
The Foundation estimates an average of one (1) FTE for a facility in
operations; or 2080 hours per year. Assuming an average of eight (8)
facilities in construction and the balance in operations, this equates
to roughly 80,000 public burden hours annually.
Dated: May 3, 2016.
Suzanne H. Plimpton,
Reports Clearance Officer, National Science Foundation.
[FR Doc. 2016-10793 Filed 5-6-16; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7555-01-P