[Federal Register: March 6, 2008 (Volume 73, Number 45)]
[Notices]
[Page 12223-12225]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr06mr08-109]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION
Agency Information Collection Activities: Comment Request
AGENCY: National Science Foundation.
ACTION: Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The National Science Foundation (NSF) has submitted the
following information collection requirement to OMB for review and
clearance under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, Public Law 104-13.
This is the second notice for public
[[Page 12224]]
comment; the first was published in the Federal Register at 72 FR
46667, and no substantial comments were received. NSF is forwarding the
proposed renewal submission to the Office of Management and Budget
(OMB) for clearance simultaneously with the publication of this second
notice. Comments regarding (a) whether the collection of information is
necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the agency,
including whether the information will have practical utility; (b) the
accuracy of the agency's estimate of burden including the validity of
the methodology and assumptions used; (c) ways to enhance the quality,
utility and clarity of the information to be collected; (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 should be addressed to: Office of
Information and Regulatory Affairs of OMB, Attention: Desk Officer for
National Science Foundation, 725 17th Street, NW., Room 10235,
Washington, DC 20503, and to Suzanne H. Plimpton, Reports Clearance
Officer, National Science Foundation, 4201 Wilson Boulevard, Suite 295,
Arlington, Virginia 22230 or send e-mail to splimpto@nsf.gov. Comments
regarding these information collections are best assured of having
their full effect if received within 30 days of this notification.
Copies of the submission(s) may be obtained by calling 703-292-7556.
NSF may not conduct or sponsor a collection of information unless
the collection of information displays a currently valid OMB control
number and the agency informs potential persons who are to respond to
the collection of information that such persons are not required to
respond to the collection of information unless it displays a currently
valid OMB control number.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Title of Collection: National Science Foundation Proposal and Award
Information--NSF Proposal and Award Policies & Procedures Guide.
OMB Approval Number: 3145-0058.
Type of Request: Intent to seek approval to extend with revision an
information collection for three years.
Proposed Project: NSF is seeking to improve its existing mechanisms
for the issuance of proposal and award policies and procedures.
Previously, these policies and procedures were contained in two
separate issuances: the Grant Proposal Guide and the Grant Policy
Manual. These documents were each separately maintained and issued with
different effective dates and significant redundancies between the two
documents. We have now collapsed these two documents into a new policy
framework: the NSF Proposal and Award Policies and Procedures Guide.
Part I of this document will include NSF Proposal Preparation and
Submission Guidelines, i.e., the Grant Proposal Guide (GPG), and Part
II will include the NSF Award & Administration Guide (previously known
as the GPM). These documents will be available as a single html file on
the NSF Web site. This initial issuance of the NSF Proposal and Award
Policies and Procedures Guide will be effective following approval by
OMB of this information collection request. Future issuances of this
Guide will be supplemented with additional documents, such as the NSF
Grants.gov Application Guide.
This new policy framework will assist both NSF customers as well as
NSF staff by:
1. Improving both the awareness and knowledge of the complete set
of NSF policies and procedural documents;
2. increasing ease of access to the policies and procedures that
govern the entire grant lifecycle;
3. eliminating duplicative coverage between the two documents;
4. increasing the transparency of our proposal and award process;
and
5. allowing NSF to better manage amendments between the two
documents necessitated by administrative changes.
This process also will combine the Grant Proposal Guide (OMB
Clearance No. 3145-0058) with the Proposal Review Process (3145-0060)
to streamline the proposal and award management processes for
applicants and awardees. This will allow NSF to better manage
amendments between the two collections necessitated by administrative
changes. Following OMB approval, this information will be available
electronically by the community via the Internet.
The National Science Foundation (NSF) is an independent Federal
agency created by the National Science Foundation Act of 1950, as
amended (42 U.S.C. 1861-75). The Act states the purpose of the NSF is
``to promote the progress of science; [and] to advance the national
health, prosperity, and welfare'' by supporting research and education
in all fields of science and engineering.'' 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.
From those first days, NSF has had a unique place in the Federal
Government: It is responsible for the overall health of science and
engineering across all disciplines. In contrast, other Federal agencies
support research focused on specific missions such as health or
defense. The Foundation also is committed to ensuring the nation's
supply of scientists, engineers, and science and engineering educators.
The Foundation fulfills this responsibility by initiating and
supporting merit-selected research and education projects in all the
scientific and engineering disciplines. It does this through grants and
cooperative agreements to more than 2,800 colleges, universities, K-12
school systems, businesses, informal science organizations and other
research institutions throughout the U.S. The Foundation accounts for
about one-fourth of Federal support to academic institutions for basic
research.
Over the years, NSF's statutory authority has been modified in a
number of significant ways. In 1968, authority to support applied
research was added to the Organic Act. In 1980, the Science and
Engineering Equal Opportunities Act gave NSF standing authority to
support activities to improve the participation of women and minorities
in science and engineering.
Another major change occurred in 1986, when engineering was
accorded equal status with science in the Organic Act. NSF has always
dedicated itself to providing the leadership and vision needed to keep
the words and ideas embedded in its mission statement fresh and up-to-
date. Even in today's rapidly changing environment, NSF's core purpose
resonates clearly in everything it does: promoting achievement and
progress in science and engineering and enhancing the potential for
research and education to contribute to the Nation. While NSF's vision
of the future and the mechanisms it uses to carry out its charges have
evolved significantly over the last four decades, its ultimate mission
remains the same.
[[Page 12225]]
Use of the information: The regular submission of proposals to the
Foundation is part of the collection of information and is used to help
NSF fulfill this responsibility by initiating and supporting merit-
selected research and education projects in all the scientific and
engineering disciplines. NSF receives more than 40,000 proposals
annually for new projects, and makes approximately 10,500 new awards.
Support is made primarily through grants, contracts, and other
agreements awarded to more than 2,800 colleges, universities, academic
consortia, nonprofit institutions, and small businesses. The awards are
based mainly on evaluations of proposal merit submitted to the
Foundation (proposal review is currently cleared under OMB Control No.
3145-0060).
The Foundation has a continuing commitment to monitor the
operations of its information collection to identify and address
excessive reporting burdens as well as to identify any real or apparent
inequities based on gender, race, ethnicity, or disability of the
proposed principal investigator(s)/project director(s) or the co-
principal investigator(s)/co-project director(s).
Proposal Evaluation Process
The Foundation relies heavily on the advice and assistance of
external advisory committees, ad-hoc proposal reviewers, and to other
experts to ensure that the Foundation is able to reach fair and
knowledgeable judgments. These scientists and educators come from
colleges and universities, nonprofit research and education
organizations, industry, and other Government agencies.
In making its decisions on proposals the counsel of these merit
reviewers has proven invaluable to the Foundation both in the
identification of meritorious projects and in providing sound basis for
project restructuring.
Review of proposals may involve large panel sessions, small groups,
or use of a mail-review system. Proposals are reviewed carefully by
scientists or engineers who are expert in the particular field
represented by the proposal. About 54% are reviewed exclusively by
panels of reviewers who gather, usually in Arlington, VA, to discuss
their advice as well as to deliver it. About 33% are reviewed first by
mail reviewers expert in the particular field, then by panels, usually
of persons with more diverse expertise, who help the NSF decide among
proposals from multiple fields or sub-fields. Finally, about 9% are
reviewed exclusively by mail.
Use of the Information
The information collected is used to support grant programs of the
Foundation. The information collected on the proposal evaluation forms
is used by the Foundation to determine the following criteria when
awarding or declining proposals submitted to the Agency: (1) What is
the intellectual merit of the proposed activity? (2) What are the
broader impacts of the proposed activity?
The information collected on reviewer background questionnaire (NSF
428A) is used by managers to maintain an automated database of
reviewers for the many disciplines represented by the proposals
submitted to the Foundation. Information collected on gender, race, and
ethnicity is used in meeting NSF needs for data to permit response to
Congressional and other queries into equity issues. These data also are
used in the design, implementation, and monitoring of NSF efforts to
increase the participation of various groups in science, engineering,
and education.
Confidentiality
When a decision has been made (whether an award or a declination),
verbatim copies of reviews, excluding the names of the reviewers, and
summaries of review panel deliberations, if any, are provided to the
PI. A proposer also may request and obtain any other releasable
material in NSF's file on their proposal. Everything in the file except
information that directly identifies either reviewers or other pending
or declined proposals is usually releasable to the proposer.
While a listing of panelists' names is released annually, the names
of individual reviewers, associated with individual proposals, are not
released to anyone.
Because the Foundation is committed to monitoring and identifying
any real or apparent inequities based on gender, race, ethnicity, or
disability of the proposed principal investigator(s)/project
director(s) or the co-principal investigator(s)/co-project director(s),
the Foundation also collects information regarding race, ethnicity,
disability, and gender. This information also is protected by the
Privacy Act.
Burden on the Public: It has been estimated that the public expends
an average of approximately 120 burden hours for each proposal
submitted. Since the Foundation expects to receive approximately 45,000
proposals in FY 2007, an estimated 5,400,000 burden hours will be
placed on the public.
The Central Contractor Registry (CCR) states it takes approximately
one hour for an organization to complete the online registration,
depending upon the size and complexity of the organization. The one
hour to complete registration includes the time to read the
instructions and to complete the form online. CCR does have handbook
users may refer during the registration process. CCR recommends
factoring in an additional 15 minutes in the instance the user
references the handbook. When calculating the burden for this change in
2007, NSF retrieved a list of organizations that submitted proposals to
the Foundation in FY 2006 and used a sample (5% error) to determine the
percentage of these organizations registered in the CCR. Based on this
sample, NSF determined that approximately 184 organizations would be
affected, with an average of 1.25 hours to register, for a total of 230
hours.
The Foundation has based its reporting burden on the review of
approximately 45,000 new proposals expected during FY 2007. It has been
estimated that anywhere from one hour to 20 hours may be required to
review a proposal. We have estimated that approximately 5 hours are
required to review an average proposal. Each proposal receives an
average of 3 reviews, resulting in approximately 1,350,000 burden hours
each year.
The information collected on reviewer background questionnaire (NSF
428A) is used by managers to maintain an automated database of
reviewers for the many disciplines represented by the proposals
submitted to the Foundation. Information collected on gender, race, and
ethnicity is used in meeting NSF needs for data to permit response to
Congressional and other queries into equity issues. These data also are
used in the design, implementation, and monitoring of NSF efforts to
increase the participation of various groups in science, engineering,
and education. The estimated burden for the Reviewer Background
Information (NSF 428A) is estimated at 5 minutes per respondent with up
to 10,000 potential new reviewers for a total of 83 hours.
The aggregate number of burden hours is estimated to be 6,750,313.
The actual burden on respondents has not changed.
Dated: March 3, 2008.
Suzanne H. Plimpton,
Reports Clearance Officer, National Science Foundation.
[FR Doc. E8-4344 Filed 3-5-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7555-01-P