NSF
02-151 July 2002
Chapter
VIII - Other Proposal and Award Considerations
The chapter discusses other proposal and award considerations not addressed in the preceding
chapters. Topics covered are:
800 INTERGOVERNMENTAL REVIEW OF FEDERAL PROGRAMS
810 HANDLING OF INFORMATION
820 TAX STATUS
830 ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT
840 PROTECTION OF PROPERTIES IN THE NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES
850 NATIONAL SECURITY
860 MISCELLANEOUS (INCLUDING LIABILITIES AND LOSSES, PRE-COLLEGE STUDENTS AND EXPERIMENTAL CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS AND USE OF METRIC MEASUREMENTS)
800 INTERGOVERNMENTAL REVIEW OF FEDERAL PROGRAMS
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The Foundation's regulation on Intergovernmental Review of National Science
Foundation Programs and Activities is published in 45 CFR Part 660.
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The
Federal Assistance Award Data System (FAADS) http://www.census.gov/govs/www/faads. notifies
the States of Federal assistance awards. FAADS is a computer-based management
information system that provides information on assistance awards, including
NSF grants, on a quarterly basis. These reports are distributed to the
States, and meet the objective of 6502 of Title 31 of the USC.
810 HANDLING OF INFORMATION
811 Questionnaires: Data Collection Under NSF Grants
811.1 Paperwork Control
Under the OMB regulation, Controlling Paperwork Burdens on the Public (5 CFR §1320), a
grantee's obtaining of information from ten or more persons by means of identical questions is
considered to be "sponsored" by NSF only if:
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the grantee is collecting the information at the specific request of NSF;
or
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the terms of the grant require specific approval by NSF of the collection
or its procedures. If either of these conditions is met, OMB approval of
the data collection is generally required and grantees should obtain the
necessary control number from the cognizant NSF Program Officer.
811.2 NSF Policy
Data collection activities of NSF grantees are the responsibility of grantees, and NSF
support of a project does not constitute NSF approval of the survey design, questionnaire
content or data collection procedures. No representation may be made to respondents that such
data are being collected for, or in association with, NSF or the govern-ment. However, this
requirement is not intended to preclude mention of NSF support of the project in response to
an inquiry or acknowledgment of such support in any publica-tion of this data (see
GPM 744, "Grantee Obligations").
812 Release of Information by NSF
812.1 Press Releases
Grants for projects which appear to be of special interest to the general public may be
made the subject of an NSF or joint NSF/grantee organization press release to the news media.
(See GPM 622, "News Release Costs.")
812.2 Open Government Legislation
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Pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) (5 USC §552), NSF will
provide agency records, with certain exceptions, if the request is in
writing, includes the requester's name and mailing address, is clearly
identified as a FOIA request, and describes the records sought with sufficient
specificity to permit identification. The requester must also agree to
pay fees that are chargeable under the NSF regulations. Detailed procedures
are contained in 45 CFR §612. Further information is available at http://www.nsf.gov/home/pubinfo/foia.jsp.
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The
Government in the Sunshine Act (5 USC §552b) requires that all meetings
of the National Science Board be open to public observation unless
the subject falls within one of ten exemptions. NSF's Sunshine Act
regulations are contained in 45 CFR §614.
The Sunshine Act and the FOIA cited above, may require NSF to release to
the public information, correspondence and documents received by NSF from
grantees, unless they fall within the Acts limited exceptions.
812.3 Release of Project Reports
NSF expects significant findings from research it supports to be promptly submitted for
publication. To the extent permitted by law, NSF will honor requests from grantees that
release of Annual and Final Project Reports be delayed to permit orderly dissemination of
significant findings through refereed channels. Unless such a request is received or material
is marked as proprietary, such reports may be made available to others without notice to the
grantee. Information, the disclosure of which might invade personal privacy, will be
redacted before release.
820 TAX STATUS
Determination of the tax status of an organization or person receiving compensation
in any form as a result of an NSF grant is the responsibility of the IRS, State
and local tax authorities and the courts.
830 ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT
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The National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA) (42 USC §4332) requires
that Federal agencies consider the environmental impacts of major Federal
actions significantly affecting the quality of the human environment.
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If
a proposed project might have an environmental impact, the proposal should
furnish sufficient information to assist Foundation officials in assessing
the environmental consequences of supporting the project. NSF will determine:
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the
adequacy of the information submitted;
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whether or not additional
information is needed; and
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whether or not an environmental assessment
or environmental impact statement will be necessary.
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NSF regulations
governing compliance with NEPA are found at 45 CFR §640. NSF
regulations supplement the Council on Environmental Quality's regulations, published at 40
CFR §§1500-1508. Categories of activities for which an NSF Program Officer may be required
to prepare an environmental assessment are set forth at 45 CFR §640.3(b).
840 PROTECTION OF PROPERTIES IN THE NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES
NSF is required by 16 USC §470f to take into account the effect of grant activities on
properties included in the National Register of Historic Places. Occasionally, an NSF grant
may involve activities that require mitigation or other actions under the National Historic
Preservation Act and implementing regulations of the Advisory Council on Historic
Preservation (36 CFR §800). In such cases, as deemed appropriate by NSF, conditions
executing the goals of the National Historic Preservation Act may be included in the grant
and grantees or prospective grantees may be required to coordinate with State or local
historical preservation officers.
850 NATIONAL SECURITY
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NSF does not have original classification authority and does not normally
support classified projects. It therefore does not expect that results
of NSF-supported research projects will be classifiable, except in very rare
instances.
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E.O. 12958 (3 CFR 1995 Comp.) states that basic research information
not clearly related to the national security may not be classified. Nevertheless,
some information concerning, among other things, scientific, technological
or economic matters relating to the national security or cryptology may
require classification.
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There may be cases when an NSF grantee originates
information during the course of an NSF-supported project that the
grantee believes requires classification under E.O. 12958.
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In such a case,
the grantee has the responsibility to promptly:
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submit the information
directly to the government agency with appropriate subject matter
interest and classification authority or, if uncertain as to which agency
should receive the information, to the Director of the Information Security
Oversight Office, GSA;
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protect the information as though it were classified
until the grantee is informed that the information does not require
classification, but not longer than 30 days after receipt by the agency
with subject matter interest or by the GSA; and
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notify the appropriate
NSF Program Officer.
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The Executive Order requires the agency with
appropriate subject matter interest and classification authority
to decide within 30 days whether to classify the material. If it
determines the information will require classification, the grantee shall
cooperate with that agency, NSF or other appropriate agencies in
securing all related project notes and papers.
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If the information is determined
to require classification, the performing organization may wish or
need to discontinue the project. (See GPM 913, "Termination by Mutual Agreement.")
860 MISCELLANEOUS
861 Liabilities and Losses
NSF assumes no liability with respect to accidents, bodily injury, illness, breach of
contract, any other damages or loss, or with respect to any claims arising out of any
activities undertaken with the financial support of an NSF grant, whether with respect to
persons or property of the grantee or third parties. The grantee is advised to insure or
otherwise protect itself or others as it may deem desirable.
862 Pre-College Students and Experimental Curriculum Development Projects
As required by 42 USC §1869 a and b, grantees of projects which involve pre-college
students in research or development, or pilot-testing, evaluation or revision of, experimental
or innovative curriculum development projects will:
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provide to the school board, or comparable authority responsible for
the schools considering participation in the project, information concerning
the need for and purposes of, the particular education project, the proposed
content of the material to be used, the expected benefits to be derived
and other information to assist the jurisdiction in arriving at a decision
on participation;
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obtain written approval for participation in the project
activities after the responsible authority has carried out its procedures;
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provide
information and materials to the responsible school authority to assist
it in carrying out its own established procedures regarding the participation
of students in project activities;
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provide information to NSF describing
compliance with the above provisions; and
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provide in every publication,
testing or distribution agreement involving instructional material
developed under a grant (including but not limited to teacher's manuals,
textbooks, films, tapes or other supplementary material) that such material
will be made available within the school district using such material,
for inspection by parents or guardians of children engaged in educational
programs or projects of that school district.
863 Use of Metric Measurements
The Metric Conversion Act of 1975 (15 USC §§205a-k) and E.O. 12770 (3 CFR, 1991 comp.)
encourage Federal agencies to use the Metric System in procurement, grants and other
business-related activities. The NSF grant will contain a provision encouraging PI/PDs to
submit project reports, final reports, other reports and publications produced under grants
that employ the metric system of measurements.
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