87 FR 144 pgs. 45366-45368 - Agency Information Collection Activities: Comment Request
Type: NOTICEVolume: 87Number: 144Pages: 45366 - 45368
Pages: 45366, 45367, 45368FR document: [FR Doc. 2022-16172 Filed 7-27-22; 8:45 am]
Agency: National Science Foundation
Official PDF Version: PDF Version
[top]
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. This is the second notice for public comment; the first was published in the Federal Register , and no comments were received. NSF is forwarding the proposed submission to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for clearance simultaneously with the publication of this second notice.
DATES:
Written comments and recommendations for the proposed information collection should be sent within 30 days of publication of this notice to www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAmain. Find this particular information collection by selecting "Currently under 30-day Review-Open for Public Comments" or by using the search function.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Suzanne H. Plimpton, Reports Clearance Officer, National Science Foundation, 2415 Eisenhower Avenue, Alexandria, VA 22314, or send email to splimpto@nsf.gov. 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).
Copies of the submission 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.
[top] SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Comments: Comments are invited on (a) whether the proposed collection of information is necessary for program planning, management, evaluation, and audit purposes, including whether the information will have practical utility; (b) the accuracy of NSF'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, 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 those who are to respond, including through the use of appropriate automated collection techniques or other forms of information technology.
Title of Collection: Education and Human Resources Program Monitoring Data Collections.
OMB Approval Number: 3145-0226.
Type of Request: Intent to seek renewal, with change, of an information collection.
Abstract: The National Science Foundation (NSF) requests re-clearance of program data collections that describe and track outcomes associated with NSF funding that focuses on the Nation's science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education and STEM workforce. NSF funds grants, contracts, and cooperative agreements to colleges, universities, and other eligible institutions, and provides graduate research fellowships to individuals in all parts of the United States and internationally.
The Directorate for Education and Human Resources (EHR), a unit within NSF, promotes rigor and vitality within the Nation's STEM education enterprise to further the development of the 21st century's STEM workforce and public scientific literacy. EHR does this through diverse projects and programs that support research, extension, outreach, and hands-on activities that service STEM learning and research at all institutional ( e.g., pre-school through postdoctoral) levels in formal and informal settings; and individuals of all ages (birth and beyond). EHR also focuses on broadening participation in STEM learning and careers among United States citizens, permanent residents, and nationals, particularly those individuals traditionally underemployed in the STEM research workforce, including but not limited to women, persons with disabilities, and racial and ethnic minorities.
The scope of this information collection request will primarily cover descriptive information gathered from education and training (E&T) projects that are funded by NSF. NSF will primarily use the data from this collection for program planning, management, and audit purposes to respond to queries from the Congress, the public, NSF's external merit reviewers who serve as advisors, including Committees of Visitors (COVs), the NSF's Office of the Inspector General, and as a basis for either internal or third-party evaluations of individual programs.
The collections will generally include three categories of descriptive data: (1) Staff and project participants (data that are also necessary to determine individual-level treatment and control groups for future third-party study or for internal evaluation); (2) project implementation characteristics (also necessary for future use to identify well-matched comparison groups); and (3) project outputs (necessary to measure baseline for pre- and post- NSF-funding-level impacts).
Use of the Information: This information is required for effective administration, communication, program and project monitoring and evaluation, and for measuring attainment of NSF's program, project, and strategic goals, and as identified by the President's Accountability in Government Initiative; GPRA, and the NSF's Strategic Plan. The Foundation's FY 2014-2018 Strategic Plan may be found at: http://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2014/nsf14043/nsf14043.pdf
Since this collection will primarily be used for accountability and evaluation purposes, including responding to queries from COVs and other scientific experts, a census rather than sampling design typically is necessary. At the individual project level funding can be adjusted based on individual project's responses to some of the surveys. Some data collected under this collection will serve as baseline data for separate research and evaluation studies.
NSF-funded contract or grantee researchers and internal or external evaluators in part may identify control, comparison, or treatment groups for NSF's E&T portfolio using some of the descriptive data gathered through this collection to conduct well-designed, rigorous research and portfolio evaluation studies.
Respondents: Individuals or households, not-for-profit institutions, business or other for profit, and Federal, State, local or tribal government.
Number of Respondents: 1,893.
Burden on the Public: NSF estimates that a total reporting and recordkeeping burden of 29,856 hours will result from activities to monitor EHR STEM education programs. The calculation is shown in Table 1.
Table 1: Anticipated programs that will collect data on project progress and outcomes along with the number of respondents and burden hours per collection per year.
| Collection title | Number of respondents | Number of responses | Annual hour burden |
|---|---|---|---|
| Centers of Research Excellence in Science and Technology (CREST) and Historically Black Colleges and Universities Research Infrastructure for Science and Engineering (HBCU-RISE) Monitoring System | 46 | 46 | 147 |
| Louis Stokes Alliances for Minority Participation (LSAMP) Monitoring System | 643 | 643 | 10,288 |
| Louis Stokes Alliances for Minority Participation Bridge to the Doctorate (LSAMP-BD) Monitoring System | 53 | 53 | 530 |
| Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship Program (Noyce) Monitoring System | 511 | 511 | 4,599 |
| Scholarships in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (S-STEM) Monitoring System | 640 | *?1,280 | 2240 |
| Total | 1,893 | 2,533 | 19,133 |
| *?Two responses annually. | |||
[top]
Suzanne H. Plimpton,
Reports Clearance Officer, National Science Foundation.
[FR Doc. 2022-16172 Filed 7-27-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7555-01-P