[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 112 (Monday, June 10, 1996)] [Notices] [Pages 29431-29432] From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov] [FR Doc No: 96-14560] ======================================================================= ----------------------------------------------------------------------- NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION Directorate for Social, Behavioral, and Economic Sciences; Proposed Collection Available for Public Comment: Comments Requested by August 4, 1996 In compliance with the requirement of Section 3506(c)(2)(A) of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 for opportunity for public comment on proposed data collection projects, the National Science Foundation (NSF) will publish periodic summaries of proposed [[Page 29432]] projects. To request more information on the proposed project or to obtain a copy of the data collection plans and instruments, call the NSF Clearance Officer on (703) 306-1243. Comments are 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 to be collected; 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. Proposed Project: Separately budgeted current fund expenditures on research and development in the sciences and engineering performed by universities and colleges and their affiliated federally funded research and development centers--A mail survey, the Survey of Scientific and Engineering Expenditures at Universities and Colleges, originated in fiscal year (FY) 1954 and has been conducted annually since FY 1972. The survey is the academic expenditure component of the NSF statistical program that seeks to ``provide a central clearinghouse for the collection, interpretation, and analysis of data on the availability of, and the current and projected need for, scientific and technical resources in the United States, and to provide a source of information for policy formulation by other agencies of the Federal government'' as mandated in the National Science Foundation Act of 1950. the proposed project will continue the current survey cycle for three to five years. The FY 1996 and FY 1997 will be a statistical sample of approximately 518 institutions and FY 1998 a full survey population of about 700 institutions. The survey is conducted as a full survey population every 5 years and as a statistical sample in each of the 4 intervening years. These institutions account for over 95 percent of the Nation's academic R&D funds. The survey has provided continuity of statistics on R&D expenditures by source of funds and by science & engineering (S&E) field, with separate data requested on current fund expenditures for research equipment by S&E field. Statistics from the survey are published in NSF's annual publication series Academic Science and Engineering R&D Expenditures and are available electronically on the World Wide Web. The survey will be mailed primarily to the administrators at the Institutional Research Offices. To minimize burden, institutions are provided with (in addition to paper copy) an automatic survey questionnaire (ASQ) diskette, pre-loaded with the institutions previous years data and a complete program for editing and trend checking. Respondents are encouraged to submit their response via the ASQ diskette or electronically via internet. Approximately 60% responded via ASQ or electronically to this voluntary survey in FY 1994 and a total response rate of 99.6% was obtained. Burden estimates are as follows: ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Bachelors degree or below Total number of institutions Doctorate-granting Masters-granting ------------------------ Burden hours ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- FY 1992 480......................... 20.8 hours............. 12.0 hours............. 4.4 hours. FY 1993 700......................... 21.0 hours............. 8.1 hours.............. 5.2 hours. FY 1994 518......................... 21.6 hours............. 7.7 hours.............. 4.3 hours. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Send comments to Herman Fleming, Clearance Officer, National Science Foundation, National Science Foundation, 4201 Wilson Boulevard, Suite 485, Arlington, VA 22230. Written comments should be received by August 4, 1996. Dated: June 5, 1996. Herman G. Fleming, NSF Clearance Officer. [FR Doc. 96-14560 Filed 6-7-96; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 7555-01-M