[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 41 (Wednesday, March 3, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Pages 10329-10330]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-5231]


=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION


Notice of Intent to Seek Approval to Extend and Revise a Current 
Information Collection

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, Pub. L. 104-13. 
This is the second notice for public comment; the first was published 
in the Federal Register at 63 FR 71960, and no 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; 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, 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. Pilmpton, Reports Clearance Officer, National Science 
Foundation, 4201 Wilson Boulevard, Suite 295, Arlington, Virginia 22230 
or send email to [email protected]. 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 703-306-1125 X 2017.
    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.
    Title of Collection: Survey of Research and Development 
Expenditures at Universities and Colleges, FY 1999 through FY 2001; OMB 
Control Number 3145-0100.
    OMB Control Number: 3145-0100.
    Summary of Collection: 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/electronic 
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.
    Use of the Information: The proposed project will return to and 
maintain a full survey cycle population of about 700 institutions.
    The survey which was conducted as a full survey population only 
every 5 years and as a statistical sample in each of the 4 intervening 
years was based primarily on reducing respondent burden. Consistency of 
records of the non-sampled institutions and frequent personnel changes, 
added to their burden. With the onset of Web-based data collection and 
a change for a minimum requirement of $150K in expenditures for any 
master's or bachelor's degree-granting institution, the respondent 
burden and timelines is expected to decrease. These institutions 
account for over 98 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 passed through dollars; by science & engineering 
(S&E) field, and separate data requested on current fund expenditures 
for research equipment by S&E field, and selected non-science and 
engineering fields. In addition, 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.

[[Page 10330]]

    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) file specifications needed to 
upload data from the web data collection system (http://www.qrc.com/
exp).
    Description of Respondents: Not-for-profit institutions.
    Number of Respondents: 698 (average).
    Frequency of Responses: Reporting annually.
    Total Burden Hours: 9,014.
    Approximately 65% responded electronically using the previous 
Automatic Survey Questionnaire on diskette to this voluntary survey in 
FY 1997 and a total response rate of 98.0% was obtained. Burden 
estimates are as follows:

 
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                   Burden Hours
                                                   Total number  -----------------------------------------------
                                                        of          Doctorate-       Masters-      Bachelors or
                                                   institutions      granting        granting          below
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
FY 1997.........................................             692            19.0             7.0             7.0
FY 1996.........................................             692            21.5             7.1             6.2
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Dated: February 26, 1999.
Suzanne H. Plimpton,
Reports Clearance Officer.
[FR Doc. 99-5231 Filed 3-2-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7555-01-M