[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 76 (Monday, April 21, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Pages 19582-19583]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-9682]


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NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION


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

AGENCY: National Science Foundation.

ACTION: Notice and request for comments.

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SUMMARY: The National Science Foundation (NSF) is announcing plans to 
request renewal of this collection. In accordance with the requirement 
of section 3506(c)(2)(A) of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (Pub. 
L. 104-13), we are providing opportunity for public comment on this 
action. After obtaining and considering public comment, NSF will 
prepare the submission requesting that OMB approve clearance of this 
collection for no longer than 3 years.

DATES: Written comments on this notice must be received by June 20, 
2003 to be assured of consideration. Comments received after that date 
will be considered to the extent practicable.

FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION OR COMMENTS: Contact Teresa R. Pierce, 
Reports Clearance Officer, National Science Foundation, 4201 Wilson 
Boulevard, Suite 295, Arlington, Virginia 22230; telephone (703) 292-
7555; or send email to [email protected]. You also may obtain a copy of 
the data collection instrument and instructions from Ms. Pierce.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    Title of Collection: Academic Research and Development Survey 
Expenditures at Universities and Colleges, FY 2003 through FY 2006; OMB 
Control Number 3145-0100.
    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 on respondents, including 
through the use of automated collection techniques or other forms of 
information technology.
    Proposed Renewal Project: Separately budgeted current fund 
expenditures on research and development in the sciences and 
engineering performed by universities and colleges and federally funded 
research and development centers--A web 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 continue the 
current survey cycle for three to five years. The Academic R&D Survey 
will be a census of the full population of an expected 646 institutions 
(610 universities or colleges plus 36 federally funded research and 
development centers--FFRDCs) for academic years 2003 through FY 2006. 
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. Further breakdowns are collected on 
passed through funds to subrecipients and received as a subrecipient. 
Additional measures on current fund expenditures for separately 
budgeted research and developoment by field of science and engineering 
are requested as being part of the core survey on select Federal 
Government agency sources. Data 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 is a fully automated web data collection effort and is 
handled primarily by the administrators at the Institutional Research 
Offices. To minimize burden, institutions are provided with an 
abundance of guidance and help menus on the web, in addition to 
printing and responding via paper copy if necessary. Each record is 
pre-loaded with the institutions 2 previous year's data and a complete 
program for editing and trend checking. Response to this voluntary 
survey in FY 2001 was 95.4 percent. Burden estimates are as follows: 
\1\
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    \1\ Average burden hours for institutions responding to burden 
item.
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[[Page 19583]]



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                                                    Doctorate-       Masters-        Bachelors
          Total number of institutions               granting        granting      degree burden  FFRDC's burden
                                                   burden hours    burden hours        hours           hours
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FY 1999 480.....................................            20.8            13.0             7.5             9.4
FY 2000 700.....................................            21.0            12.0            10.5             9.2
FY 2001 625.....................................            30.2            11.9             9.0            12.1
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    Dated: April 15, 2003.
Teresa R. Pierce,
Reports Clearance Officer.
[FR Doc. 03-9682 Filed 4-18-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7555-01-M