[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 179 (Tuesday, September 16, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Pages 54225-54226]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-23573]


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OFFICE OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY POLICY


National Science and Technology Council; Committee on Science; 
Subcommittee on Research Business Models

ACTION: Notice of open meetings.

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SUMMARY: This notice announces four workshops sponsored by the National 
Science and Technology Council / Committee on Science / Subcommittee on 
Research Business Models.

DATES AND ADDRESSES: The Subcommittee will hold three one-day regional 
workshops:
    [sbull] Monday, October 27, 2003, 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. (PST). 
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Building 50 Auditorium; 
Berkeley, CA 94720.
    [sbull] Wednesday, November 12, 2003, 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. (CST). 
Coffman Memorial Union, University of Minnesota; 300 Washington Ave. 
S.E.; Minneapolis, MN 55455.
    [sbull] Monday, November 17, 2003, 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. (EST). The 
University of North Carolina, Carolina Inn, 211 Pittsboro Street, 
Chapel Hill, NC, 27516.
    The Subcommittee will subsequently hold a two-day agenda setting 
meeting:
    [sbull] Tuesday, December 9, 2003, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. (EST) and 
Wednesday, December 10, 2003, 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. (EST). Jefferson 
Auditorium, South Building; U.S. Department of Agriculture; 1400 
Independence Ave., SW; Washington, DC, 20250.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Michael Holland, Office of Science & 
Technology Policy; 1650 Pennsylvania Avenue; Washington, DC 20502. 
Telephone: (202) 456-6130. Email: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 
    Purpose of the Meetings: The three regional workshops will assist 
the Subcommittee in its review of policies, procedures, and plans 
relating to the business relationship between federal agencies and 
research performers. A subsequent two-day meeting in Washington, DC 
will assess the input from the regional meetings and help prioritize 
the agenda of the Subcommittee.
    The Committee on Science realizes that much has changed about the 
practice of scientific research over the last several years. The 
purpose of the Subcommittee on Research Business Models is to advise 
and assist the Committee on Science and the NSTC on policies, 
procedures, and plans relating to business models. Our goal is to 
improve the efficiency, effectiveness and accountability of the Federal 
research and development enterprise in a manner cognizant of currently 
available resources. The Subcommittee will:
    --Facilitate a strong, coordinated effort across federal agencies 
to identify and address important policy implications arising from the 
changing nature of basic and applied research.
    --Examine the concomitant influence these changes have had or 
should have on business models and business practices for the conduct 
of basic and applied research sponsored by the Federal government and 
carried out by academic, industrial, and government entities.
    --Review the challenges to improved performance and mechanisms for 
more transparent accountability of the research enterprise.
    These workshops are based upon a request for information published 
August 6, 2003 by OSTP in the Federal Register (vol. 68, No. 151, p. 
46631; available at http://www.ostp.gov/html/Request for Info 03-
19935.pdf).
    Tentative Agenda Topics: (Agenda topics may change up to the day of 
the meetings. The most current agendas will be found on the 
Subcommittee's Internet site at http://rbm.nih.gov/). The three 
regional workshops will have the following structure:
    [sbull] Welcome and Introduction
    [sbull] Summary of Federal Register comments
    [sbull] Morning Panel Discussion (see below for themes of each 
workshop's panels)
    [sbull] Afternoon Panel Discussion
    [sbull] Public Comment Period
    Each regional workshop will focus on a subset of the questions 
posed in the August 6, 2003 Federal Register request for information 
(http://www.ostp.gov/html/Request for Info 03-19935.pdf) as described 
below.

Monday, October 27, 2003, Berkeley, CA

    The theme of this workshop will be ``Alignment of Funding 
Mechanisms with Scientific Opportunities.'' Our focus will include the 
following issues published in the August 6, 2003 Federal Register 
notice (http://www.ostp.gov/html/Request for Info 03-19935.pdf): 
Research support, multidisciplinary/collaborative research, and 
research Infrastructure.
    [sbull] Morning Panel-``Does How We Support Research Determine What 
We Get: Perspectives from the S&E Community.''
    [sbull] Afternoon Panel-``New Models for Supporting Science & 
Engineering Research.''
    [sbull] Information concerning pre-registration, accommodations and 
directions is available at http://isswprod.lbl.gov/ConferenceReg/Registration.asp?ID=33.

Wednesday, November 12, 2003, Minneapolis, MN

    The theme of this workshop will be ``Common Practices among 
Agencies.'' Our focus will include the following issues published in 
our August 6, 2003 Federal Register notice (http://www.ostp.gov/html/Request for Info 03-19935.pdf): Inconsistency of policies and practices 
among Federal agencies, inconsistency of policies and practices among 
universities, state and institutional requirements, and regulatory 
requirements.
    [sbull] Morning Panel-``When Policies and Practices Collide: What 
Do Feds Ask for?''
    [sbull] Afternoon Panel-``Post-Collision: What Should Feds Ask 
for?''

[[Page 54226]]

    [sbull] Information concerning pre-registration, accommodations and 
directions is available at http://www.research.umn.edu/conferences/nsf/.

Monday, November 17, 2003, Chapel Hill, NC

    The theme of this workshop will be the ``Appropriate Costs of 
Research Enterprise--Determination, Recovery, and Accountability.'' Our 
focus will include the following issues published in the August 6, 2003 
Federal Register notice (http://www.ostp.gov/html/Request for Info 03-
19935.pdf): Accountability, information technology, and technology 
transfer optimization.
    [sbull] Morning Panel-``IT: Has Technology Made and Can It Make 
Research Administration More Efficient? How Can Grants.Gov Help the 
Process?''
    [sbull] Afternoon Panel-``Compliance Costs: Balancing Requirements 
with the Public's Interests.''
    [sbull] Information concerning pre-registration, accommodations and 
directions is available at http://research.unc.edu/workshops/.

Tuesday, December 9, 2003 and Wednesday, December 10, 2003, Washington, 
DC

    The agenda of the Washington meeting will be strongly influenced by 
public comments submitted in response to the prior Federal Register 
notice and by the input from the three regional workshops. The agenda 
for this meeting will be available on the Subcommittee's Internet site 
(http://rbm.nih.gov/) after the November 17 workshop has taken place. 
In addition, we plan a satellite broadcast of parts of the Washington 
meeting. We will identify these broadcast segments in the posted 
agenda.
    Public Participation: Each announced meeting is open to the public. 
Each workshop allots 90 minutes for public comments from the floor. 
Please submit your request to make oral statements to [email protected] (e-mail) or contact Michael Holland at 202-456-6130 
(telephone). You must make your request for an oral statement at least 
5 business days prior to the meeting. We will schedule oral statements 
during each of the public comment periods in the order in which they 
are received. The Subcommittee strongly encourages all those scheduled 
during the public comment periods to file a written copy of their 
statement via email to [email protected]. You may submit your oral 
statement in advance or up to five (5) business days after a workshop. 
We request that this written statement be limited to three pages. 
Public comment will follow the 3-minute rule.
    Meeting Summaries: Summaries of each regional workshop and the 
Washington meeting will be available on the Subcommittee's Internet 
site (http://rbm.nih.gov/) for public review and copying within 45 days 
of each meeting.

Authority

    The National Science and Technology Council (NSTC) was established 
under Executive Order 12881 on November 23, 1993. The Committee on 
Science is chartered under the NSTC. The purpose of the Committee on 
Science is to advise and assist the NSTC, with emphasis on those 
federally supported efforts that develop new knowledge in the sciences, 
mathematics, and engineering.

Kathie L. Olsen,
Associate Director and Co-chair, Committee on Science.
[FR Doc. 03-23573 Filed 9-15-03; 8:45 am]
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