[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 210 (Monday, November 1, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Pages 63353-63354]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-24291]
[[Page 63353]]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request
DOC has submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for
clearance the following proposal for collection of information under
the provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. chapter 35).
Agency: U.S. Census Bureau.
Title: 2004-2006 Survey of Industrial Research & Development.
Form Number(s): RD-1, RD-1A.
Agency Approval Number: None.
Type of Request: New collection.
Burden: 93,500 hours.
Number of Respondents: 32,000.
Avg Hours Per Response: 3 hours.
Needs and Uses: The Census Bureau is requesting a new collection
for the annual Survey of Industrial Research and Development (the
Survey) that is conducted jointly by the U.S. Census Bureau and the
National Science Foundation (NSF). Historically, the Survey approval
request had been submitted by the NSF with the Census Bureau acting as
the collection agent. Under a joint project agreement between NSF and
the Census Bureau, the Census Bureau plans to assume responsibility for
obtaining clearance of the Survey. The Survey was previously cleared
under OMB control number 3145-0027.
The National Science Foundation Act of 1950, as amended, authorizes
and directs NSF ``* * * to provide a central clearinghouse for the
collection, interpretation, and analysis of data on scientific and
engineering resources and to provide a source of information for policy
formulation by other agencies of the Federal government.'' The Survey
is the vehicle with which NSF carries out the industrial portion of
this mandate. NSF together with the Census Bureau, the collecting and
compiling agent, analyze the data and publish the resulting statistics.
Industry is the major performer of research and development (R&D)
in the United States, spending over 70 percent of total U.S. R&D
outlays each year. A consistent industrial R&D information base is
essential to government officials formulating public policy, industry
personnel involved in corporate planning, and members of the academic
community conducting research. To develop policies designed to promote
and enhance science and technology, past trends and the present status
of R&D must be known and analyzed. Without comprehensive industrial R&D
statistics, it would be impossible to evaluate the health of science
and technology in the United States or to make comparisons between the
technological progress of our country and that of other nations.
Statistics from the Survey are published in NSF's annual
publication series, Research and Development in Industry, available via
the Internet at http://www.nsf.gov/sbe/srs/indus/start.htm. Since 1953,
this survey has provided continuity of statistics on R&D expenditures
by major industry groups and by source of funds. Over the years,
questions on a number of additional areas have been added to the Survey
as the need for this R&D information became necessary for policy
formulation and research.
Prior to the last request for OMB review, response to four
questions (total net sales and total employment for the company; and
the amount of Federal and total funds the company spent on R&D) was
mandatory and fulfilled the Census Bureau's data-collecting mandate in
Title 13, U.S. Code, 131, 182, 224 and 225. The last request asked for
authorization to increase the number of annual mandatory items from 4
to 5 by adding the item, cost of R&D performed within the company by
state, to the list. Further, authorization to make the entire survey
mandatory every five years to coincide with the Census Bureau's
Economic Census was requested and approved. The ``all-mandatory''
requirement was first applied for the 2002 cycle of the Survey.
The next economic census will be conducted for 2007 and
authorization to apply the requirement will be requested again. In the
meantime, response to other than the five mandatory items will remain
voluntary for the three non-economic census years covered by this
request.
In addition to burden hours sufficient to cover the normal
operation of the survey, we are also requesting 5,000 hours annually to
cover methodological and survey quality improvement efforts.
Policy officials from many Federal agencies rely on statistics from
this survey for essential information. For example, total U.S. R&D
expenditures statistics have been used by the Bureau of Economic
Analysis (BEA) to update the System of National Accounts and, in fact,
the first attempt by BEA to establish a separate R&D satellite account
in the System is underway. Results from the Survey are needed to
develop and subsequently update this detailed satellite account. Also,
recently a new data linking project has begun that is designed to
augment the Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) data collected by BEA. This
project is the first to test new data sharing legislation. The linking
of the results of the 1997 cycle of the Survey with BEA's 1997 FDI
benchmark files is the first application of the recently enacted
Confidential Information Protection and Statistical Efficiency Act
(CIPSEA) that allows limited data sharing among selected Federal
statistical agencies. Future FDI linkages are planned to begin with the
2002 Survey file. Further, the Census Bureau links data collected by
the Survey with other statistical files. At the Census Bureau,
historical company-level R&D data are linked to a file that contains
information on the outputs and inputs of companies' manufacturing
plants. Researchers are able to analyze the relationships between R&D
funding and other economic variables by using micro-level data.
Many individuals and organizations access the survey statistics via
the Internet and hundreds have asked to have their names placed on the
mailing list for a paper copy of the annual SRS InfoBrief that
announces the availability of statistics from each cycle of the Survey.
Information about the kinds of projects that rely on statistics from
the Survey is available from internal records of NSF's Division of
Science Resources Statistics (SRS). In addition, survey statistics are
regularly printed in trade publications and many researchers use the
survey statistics from these secondary sources without directly
contacting NSF or the Census Bureau.
Affected Public: Business or other for-profit.
Frequency: Annually.
Respondent's Obligation: Voluntary and Mandatory.
Legal Authority: Title 13 U.S.C., Sections 131, 182, 224, and 225;
The National Science Foundation Act of 1950.
OMB Desk Officer: Susan Schechter, (202) 395-5103.
Copies of the above information collection proposal can be obtained
by calling or writing Diana Hynek, Departmental Paperwork Clearance
Officer, (202) 482-0266, Department of Commerce, room 6625, 14th and
Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20230 (or via the Internet at
[email protected]).
Written comments and recommendations for the proposed information
collection should be sent within 30 days of publication of this notice
to Susan Schechter, OMB Desk Officer either by fax (202-395-7245) or e-
mail ([email protected]).
[[Page 63354]]
Dated: October 26, 2004.
Madeleine Clayton,
Management Analyst, Office of the Chief Information Officer.
[FR Doc. 04-24291 Filed 10-29-04; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-07-P