[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 152 (Tuesday, August 8, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 45076-45078]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 06-6761]


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NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION


Comment Request: National Science Foundation Proposal and Award 
Information--NSF Proposal and Award Policies & Procedures Manual

AGENCY: National Science Foundation.

ACTION: Notice.

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

DATES: Written comments should be received by October 10, 2006 to be 
assured of consideration. Comments received after that date will be 
considered to the extent practicable.

ADDRESSES: Written comments regarding the information collection and 
requests for copies of the proposed information collection request 
should be addressed to Suzanne Plimpton, Reports Clearance Officer, 
National Science Foundation, 4201 Wilson Blvd., Rm. 295, Arlington, VA 
22230, or by e-mail to [email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Suzanne Plimpton on (703) 292-7556 or 
send e-mail to [email protected]. Individuals who use a 
telecommunications device for the deaf

[[Page 45077]]

(TDD) may call the Federal Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 1-800-
877-8339 between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m., Eastern time, Monday through 
Friday.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    Title of Collection: ``National Science Foundation Proposal and 
Award Information--NSF Proposal and Award Policies & Procedures Manual.
    OMB Approval Number: 3145-0058.
    Expiration Date of Approval: July 31, 2007.
    Type of Request: Intent to seek approval to extend with revision an 
information collection for three years.
    Proposed Project: The National Science Foundation (NSF) is seeking 
to revise its existing mechanism for issuance of proposal and award 
policies and procedures. Previously, these policies and procedures were 
contained in two separate issuances; the Grant Proposal Guide and the 
Grant Policy Manual. These documents were each separately maintained 
and issued with different effective dates and significant redundancies 
between the two documents. We have now collapsed these two documents 
into a new policy framework: the NSF Proposal and Award Policies and 
Procedures Manual.
    Part I of this document will include NSF Proposal Preparation and 
Submission Guidelines, i.e., the Grant Proposal Guide (GPG), and Part 
II will include the NSF Award & Administration Manual (previously known 
as the GPM). This initial issuance of the NSF Proposal and Award 
Policies and Procedures Manual will be effective January, 2007. Future 
issuances of this Manual will be supplemented with additional 
documents, such as the NSF Grants.gov Application Guide.
    We believe that this new policy framework will assist both NSF 
customers as well as NSF staff by:
    1. Improving both awareness and knowledge of the complete set of 
NSF policies and procedural documents;
    2. Increasing ease of access to the policies and procedures that 
govern the entire grant lifecycle; and
    3. Eliminating redundancies between coverage in the documents.
    This streamlining process also will combine the Grant Proposal 
Guide (OMB Clearance No. 3145-0058) with the Proposal Review Process 
(3145-0060) to streamline the proposal and award management processes 
for applicants and awardees. This will allow NSF to better manage 
amendments between the two collections due to administrative changes. 
Following OMB approval, this information will be available to the 
community via the Internet.
    The National Science Foundation (NSF) is an independent Federal 
agency created by the National Science Foundation Act of 1950, as 
amended (42 U.S.C. 1861-75). The Act states the purpose of the NSF is 
``to promote the progress of science; [and] to advance the national 
health, prosperity, and welfare by supporting research and education in 
all fields of science and engineering.'' The Act authorized and 
directed NSF to initiate and support:
     Basic scientific research and research fundamental to the 
engineering process;
     Programs to strengthen scientific and engineering research 
potential;
     Science and engineering education programs at all levels 
and in all the various fields of science and engineering;
     Programs that provide a source of information for policy 
formulation; and
     Other activities to promote these ends.
    From those first days, NSF has had a unique place in the Federal 
Government: It is responsible for the overall health of science and 
engineering across all disciplines. In contrast, other Federal agencies 
support research focused on specific missions such as health or 
defense. The Foundation also is committed to ensuring the nation's 
supply of scientists, engineers, and science and engineering educators.
    The Foundation fulfills this responsibility by initiating and 
supporting merit-selected research and education projects in all the 
scientific and engineering disciplines. It does this through grants and 
cooperative agreements to more than 2,000 colleges, universities, K-12 
school systems, businesses, informal science organizations and other 
research institutions throughout the U.S. The Foundation accounts for 
about one-fourth of Federal support to academic institutions for basic 
research.
    Over the years, NSF's statutory authority has been modified in a 
number of significant ways. In 1968, authority to support applied 
research was added to the Organic Act. In 1980, The Science and 
Engineering Equal Opportunities Act gave NSF standing authority to 
support activities to improve the participation of women and minorities 
in science and engineering.
    Another major change occurred in 1986, when engineering was 
accorded equal status with science in the Organic Act. NSF has always 
dedicated itself to providing the leadership and vision needed to keep 
the words and ideas embedded in its mission statement fresh and up-to-
date. Even in today's rapidly changing environment, NSF's core purpose 
resonates clearly in everything it does: Promoting achievement and 
progress in science and engineering and enhancing the potential for 
research and education to contribute to the Nation. While NSF's vision 
of the future and the mechanisms it uses to carry out this charges have 
evolved significantly over the last four decades, its ultimate mission 
remains the same.
    Use of the Information: The regular submission of proposals to the 
Foundation is part of the collection of information and is used to help 
NSF fulfill this responsibility by initiating and supporting merit-
selected research and education projects in all the scientific and 
engineering disciplines. NSF receives more than 40,000 proposals 
annually for new projects, and makes approximately 10,500 new awards.
    Support is made primarily through grants, contracts, and other 
agreements awarded to more than 2,000 colleges, universities, academic 
consortia, nonprofit institutions, and small businesses. The awards are 
based mainly on evaluations of proposal merit submitted to the 
Foundation (proposal review is cleared under OMB Control No. 3145-
0060).
    The Foundation has a continuing commitment to monitor the 
operations of its information collection to identify and address 
excessive reporting burdens as well as to identify any real or apparent 
inequities based on gender, race, ethnicity, or disability of the 
proposed principal investigator(s)/project director(s) or the co-
principal investigator(s)/co-project director(s).

Proposal Evaluation Process

    The Foundation relies heavily on the advice and assistance of 
external advisory committees, ad-hoc proposal reviewers, and to other 
experts to ensure that the Foundation is able to reach fair and 
knowledgeable judgments. These scientists and educators come from 
colleges and universities, nonprofit research and education 
organizations, industry, and other Government agencies.
    In making its decisions on proposals the counsel of these merit 
reviewers has proven invaluable to the Foundation both in the 
identification of meritorious projects and in providing sound basis for 
project restructuring.
    Review of proposals may involve large panel sessions, small groups, 
or use of a mail-review system. Proposals are reviewed carefully by 
scientists or engineers who are expert in the particular field 
represented by the proposal. About 50% are reviewed

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exclusively by panels of reviewers who gather, usually in Arlington, 
VA, to discuss their advice as well as to deliver it. About 35% are 
reviewed first by mail reviewers expert in the particular field, then 
by panels, usually of persons with more diverse expertise, who help the 
NSF decide among proposals from multiple fields or sub-fields. Finally, 
about 15% are reviewed exclusively by mail.

Use of the Information

    The information collected is used to support grant programs of the 
Foundation. The information collected on the proposal evaluation forms 
is used by the foundation to determine the following criteria when 
awarding or declining proposals submitted to the Agency: (1) What is 
the intellectual merit of the proposed activity? (2) What are the 
broader impacts of the proposed activity?
    The information collected on reviewer background questionnaire (NSF 
428A) is used by managers to maintain an automated database of 
reviewers for the many disciplines represented by the proposals 
submitted to the Foundation. Information collected on gender, race, and 
ethnicity is used in meeting NSF needs for data to permit response to 
Congressional and other queries into equity issues. These data also are 
used in the design, implementation, and monitoring of NSF efforts to 
increase the participation of various groups in science, engineering, 
and education.

Confidentiality

    When a decision has been made (whether an award or a declination), 
verbatim copies of reviews, excluding the names of the reviewers, and 
summaries of review panel deliberations, if any, are provided to the 
PI. A proposer also may request and obtain any other releasable 
material in NSF's file on their proposal. Everything in the file except 
information that directly identifies either reviewers or other pending 
or declined proposals is usually releasable to the proposer.
    While listings of panelists' names are released, the names of 
individual reviewers, associated with individual proposals, are not 
released to anyone.
    Because the Foundation is committed to monitoring and identifying 
any real or apparent inequities based on gender, race, ethnicity, or 
disability of the proposed principal investigator(s)/project 
director(s) or the co-principal investigator(s)/co-project director(s), 
the Foundation also collects information regarding race, ethnicity, 
disability, and gender. This information also is protected by the 
Privacy Act.
    Burden on the Public: For the Grant Proposal Guide, NSF estimates 
that an average of 120 hours is expended for each proposal submitted. 
An estimated 40,000 proposals are during the course of one year for a 
total of 4,800,000 public burden hours annually.
    For the proposal review process, NSF estimates that anywhere from 
one hour to twenty hours may be required to review a proposal. It is 
estimated that approximately five hours are required to review an 
average proposal. Each proposal receives an average of 6.3 reviews, 
with a minimum requirement of three reviews for an estimated total of 
600,000 hours. The estimated burden for the Reviewer Background 
Information (NSF 428A) is estimated at 5 minutes per respondent with up 
to 10,000 potential new reviewers for a total of 83 hours. The 
estimated total is 600,083 for the reviewer process and the reviewer 
background information.
    The estimated aggregated total for both the Grant Proposal Guide 
and the proposal review process is 5,400,083 hours.

    Dated: August 3, 2006.
Suzanne H. Plimpton,
Reports Clearance Officer, National Science Foundation.
[FR Doc. 06-6761 Filed 8-7-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7555-01-M