[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 235 (Friday, December 7, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 69233-69234]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 07-5975]


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NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION


Agency Information Collection Activities: Comment Request

AGENCY: National Science Foundation.

ACTION: Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request.

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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 72 FR 50410, and no substantial 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. The full submission may be found 
at: http://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain. 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; or (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 Plimpton, Reports Clearance Officer, National 
Science Foundation, 4201 Wilson Boulevard, Suite 925, Arlington, 
Virginia 22230 or send e-mail 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 703-292-7556.

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

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    Title of Collection: EHR Generic Clearance.
    OMB Approval Number: 3145-0136.
    Expiration Date of Approval: January 31, 2008.

Abstract

    The National Science Foundation (NSF) requests renewal of program 
accountability and communication data collections (e.g. surveys, face-
to-face and telephone interviews, observations, and focus groups) that 
describe and track the impact of NSF funding that focuses on the 
Nation's science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) 
education and STEM workforce. NSF funds grants, contracts, and 
cooperative agreements to colleges, universities, and other eligible 
institutions, and provides graduate research fellowships to individuals 
in all parts of the United States and internationally.
    The Directorate for Education and Human Resources (EHR), a unit 
within NSF, promotes rigor and vitality within the Nation's STEM 
education enterprise to further the development of the 21st century's 
STEM workforce and public scientific literacy. EHR does this through 
diverse projects and programs that support research, extension, 
outreach, and hands-on activities serving STEM learning and research at 
all institutional (e.g. pre-school through postdoctoral) levels in 
formal and informal settings; and individuals of all ages (birth and 
beyond). EHR also focuses on broadening participation in STEM learning 
and careers among United States citizens, permanent residents and 
nationals, particularly those individuals traditionally underemployed 
in the STEM research workforce, including but not limited to women, 
persons with disabilities, and racial and ethnic minorities.
    At the request of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) an EHR 
Generic Clearance was established in 1995 to integrate management, 
monitoring and evaluation information pertaining to the NSF's Education 
and Training (E & T) portfolio in response to the Government 
Performance and Results Act (GPRA) of 1993. Under this generic survey 
clearance (OMB 3145-0136), data from the NSF administrative databases 
are incorporated with findings gathered through initiative-, 
divisional-, and program-specific data collections. The scope of the 
EHR Generic Clearance primarily covers descriptive information gathered 
from education and training projects that are funded by NSF. Most 
programs subject to EHR Generic data collection are funded by the EHR 
Directorate, but some are funded in whole or in part by disciplinary 
directorates or multi-disciplinary or cross-cutting programs. Since 
2001 in accordance with OMB's Terms of Clearance, NSF primarily uses 
the data from the EHR Generic Clearance for program planning, 
management and audit purposes to respond to queries from the Congress, 
the public, NSF's external merit reviewers who serve as advisors, 
including Committees of Visitors, and the NSF's Office of the Inspector 
General.
    OMB has limited the collection to three categories of descriptive 
data: (1) Staff and project participants (data that are also necessary 
to determine

[[Page 69234]]

individual-level treatment and control groups for future third-party 
study); (2) project implementation characteristics (also necessary for 
future use to identify well-matched comparison groups) and (3) project 
outputs (necessary to measure baseline for pre- and post- NSF-funding-
level impacts.)
    Use of the Information: This information is required for effective 
administration, communication, program and project monitoring and 
evaluation, and for measuring attainment of NSF's program, project and 
strategic goals, as required by the President's Management agenda as 
represented by the Office of Management and Budget's (OMB) Program 
Assessment Rating Tool (PART); the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 (Pub. 
L. 109-171) which established the Academic Competitiveness Council 
(ACC), and the NSF's Strategic Plan. The Foundation's FY 2006-2011 
Strategic Plan describes four strategic outcome goals of Discovery, 
Learning, Research Infrastructure, and Stewardship. NSF's complete 
strategic plan may be found at: http://www.nsf.gov/publications/pub_summ.jsp?ods_key=nsf0648.
    The work of the multi-agency ACC employed a methodological 
framework to determine STEM education program effectiveness. The ACC 
was chaired by the Department of Education, and other agencies that 
participated included the NSF and the National Aeronautics and Space 
Administration (NASA). The ACC suggested cross-agency STEM education 
goals and metrics and developed a framework or ``Hierarchy of Study 
Designs'' under three scientific categories: (1) Experimental (often 
called randomized controlled trials--RCT) (2) quasi-experimental (such 
as well-matched comparison group studies) and (3) other (such as pre- 
and post-test and multiple methodologies). Further details on the 
participating agencies and the ACC's recommendations are available at: 
http://www.ed.gov/about/inits/ed/competitiveness/acc-mathscience/index.html.
    Since the EHR Generic Clearance research is primarily used for 
accountability purposes, including responding to queries from 
Committees of Visitors and other scientific experts, a census rather 
than sampling design typically is necessary. At the individual project 
level, funding can be adjusted based on individual project's responses 
to some of the surveys. Some data collected under the EHR Clearance 
serve as baseline data for separate research and evaluation studies. 
The EHR Generic Clearance may be used to clear data collections for 
other ACC agencies, such as NASA. In February 2007 NASA and NSF signed 
a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to coordinate efforts promoting 
STEM education, the participation of individuals underrepresented in 
STEM, and evaluation of STEM education projects and programs in formal 
and informal settings. Additional information on the NSF-NASA MOU can 
be found at: http://education.nasa.gov/divisions/higher/overview/F_One_Giant_Step_STEM_Education.html.
    In order to conduct program or portfolio level evaluations, 
however, both experimental and quasi-experimental evaluation research 
studies on STEM education interventions require researchers to identify 
individual-level and organizational or project-level control and 
treatment groups or comparison groups. NSF-funded contract or grantee 
researchers and evaluators in part may identify control, comparison, or 
treatment groups for NSF's E&T portfolio using some of the descriptive 
data gathered through OMB 3145-0136 to conduct well-designed, rigorous 
research and portfolio evaluation studies.
    In accordance with the 2001 and 2005 OMB terms of clearance, NSF 
requests separate stand-alone clearance (and separately announces for 
comment in the Federal Register) any program or portfolio research or 
evaluation. Two examples of third-party evaluations that used EHR OMB 
3145-0136 data to inform study design are: OMB 3145-0190 (Expired: 5/
2005) Evaluation of NSF's Louis Stokes Alliances for Minority 
Participation (LSAMP) program conducted by the Urban Institute and OMB 
No. 3145-0182 (Expired 7/2005) Evaluation of the Initial Impacts of the 
Integrative Graduate Education Research and Traineeship (IGERT) program 
conducted by Abt Associates. For more information on these and other 
NSF-funded evaluations, please see the NSF's FY 2006 Full Performance 
and Accountability Report: Appendix 4B: Table of External Evaluations 
at: http:// www.nsf.gov/pubs/2007/nsf0701/pdf/19.pdf.
    Respondents: Individuals or households, not-for-profit 
institutions, business or other for profit, and Federal, State, local 
or tribal government.
    Number of Respondents: 27,000.
    Burden on the Public: The total estimate for this collection is 
60,000 annual burden hours. This figure is based on the previous 3 
years of collecting information under this clearance and anticipated 
collections. The average annual reporting burden is between .5 and 50 
hours per `respondent' depending on whether a respondent is a direct 
participant who is self-reporting, or representing a project and 
reporting on behalf of many project participants.

    Dated: December 4, 2007.
Suzanne H. Plimpton,
Reports Clearance Officer, National Science Foundation.
[FR Doc. 07-5975 Filed 12-6-07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7555-01-M