[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 58 (Friday, March 26, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 14633-14634]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-6761]


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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

[[Page 14634]]

comment on this action. After obtaining and considering public comment, 
NSF will prepare the submission requesting that OMB approve clearance 
of this collection for three years.

DATES: Written comments on this notice must be received by May 25, 2010 
to be assured of consideration. Comments received after that date will 
be considered to the extent practicable.

For Additional Information or Comments:
     Contact Suzanne H. Plimpton, Reports Clearance Officer, National 
Science Foundation, 4201 Wilson Boulevard, Suite 295, Arlington, 
Virginia 22230; telephone (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, which is accessible 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 
days a year (including Federal holidays). You also may obtain a copy of 
the data collection instrument and instructions from Ms. Plimpton.
    Comments: 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 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.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    Title of Collection: Higher Education Research and Development 
Survey; OMB Control Number 3145-0100.
    Expiration Date of Current Approval: August 31, 2011.
    Proposed Renewal Project: The Survey of Research and Development 
Expenditures at Universities and Colleges originated in fiscal year 
(FY) 1954 and has been conducted annually since FY 1972. The survey is 
the academic research and development 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.
    Since 2007, NSF has been working on a redesign and expansion of the 
survey to better reflect the current state of academic R&D. The 
redesigned survey was renamed the Higher Education R&D Survey and was 
pilot tested with a random sample of 40 institutions during the FY 2009 
survey cycle. Beginning with the FY 2010 cycle, the redesigned survey 
will be administered to the full population of research-performing 
academic institutions.
    Use of the Information: The proposed project will continue the 
annual survey cycle for three years. The FY 2010 Higher Education R&D 
Survey will be administered to an expected minimum of 760 institutions. 
A shorter version of the survey asking for R&D expenditures by source 
of funding and character of work (basic, applied, or development) will 
be administered to the 38 Federally Funded Research and Development 
Centers.
    The Higher Education R&D Survey will provide continuity of 
statistics on R&D expenditures by source of funding and field of 
research, with separate data requested on current fund expenditures for 
research equipment by field. Further breakdowns are collected on funds 
passed through to subrecipients and funds received as a subrecipient, 
and on R&D expenditures by field from specific Federal agency sources. 
New items on the survey include R&D expenditures funded from foreign 
sources, R&D within an institution's medical school, interdisciplinary 
R&D expenditures, and R&D expenditures by type of funding mechanism 
(contracts vs. grants) and cost category (salaries, equipment, 
software, etc.). Other new items request non-expenditure information 
such as headcounts of research personnel, counts of R&D proposals 
submitted, and counts and total dollar values of R&D awards.
    Data are published in NSF's annual publication series Academic 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 administrators in university sponsored programs 
and accounting offices. To minimize burden, institutions are provided 
with an abundance of guidance and resources on the Web, and are able to 
respond via a downloadable excel spreadsheet if desired. Each 
institution's record is pre-loaded with the 2 previous years of 
comparable data that facilitate editing and trend checking. Response to 
this voluntary survey has exceeded 95 percent each year, and response 
to the pilot test of the new survey is expected to be 100 percent.
    The average burden report for the FY 2009 pilot test institutions 
was 66 hours, 21 hours of one-time programming and 45 hours of annual 
reporting burden.

    Dated: March 23, 2010.
Suzanne H. Plimpton,
Reports Clearance Officer, National Science Foundation.
[FR Doc. 2010-6761 Filed 3-25-10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7555-01-P