[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 37 (Friday, February 24, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 11106-11107]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-4308]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY


Proposed Agency Information Collection

AGENCY: U.S. Department of Energy, DOE.

ACTION: Notice and request for comments.

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SUMMARY: The Department of Energy (DOE) invites public comment on a 
proposed collection of information that DOE is developing for 
submission to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) pursuant to the 
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. 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, including the validity of the methodology and assumptions 
used; (c) ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the 
information to be collected; 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: Comments regarding this proposed information collection must be 
received on or before April 24, 2012. If you anticipate difficulty in 
submitting comments within that period, contact the person listed in 
ADDRESSES as soon as possible.

ADDRESSES: Written comments may be sent to Portfolio Analysis and 
Management System (PAMS) Information Collection Request (ICR) by email 
at [email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Requests for additional information or 
copies of the information collection instrument and instructions should 
be directed to Marina Amoroso by email at 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This information collection request 
contains:
    (1) OMB No.: New.
    (2) Information Collection Request Title: Portfolio Analysis and 
Management System (PAMS) Submissions for Letter of Intent (LOI), 
Preproposals, Interagency Proposals, and DOE National Laboratory 
Proposals; System Registration by External Users.
    (3) Type of Request: New.
    (4) Purpose: The Department of Energy (DOE), Office of Science (SC) 
has chosen to leverage the use of Government, Off-the-Shelf (GOTS) 
software capabilities to implement a new consolidated system called 
Portfolio Analysis and Management System (PAMS). This new system is 
based on the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) 
Electronic Handbooks software. Discretionary financial assistance 
proposals continue to be collected using Grants.gov but are imported 
into PAMS for use by the program offices. Under the proposed 
information collection, an external interface will be implemented in 
PAMS to allow two other types of proposal submission: DOE National 
Laboratories will be able to submit proposals for technical work 
authorizations directly into PAMS, while other Federal Agencies will be 
able to submit Proposals for interagency awards directly into PAMS. 
External users from all institution types will be able to submit 
Solicitation Letters of Intent and Preproposals directly into PAMS. All 
applicants, whether they submitted through Grants.gov or PAMS, will be 
able to register with PAMS to view the proposals that were submitted. 
They will also be able to maintain a minimal amount of information in 
their personal profile.
    A letter of intent is an optional vehicle that constitutes a 
potential applicant's intent to submit a formal proposal. Institutions 
may submit a letter of intent if it is requested in the solicitation. 
Users will select an institution from a drop down list, if registered 
to more than one institution.
    A Preproposal is a vehicle that constitutes the expression of a 
potential applicant's desire to submit a formal proposal. Preproposals 
can be either required or requested but optional, according to the 
rules of a solicitation. A preproposal allows the potential applicant 
to receive a response from the cognizant program office regarding the 
suitability of the proposed research project.
    Lab technical proposals must be completed by DOE National 
Laboratories in order to receive funding from the DOE Office of 
Science. The form must be completed as instructed in the Solicitation. 
This form can also be filled out by Inter Agency Institutions that have 
been invited by the DOE Office of Science to submit a proposal for 
funding through an interagency agreement. Neither lab nor interagency 
awards are discretionary grants suitable for proposal submission 
through Grants.gov.
    (5) Annual Estimated Number of Respondents: 10,000 PAMS 
registrants, 8,000 submitters of lab proposals, interagency proposals, 
preproposals, and Letters Of Intent (LOI) (assuming one person per 
estimated submission). 2,000 viewers of proposals submitted through 
Grants.gov (assuming \2/3\ of the annual 3,000 applicants, calculated 
using the average of the number of financial assistance proposals 
received in fiscal year 2006 through fiscal year 2010).
    (6) Annual Estimated Number of Total Responses: The Office of 
Science receives about 1,000 DOE national

[[Page 11107]]

laboratory and interagency proposals per year, based on a five-year 
average of estimated submission numbers (fiscal year 2006 through 
fiscal year 2010) and about 7,000 preproposals and letters of intent 
per year, based on an estimate of about 200 per solicitation and the 
number of solicitations per year (about 35, based on a five-year 
average between fiscal year 2006 and fiscal year 2010).
    (7) Annual Estimated Number of Burden Hours: The time it takes to 
complete a form depends upon the type of form being completed. External 
users will need to register with PAMS in order to access the system. It 
takes approximately 30 minutes for external users to complete the forms 
required to become a registered PAMS user. Both LOI and pre-proposal 
forms take 15 minutes each, whereas completing a lab/interagency 
proposal will take about 2 hours. Based on the annual estimated number 
of responses, broken down by DOE national laboratory, letter of intent 
and preproposal, and the time required for external users to register 
with PAMS, the estimated annual number of burden hours is 5,450.

    1,000 (lab proposals) x 2 hours + 7,000 (preproposals and 
letters of intent) x .25 hours + 10,000 (estimated number of 
respondents) x .5 hours = 8,750 total burden hours.

    (8) Annual Estimated Reporting and Recordkeeping Cost Burden: $0.

    Statutory Authority: Section 641 of the Department of Energy 
Organization Act, codified at 42 U.S.C. 7251.

    Issued in Washington, DC on February 15, 2012.
Marina Amoroso,
Deputy Project Manager for Business Policy and Operations, Department 
of Energy Office of Science, SC-45.
[FR Doc. 2012-4308 Filed 2-23-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P