[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 47 (Friday, March 9, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 14339-14340]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-5796]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

National Institute of Food and Agriculture


Notice of Intent To Request Approval To Establish a New 
Information Collection

AGENCY: National Institute of Food and Agriculture, USDA.

ACTION: Notice and request for comments.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 and 
Office of Management and Budget (OMB) regulations, this notice 
announces the National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) 
intention to request approval to establish a new information collection 
for the NIFA Division of Community and Education.

DATES: Written comments on this notice must be received by May 8, 2012, 
to be assured of consideration. Comments received after that date will 
be considered to the extent practicable.

ADDRESSES: Written comments concerning this notice and requests for 
copies of the information collection may be submitted by any of the 
following methods: Email: [email protected]; Fax: 202-720-

[[Page 14340]]

0857; Mail: Office of Information Technology (OIT), NIFA, USDA, STOP 
2216, 1400 Independence Avenue SW., Washington, DC 20250-2216.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Gidel Mendez, eGovernment Program 
Leader; Email: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 
    Title: Division of Community and Education Project Output Tracking 
Questionnaires.
    OMB Number: 0524-XXXX.
    Type of Request: Intent to request approval to establish a new 
information collection system for three years.
    Abstract: The Division of Community and Education (DOCE) at the 
National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) houses grant programs 
that are responsible for awarding funds to secondary and postsecondary 
institutions to support a variety of activities including curriculum 
development, faculty development, experiential learning activities, and 
scientific instrumentation, among others. In order to improve federal 
program effectiveness and public accountability, DOCE will create 
questionnaires that will ask project directors to quantitatively report 
on the activities they use for their project and the outputs that are 
produced from the money.
    Need and Use of the Information: Per the Government Performance and 
Results Act of 1993, agencies are expected to provide adequate 
oversight and eliminate waste and inefficiency in federal programs. 
These questionnaires will help to do this in two ways: 1. They will 
provide transparency in the way in which federal money is spent; and 2. 
They will help to inform and guide programmatic priorities.
    The information collected by these questionnaires will be able to 
be aggregated across the division, creating a clear picture of how the 
money was spent and the outputs that resulted without identifying 
specific project directors or institutions. This aggregated information 
can be summarized, and presented to stakeholders, as well as be used to 
respond to congressional inquiries.
    In addition, trends and patterns in the way in which money was 
spent will be evident. National Program Leaders will be able to 
determine how much grant money went toward specific grant activities in 
a given year. They may be able to use this information to adjust 
programmatic priorities for the following fiscal year if projects 
addressing particular grant activities are disproportionately funded.
    The information collected from the questionnaire will provide a 
more comprehensive and accurate assessment of national program outputs. 
Currently, project directors are required to complete Current Research 
Information System (CRIS) reports annually, as well as a final report. 
There are no specific guidelines for the CRIS reports, and as a result, 
the reports often do not contain quantitative information relevant to 
project and program goals. CRIS reports do, however, provide important 
descriptive information, but standardized information at the division 
level is needed to augment these reports.
    Estimate of Burden: DOCE estimates that an average of 20 minutes is 
required to complete the questionnaire and supplemental questionnaire 
with respect to each award. DOCE estimates that it makes approximately 
300 awards each year, which means that there are 300 Project Directors 
that must complete these questionnaires annually. Therefore, the total 
annual burden on Project Directors is 100 hours.
    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 will 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 to be collected; 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.
    All responses to this notice will be summarized and included in the 
request to OMB for approval. All comments will become a matter of 
public record.

    Done in Washington, DC, March 1, 2012.
Catherine E. Woteki,
Under Secretary, Research, Education, and Economics.
[FR Doc. 2012-5796 Filed 3-8-12; 8:45 am]
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