[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 110 (Thursday, June 7, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 33774-33776]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-13820]


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NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION


Agency Information Collection Activities: Comment Request; 
Education and Human Resources Project Monitoring Clearance

AGENCY: National Science Foundation.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The National Science Foundation (NSF) is announcing plans to 
establish 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 Office of Management and Budget (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 August 6, 2012 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.

[[Page 33775]]

295, Arlington, VA 22030, or by email to [email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Suzanne Plimpton at (703) 292-7556 or 
send email 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).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 
    Title of Collection: Education and Human Resources Project 
Monitoring Clearance.
    OMB Approval Number: 3145-NEW.
    Expiration Date of Approval: Not applicable.
    Type of Request: Intent to seek approval to establish an 
information collection.
    Abstract: The National Science Foundation (NSF) requests 
establishment of program accountability data collections 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 that service 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.
    The scope of this information collection request will primarily 
cover descriptive information gathered from education and training 
projects that are funded by NSF. NSF will primarily use the data from 
this collection 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 
(COVs), the NSF's Office of the Inspector General and as a basis for 
either internal or third-party evaluations of individual programs.
    The collections will generally include three categories of 
descriptive data: (1) Staff and project participants (data that are 
also necessary to determine individual-level treatment and control 
groups for future third-party study or for internal evaluation); (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, and as identified by the President's Accountability in 
Government Initiative; GPRA, and the NSF's Strategic Plan. The 
Foundation's FY 2011- 2016 Strategic Plan may be found at: http://www.nsf.gov/news/strategicplan/nsfstrategicplan_2011_2016.pdf.
    Since the this collection will primarily be used for accountability 
and evaluation purposes, including responding from queries from COVs 
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 this collection will serve as 
baseline data for separate research and evaluation studies.
    NSF-funded contract or grantee researchers and internal or external 
evaluators in part may identify control, comparison, or treatment 
groups for NSF's ET portfolio using some of the descriptive data 
gathered through this collection to conduct well-designed, rigorous 
research and portfolio evaluation studies.
    Respondents: Individuals or households, not-for-profit 
institutions, business or other for profit, and Federal, State, local 
or tribal government.
    Number of Respondents: 9,341.
    Burden on the Public: NSF estimates that a total reporting and 
recordkeeping burden of 63,947 hours will result from activities to 
monitor EHR STEM education programs. The calculation is shown in Table 
1.

 Table 1--Anticipated Programs That Will Collect Data on Project Progress and Outcomes Along With the Number of
                              Respondents and Burden Hours per Collection per Year
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                                                     No of                                          Annual hour
               Collection title                   respondents            No of responses              burden
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Centers of Research Excellence in Science and               37  37..............................           1,374
 Technology (CREST) and Historically Black
 Colleges and Universities Research
 Infrastructure for Science and Engineering
 (HBCU-RISE) Monitoring System.
Graduate STEM Fellows in K-12 Education (GK-             1,626  1,626...........................           3,941
 12) Monitoring System.
Integrative Graduate Education and Research              4,658  4,658...........................          12,156
 Traineeship Program (IGERT) Monitoring System.
Informal Science Education (ISE) Monitoring                157  157.............................           2,047
 System.
Louis Stokes Alliances for Minority                        518  518.............................          17,094
 Participation (LSAMP) Monitoring System.
Louis Stokes Alliances for Minority                         50  50..............................           3,600
 Participation Bridge to the Doctorate (LSAMP-
 BD) Monitoring System.
Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship Program                   294  294.............................           3,822
 (Noyce) Monitoring System.
Research in Disabilities Education (RDE)                    49  49..............................           2,781
 Monitoring System.
Scholarships in Science, Technology,                       500  1,000 (500 respondents x 2                 6,000
 Engineering, and Mathematics Program (S-STEM)                   responses/yr.)
 Monitoring System.
Science, Technology, Engineering, and                      242  242.............................           6,292
 Mathematics Talent Expansion Program (STEP)
 Monitoring System.

[[Page 33776]]

 
Transforming Undergraduate Education in                  1,210  1,210...........................           4,840
 Science, Technology, Engineering, and
 Mathematics (TUES) Monitoring System.
Additional Collections not Specified..........             900  900.............................           1,200
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    Total.....................................          10,241  10,741..........................          65,147
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    The total estimate for this collection is 63,947 annual burden 
hours. The average annual reporting burden is between 1.5 and 72 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: June 4, 2012.
Suzanne H. Plimpton,
Reports Clearance Officer, National Science Foundation.
[FR Doc. 2012-13820 Filed 6-6-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7555-01-P