[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 110 (Friday, June 7, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 34333-34335]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-13571]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

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.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

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

DATES: Written comments on this notice must be received by August 12, 
2013, to be assured of consideration. Comments received after that date 
will be considered to the extent practicable.

ADDRESSES: Written comments may be submitted by any of the following 
methods: Email: [email protected]; Fax: 202-720-0857; Mail: Office 
of Information Technology (OIT), NIFA, USDA, STOP 2216, 1400 
Independence Avenue SW, Washington, DC 20250-2216.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Robert Martin, Records Officer; Email: 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    Title: REEport System.
    OMB Number: 0524--New.
    Type of Request: Intent to request approval to establish a new 
information collection for three years.
    Abstract: The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), NIFA 
administers several competitive, peer-reviewed research, education, and 
extension programs, under which awards of a high-priority are made. 
These programs are authorized pursuant to the authorities contained in 
the National Agricultural Research, Extension, and Teaching Policy Act 
of 1977, as amended (7 U.S.C. 3101 et seq.); the Smith-Lever Act (7 
U.S.C. 341 et seq.); and other legislative authorities. NIFA also 
administers several formula funded research programs. The programs are 
authorized pursuant to the authorities contained in the McIntire-
Stennis Cooperative Forestry Research Act of October 10, 1962 (16 
U.S.C. 582a-1-582a-7); the Hatch Act of 1887, as amended (7 U.S.C. 
4361a-361i); Section 1445 of Public Law 95-113, the Food and 
Agriculture Act of 1977, as amended (7 U.S.C. 3222); and Section 1433 
of Subtitle E (Sections 1429-1439), Title XIV of Public Law 95-113, as 
amended (7 U.S.C. 3191-3201). Each formula funded program is subject to 
a set of administrative requirements: ``Administrative Manual for the 
McIntire-Stennis Cooperative Forestry Research Program,'' the 
``Administrative Manual for the Hatch Research Program,'' the 
``Administrative Manual for the Evans-Allen Cooperative

[[Page 34334]]

Agricultural Research Program,'' and the ``Administrative Manual for 
the Continuing Animal Health and Disease Research Program''.
    NIFA plans to deploy REEport as NIFA's singular non-formula 
(including competitive grants) and formula grant project reporting 
system, building on and replacing the existing Current Research 
Information System (CRIS) Web forms system (OMB Control Number: 0524-
0042). REEport will be NIFA's new documentation and data collection 
system for project initiation and progress reporting and constitutes a 
necessary information collection for NIFA-supported projects as set 
forth in requirements established in 7 CFR Parts 3400 through 3430 
pertaining to the aforementioned authorities. The transition from CRIS 
to REEport and this new information collection in support of it are 
necessary in order to provide descriptive information regarding 
individual research, education, extension, and integrated activities 
and to document expenditures and staff support, as well as monitor the 
progress and impact of such activities.
    Out of an initiative of the Research Business Models (RBM) 
Subcommittee of the Committee on Science (CoS), a committee of the 
National Science and Technology Council (NSTC), came the Research 
Performance Progress Report (RPPR). The RPPR is a new uniform format 
for reporting performance progress on Federally-funded research 
projects. Upon implementation, the RPPR will be used by agencies that 
support research and research-related activities for use in submission 
of interim progress reports. It is intended to replace other interim 
performance reporting formats currently in use by agencies. In 
anticipation of the RPPR's implementation, NIFA based REEport's 
Progress Report format on the RPPR.
    As part of REEport's implementation, NIFA intends to transfer 
existing data in CRIS to REEport and then terminate the applicable 
components of CRIS. For the existing projects that reported to CRIS, 
the awardees will then report to REEport. REEport will better address 
NIFA accountability and reporting needs by supporting limited use of 
program-specific data fields and the ability to upload documents such 
as portable document files (PDF) into reports. REEport will allow Hatch 
and Evans-Allen projects to be linked to planned programs in the 
Agricultural, Research, Extension and Education Reform Act of 1998 
(AREERA) Plan of Work Information System, which will simplify the 
preparation of State Annual Reports. Each Hatch and Evans-Allen project 
in REEport will choose which Planned Program it is a part of in the 
Plan of Work. Once this link is made, expenditures, Full-Time 
Equivalents (FTEs), and possibly Knowledge Area Classifications can 
then be rolled up into the Plan of Work system, thus eliminating points 
of double reporting and eliminating discrepancies between the two 
systems.
    Additionally, deployment of REEport will facilitate the transition 
to the Research, Education, and Economics Information System (REEIS) as 
the primary source of information on the research, education, and 
extension programs, projects and activities of USDA and its partner 
institutions currently hosted by the CRIS system, including REEIS' 
Leadership Management Dashboard.
    REEport implementation includes:
     Formula and Non-formula new project initiation; and
     Expenditure, progress, and termination reports for all new 
and existing projects (data transferred from CRIS)
    Further information about REEport deployment can be found on http://www.nifa.usda.gov/business/reeport_imp.html which will include 
implementation updates and other information as it becomes available. 
NIFA will send out the updates to the new REEportDeploy Lyris email 
list, which has been created from the CRIS and Plan of Work contacts 
lists. Interested parties may subscribe to the list by sending an email 
message to lyris@lyris.nifa.usda.gov (skip the subject line and type 
subscribe REEportDeploy in the body of your message; be sure you 
receive an email confirming your subscription).
    The information provided through REEport will help users (grantees, 
grantee institutions and NIFA) to keep abreast of the latest 
developments in agricultural, food science, human nutrition and 
forestry research and education; track resource utilization in specific 
target areas of work; plan for future activities; plan for resource 
allocation to research, education, and extension programs; avoid costly 
duplication of effort; aid in coordination of efforts addressing 
similar problems in different locations; and aid research, education, 
and extension workers in establishing valuable contacts within the 
agricultural community.
    Estimate of Burden: NIFA used burden estimates from the current 
CRIS collection to estimate the burden for REEport, but anticipates the 
transactions for project initiation may be reduced because grant 
application information will be used to prepopulate many fields. The 
total annual burden for the non-RPPR portion of this collection is 
36,760 hours and 23,490 hours for the RPPR Progress Report.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                     Estimated       Estimated
           Transaction name                Using RPPR  format        number of      burden per     Total annual
                                                                     responses       response         burden
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Project Initiation...................  No.......................           3,700             4.6          17,020
Progress Report......................  Yes......................           8,700             2.7          23,490
Final Report.........................  Yes......................           2,800             2.7           7,560
Financial Report.....................  No.......................           8,700             1.4          12,180
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    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 will 
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 
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.
    Obtaining a Copy of the Information Collection: A copy of the 
information collection and related instructions may be obtained free of 
charge by contacting Robert Martin as directed above.


[[Page 34335]]


    Done at Washington, DC, this 31st day of May 2013.
Catherine E. Woteki,
Under Secretary, Research, Education, and Economics.
[FR Doc. 2013-13571 Filed 6-6-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-22-P