[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 181 (Wednesday, September 18, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 57351-57352]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-22712]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

National Institute of Food and Agriculture


A Reinstatement of a Previously Approved 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 (5 CFR part 1320), 
which implements the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. Chapter 
35), this notice announces the National Institute of Food and 
Agriculture (NIFA) intention to request a reinstatement of a previously 
approved information collection for the NIFA Current Research 
Information System (CRIS).

DATES: Written comments on this notice must be received by November 22, 
2013 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: 202-720-0857; 
Mail: Information Systems and Technology Management, NIFA, USDA, STOP 
2216, 1400 Independence Avenue SW., Washington, DC 20250-2216; Hand 
Delivery/Courier: 800 9th Street SW., Waterfront Centre, Room 4217, 
Washington, DC 20024.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Robert Martin, Records Officer; Office 
of Information Technology; NIFA/USDA; Email: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 
    Title: NIFA Current Research Information System.
    OMB Number: 0524-0042.
    Expiration Date of Current Approval: October 31, 2013.
    Type of Request: Intent to request a reinstatement of a previously 
approved information collection for three years.
    Abstract: The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), 
National Institute of Food and Agriculture (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 
capacity programs focused on research. 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 
et seq.); the Hatch Act of 1887, as amended (7 U.S.C. 361a et seq.); 
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 capacity 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 Agricultural Research Program,'' and 
the ``Administrative Manual for the Continuing Animal Health and 
Disease Research Program''.
    The Current Research Information System (CRIS) is the USDA's 
documentation and reporting system (CRIS form AD-419) and constitutes a 
necessary information collection for publicly-supported projects as set 
forth in requirements established in 7 CFR parts 3400 through 3430 
pertaining to the aforementioned authorities. This information 
collection is necessary in order to provide descriptive information 
regarding individual research activities, education activities 
extension activities, and integrated activities to document 
expenditures and staff support for the activities, and to monitor the 
progress and impact of such activities.

[[Page 57352]]

    The historical mission of CRIS, broadly stated, is to document the 
research activities of USDA and the State agricultural research system 
partners, to satisfy a variety of reporting requirements, and to 
provide access to research information. This mission supports one of 
NIFA's primary functions, as stated in the agency strategic plan, of 
providing program leadership to identify, develop, and manage programs 
to support university-based and other institutional research. The 
boundaries and scope of the CRIS mission have been expanded to a more 
comprehensive purpose of documenting all of the research, education, 
extension, and integrated activities funded or managed by NIFA. As 
such, the information collected for CRIS can be utilized in an 
essentially unlimited number of ways for a wide array of purposes. 
Generally, CRIS provides ready access to information through public web 
accessible data, as well as custom reports and services for agency 
officials, program leaders, administrators, and managers. The 
information provided helps users keep abreast of the latest 
developments in agriculture, 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 for 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.
    Descriptive information pertaining to documented projects is 
available to the general public as well as the research, education, and 
extension community who contribute to CRIS. Limited financial 
information is available on individual grants and cooperative 
agreements as well as summary financial information. A cooperating 
institution, including a state agricultural experiment station, state 
forestry school, or land grant institution, has access to all of the 
data pertaining to that institution. Many institutions take advantage 
of this access utilizing CRIS system facilities to manage the research 
programs at their institution. In addition, NIFA staff members can 
request specialized reports directly from the CRIS staff. These 
requests can include financial data pertaining to a particular subject 
area or targeted program. The nature of this type of request 
characterizes one of the strengths of the CRIS information collection. 
The system collects obligations and expenditures on individual 
projects; however, information can be retrieved and aggregated based on 
subject areas or targeted programs, and corresponding financial 
information can be tabulated accordingly. The inclusion of subject-
based classifications and subject specific descriptive fields supports 
a unique retrieval capability in this system. The information can be 
utilized nationally, regionally, or at more detailed levels by program 
leaders, budget officials, and administrators to identify resource 
utilization, monitor research, education, and extension activity in 
specific target areas and support decision making and resource 
allocation, not just on individual projects but also for specific 
program areas. This combination of system capabilities facilitates 
program evaluation, accountability, and decision making processes.
    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 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 to receive 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 is working to align activities with that effort. 
Currently, NIFA is transitioning from calling this collection of grant 
data CRIS to calling it REEport, a new reporting system with a RPPR 
based format as part of this transition; the AD-419 will be called the 
Financial Report. However, the AD-419 still needs to be renewed in its 
current form to collect the financial data on grant projects.
    Estimate of Burden: There will be a reduction made to the burden 
per response from the previous approval. NIFA estimates that the number 
of respondents for the AD-419 Financial Report will be 15,199 with an 
estimated response time of 1.4 hours, representing a total annual 
burden of 21,279 hours.
    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; (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.

    Done at Washington, DC, this 9th day of September, 2013.
Catherine E. Woteki,
Under Secretary, Research, Education, and Economics.
[FR Doc. 2013-22712 Filed 9-17-13; 8:45 am]
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