[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 160 (Tuesday, August 19, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 49075-49076]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-19676]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY


Proposed Agency Information Collection

AGENCY: U.S. Department of Energy.

ACTION: Notice and Request for Comments.

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SUMMARY: The Department of Energy (DOE) has submitted to the Office of 
Management and Budget (OMB) for clearance, a proposal for collection of 
information under the provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 
1995. 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). 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. This notice is being republished due to the time lapsed 
from original publication.

DATES: Comments regarding this proposed information collection must be 
received on or before October 20, 2014. 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: Information Collection 
Request Title: Portfolio Analysis and Management System (PAMS) 
Submissions for Letter of Intent (LOI), Pre-proposals, Interagency 
Proposals, and DOE National Laboratory Proposals; System Registration 
by External Users.
    (3) Type of Request: New.
    (4) Purpose: 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 Pre-proposals 
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. The proposed 
collection will automate and streamline the submission, tracking, and 
correspondence portions of financial award pre-review processes. The 
information collected will be used by DOE to select applicants and 
projects for financial awards.
    (5) Annual Estimated Number of Respondents: The following numbers 
are calculated using the average of the number of financial assistance 
proposals received in fiscal year 2006 through fiscal year 2010. 9,920 
PAMS registrants, who are to include 8,000 submitters of lab proposals, 
interagency proposals, pre-proposals, and Letters Of

[[Page 49076]]

Intent (LOI) (assuming one person per estimated submission) and 1,920 
reviewers of proposals submitted through Grants.gov.
    (6) Annual Estimated Number of Total Responses: Annual Estimated 
Number of Total Responses: The Office of Science receives about 1,000 
DOE national laboratory and interagency proposals per year, based on an 
average of estimated submission numbers (fiscal year 2006 through 
fiscal year 2014) and about 7,000 pre-proposals 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 an average between 
fiscal year 2006 and fiscal year 2014).
    (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. The reviewers require about 1 hour of 
analysis, per submission. Based on the annual estimated number of 
responses, broken down by DOE national laboratory, letter of intent and 
pre-proposal, the annual estimated time required for reviewers to 
complete analysis or responses and the time required for external users 
to register with PAMS, the estimated annual number of burden hours is 
10,630.
    Total number of unduplicated respondents: 9,920.
    Reports filed per person: 1.
    Total annual responses: 9,920.
    Total annual burden hours: 10,630.
    (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 August 12, 2014.
Marina Amoroso,
Deputy Project Manager for Information Technology and Services Office 
of Science.
[FR Doc. 2014-19676 Filed 8-18-14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P