[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 210 (Monday, October 31, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 75390-75392]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-26193]


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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

[Docket No. ED-2016-IES-0109]


Request for Information on Interagency Working Group on Language 
and Communication's Report on Research and Development Activities

AGENCY: Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education.

ACTION: Request for information.

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SUMMARY: To assist National Science and Technology Council's (NSTC) 
Interagency Working Group on Language and Communication (IWGLC) in its 
efforts to further improve coordination and collaboration of research 
and development (R & D) agendas related to language and communication 
across the Federal Government, the Institute of Education Sciences (the 
Institute) requests information from interested parties through this 
notice.

DATES: Written submissions must be received by the Department on or 
before December 30, 2016.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments through the Federal eRulemaking Portal 
or via postal mail or commercial delivery. We will not accept comments 
by fax, email, or hand delivery. To ensure that we do not receive 
duplicate copies, please submit your comments only one time. In 
addition, please include the Docket ID and the term ``Language and 
Communication R & D Activities response'' at the top of your comments.
    Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to www.regulations.gov to submit 
your comments electronically. Information on using Regulations.gov, 
including instructions for accessing agency documents, submitting 
comments, and viewing the docket, is available on the site under ``Are 
you new to this site?''
    Postal Mail or Commercial Delivery: If you mail your comments, 
address them to Rebecca McGill-Wilkinson, National Center for Education 
Research, Institute of Education Sciences, Attention: Language and 
Communication R & D Activities RFI, U.S. Department of Education, 400 
Maryland Avenue SW., PCP-4127, Washington, DC 20202.
    Privacy Note: The Department's policy for comments received from

[[Page 75391]]

members of the public (including comments submitted by mail or 
commercial delivery) is to make these submissions available for public 
viewing in their entirety on the Federal eRulemaking Portal at 
www.regulations.gov. Therefore, commenters should be careful to include 
in their comments only information that they wish to make publicly 
available on the Internet.
    Submission of Proprietary Information: Given the subject matter, 
some comments may include proprietary information as it relates to 
confidential commercial information. The Freedom of Information Act 
defines ``confidential commercial information'' as information the 
disclosure of which could reasonably be expected to cause substantial 
competitive harm. You may wish to request that we not disclose what you 
regard as confidential commercial information.
    To assist us in making a determination on your request, we 
encourage you to identify any specific information in your comments 
that you consider confidential commercial information. Please list the 
information by page and paragraph numbers.
    This is a request for information (RFI) only. This RFI is not a 
request for proposals (RFP) or a promise to issue an RFP or a notice 
inviting applications (NIA). This RFI does not commit the Department to 
contract for any supply or service whatsoever. Further, the Department 
is not seeking proposals and will not accept unsolicited proposals. The 
Department will not pay for any information or administrative costs 
that you may incur in responding to this RFI. If you do not respond to 
this RFI, you may still apply for future contracts and grants. The 
Department posts RFPs on the Federal Business Opportunities Web site 
(www.fbo.gov). The Department announces grant competitions in the 
Federal Register (www.gpo.gov/fdsys). It is your responsibility to 
monitor these sites to determine whether the Department issues an RFP 
or NIA after considering the information received in response to this 
RFI. The documents and information submitted in response to this RFI 
become the property of the U.S. Government and will not be returned.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. Rebecca McGill-Wilkinson, U.S. 
Department of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue SW., PCP 4127, Washington, 
DC. Telephone: (202) 245-7613 or by email: [email protected].
    If you use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD) or a text 
telephone (TTY), call the Federal Relay Service (FRS), toll free, at 1-
800-877-8339.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Introduction

    The Institute requests information from interested parties to help 
inform its work with the IWGLC as it moves forward to improve 
coordination and collaboration of research and development agendas 
related to a recently published report on language and communication 
across the Federal Government. The Report from the Interagency Working 
Group on Language & Communication (Report) is available at: 
www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/microsites/ostp/NSTC/report_of_the_interagency_working_group_on_language_and_communication_final.pdf.

Background

    The NSTC is the principal means by which the Executive Branch 
coordinates science and technology policy across the Federal 
Government. A primary objective of the NSTC is establishing clear 
national goals for Federal science and technology investments. The 
IWGLC serves as part of the internal deliberative process of the NSTC. 
The IWGLC includes representatives from the White House Office of 
Science and Technology Policy, National Science Foundation, Department 
of Health and Human Services, Department of Education, Department of 
Defense, Department of Agriculture, Department of Justice, Department 
of Energy, Department of Homeland Security, Department of State, 
Department of Commerce, National Endowment for the Humanities, National 
Aeronautics and Space Administration, and the Department of 
Transportation, and recently researched and authored the Report.
    Human interaction in society depends upon language and 
communication. Across the Federal Government, agencies support R & D 
activities focused on furthering the understanding of and supporting 
better language and communication. To date, however, there has been no 
systematic accounting or description of the range of language and 
communication R & D that is programs and activities being supported by 
the Federal Government. In the Report, the IWGLC took on the challenge 
of creating a taxonomy of language and communication R & D activities 
and summarizing current and recent Federal investment in this area.
    The taxonomy included in the Report identified four broad R & D 
topics in language and communication funded by the Federal Government, 
along with a number of subtopics under each broad topic. Please consult 
the taxonomy on pages 48-50 in the Report. The four broad topic 
headings include:
    1. Knowledge and Processes Underlying Language and Communication.
    2. Language and Communication Abilities and Skills.
    3. Using Language and Communication to Influence Behavior and Share 
Information.
    4. Language and Communication Technologies.
    The taxonomy also identified four types of R & D activities that 
could be supported within each topic area:
    1. Basic/foundational.
    2. Translational.
    3. Applied.
    4. Implementation.
    The Report provides programmatic recommendations for key areas for 
investment and collaboration in language and communication research to 
support a broad range of government functions such as environmental 
protection, education, national security, law enforcement, 
transportation, and public health.

Questions

    The Institute is interested in gathering information that would be 
of help to the IWGLC in coordinating and making recommendations about 
the range of R & D programs and activities related to key topics of 
language and communication that are supported across the Federal 
agencies. Specifically, the Institute, on behalf of the IWGLC, requests 
information on the following:
    1. Whether the taxonomy included in the Report captures all types 
of federally funded R & D programs and activities on language and 
communication. If not, please indicate which types of R & D activities 
should be added to the taxonomy.
    2. Whether there are language and communication R & D programs and 
activities carried out in the non-Federal sector (e.g., commercial 
industry, nonprofit organizations, institutions of higher education) 
that do not fall into any of the taxonomy subtopics (see pgs. 48-50 of 
the Report). If so, please describe those activities.
    3. Whether there are activities that are not included in the 
Report's list of recommended next steps for the Federal Government to 
take related to language and communication R & D programs and 
activities that should be considered (see pgs. 33-36). If so, please 
indicate what activities should be added to the Report's 
recommendations.

[[Page 75392]]

    Written comments may be submitted through any of the methods 
discussed in the ADDRESSES section of this notice. This notice is for 
information purposes only. The Institute and the other member Federal 
agencies on the IWGLC will review and consider information provided in 
response to this notice as the IWGLC moves forward with its new charter 
to improve coordination and collaboration of research and development 
agendas related to language and communication across the Federal 
Government.
    Accessible Format: Individuals with disabilities can obtain this 
document in an accessible format (e.g., braille, large print, 
audiotape, or compact disc) on request to Dr. Rebecca McGill-Wilkinson 
at (202) 245-7613 or [email protected].
    Electronic Access to This Document: The official version of this 
document is the document published in the Federal Register. Free 
Internet access to the official edition of the Federal Register and the 
Code of Federal Regulations is available via the Federal Digital System 
at: www.gpo.gov/fdsys. At this site you can view this document, as well 
as all other documents of this Department published in the Federal 
Register, in text or Portable Document Format (PDF). To use PDF you 
must have Adobe Acrobat Reader, which is available free at the site.
    You may also access documents of the Department published in the 
Federal Register by using the article search feature at: 
www.federalregister.gov. Specifically, through the advanced search 
feature at this site, you can limit your search to documents published 
by the Department.
    Authority: Executive Order 12881 of November 23, 1993, as amended 
by Executive Order 13284 of January 23, 2003. 20 U.S.C. 3402(4).

    Dated: October 26, 2016.
Ruth Neild,
Deputy Director for Policy and Research, Delegated the Duties of the 
Director, Institute of Education Sciences.
[FR Doc. 2016-26193 Filed 10-28-16; 8:45 am]
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