[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 231 (Monday, December 4, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 57299-57301]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-26028]


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NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION


Agency Information Collection Activities; Extension of Current 
Information Collection

AGENCY: National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics, 
National Science Foundation.

ACTION: Submission for OMB review; comment request.

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SUMMARY: The National Science Foundation (NSF) has submitted the 
following information collection requirement to OMB for review and 
clearance under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. This is the second 
notice for public comment; the first was published in the Federal 
Register at 82 FR 20921 and one comment was received. NSF/NCSES is 
forwarding the proposed renewal submission to the Office of Management 
and Budget (OMB) for clearance simultaneously with the publication of 
this second notice. The full submission may be found at: http://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain.

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ADDRESSES: Comments should be addressed to: Office of Information and 
Regulatory Affairs of OMB, Attention: Desk Officer for National Science 
Foundation, 725 7th Street NW., Room 10235, Washington, DC 20503.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Suzanne H. Plimpton, Reports Clearance 
Officer, National Science Foundation, 2415 Eisenhower Avenue, Room 
W18000, Alexandria, Virginia 22314, or send email to [email protected]. 
Copies of the submission may be obtained by calling Ms. Plimpton at 
(703) 292-7556. 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).
    NSF may not conduct or sponsor a collection of information unless 
the collection of information displays a currently valid OMB control 
number and the agency informs potential persons who are to respond to 
the collection of information that such persons are not required to 
respond to the collection of information unless it displays a currently 
valid OMB control number.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Comments are invited on (a) whether the 
proposed collection of information is necessary for the proper 
performance of the functions of the NSF, including whether the 
information shall have practical utility; (b) the accuracy of the NSF'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 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.
    As required by 5 CFR 1320.8(d), comments on the information 
collection activities as part of this study were solicited through 
publication of a 60-Day Notice in the Federal Register on May 4, 2017, 
at 82 FR 20921. One comment came from Andrew Reamer, Research Professor 
in the George Washington Institute of Public Policy at George 
Washington University via email on May 4, 2017, who requested a copy of 
the questionnaire and the OMB supporting statement.
    Response: The questionnaire was provided to Mr. Reamer on August 
18, 2017, and the supporting statement will be provided upon submission 
to OMB.
    Title of Collection: Nonprofit Research Activities Survey.
    OMB Approval Number: 3145-0240.
    Expiration Date of Current Approval: July 31, 2019.
    Type of Request: Revision of a currently approved collection.
    Abstract: Established within NSF by the America COMPETES 
Reauthorization Act of 2010 Sec.  505, codified in the National Science 
Foundation Act of 1950, as amended, the National Center for Science and 
Engineering Statistics (NCSES) serves as a central Federal 
clearinghouse for the collection, interpretation, analysis, and 
dissemination of objective data on science, engineering, technology, 
and research and development for use by practitioners, researchers, 
policymakers, and the public.
    The primary objective of the new survey is to fill data gaps in the 
NCSES publication National Patterns of R&D Resources in such a way that 
it is (a) compatible with data collected on the business, government, 
and higher education sectors of the U.S. economy and (b) appropriate 
for international comparisons. Since the last survey of research 
activity in the nonprofit sector occurred in 1996 and 1997, interest 
from the community has grown significantly in recent years. Thus, it is 
important that a full survey be fielded again to update current 
national estimates for the nonprofit sector.
    NCSES recently concluded a pilot test of the Nonprofit Research 
Activities Survey (NPRA) with 3,640 nonprofit organizations. Using the 
lessons learned from the pilot, NCSES now plans to conduct a full 
survey. The full NPRA survey will collect R&D and other related data 
from U.S. nonprofit organizations. This survey will collect the 
following:
     Total amount spent on R&D activities within nonprofit 
organizations;
     Number of employees and R&D employees;
     Sources of funds for R&D expenditures;
     Expenditures by field of R&D (biological and health 
sciences, engineering, physical sciences, social sciences, etc.);
     Expenditures by type of R&D (basic research, applied 
research, or experimental development);
     Total amount of R&D funding provided to entities outside 
the nonprofit organization;
     Types of recipients receiving R&D funding; and
     Funding by field of R&D (biological and health sciences, 
engineering, physical sciences, social sciences, etc.).
    Use of the information: The primary purpose of this survey is to 
collect nationally representative data on nonprofit research spending 
and funding. The nonprofit sector is one of four major sectors that 
perform and/or fund research and development (R&D) in the U.S. 
Historically, the National Science Foundation (NSF) has combined this 
sector's data with the business, government, and higher education 
sectors' data to estimate total national R&D expenditures via the 
annual National Patterns of R&D Resources report. These data will help 
federal agencies develop longrange plans and policies for R&D funding 
opportunities and the nonprofit sector as a whole. We also expect the 
Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) will 
request that NSF provide NPRA Survey data for use in its periodic 
publications and for international comparisons of R&D efforts. The data 
will be made available in public data tables as well as public use 
microdata files.
    Expected respondents: The sample will be approximately 6,500 
nonprofit organizations. The target population for the NPRA Survey 
includes all NPOs categorized by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) as 
501(c)(3) public charities, 501(c)(3) private foundations, and other 
exempt organizations [e.g., 501(c)(1), 501(c)(2)]. To increase the 
efficiency of sampling organizations that perform or fund research--and 
to reduce burden among organizations that do not perform or fund 
research--organizations that are highly unlikely to be conducting 
research activities or already included in the other NCSES R&D surveys 
will be removed from the frame. In addition, organizations that do not 
meet a minimum size threshold, based on assets for private foundations 
and expenses for public charities, will be excluded from the frame. The 
sample will be allocated to obtain a minimum of 1,600 completed surveys 
from R&D active organizations (800 from performers and 800 from 
funders).
    Estimate of burden: The survey will include approximately 6,500 
organizations and will be conducted in two phases. Phase 1 will be a 
screening phase for all organizations in the sample that have not been 
identified as research performers or funders (approximately 4,100 
organizations). This will include a postage paid response card to be 
completed by the organization, with an estimated burden of 10 minutes. 
NCSES estimates a 70% response rate for this

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screening phase, yielding a burden of 478 hours.
    Phase 2 of the survey will be the questionnaire, which will be sent 
to (a) all of the known research performers and funders, (b) those 
screened in from Phase 1, and (c) those who did not respond to the 
Phase 1 contacts. NCSES expects a response rate of 60% to Phase 2. 
Based on the responses to the pilot survey, if the organization both 
funds and performs research, it will take an estimated 4 hours to 
complete the survey. If the organization neither funds nor performs 
research, the response time should be less than 20 minutes. There will 
also be 40 debriefings held as the surveys are submitted, 20 for 
respondents and 20 for nonrespondents. The debriefings are estimated to 
take 1 hour for respondents and 30 minutes for nonrespondents, 
resulting in a total burden of 30 hours. The estimate of burden for 
Phase 2 of the survey is 4,888 hours for the 1,222 estimated performers 
and funders that complete the survey and debriefings and 317 hours for 
the remaining 951 organizations estimated to complete the survey that 
do not perform or fund research. The total combined burden for Phases 1 
and 2 is 5,713 hours.

    Dated: November 29, 2017.
Suzanne H. Plimpton,
Reports Clearance Officer, National Science Foundation.
[FR Doc. 2017-26028 Filed 12-1-17; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7555-01-P