[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 211 (Wednesday, October 31, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 54786-54787]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-23784]
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NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION
Agency Information Collection Activities: Comment Request;
Education and Human Resources Program Monitoring Clearance
AGENCY: National Science Foundation.
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: The National Science Foundation (NSF) is announcing plans to
renew this collection. In accordance with the requirements of the
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, we are providing opportunity for
public comment on this action. After obtaining and considering public
comment, NSF will prepare the submission requesting Office of
Management and Budget (OMB) clearance of this collection for no longer
than 3 years.
DATES: Written comments on this notice must be received by December 31,
2018 to be assured consideration. Comments received after that date
will be considered to the extent practicable. Send comments to address
below.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Suzanne H. Plimpton, Reports Clearance
Officer, National Science Foundation, 2415 Eisenhower Avenue, Suite
W18253, Alexandria, Virginia 22314; telephone (703) 292-7556; or send
email to [email protected]. 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).
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Comments: Comments are invited on (a) whether the proposed
collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of
the functions of the NCSES, including whether the information will have
practical utility; (b) the accuracy of the NCSES'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,
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 collection techniques or other
forms of information technology.
Title of Collection: Education and Human Resources Program
Monitoring Clearance.
OMB Approval Number: 3145-0226.
Expiration Date of Approval: April 30, 2019.
Type of Request: Intent to seek renewal of an information
collection.
Abstract: The National Science Foundation (NSF) requests re-
clearance of program accountability data collections that describe and
track the impact of NSF funding that focuses on the Nation's science,
technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education and STEM
workforce. NSF funds grants, contracts, and cooperative agreements to
colleges, universities, and other eligible institutions, and provides
graduate research fellowships to individuals in all parts of the United
States and internationally.
The Directorate for Education and Human Resources (EHR), a unit
within NSF, promotes rigor and vitality within the Nation's STEM
education enterprise to further the development of the 21st century's
STEM workforce and public scientific literacy. EHR does this through
diverse projects and programs that support research, extension,
outreach, and hands-on activities that service STEM learning and
research at all institutional (e.g., pre-school through postdoctoral)
levels in formal and informal settings; and individuals of all ages
(birth and beyond). EHR also focuses on broadening participation in
STEM learning and careers among United States citizens, permanent
residents, and nationals, particularly those individuals traditionally
underemployed in the STEM research workforce, including but not limited
to women, persons with disabilities, and racial and ethnic minorities.
The scope of this information collection request will primarily
cover descriptive information gathered from education and training
(E&T) projects that are funded by NSF. NSF will primarily use the data
from this collection for program planning, management, and audit
purposes to respond to queries from the Congress, the public, NSF's
external merit reviewers who serve as advisors, including Committees of
Visitors (COVs), the NSF's Office of the Inspector General, and as a
basis for either internal or third-party evaluations of individual
programs.
The collections will generally include three categories of
descriptive data: (1) Staff and project participants (data that are
also necessary to determine individual-level treatment and control
groups for future third-party study or for internal evaluation); (2)
project implementation characteristics (also necessary for future use
to identify well-matched comparison groups); and (3) project outputs
(necessary to measure baseline for pre- and post- NSF-funding-level
impacts).
Use of the Information: This information is required for effective
administration, communication, program and project monitoring and
evaluation, and for measuring attainment of NSF's program, project, and
strategic goals, and as identified by the President's Accountability in
Government Initiative; GPRA, and the NSF's Strategic Plan. The
Foundation's FY 2014-2018 Strategic Plan may be found at: http://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2014/nsf14043/nsf14043.pdf.
Since this collection will primarily be used for accountability and
evaluation purposes, including responding to queries from COVs and
other scientific experts, a census rather than sampling design
typically is necessary. At the individual project level funding can be
adjusted based on individual project's responses to some of the
surveys. Some data collected under this collection will serve as
baseline data for separate research and evaluation studies.
NSF-funded contract or grantee researchers and internal or external
evaluators in part may identify control, comparison, or treatment
groups for NSF's E&T portfolio using some of the descriptive data
gathered through this collection to conduct well-designed, rigorous
research and portfolio evaluation studies.
Respondents: Individuals or households, not-for-profit
institutions, business or other for profit, and Federal, State, local
or tribal government.
Number of Respondents: 2,160.
Burden on the Public: NSF estimates that a total reporting and
recordkeeping burden of 39,802 hours will result from activities to
monitor EHR STEM education programs. The calculation is shown in table
1.
[[Page 54787]]
Table 1--Anticipated Programs That Will Collect Data on Project Progress and Outcomes Along With the Number of
Respondents and Burden Hours per Collection per Year
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Number of Number of Annual hour
Collection title respondents responses burden
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Centers of Research Excellence in Science and Technology (CREST) 30 30 1,650
and Historically Black Colleges and Universities Research
Infrastructure for Science and Engineering (HBCU-RISE)
Monitoring System..............................................
Integrative Graduate Education and Research Traineeship Program 35 35 1,890
(IGERT) Monitoring System......................................
Louis Stokes Alliances for Minority Participation (LSAMP) 602 602 13,846
Monitoring System..............................................
Louis Stokes Alliances for Minority Participation Bridge to the 56 56 2,128
Doctorate (LSAMP-BD) Monitoring System.........................
Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship Program (Noyce) Monitoring 460 460 6,440
System.........................................................
Scholarships in Science, Technology, Engineering, and 700 1,750 4,200
Mathematics (S-STEM) Monitoring System.........................
Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Talent 277 277 6,648
Expansion Program (STEP) Monitoring System.....................
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Total....................................................... 2,160 3,210 39,802
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Dated: October 26, 2018.
Suzanne H. Plimpton,
Reports Clearance Officer, National Science Foundation.
[FR Doc. 2018-23784 Filed 10-30-18; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7555-01-P