[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 136 (Tuesday, July 16, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 33980-33981]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-15014]


=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION


Agency Information Collection Activities: Comment Request

AGENCY: National Science Foundation.

ACTION: Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

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, and no comments were received. NSF is forwarding the proposed 
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.

DATES: Comments regarding this information collection are best assured 
of having their full effect if received by August 15, 2019.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Office of Information and Regulatory 
Affairs of OMB, Attention: Desk Officer for National Science 
Foundation, 725 17th Street NW, Room 10235, Washington, DC 20503, and 
Suzanne H. Plimpton, Reports Clearance Officer, National Science 
Foundation, 2415 Eisenhower Avenue, Alexandria, VA 22314, 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).
    Copies of the submission may be obtained by calling 703-292-7556.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: NCSES 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.
    Comments regarding (a) whether the collection of information is 
necessary for the proper performance of the functions of NCSES, 
including whether the information will have practical utility; (b) the 
accuracy of NCSES's estimate of the burden of the proposed collection 
of information; (c) ways to enhance the quality, use, and clarity of 
the information to be collected, including through the use of automated 
collection techniques or other forms of information technology; (d) 
ways to minimize the burden of the collection of information on those 
who are to respond, including through the use of appropriate automated 
or other forms of information technology should be addressed to the 
points of contact in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section.
    Title of Collection: Higher Education Research and Development 
Survey.
    OMB Approval Number: 3145-0100.
    Summary of Collection. The Higher Education Research and 
Development (R&D) Survey (formerly known as the Survey of R&D 
Expenditures at Universities and Colleges) originated in fiscal year 
(FY) 1954 and has been conducted annually since FY 1972. The survey 
represents one facet of the higher education component of the NSF's 
National Center for Science and

[[Page 33981]]

Engineering Statistics (NCSES) statistical program authorized by the 
America COMPETES Reauthorization Act of 2010 Sec.  505, codified in the 
National Science Foundation Act of 1950 (NSF Act), as amended, at 42 
U.S.C. 1862. Under paragraph ``b'', NCSES is directed to
    ``(1) collect, acquire, analyze, report, and disseminate 
statistical data related to the science and engineering enterprise in 
the U.S. and other nations that is relevant and useful to 
practitioners, researchers, policymakers, and the public, including 
statistical data on:
    (A) Research and development trends;
    (B) the science and engineering workforce;
    (C) U.S. competitiveness in science, engineering, technology, and 
research and development . . .''
    Use of the information: The proposed project will continue the 
annual survey cycle for three years. The Higher Education R&D Survey 
will provide continuity of statistics on R&D expenditures by source of 
funding, type of R&D (basic research, applied research, or 
development), and field of R&D, with separate data requested on 
research equipment by field. Further breakdowns are collected on funds 
passed through to subrecipients and funds received as a subrecipient, 
and on R&D expenditures by field from specific federal agency sources. 
As of FY 2010, the survey also requests total R&D expenditures funded 
from foreign sources, R&D within an institution's medical school, 
clinical trial expenditures, R&D by type of funding mechanism 
(contracts vs. grants), and R&D by cost category (salaries, equipment, 
software, etc.). The survey also requests headcounts of principal 
investigators and other personnel paid from R&D funds.
    Data are published in NCSES's annual publication series Higher 
Education Research and Development, available on the web at http://www.nsf.gov/statistics/srvyherd/.
    Expected respondents: The FY 2019 Higher Education R&D Survey will 
be administered to approximately 650 institutions. In addition, a 
shorter version of the survey asking for R&D expenditures by source of 
funding and broad field will be sent to approximately 300 institutions 
spending under $1 million on R&D in their previous fiscal year. 
Approximately 125 institutions are also expected to respond to the 
population screener form sent to determine eligibility for the survey. 
Finally, a survey requesting R&D expenditures by source of funds, cost 
categories, and type of R&D will be administered to the 42 Federally 
Funded Research and Development Centers.
    Estimate of burden: The survey is a fully automated web data 
collection effort and is handled primarily by administrators in 
university sponsored programs and accounting offices. To minimize 
burden, institutions are provided with an abundance of guidance and 
resources on the web, and are able to respond via downloadable 
spreadsheet if desired. Each institution's record is pre-loaded with 
the 2 previous years of comparable data that facilitate editing and 
trend checking. Response to this voluntary survey has exceeded 95 
percent each year.
    The average burden estimate is 54 hours for the approximately 650 
institutions reporting over $1 million in R&D expenditures on the 
standard form, 8 hours for the approximately 300 institutions reporting 
less than $1 million on the short form, and 11 hours for the 42 
organizations completing the FFRDC survey. Another 1 hour per 
institution is estimated for the approximately 125 institutions 
responding to the HERD population screener form. The total calculated 
burden across all forms is 38,087 hours.
    Comments: 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 March 
18, 2019, at 84 FR9839. Three comments were received, to which we here 
respond. One comment came from the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA). 
They expressed general support for the HERD and FFRDC surveys and 
requested that they be informed of any future questionnaire 
modifications. NCSES is in regular contact with BEA about their data 
needs and sends annual data files to support their national income and 
product accounts (NIPAs), industry economic accounts (IEAs), and gross 
domestic product (GDP) by state estimates. BEA noted the specific items 
used from each survey.
    The second comment came from the University of Washington. They 
indicated that the HERD survey is very useful for the research 
community as a key set of data. They believe the burden estimate is 
low, based on their experience. They provided examples of work elements 
that comprise their overall HERD survey effort. They noted that clear 
definitions in some areas, specifically reporting of institutionally-
funded research, and enforced adherence to the definitions is critical 
for maintaining integrity and comparability across institutions. In 
order to minimize survey burden, they suggested NCSES minimize yearly 
changes to the survey content and instructions (perhaps to every 2-3 
years), ensure that the survey is coordinated with federal-wide data 
standards, and allow for data uploads. NCSES plans to reach out to the 
University of Washington to further discuss the issues raised. We also 
plan to investigate the potential for a more robust data upload option. 
Currently, participants can upload their data through an MS Excel 
workbook questionnaire. This requires manual data entry into the 
workbook. The NCSES Survey of Graduate Students and Postdoctorates in 
S&E has a data upload option that users can populate through report 
automation and could be used as a model for the HERD survey.
    The third comment came from the University of Wisconsin, Madison. 
They also highlighted the HERD survey burden and mentioned that the 
current Excel file upload must be manually populated. This creates the 
potential for errors. A file format that could be uploaded after 
automatically being generated by the respondent would be more efficient 
and reliable. This is something that NCSES will explore. They also 
noted that NCSES was considering a revision to the HERD survey that 
would permit multiple campuses within a system to report together under 
certain criteria. After discussions and solicitation of feedback from 
the Council on Government Relations and the Association of American 
Universities Data Exchange, as well as individual universities, NCSES 
has decided to keep the established criteria for reporting campus-level 
data in place. No changes to the guidance are forthcoming, which is 
also in line with the University of Wisconsin's desire. NCSES plans to 
reach out to the University of Washington to further discuss the issues 
raised.

    Dated: July 10, 2019.
Suzanne H. Plimpton,
Reports Clearance Officer, National Science Foundation.
[FR Doc. 2019-15014 Filed 7-15-19; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7555-01-P