[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 34 (Thursday, February 20, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 9811-9812]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-03356]


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NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION


Agency Information Collection Activities: Comment Request; 
Grantee Reporting Requirements for the Emerging Frontiers in Research 
and Innovation Program

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 April 20, 
2020 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 
W18200, Alexandria, Virginia 22314; telephone (703) 292-7556; or send 
email to [email protected]. Individuals who

[[Page 9812]]

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: 
    Title of Collection: Grantee Reporting Requirements for the 
Emerging Frontiers in Research and Innovation Program.
    OMB Number: 3145-0233.
    Expiration Date of Approval: June 30, 2020.
    Type of Request: Revision to and extension of approval of an 
information collection.
    Proposed Project: The Emerging Frontiers in Research and Innovation 
(EFRI) program recommends, prioritizes, and funds interdisciplinary 
initiatives at the emerging frontier of engineering research and 
education. These investments represent transformative opportunities, 
potentially leading to: new research areas for NSF, ENG, and other 
agencies; new industries or capabilities that result in a leadership 
position for the country; and/or significant progress on a recognized 
national need or grand challenge.
    Established in 2007, EFRI supports cutting-edge research that is 
difficult to fund through other NSF programs, such as single-
investigator grants or large research centers. EFRI seeks high-risk 
opportunities with the potential for a large payoff where researchers 
are encouraged to stretch beyond their ongoing activities. Based on 
input from workshops, advisory committees, technical meetings, 
professional societies, research proposals, and suggestions from the 
research community, the EFRI program identifies those emerging 
opportunities and manages a formal process for funding their research. 
The emerging ideas tackled by EFRI are ``frontier'' because they not 
only push the understood limits of engineering but actually overlap 
multiple fields. The EFRI funding process inspires investigators with 
different expertise to work together on one emerging concept.
    EFRI awards require multi-disciplinary teams of at least one 
Principal Investigator and two Co-Principal Investigators. The 
anticipated duration of all awards is 4-years. With respect to the 
anticipated funding level, each project team may receive support of up 
to a total of $2,000,000 spread over four years, pending the 
availability of funds. In this respect, EFRI awards are above the 
average single-investigator award amounts.
    EFRI-funded projects could include research opportunities and 
mentoring for educators, scholars, and university students, as well as 
outreach programs that help stir the imagination of K-12 students, 
often with a focus on groups underrepresented in science and 
engineering.
    We are seeking to collect additional information from the grantees 
about the outcomes of their research that goes above and beyond the 
standard reporting requirements used by the NSF and spans over a period 
of 5 years after the award. This data collection effort will enable 
program officers to longitudinally monitor outputs and outcomes given 
the unique goals and purpose of the program. This is very important to 
enable appropriate and accurate evidence-based management of the 
program and to determine whether or not the specific goals of the 
program are being met.
    Grantees will be requested to submit this information on an annual 
basis to support performance review and the management of EFRI grants 
by EFRI officers. EFRI grantees will be requested to submit these 
indicators to NSF via a data collection website that will be embedded 
in NSF's IT infrastructure. These indicators are both quantitative and 
descriptive and may include, for example, the characteristics of 
project personnel and students; sources of complementary funding and 
in-kind support to the EFRI project; characteristics of industrial and/
or other sector participation; research activities; education 
activities; knowledge transfer activities; patents, licenses; 
publications; descriptions of significant advances and other outcomes 
of the EFRI effort.
    Each submission will address the following major categories of 
activities: (1) Knowledge transfer across disciplines, (2) innovation 
of ideas in areas of great opportunity, (3) potential for translational 
research, (4) project results that advance the frontier/creation of new 
fields of study, (5) introduction to the classroom of innovative 
research methods or discoveries, (6) fostering participation of 
underrepresented groups in science, and (7) impacting student career 
trajectory. For each of the categories, the report will enumerate 
specific outputs and outcomes.
    Use of the Information: The data collected will be used for NSF 
internal reports, historical data, and performance review by peer site 
visit teams, program level studies and evaluations, and for securing 
future funding for continued EFRI program maintenance and growth.
    Estimate of Burden: Approximately 7 hours per grant for 
approximately 100 grants per year for a total of 700 hours per year.
    Respondents: Principal Investigators who lead the EFRI grants, and 
co-Principal Investigators and students involved in EFRI-funded 
research.
    Estimated Number of Responses per Report: One report collected for 
each of the approximately 100 grantees every year, including sub-
reports from co-PIs and student researchers.

    Dated: February 14, 2020.
Suzanne H. Plimpton,
Reports Clearance Officer, National Science Foundation.
[FR Doc. 2020-03356 Filed 2-19-20; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 7555-01-P