[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 20 (Tuesday, February 2, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 7884-7885]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-02140]


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NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION


Agency Information Collection Activities: Comment Request; 
National Science Foundation Major Facilities Guide

AGENCY: National Science Foundation.

ACTION: Notice and request for comments.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the requirement of the Paperwork Reduction 
Act of 1995, the National Science Foundation (NSF) is providing 
opportunity for public comment on revisions to the NSF Major Facilities 
Guide (MFG).

DATES: Written comments should be received by April 5, 2021 to be 
assured of consideration. Comments received after that date will be 
considered to the extent practicable.

ADDRESSES: Written comments regarding the information collection and 
requests for copies of the proposed information collection request 
should be addressed to Suzanne Plimpton, Reports Clearance Officer, 
National Science Foundation, 2415 Eisenhower Ave., Rm. W 18253, 
Alexandria, VA 22314, or by email to [email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Suzanne Plimpton on (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:
    Title of Collection: Major Facilities Guide.
    OMB Approval Number: 3145-0239.
    Expiration Date of Approval: September 30, 2022.
    Type of Request: Intent to seek approval to extend with revision an 
information collection for three years.
    Proposed Project: The primary purpose of this revision is to 
provide expectations for construction schedules for alignment with good 
practices, minimum competencies for project personnel, and guidance on 
the content of Segregation of Funding Plans and how to scale earned 
value management systems (EVMS). The draft version of the NSF MFG is 
available on the NSF website at: http://www.nsf.gov/bfa/lfo/lfo_documents.jsp.
    To facilitate review, a Change Log with brief comment explanations 
of the changes is provided in the guide. NSF is particularly interested 
in public comment on the new content provided in Section 4.3 Schedule 
Development, Estimating, and Analysis and in Section 4.6.6 Project 
Personnel and Competencies.
    The National Science Foundation Act of 1950 (Pub. L. 81-507) set 
forth NSF's mission and purpose:
    ``To promote the progress of science; to advance the national 
health, prosperity, and welfare; to secure the national defense.* * *''
    The Act authorized and directed NSF to initiate and support:
     Basic scientific research and research fundamental to the 
engineering process;
     Programs to strengthen scientific and engineering research 
potential;
     Science and engineering education programs at all levels 
and in all the various fields of science and engineering;
     Programs that provide a source of information for policy 
formulation; and
     Other activities to promote these ends.
    Among Federal agencies, NSF is a leader in providing the academic 
community with advanced instrumentation needed to conduct state-of-the-
art research and to educate the next generation of scientists, 
engineers, and technical workers. The knowledge generated by these 
tools sustains U.S. leadership in science and engineering (S&E) to 
drive the U.S. economy and secure the future. NSF's responsibility is 
to ensure that the research and education communities have access to 
these resources, and to provide the support needed to utilize them 
optimally, and implement timely upgrades.
    The scale of advanced instrumentation ranges from small research 
instruments to shared resources or facilities that can be used by 
entire communities. The demand for such instrumentation is very high, 
and is growing rapidly, along with the pace of discovery. For major 
facilities and shared infrastructure, the need is particularly high. 
This trend is expected to accelerate in the future as increasing 
numbers of researchers and educators rely on such large facilities, 
instruments, and databases to provide the reach to make the next 
intellectual leaps.
    NSF currently provides support for facility construction from two 
accounts: The Major Research Equipment and Facility Construction 
(MREFC) account, and the Research and Related Activities (R&RA) 
account. The MREFC account, established in FY 1995, is an agency-wide 
capital account which provides funding for the construction stage of 
major facilities, roughly $100M or greater, and mid-scale projects in 
the range of approximately $20-$100M.
    Facilities are defined as shared-use infrastructure, 
instrumentation and equipment that are accessible to a broad community 
of researchers and/or educators. Facilities may be centralized or may 
consist of distributed installations. They may incorporate large-scale 
networking or computational infrastructure, multi-user instruments or 
networks of such instruments, or other infrastructure, instrumentation 
and equipment having a major impact on a broad segment of a scientific 
or engineering discipline. Historically, awards have been made for such 
diverse projects as accelerators, telescopes, research vessels and 
aircraft, and geographically distributed but networked sensors and 
instrumentation.
    The growth and diversification of large facility projects require 
that NSF remain attentive to the ever-changing issues and challenges 
inherent in their planning, construction, operation, management, and 
oversight. Most importantly, dedicated, competent NSF and awardee staff 
are needed to manage and oversee these projects; giving the attention 
and oversight that good practice dictates and that proper 
accountability to taxpayers and Congress demands. To this end, there is

[[Page 7885]]

also a need for consistent, documented requirements and procedures to 
be understood and used by NSF program managers and awardees for all 
such large projects.
    Use of the Information: Facilities are an essential part of the 
science and engineering enterprise, and supporting them is one major 
responsibility of the National Science Foundation (NSF). NSF makes 
awards to external entities--primarily universities, consortia of 
universities or non-profit organizations--to undertake construction, 
management, and operation of facilities. Such awards frequently take 
the form of cooperative agreements. NSF does not directly construct or 
operate the facilities it supports. However, NSF retains responsibility 
for overseeing their development, management, and successful 
performance. The Major Facilities Guide is intended to:
     Provide guidance for NSF staff and awardees to carry out 
effective project planning, management and oversight of major 
facilities while considering the varying requirements of a diverse 
portfolio;
     Clearly state the policies, processes, and procedures 
pertinent at each stage of a facility's life cycle from development 
through design, construction, operations, and divestment; and
     Document and disseminate ``good practices'' identified 
over time so that NSF and awardees can carry out their responsibilities 
more effectively.
    This version of the Major Facilities Guide adds sections for 
development of construction schedules and minimum competencies for 
project personnel; updates sections related to legislation and NSF 
policy on research infrastructure, content of segregation funding 
plans, and earned value management; and clarifies requirements to 
transition through the design phases, construction monthly reporting, 
and property management terminology. The Guide does not replace 
existing formal procedures required for all NSF awards, which are 
described in the, Proposal & Award Policies and Procedures Guide 
(PAPPG). Instead, it draws upon and supplements it for the purpose of 
providing detailed guidance regarding NSF policy and procedures related 
to the planning, management, and oversight of Major Facilities. All 
facilities projects require merit and technical review, as well as 
approval of certain deliverables. The level of review and approval 
varies substantially from standard grants, as does the level of 
oversight needed to ensure appropriate and proper accountability for 
federal funds. The requirements, recommended procedures, and best 
practices presented in the Guide apply to any facility significant 
enough to require close and substantial interaction with the Foundation 
and the National Science Board.
    This Guide will be updated periodically to reflect changes in 
requirements, policies and/or procedures. Award Recipients are expected 
to monitor and adopt the requirements and best practices included in 
the Guide which are aimed at improving management and oversight of 
major facilities projects and at enabling the most efficient and cost-
effective delivery of tools to the research and education communities.
    The submission of proposals and subsequent project documentation to 
the Foundation related to the development, construction and operations 
of Major Facilities is part of the collection of information. This 
information is used to help NSF fulfill this responsibility in 
supporting merit-based research and education projects in all the 
scientific and engineering disciplines. The Foundation also has a 
continuing commitment to provide oversight on facilities development 
and construction which must be balanced against monitoring its 
information collection so as to identify and address any excessive 
reporting burdens.
    NSF has approximately twenty-four (24) Major Facilities in various 
stages of development, design, construction, operations, and 
divestment. Facilities undergoing a major upgrade may be classified in 
both design or construction and operations at the same time. Two to 
four (2 to 4) new construction awards are made approximately every five 
(5) years based on science community infrastructure needs and 
availability of funding. Among the twenty-four major facilities, there 
are approximately seven (7) facilities annually that are either in 
design or construction. These stages require the highest level of 
reporting and management documentation per the Major Facilities Guide. 
NSF estimates there will be four (4) mid-scale projects in progress at 
a given time.
    Burden to the Public: The Foundation estimates that approximately 
five (5) Full Time Equivalents (FTE's) are necessary for each major 
facility project in design or construction to respond to NSF 
performance and financial reporting and project management 
documentation requirements on an annual basis; or 10,400 hours per 
year. The Foundation estimates approximately one and half (1.5) FTE for 
a major facility in operations to respond to NSF performance and 
financial reporting on an annual basis; or 3,120 hours per year. For 
mid-scale projects, the Foundation estimates approximately one (1) Full 
Time Equivalent (FTE's) is necessary for each mid-scale project to 
respond to NSF project management documentation requirements on an 
annual basis; or 2,080 hours per year. With seven (7) major facilities 
in design or construction and twenty-one (21) in operations and four 
(4) mid-scale projects, this equates to roughly 150,000 public burden 
hours annually.
    Comments: In addition to the type of comments identified above, 
comments are also invited on: (a) Whether the proposed collection of 
information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of 
the Agency, including whether the information shall have practical 
utility; (b) the accuracy of the Agency'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 respondents, including through the use of 
automated collection techniques or other forms of information 
technology. After obtaining and considering public comment, NSF will 
prepare the submission requesting OMB clearance of this collection for 
no longer than 3 years.

    Dated: January 27, 2021.
Suzanne H. Plimpton,
Reports Clearance Officer, National Science Foundation.
[FR Doc. 2021-02140 Filed 2-1-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7555-01-P