[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 86 (Thursday, May 6, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 24416-24417]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-09536]


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

NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION


Agency Information Collection Activities: Comment Request; 
National Science Foundation Research Traineeship Program Monitoring 
System

AGENCY: National Science Foundation.

ACTION: Notice.

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

SUMMARY: The National Science Foundation (NSF) is announcing plans to 
establish 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 July 6, 2021 
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 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: National Science Foundation Research 
Traineeship (NRT) Monitoring System.
    OMB Number: 3145-NEW.
    Expiration Date of Approval: Not applicable.
    Type of Request: Intent to seek approval to establish an 
information collection.
    Proposed Project: The National Science Foundation's (NSF's) 
Division of Graduate Education (DGE) in the Directorate for Education 
and Human Resources (EHR) administers the NSF Research Traineeship 
(NRT) program. The NRT program is designed to encourage the development 
and implementation of bold, new, and potentially transformative models 
for STEM graduate education training. The NRT program seeks to ensure 
that graduate students in research-based master's and doctoral degree 
programs develop the skills, knowledge, and competencies needed to 
pursue a range of STEM careers. NRT is dedicated to effective training 
of STEM graduate students in high priority interdisciplinary or 
convergent research areas, through the use of a comprehensive 
traineeship model that is innovative, evidence-based, and aligned with 
changing workforce and research needs.
    Currently NRT awardees provide NSF with information on their 
activities through periodic research performance progress reports. The 
NRT program will now replace these reports with a tailored program 
monitoring system that will use internet-based information and 
communication technologies to collect, review, and validate specific 
data on NRT awards. EHR is committed to ensuring the efficiency and 
effectiveness with which respondents provide and NSF staff can access 
and analyze data on funded projects within the NRT programs.
    The NRT monitoring system will include subsets of questions aimed 
at the different project participants (i.e., Principal Investigators 
(PIs), and trainees), and will allow for data analysis, and data report 
generation by authorized NSF staff. The collections will generally 
include three categories of descriptive data: (1) Staff and project 
participants (data that are 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). NRT awardees will be required to 
report data on an annual basis for the life of their award.
    Use of the Information: 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. 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 2018-2022 
Strategic Plan may be found at: https://www.nsf.gov/publications/pub_summ.jsp?ods_key=nsf18045.
    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 education and training portfolio using some of the 
descriptive data gathered through this collection to

[[Page 24417]]

conduct well-designed, rigorous research and portfolio evaluation 
studies.
    Burden on the Public: Estimated at 82 hours per award for 102 
awards for a total of 8,364 hours (per year).
    Comments: Comments are 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 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.

    Dated: April 30, 2021.
Suzanne H. Plimpton,
Reports Clearance Officer, National Science Foundation.
[FR Doc. 2021-09536 Filed 5-5-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7555-01-P