[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 121 (Monday, June 28, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 33978-33979]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-13670]


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

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

Census Bureau


Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the 
Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for Review and Approval; Comment 
Request; 2021 Business Enterprise Research and Development Survey

AGENCY: Census Bureau, Commerce.

ACTION: Notice of information collection, request for comment.

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

SUMMARY: The Department of Commerce, in accordance with the Paperwork 
Reduction Act (PRA) of 1995, invites the general public and other 
Federal agencies to comment on proposed, and continuing information 
collections, which helps us assess the impact of our information 
collection requirements and minimize the public's reporting burden. The 
purpose of this notice is to allow for 60 days of public comment on the 
proposed revision of 2021 Business Enterprise Research and Development 
Survey, prior to the submission of the information collection request 
(ICR) to OMB for approval.

DATES: To ensure consideration, comments regarding this proposed 
information collection must be received on or before August 27, 2021.

ADDRESSES: Interested persons are invited to submit written comments by 
email to [email protected]. Please reference 2021 Business 
Enterprise Research and Development Survey in the subject line of your 
comments. You may also submit comments, identified by Docket Number 
USBC-2021-0015, to the Federal e-Rulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. All comments received are part of the public 
record. No comments will be posted to http://www.regulations.gov for 
public viewing until after the comment period has closed. Comments will 
generally be posted without change. All Personally Identifiable 
Information (for example, name and address) voluntarily submitted by 
the commenter may be publicly accessible. Do not submit Confidential 
Business Information or otherwise sensitive or protected information. 
You may submit attachments to electronic comments in Microsoft Word, 
Excel, or Adobe PDF file formats.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Requests for additional information or 
specific questions related to collection activities should be directed 
to Michael Flaherty, U.S. Census Bureau, Chief, Research, Development & 
Innovation Surveys Branch, 301-763-7699, [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Abstract

    The U.S. Census Bureau, with support from the National Center for 
Science and Engineering Statistics (NCSES) within the National Science 
Foundation, plans to conduct the Business Enterprise Research and 
Development Survey (BERD) for the 2021-2023 survey years. BERD covers 
all domestic, non-farm, for-profit businesses with at least 10 paid 
employees. BERD provides the only comprehensive national data on 
Research and Development (R&D) costs and detailed expenses by type and 
industry.
    The Census Bureau has conducted an R&D survey since 1957, 
collecting primarily financial information on the systematic work 
companies undertake to discover new knowledge or use

[[Page 33979]]

existing knowledge to develop new or improved goods and services.
    Beginning in 2020, in an effort to reduce burden, BERD began 
rotating select content off the survey in alternating years. In 2020, 
questions related to detail of R&D performed by others, activities with 
academia, industries of business and specific federal agency funding 
R&D, and areas of application for R&D were removed from BERD. In 2021, 
all of those questions will be reintroduced to the survey and the 
Intellectual Property and Technology Transfer Section will be removed 
from the survey.
    Beginning in 2021, the BERD will revise its existing Capital 
Expenditures section to collect additional information on assets. 
Cognitive testing on these questions conducted by the Census Bureau in 
2018 revealed that these questions pose no substantive impact on burden 
(the data requested are all readily available in most companies' books) 
and would provide context on capital stock of R&D active companies not 
currently available in any other data source.
    The 2021-2023 BERD will continue to collect the following types of 
information:
     R&D expense based on accepted accounting standards.
     Worldwide R&D of domestic companies.
     Business segment detail.
     R&D-related capital expenditures.
     Detailed data about the R&D workforce.
     R&D strategy and data on the potential impact of R&D on 
the market.
     R&D directed to application areas of particular national 
interest.
     Data measuring intellectual property protection activities 
and technology transfer.
    Domestic and foreign researchers in academia, business, and 
government analyze and cite data from the BERD. Among the federal 
government users are the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) and the 
White House's Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP). BEA 
includes R&D in the system of national accounts that measures the 
economic well-being of the country. BERD data are key inputs into these 
accounts, which feed into the calculation of the U.S. Gross Domestic 
Product (GDP). The White House, in 2006, issued the American 
Competitiveness Initiative to ``increase investments in research and 
development, strengthen education, and encourage entrepreneurship.'' In 
support of this initiative and in response to legislative mandates, 
data on R&D are delivered to OSTP, primarily in the biennial National 
Science Board report Science and Engineering Indicators. Also, the 
National Science Foundation (NSF) produces a series of publications 
containing R&D data including the National Patterns of R&D Resources 
series, the S&E State Profile series, and the annual Business 
Enterprise Research and Development Survey series. Special reports and 
other publications are also prepared.

II. Method of Collection

    BERD will follow a primarily electronic collection strategy. The 
form will be available on the website to assist respondents with 
gathering the required data prior to reporting online. Paper forms will 
also be sent to respondents upon request, however no paper forms will 
be included in initial mail packets. The online survey automatically 
skips questions that do not apply [based on previous responses] and 
checks for common errors. Links to detailed question-by-question 
instructions will be embedded in the electronic instrument. Excel 
spreadsheets are available to facilitate the electronic collection of 
information from various areas of the companies. Respondents have the 
capability to download the spreadsheets from the Census Bureau's 
website. A consolidator spreadsheet is also available to assist 
companies that need to gather information from business units and then 
compile the information into one company report.
    The due date will be six weeks after mail out.

III. Data

    OMB Control Number: 0607-0912.
    Form Number(s): BRD-1.
    Type of Review: Regular submission, Request for a Revision of a 
Currently Approved Collection.
    Affected Public: For-profit businesses with at least 10 paid 
employees.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 47,500.
    Estimated Time per Response: 2 Hours and 37 Minutes.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 124,450.
    Estimated Total Annual Cost to Public: $0. (This is not the cost of 
respondents' time, but the indirect costs respondents may incur for 
such things as purchases of specialized software or hardware needed to 
report, or expenditures for accounting or records maintenance services 
required specifically by the collection.)
    Respondent's Obligation: Mandatory.
    Legal Authority: Title 13 U.S.C., Sections 8(b), 131 and 182; Title 
42, U.S.C. Sections 1861-76 (National Science Foundation Act of 1950, 
as amended).

IV. Request for Comments

    We are soliciting public comments to permit the Department/Bureau 
to: (a) Evaluate whether the proposed information collection is 
necessary for the proper functions of the Department, including whether 
the information will have practical utility; (b) Evaluate the accuracy 
of our estimate of the time and cost burden for this proposed 
collection, including the validity of the methodology and assumptions 
used; (c) Evaluate ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of 
the information to be collected; and (d) Minimize the reporting burden 
on those who are to respond, including the use of automated collection 
techniques or other forms of information technology.
    Comments that you submit in response to this notice are a matter of 
public record. We will include, or summarize, each comment in our 
request to OMB to approve this ICR. Before including your address, 
phone number, email address, or other personal identifying information 
in your comment, you should be aware that your entire comment--
including your personal identifying information--may be made publicly 
available at any time. While you may ask us in your comment to withhold 
your personal identifying information from public review, we cannot 
guarantee that we will be able to do so.

Sheleen Dumas,
Department PRA Clearance Officer, Office of the Chief Information 
Officer, Commerce Department.
[FR Doc. 2021-13670 Filed 6-25-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-07-P