[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 161 (Tuesday, August 24, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 47291-47292]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-18163]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

Office of the Secretary


Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the 
Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for Review and Approval; Comment 
Request; The Standardized Research Performance Progress Report (RPPR)

AGENCY: Office of the Secretary, Commerce.

ACTION: Notice of information collection, request for comment.

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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 extension of the standardized Research Performance Progress 
Report (RPPR), 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 October 25, 2021.

ADDRESSES: Interested persons are invited to submit written comments by 
email to [email protected]. Please reference the Research Performance 
Progress Report (RPPR) or the OMB Control Number 0690-0032 in the 
subject line of your comments. 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 Sheleen Dumas, Department PRA Clearance Officer, Office of the Chief 
Information Officer, U.S. Department of Commerce, 202-482-3306, 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Abstract

    The Department of Commerce plans to request a three-year extension 
of the Research Performance Progress Report (RPPR). This Research 
Performance Progress Report (RPPR) directly benefits award recipients 
by making it easier for them to administer Federal grant and 
cooperative agreement programs through standardization of the types of 
information required in performance reports--thereby reducing their 
administrative effort and costs. The RPPR also makes it easier to 
compare the outputs, outcomes, etc. of research programs across the 
government.
    The RPPR resulted from an initiative of the Research Business 
Models (RBM) Subcommittee of the Committee on Science (CoS), a 
committee of the National Science and Technology Council (NSTC). One of 
the RBM Subcommittee's priority areas is to create greater consistency 
in the administration of Federal research

[[Page 47292]]

awards. Given the increasing complexity of interdisciplinary and 
interagency research, it is important for Federal agencies to manage 
awards in a similar fashion. The RPPR is used by agencies that support 
research and research-related activities for use in submission of 
progress reports. It is intended to replace other performance reporting 
formats currently in use by agencies. The RPPR does not change the 
performance reporting requirements specified in 2 CFR part 215 (OMB 
Circular A-110) and the Common Rule implementing OMB Circular A-102. 
Each category in the RPPR is a separate reporting component. Agencies 
will direct recipients to report on the one mandatory component 
(``Accomplishments''), and may direct them to report on optional 
components, as appropriate. Within a particular component, agencies may 
direct recipients to complete only specific questions, as not all 
questions within a given component may be relevant to all agencies. 
Agencies may develop an agency- or program-specific component, if 
necessary, to meet programmatic requirements, although agencies should 
minimize the degree to which they supplement the standard components. 
Such agency- or program specific requirements will require review and 
clearance by OMB.

III. Data

    OMB Control Number: 0690-0032.
    Form Number(s): None.
    Type of Review: Regular submission, Request for an Extension 
(without change of a currently approved collection).
    Affected Public: State and Local governments.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 19,998.
    Estimated Time per Response: 8 minutes for monthly respondents who 
report via internet, mail or faxing the form, 23 minutes for annual 
respondents who report via internet, mail or faxing the form and 3 
minutes for monthly and annual respondents who report by telephone or 
send electronic files or printouts.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 17,625.
    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: Voluntary.
    Legal Authority: Title 13 U.S.C. 131 and 182.

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. 2021-18163 Filed 8-23-21; 8:45 am]
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