[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 226 (Monday, November 29, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Page 67679]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-25896]



[[Page 67679]]

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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

National Institute of Food and Agriculture


Notice of Intent To Extend and Revise a Currently Approved 
Information Collection

AGENCY: National Institute of Food and Agriculture, USDA.

ACTION: Notice and request for comments.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 and 
Office of Management and Budget (OMB) regulations, this notice 
announces the National Institute of Food and Agriculture's (NIFA) 
intention to request a new information collection titled Small Business 
Innovation Research (SBIR) Program Lifecycle Certification. This 
information collection replaces an existing information collection, 
Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Program Lifecycle 
Certification.

DATES: Written comments on this notice must be received by January 28, 
2022 to be assured of consideration. Comments received after that date 
will be considered to the extent practicable.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments through the Federal eRulemaking 
Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the instructions for 
submitting comments.
    Instructions: All comments received will be posted without change 
to http://www.regulations.gov, including any personal information 
provided.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Robert Martin, 202-445-5388, 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    Title of Collection: Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) 
Program Lifecycle Certification.
    OMB Control Number: 4040-001.
    Expiration Date of Current Approval: 12/31/2022.
    Type of Request: Notice of intent to extend and revise a currently 
approved information collection. The burden for this collection remains 
unchanged.
    NIFA is requesting a one-year extension for the current collection 
entitled ``Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Program Lifecycle 
Certification.''
    NIFA asks recipients of SBIR grants to submit the Lifecycle 
Certification form as part of their required interim and final reports. 
NIFA is also proposing updates to the existing Certification form to 
match the language provided for this form in the 2020 ``SBA SBIR/STTR 
Policy Directive,'' October 1, 2020. These changes are in response to 
the recommendation by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) in its 
SBIR Fraud Waste and Abuse Review, completed on June 30, 2021.
    Abstract: The SBIR program at the U.S. Department of Agriculture 
(USDA) makes competitively awarded grants to qualified small businesses 
to support high quality, advanced concepts research related to 
important scientific problems and opportunities in agriculture that 
could lead to significant public benefit if successful.
    The objectives of the SBIR Program are to: Stimulate technological 
innovations in the private sector; strengthen the role of small 
businesses in meeting Federal research and development needs; increase 
private sector commercialization of innovations derived from USDA-
supported research and development efforts; and foster and encourage 
participation by women-owned and socially and economically 
disadvantaged small business firms in technological innovations. The 
USDA SBIR program is carried out in three separate phases:
    1. Phase I awards to determine, insofar as possible, the scientific 
and technical merit and feasibility of ideas that appear to have 
commercial potential.
    2. Phase II awards to further develop work from Phase I that meets 
particular program needs and exhibits potential for commercial 
application.
    3. Phase III awards where commercial applications of SBIR- funded 
R(Research)/R&D (Research and Development) are funded by non-Federal 
sources of capital; or where products, services or further research 
intended for use by the Federal Government are funded by follow-on non-
SBIR Federal Funding Agreements. The USDA SBIR Program is administered 
by the National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) of the USDA. 
NIFA exercises overall oversight for the policies and procedures 
governing SBIR grants awarded to the U.S. small business community, 
representing approximately 2.5% to 2.8% of the USDA extramural R/R&D 
budget. This represents approximately $201M in Phase II grants awarded 
to the U.S. small business community from 1994 to 2014. In 1982, the 
Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Grants Program (Pub. L. 97-
219, 96 stat. 217), 15 U.S.C. 638, was authorized, and in 2016, The 
National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017 (Pub. L. 114-
328), enacted on December 23, 2016, reauthorized the SBIR and STTR 
programs through September 30, 2022.
    The Lifecycle Certification form is used by USDA to ensure Small 
Business Concerns continue to meet specific program requirements during 
the life of the Funding Agreement. The GAO determined that the 
previously approved form currently in use has material deviations from 
the Small Business Administration (SBA) model language. NIFA is 
proposing minor changes to two of the questions on the form. The 
proposed changes contain clarifying language intended to address the 
GAO's recommendation that the language on the Lifecycle Certification 
form should match the model SBA language.
    Estimate of Burden: The annual public reporting burden for the 
collection of information is estimated to average one (1) hour per 
response. Respondents include businesses or other for-profit concerns.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 110.
    Estimated Number of Responses per Respondent: 2.
    Estimated Burden per Response: 1 hour.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden on Respondents: 500 hours.
    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 will 
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 to be 
collected; 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.
    All responses to this notice will be summarized and included in the 
request to OMB for approval. All comments will become a matter of 
public record.
    Obtaining a Copy of the Information Collection: A copy of the 
information collection and related instructions may be obtained free of 
charge by contacting Robert Martin as directed above.

    Done at Washington, DC, this day of November 18, 2021.
Carrie L. Castille,
Director, National Institute of Food and Agriculture, U.S. Department 
of Agriculture.
[FR Doc. 2021-25896 Filed 11-26-21; 8:45 am]
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