[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 7 (Tuesday, January 11, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 1440-1441]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-00336]


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NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION


Agency Information Collection Activities: Comment Request; 
Convergence Accelerator Evaluation & Monitoring Plan

AGENCY: National Science Foundation.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The National Science Foundation (NSF) is announcing plans for 
a new data collection. In accordance with the requirements of the 
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, we are providing an 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 three years.

DATES: Written comments on this notice must be received within March 
14, 2022 to be assured consideration. Comments received after that date 
will be considered to the extent practicable. Please send comments to 
the 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: Generic Clearance for the Convergence 
Accelerator Evaluation & Monitoring Plan.
    OMB Number: 3145-NEW.
    Expiration Date of Approval: Not applicable.
    Type of Request: New information collection.

[[Page 1441]]

    Abstract: The information collection will enable the Evaluation and 
Assessment Capability (EAC) Section within NSF to garner quantitative 
and qualitative information that will be used to inform programmatic 
improvements, efficiencies, and enhanced program monitoring for the 
Convergence Accelerator (CA). This information collection, which 
entails collecting information from CA applicants and grantees through 
a series of surveys, interviews, and case studies, is in accordance 
with the Agency's commitment to improving service delivery as well as 
the Agency's strategic goal to ``advance the capability of the Nation 
to meet current and future challenges.''
    For this effort, four survey instruments have been developed, each 
of which will include closed-ended and open-ended questions to generate 
quantitative and qualitative data. For ease of use for our respondent 
pool, each of the four survey instruments will be programmed into 
interactive web surveys and distributed to eligible respondents by 
email. The surveys, which will serve as a census for all applicable CA 
applicants and/or grantees, will be used to collect baseline measures 
at the start of the program and vital information on how grantees 
progress through the program. Follow-up interviews will be conducted 
with project team leaders, such as Principal Investigators (PIs) and 
Principal Directors (PDs), and case studies that will use a project 
team as the unit of analysis will be used to collect qualitatively rich 
discursive and observational information that cannot be collected 
within a web survey. Both follow-up interviews and case studies will be 
conducted virtually with the possibility of in-person interviews and 
non-participant observation to be held in the future.
    NSF/EAC will only submit a collection for approval under this 
generic clearance if it meets the following conditions:
    [cir] The collection is voluntary;
    [cir] The collection has a reasonably low burden for respondents 
(based on considerations of total burden hours, total number of 
respondents, or burden-hours per respondent) and is low-cost for the 
Federal government;
    [cir] The collection is non-controversial and does not raise issues 
of concern for other Federal agencies;
    [cir] The collection is targeted to the solicitation of opinions 
from respondents who have applied to the CA program (including those 
that have submitted successful grant applications and subsequently 
received funding);
    [cir] Personally identifiable information (PII) is collected only 
to the extent necessary; and
    [cir] Information gathered will be used for the dual and 
interrelated purposes of disseminating information about the CA program 
and using this information to make programmatic improvements, 
efficiencies, and enhanced program monitoring for the CA.
    Feedback collected under this generic clearance provides useful 
information for the continued evolution of the CA program, but it may 
not yield data that can be generalized to the overall population in all 
instances. Our qualitative data collection activities--follow-up 
interviews and case studies--are designed to investigate outlier CA 
teams or CA teams that demonstrate exceptional performance or 
successfully overcome significant challenges in their work with the CA. 
While the web surveys, which will be deployed at different times during 
the program, will collect data that will help the EAC monitor trends 
over time and assess overall program performance, the follow-up 
interviews and case studies will gather supplemental data that is more 
specific to individual CA teams.
    As a general matter, this information collection will not include 
questions of a sensitive nature, such as sexual behavior and attitudes, 
religious beliefs, and other matters that are commonly considered 
private.
    Below we provide NSF's projected average estimates for the next 
three years:
    Affected Public: Individuals and households, Businesses and other 
for-profit organizations, Not-for-profit institutions, Federal 
government.
    Average Expected Annual Number of Activities: 10.
    Respondents: 300 per activity.
    Annual Responses: 3,000.
    Frequency of Response: Once per request.
    Average Minutes per Response: 75.
    Burden Hours: 1,400.
    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: January 6, 2022.
Suzanne H. Plimpton,
Reports Clearance Officer, National Science Foundation.
[FR Doc. 2022-00336 Filed 1-10-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7555-01-P