[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 102 (Thursday, May 26, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 31973-31974]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-11281]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

National Institute of Food and Agriculture


Notice of Intent To Extend and Revise 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 
extend and revise a previously approved information collection, 
entitled NIFA Proposal Review Process. This information collection 
replaces an existing information collection, also entitled NIFA 
Proposal Review Process.

DATES: Written comments on this notice must be received by July 25, 
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: NIFA Proposal Review Process.
    OMB Control Number: 0524-0041.
    Expiration Date of Current Approval: 8/31/2022.
    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 three-year extension for the current 
collection entitled ``NIFA Proposal Review Process.'' NIFA is also 
proposing to update the collection so that the previously approved 
Reviewer Questionnaire, as well as the Conflict of Interest and 
Confidentiality Certification Form are both available on NIFA's Peer 
Review System (PRS) web-based portal. Additionally, NIFA is proposing 
some minor updates to the wording of questions in the Reviewer 
Questionnaire in order to ensure that peer review panels have the 
required scientific and technical expertise, comprised of research, 
education, extension, and other subject matter experts as appropriate, 
while remaining inclusive, representative, and diverse. Furthermore, 
the data collected through this questionnaire will ensure that NIFA is 
compliant in its Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) practices.
    Abstract: The National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) is 
responsible for performing a review of proposals submitted to NIFA 
competitive award programs in accordance with section 103(a) of the 
Agricultural Research, Extension, and Education Reform Act of 1998, 7 
U.S.C. 7613(a). Reviews are undertaken to ensure that projects 
supported by NIFA are of high quality, and are consistent with the 
goals and requirements of the funding program.
    Proposals submitted to NIFA undergo a programmatic evaluation to 
determine worthiness of Federal support. The evaluations consist of a 
peer panel review and may also entail an assessment by Federal 
employees and electronically submitted (ad-hoc) reviews in the Peer 
Review System.
    The information collected from the evaluations is used to support 
NIFA grant programs. NIFA uses the results of the proposal evaluation 
to determine whether a proposal should be declined or recommended for 
award. When NIFA has rendered a decision, copies of reviews, excluding 
the names of the reviewers, and summaries of review panel 
deliberations, if any, are provided to the submitting Project Director.
    Given the highly technical nature of many of these proposals, the 
quality of the peer review greatly depends on the appropriate matching 
of the subject matter of the proposal with the scientific and technical 
expertise of the potential reviewer. In order to obtain this 
information, an electronic questionnaire is used to collect information 
about potential panel and ad-hoc reviewers. If the reviewer is already 
in the NIFA database, the questionnaire asks potential reviewers to 
update their basic biographical information including address, contact 
information, professional expertise, and their availability to review 
for NIFA in the future. If the reviewer is new, they are prompted to 
complete the questionnaire. This information has been invaluable in the 
NIFA review process, which has been recognized by the grantee and 
grantor community for its quality.
    The applications and associated materials made available to 
reviewers, as well as the discussions that take place during panel 
review meetings are strictly confidential and are not to be disclosed 
to or discussed with anyone who has not been officially designated to 
participate in the review process. While each panelist certifies at the 
time of preparing a review they do not have a conflict-of-interest with 
a particular application and will maintain its confidentiality in the 
Peer Review System, a certification of their intent at the time of the 
panel review proceedings is collected to emphasize and reinforce 
confidentiality not only of applications and reviews but also panel 
discussions. On the Conflict-of-Interest and Confidentiality 
Certification Form, the panelist affirms they understand the

[[Page 31974]]

conflict-of-interest guidelines and will not be involved in the review 
of the application(s) where a conflict exists. The panelist also 
affirms their intent to maintain the confidentiality of the panel 
process and not disclose to another individual any information related 
to the peer review or use any information for personal benefit.
    Estimate of Burden: NIFA estimates that anywhere from one hour to 
twenty hours may be required to review a proposal. It is estimated that 
approximately five hours are required to review an average proposal. 
Each proposal receives an average of four reviews, accounting for an 
annual burden of 20 hours. NIFA estimates it receives 4,600 competitive 
applications each year. The total annual burden on reviewers is 92,000 
hours. NIFA estimates that the potential reviewer questionnaire takes 
an estimated 10 minutes to complete. The database consists of 
approximately 50,000 reviewers. The total annual burden of 
questionnaire is 8,330 hours. NIFA estimates that the potential 
Conflict-of-Interest and Confidentiality Certification Form takes an 
estimated 10 minutes to complete. The agency has approximately 1,000 
panelists each year. The total annual burden of the certification form 
is 167 hours. The total annual burden of the component of the entire 
review process is 100,497 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 May 13, 2022.
Dionne Toombs,
Acting Director, National Institute of Food and Agriculture, U.S. 
Department of Agriculture.
[FR Doc. 2022-11281 Filed 5-25-22; 8:45 am]
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