[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 123 (Tuesday, June 28, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 38428-38429]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-13728]


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NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION


Agency Information Collection Activities: Comment Request; 
National Science Foundation Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR)/
Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Pre-Award Information 
Collection

AGENCY: National Science Foundation.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The National Science Foundation (NSF) is announcing plans to 
establish this collection. In accordance with the requirements of the 
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, we are providing 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 3 years.

DATES: Written comments on this notice must be received by August 29, 
2022 to be assured consideration. Comments received after that date 
will be considered to the extent practicable. Send comments to 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

[[Page 38429]]

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: National Science Foundation (NSF) Small 
Business Innovation Research (SBIR)/Small Business Technology Transfer 
(STTR) Pre-Award Information Collection.
    OMB Control No.: 3145-New.
    Expiration Date of Approval: Not applicable.
    Abstract: The NSF SBIR/STTR programs focus on transforming 
scientific discovery into products and services with commercial 
potential and/or societal benefit. Unlike fundamental or basic research 
activities that focus on scientific and engineering discoveries, the 
NSF SBIR/STTR programs support the creation of opportunities to move 
fundamental science and engineering out of the lab and into the market 
at scale, through startups and small businesses representing deep 
technology ventures.
    The NSF SBIR/STTR programs have two phases: Phase I and Phase II. 
Phase I is a 6-12 month experimental or theoretical investigation that 
allows the awardees to determine the scientific and technical 
feasibility, as well as the commercial merit of the idea or concept. 
Phase II further develops the proposed concept, with a goal of working 
toward the commercial launch of the new product, process, or service 
being developed.
    The NSF SBIR/STTR programs request the Office of Management and 
Budget (OMB) approval of this clearance that will allow the programs to 
collect information from a selected group of applicants--those that 
have been reviewed by independent experts and that NSF Program 
Directors are considering recommending for funding--for the purpose of 
making a funding decision. This information includes, but is not 
exclusive to, a list of company officers and the corresponding 
ownership status of each company officer within the startup, whether 
the startup is associated or affiliated with other companies, whether 
there exist any relationships (personal, financial, and/or 
professional) between project personnel, and the locations of all the 
facilities where significant research will be performed for the 
proposed project. Such data will enable the NSF Program Directors to 
evaluate a given company's business structure, ascertain the level of 
commitment of the Principal Investigator (PI) and co-PIs to the startup 
venture, and identify conflicts of interests (if any), as part of the 
due diligence process that the programs undertake to verify there are 
no fraudulent or inappropriate business practices prior to recommending 
the small business for an award.
    Following standard OMB requirements, NSF will request OMB approval 
in advance and provide OMB with a copy of the form containing these 
questions. Data collected will be used strictly for due-diligence, 
auditing, and/or legal purposes, and are needed for effective pre-award 
management, administration, and/or program monitoring. The applicants, 
if being considered for award, will only be asked to submit a signed 
form containing their responses to the questions once for each NSF 
SBIR/STTR proposal (Phase I and II, if applicable). The data collection 
burden to the selected applicants will be limited to no more than 10 
minutes of the respondents' time in each instance. Summaries of the 
collected data are also being used to respond to queries from Congress, 
the Small Business Administration, the public, NSF's external merit 
reviewers who serve as advisors, including Committees of Visitors, 
NSF's Office of the Inspector General, and other pertinent stakeholders
    Respondents: PIs listed on the NSF SBIR/STTR proposals.
    Estimated Number of Annual Respondents: 750.
    Burden on the Public: The overall annualized cost to the 
respondents is estimated to be $5,500. The following table shows the 
annualized estimate of costs to PIs who are generally university 
assistant professors. This estimated hourly rate is based on a report 
from the American Association of University Professors, ``Annual Report 
on the Economic Status of the Profession, 2020-21,'' Academe, March-
April 2021, Survey Report Table 1. According to this report, the 
average salary of an assistant professor across all types of doctoral-
granting institutions was $91,408. When divided by the number of 
standard annual work hours (2,080), this calculates to approximately 
$44 per hour.

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                                                                   Burden  hours
                 Respondent type                     Number of          per           Average        Estimated
                                                    respondents     respondent      hourly rate     annual cost
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PIs.............................................             750           0.167             $44          $5,500
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    Total.......................................  ..............  ..............  ..............           5,500
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    Dated: June 23, 2022.
Suzanne H. Plimpton,
Reports Clearance Officer, National Science Foundation.
[FR Doc. 2022-13728 Filed 6-27-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7555-01-P