[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 225 (Wednesday, November 23, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 71690-71692]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-25490]


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NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION


Notice and Request for Comments

AGENCY: National Science Foundation (NSF).

ACTION: Notice and request for comments.

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SUMMARY: The National Science Foundation (NSF) is announcing plans to 
establish this information collection request. In accordance with the 
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, and as part of its continuing effort 
to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, NSF is providing an 
opportunity for public comment on this proposed information collection 
request. After obtaining and considering public comment, NSF will 
prepare the submission requesting Office of Management and Budget (OMB) 
clearance of this collection.

DATES: Written comments on this notice must be received by January 23, 
2023, for 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: Evaluation of NSF's Eddie Bernice Johnson 
INCLUDES (Inclusion across the Nation of Communities of Learners of 
Underrepresented Discoverers in Engineering and Science) Initiative 
(referred to as ``INCLUDES'' hereafter)
    OMB Number: 3145-NEW.
    Expiration Date of Approval: Not applicable.
    Type of Request: Intent to seek approval to establish an 
information collection request to provide data necessary to evaluate 
the INCLUDES initiative.
    Abstract: INCLUDES is a comprehensive national initiative to 
enhance U.S. leadership in science, technology, engineering, and 
mathematics (STEM) discoveries and innovations by catalyzing the STEM 
enterprise for inclusive change, resulting in a STEM workforce that 
reflects the diverse population of the Nation. The INCLUDES Initiative 
supports NSF's commitment to equity, inclusion, and broadening 
participation in the STEM fields and NSF's strategic objectives 
communicated in the NSF Strategic Plan for Fiscal Years (FY) 2022-2026.
    More specifically, the INCLUDES initiative seeks to improve 
collaborative efforts for systemic change in STEM education and 
professions for groups that have been historically underrepresented in 
STEM fields. The historically underrepresented groups include African 
Americans/Blacks,

[[Page 71691]]

Alaska Natives/Native Americans, Hispanics/Latinos, Native Hawaiians, 
and Other Pacific Islanders, persons with disabilities, persons from 
economically disadvantaged backgrounds, and women and girls. INCLUDES 
aims to enhance these historically underrepresented groups' preparation 
for STEM education and professions, increase their participation in the 
STEM workforce, and ensure their contributions in STEM.
    Significant advancement in the inclusion of underrepresented groups 
in STEM education and professions is expected to occur through 
collaboration among a diverse group of institutions that support the 
pathways of STEM students and professionals. This type of collaboration 
requires a strong infrastructure to facilitate the work and enable 
progress toward goals. INCLUDES has established five design elements of 
collaborative infrastructure that are essential to funded projects: (1) 
shared vision; (2) partnerships; (3) goals and metrics; (4) leadership 
and communication; and (5) expansion, sustainability, and scale. The 
Shared Measures framework for the INCLUDES initiative provides a common 
structure for documenting funded projects' individual and collective 
progress toward implementing the design elements of collaborative 
infrastructure, and implementing systemic approaches to solving 
broadening participation challenges in STEM.
    NSF is requesting OMB approval to collect data for the evaluation 
of the INCLUDES initiative. The data will be used to:
    1. Evaluate the initiative's effectiveness in broadening the 
participation of historically underrepresented groups in STEM education 
and the STEM workforce.
    2. Assess the maturity of Alliances in building collaborative 
infrastructure and the degree to which their maturity contributes to 
progress toward broadening participation outcomes.
    3. Document the expansion, sustainability, and scale of the 
relationships and networks established by the initiative.
    4. Examine the degree to which leadership, actions, activities, and 
structures are inclusive of historically underrepresented groups.
    The proposed information collection will use self-completed 
surveys, interviews, and focus groups to obtain data essential to the 
evaluation. Data will be collected using:
     A national survey of representatives of the different 
project types funded by the INCLUDES initiative, including Alliances 
(the largest funded project type investment), Planning Grants, Design 
and Development Launch Pilots (DDLPP), Collaborative Change Consortia, 
Network Connectors, Conferences, and Alliance partners. Specifically, 
this survey will ask about the demographics of project leads, the 
engagement of organizations focus on serving underserved communities, 
the presence of the five elements of collaborative infrastructure, and 
the impact of the Coordination Hub. Survey data will allow the 
evaluation to corroborate the information with multiple representatives 
from each of the above types of projects and with focus group findings. 
The survey questionnaire will contain mostly close-ended response 
options with a few open-ended options. Survey findings will inform (1) 
the determination of the maturity of the Alliances and correlations 
between their maturity and broadening participation outcomes, (2) the 
implementation of inclusive and equity-centered practices, and (3) the 
assessment of the expansion, sustainability, and scale of partnerships 
and networks.
     Focus groups with Alliance leads and program/project 
beneficiaries (i.e., the individuals who are expected to gain access to 
STEM education and professions because of the Alliance's efforts); and 
leads of Planning Grants, DDLPs, Collaborative Change Consortia, 
Network Connectors, and Conferences. The focus groups will ask about 
how Alliances and their partners are inclusive and equitable in their 
relationships, decision-making processes, project implementation, and 
engagement of community stakeholders; systemic changes; and impact on 
program/project beneficiaries. Focus groups findings will allow the 
evaluation to corroborate the survey findings.
     Interviews with Coordination Hub staff to learn more about 
implementation outcomes. These findings will corroborate the 
information collected about the impact of the Hub through the survey 
and focus groups.
    Use of the Information: The data collected will be used for NSF 
internal reports to inform program decision-making and internal studies 
of the initiative. Select information may be used for public 
stakeholder reports. Public reporting of evaluation findings will be in 
aggregate form, and any personal identifiers will be removed. Plans for 
public release of findings are consistent with the transparency and 
reproducibility principle in the NSF Evaluation Policy (https://www.nsf.gov/od/oia/eac/PDFs/nsf_evaluation_policy_september_2020.pdf, 
p. 3), ``NSF promotes transparency in the planning, implementation, and 
reporting phases of evaluation activities to promote dialogue that 
enhances quality, enables accountability, and prevents tailoring that 
influences findings. Transparency is crucial to support reproducibility 
and contribute to advancing knowledge. Whenever possible, completed 
evaluations will be released in a timely manner and with sufficient 
detail to support use of findings (including comparability to the 
existing literature) and replication.''
    Expected respondents: The respondents will be (1) INCLUDES 
Coordination Hub staff; (2) leads/representatives of Alliances and 
their partners; (3) program beneficiaries of the Alliances' efforts 
(e.g., students, faculty, and other individuals from the 
underrepresented groups who have access to STEM education and 
professions because of the Alliances); and (4) leads of Planning 
Grants, DDLPs, Network Connectors, Collaborative Change Consortia, and 
Conferences. The number of respondents every year from 2023 until 2026 
will increase as INCLUDES makes new awards, grant periods conclude for 
each project type, and projects expand their networks. The estimated 
total potential respondents for the survey, interviews, and focus group 
are shown in Table 1.

                    Table 1--Estimated Number of Respondents for Each Data Collection Method
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                                       2023            2024            2025            2026            Total
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Survey..........................           2,000           2,200           2,400           2,600           9,200
Interviews......................               6               6               6               6              24
Focus groups....................             364             354             278             238           1,234
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[[Page 71692]]

    Response rates: For the survey, NSF anticipates a minimum of 50% 
response rate based on (1) past surveys administered by the 
Coordination Hub which indicated an average response rate of 
approximately 40% and (2) studies that suggest a minimum 60% response 
rate for online surveys is acceptable and reasonable to expect with 
multiple follow-ups to non-respondents (Fincham, 2008; Hendra & Hill, 
2019). For the interviews and focus groups, NSF anticipates a minimum 
of 75% response rate based on qualitative research studies (Kelley et 
al., 2003) and 100% response rate for the Coordination Hub staff.
    Estimate burden to the public: The amount of time to complete the 
survey will be approximately 20 minutes. NSF estimates the average 
annual burden for the survey will be no more than 383 hours (about 6 
weeks) per year ([9,200 individuals x 50% response x 20 minutes]/4 
years].
    The amount of time to participate in the interviews will be 
approximately 60 minutes. NSF estimates the average annual burden for 
the evaluation will be no more than 6 hours (almost one day) per [24 
individuals x 100% response x 60 minutes]/4 years).
    The amount of time to participate in the focus groups will be 
approximately 60 minutes. NSF estimates the average annual burden for 
the evaluation will be no more than 231 hours (about 4 weeks) per year 
([1,234 individuals x 75% response x 60 minutes]/4 years).
    Comments: Written comments are invited on: (a) whether the proposed 
collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of 
the functions of NSF, including suggestions on increasing the practical 
utility of the information; (b) the accuracy of NSF'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 automated 
collection techniques or other forms of information technology.
    Please submit one copy of your comments by only one method. All 
submissions received must include the agency name and collection name 
identified above for this information collection. Commenters are 
strongly encouraged to transmit their comments electronically via 
email. Comments, including any personal information provided become a 
matter of public record. They will be summarized and/or included in the 
request for Office of Management and Budget approval of the information 
collection request.

References

    Fincham, J. (2008). Response rates and responsiveness for surveys, 
standards, and the Journal. American Journal of Pharmaceutical 
Education, 72(2), 1-3.
    Hendra, R. & Hill, A. (2019). Rethinking response rates: New 
evidence of little relationship between survey response rates and 
nonresponse bias. Evaluation Review, 43(5), 307-330.
    Kelley, K., Clark, B., Brown, V., & Sitzia, J. (2003). Good 
practice in the conduct and reporting of survey research. International 
Journal for Quality in Health Care, 15(3), 261-266.

    Dated: November 17, 2022.
Suzanne H. Plimpton,
Reports Clearance Officer, National Science Foundation.
[FR Doc. 2022-25490 Filed 11-22-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7555-01-P