[Federal Register Volume 91, Number 20 (Friday, January 30, 2026)]
[Notices]
[Pages 4113-4114]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2026-01827]
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NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION
Agency Information Collection Activities: Comment Request;
National Science Foundation Research Traineeship Program Monitoring
System
AGENCY: National Science Foundation.
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: The National Science Foundation (NSF) is announcing plans to
renew this collection. In accordance with the requirements of the
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, we are providing the 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 March 31,
2026 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, Randolph Building, 401 Dulany
Street, Alexandria, VA 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: National Science Foundation Research
Traineeship (NRT) Monitoring System.
OMB Number: 3145-0263.
Expiration Date of Approval: December 31, 2026.
Type of Request: Intent to seek approval to renew an information
collection.
Proposed Project: The National Science Foundation's (NSF's)
Directorate for STEM Education (EDU) administers the NSF Research
Traineeship (NRT) program. The NRT program is designed to encourage the
development and implementation of bold, new, and potentially
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transformative models for STEM graduate education training. The NRT
program seeks to ensure that graduate students in research-based
master's and doctoral degree programs develop the skills, knowledge,
and competencies needed to pursue a range of STEM careers. NRT is
dedicated to the effective training of STEM graduate students in high-
priority interdisciplinary or convergent research areas through the use
of a comprehensive traineeship model that is innovative, evidence-
based, and aligned with changing workforce and research needs. In
support of national efforts to prepare the next generation of the
advanced STEM workforce, the program anticipates publishing a revised
notice of funding opportunity in spring 2026 for new research
traineeship projects. These new research traineeship awards, alongside
existing awards, will continue to use the NRT monitoring system.
Until 2021, NRT awardees provided NSF with information on their
activities through periodic research performance progress reports.
Beginning in 2021, the NRT monitoring system (also referred to as the
NRT reporting system) has replaced these reports with a tailored
program monitoring system that uses a web-based data collection system
to collect, review, and validate specific data on NRT awards. EDU is
committed to ensuring the efficient and effective means for the
reporting and analysis of data generated by funded projects within the
NRT program.
The NRT monitoring system includes subsets of questions aimed at
the different project participants (i.e., Principal Investigators
(PIs), and trainees) and allows for data analysis and data report
generation by authorized NSF staff. The collection generally includes
three categories of descriptive data: (1) Staff and project
participants (data that are necessary to determine individual-level
treatment and control groups for future third-party study or for
internal evaluation); (2) project implementation characteristics (also
necessary for future use to identify well-matched comparison groups);
and (3) project outputs (necessary to measure baseline for pre- and
post- NSF-funding-level impacts). NRT awardees will be required to
report data on an annual basis for the life of their award.
Use of the Information: NSF will primarily use the data from this
collection for program planning, management, performance and audit
purposes to respond to queries from the Congress, the public, NSF's
external merit reviewers who serve as advisors, the NSF's Office of the
Inspector General, and as a basis for either internal or third-party
evaluations of individual programs. This information is required for
effective administration, communication, program and project monitoring
and evaluation, and for measuring attainment of NSF's program, project,
and strategic goals, and as identified by the President's
Accountability in Government Initiative; GPRA, and the NSF's Strategic
Plan. The Foundation's Strategic Plan is available at https://www.nsf.gov/about/performance/strategic-plan.
Since this collection will primarily be used for accountability and
evaluation purposes, a census, rather than sampling design, typically
is necessary. At the individual project level, funding can be adjusted
based on individual project responses to some of the surveys. Some data
collected under this collection will serve as baseline data for
separate research and evaluation studies.
NSF-funded contract or grantee researchers and internal or external
evaluators in part may identify control, comparison, or treatment
groups for NSF's education and training portfolio using some of the
descriptive data gathered through this collection to conduct well-
designed, rigorous research and portfolio evaluation studies.
Burden on the Public: Estimated at 82 hours per award for 120
awards for a total of 9,840 hours (per year).
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 27, 2026.
Suzanne H. Plimpton,
Reports Clearance Officer, National Science Foundation.
[FR Doc. 2026-01827 Filed 1-29-26; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7555-01-P