Notice2021-14108
Agency Information Collection Activities: Comment Request
Primary source
Metadata and text below are from the Federal Register, a public-domain U.S. government work. Always verify the official published version before relying on it for any legal matter.
Published
July 1, 2021
Issuing agencies
National Science Foundation
Abstract
The National Science Foundation (NSF) has submitted the following information collection requirement to OMB for review and clearance under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. This is the second notice for public comment; the first was published in the Federal Register and one comment was received. NSF is forwarding the proposed renewal submission to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for clearance simultaneously with the publication of this second notice.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 86 Issue 124 (Thursday, July 1, 2021)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 124 (Thursday, July 1, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 35140-35141]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2021-14108]
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NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION
Agency Information Collection Activities: Comment Request
AGENCY: National Science Foundation.
ACTION: Submission for OMB review; comment request.
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SUMMARY: The National Science Foundation (NSF) has submitted the
following information collection requirement to OMB for review and
clearance under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. This is the second
notice for public comment; the first was published in the Federal
Register and one comment was received. NSF is forwarding the proposed
renewal submission to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for
clearance simultaneously with the publication of this second notice.
DATES: Written comments and recommendations for the proposed
information collection should be sent within 30 days of publication of
this notice to <a href="http://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAmain">www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAmain</a>. Find this particular
information collection by selecting ``Currently under 30-day Review--
Open for Public Comments'' or by using the search function.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Suzanne H. Plimpton, Reports Clearance
Officer, National Science Foundation, 2415 Eisenhower Avenue,
Alexandria, VA 22314, or send email to <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#2152514d484c51554e614f52470f464e57"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="0370736f6a6e73776c436d70652d646c75">[email protected]</span></a>. 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). Comments regarding this information collection are
best assured of having their full effect if received within 30 days of
this notification. Copies of the submission(s) may be obtained by
calling 703-292-7556.
NSF may not conduct or sponsor a collection of information unless
the collection of information displays a currently valid OMB control
number, and the agency informs potential persons who are to respond to
the collection of information that such persons are not required to
respond to the collection of information unless it displays a currently
valid OMB control number.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Summary of Comments on the National Science Foundation Proposal and
Award Policies and Procedures Guide and NSF's Responses
NSF received one comment in response to the First Federal Register
notice published on April 1, 2021, at 86 FR 17207. The comment and
summary responses are included in the supporting statement for the
information collection request.
Title of Collection: National Science Foundation's Education and
Training Application Pilot.
OMB Approval Number: 3145-0248.
Type of Request: Intent to seek approval to extend with revision an
information collection for three years.
The National Science Foundation (NSF) seeks to develop and pilot
test an electronic data collection system that supports applications to
education and training opportunities funded by NSF and allows tracking
of participants' program experiences and career outcomes over time. The
pilot aims to provide NSF with information to inform decisions in
developing an effective and low-burden approach to collect data needed
to monitor programs, report to NSF leadership, and comply with
congressional requirements.
The main goal of the current project is to build upon a system
originally developed for the NSF Research Experiences for
Undergraduates (REU) program. The work involves revising and enhancing
the system based on the lessons from the initial REU pilot and
conducting further testing to prepare it for adoption for the REU
program and other education and training programs at NSF. The original
REU data system was designed to collect data required by Congress in
the America COMPETES Reauthorization Act of 2010, which states that
students in the REU program must ``be tracked, for employment and
continued matriculation in STEM fields, through receipt of the
undergraduate degree and for at least three years thereafter'' (Section
514[a][6] of Pub. L. 111-358). A study conducted by the Science and
Technology Policy Institute determined the need for NSF to create new
data collection because ``the status quo of [REU] participants
providing demographic information to NSF's Research Performance Report
System, coupled with voluntary tracking of participants' career choices
by the REU [principal investigators], was clearly insufficient to meet
the [congressional] mandate'' \i\. To respond to the America COMPETES
mandate, NSF commissioned a data system for the REU program. The
current project is the evolution of this early test that originated
with the REU program to leverage the system and scale its pilot test to
include other NSF programs that similarly invest in human capital
development. The new system--The Education and Training Application
(ETAP)--supports NSF's learning agenda and is in alignment with the
Foundations for Evidence-Based Policymaking Act of 2018 (Pub. L. 115-
435), which requires NSF to collect, use, or acquire data to support
decision making.
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\i\ Zuckerman, B.J. Doyle, A. Mudd, T. Jones, and G. Davis.
``Assessment of the Feasibility of Tracking Participants from the
National Science Foundation's Research Experience for Undergraduates
(REU) Sites Program.'' Final report Washington, DC: STPI, 2016.
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In addition to developing and enhancing the system, the present
study will pilot test collecting data from a sample of Sites that
volunteer to participate. (A Site is an instance of an NSF award
offering an education and training opportunity at a given point in
time.) By participating in this study, principal investigators (PIs)
from these Sites will experience the data collections firsthand and
provide feedback to help NSF improve the system before expanding its
use. For example, PIs will have an opportunity to determine whether the
system facilitates managing applications more efficiently than the
usual process, comment on whether the system is user friendly, assess
the usefulness of data reports the system produces, and suggest
enhancements to the system.
Four key activities define the pilot:
1. Testing a web-based approach to obtain basic background and
participation information while supporting applications to individual
Sites. Specifically, PIs choose whether they will be running a
competitive application process for their Site (for example, an REU
Site award recruiting participants nationally) or noncompetitive
application (for example, an REU Supplement award that invites its
participants). Data collected from applicants will therefore depend on
the type of application process for their Sites of interest. The system
will include the following:
<bullet> Common registration form. All applicants will need to
register to apply and participate in an NSF-funded opportunity
participating in the pilot. Individuals who are participating in awards
that do not have a competitive application process will only need to
complete a profile with basic demographic and contact information and
provide other information not captured in the profile but that is
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required for program monitoring and evaluation purposes, such as
students' current enrollment or class standing (if applicable).
<bullet> Additional application requirements. Individuals wishing
to apply for awards that run competitive applications will be able to
use the ETAP to apply to multiple NSF awards through a fully
operational electronic application. They will first complete the common
registration form (described above), which collects basic demographic
and contact information needed for analysis and tracking purposes.
Next, they will proceed to the application form, through which they
will submit additional information that competitive Sites require as
part of their applications, such as resume, transcripts, and contact
information for their references. PIs and other authorized staff will
use the system to provide information needed by prospective applicants
(such as the application deadline), retrieve applicant information,
record application decisions and participation status among admitted
applicants, and produce reports of data submitted by applicants to
their Sites.
2. Gathering program experiences and satisfaction. After
participating in the NSF program, participants will be administered an
exit survey to capture program experiences and participants' attitudes
and opinions.
3. Obtaining and integrating educational and employment
information. Following a sample of students who had used the
predecessor system (REU data system) to apply to the NSF award, this
study will do the following:
<bullet> Obtain information on educational outcomes from
administrative data (National Student Clearinghouse) that NSF can
purchase at low cost to the government and no burden to students
<bullet> Administer a short survey to obtain information on
employment outcomes
<bullet> Obtain information on research productivity outcomes (such
as publications or patents) from Web of Science, Scopus, and the United
States Patent and Trademark Office. (NSF already subscribes to these
administrative databases, so they are accessible through NSF systems.)
4. Conducting usability testing and gathering user feedback. This
testing will focus on new system enhancements or functionality and
seeks to obtain in-depth feedback from users on the common registration
form, additional application requirements, and data reports available.
Estimate of Burden: At present, most education and training
opportunities funded by NSF use applications that are submitted
directly to each Site, if such applications are required as is the case
with the REU Sites program. Sites might run competitive and
noncompetitive applications to select their program participants. We
estimate that individuals applying for noncompetitive Sites will spend
3.25 hours submitting information through the ETAP system; for
competitive Sites, this estimate is 7 hours. We estimate that
individuals writing letters of reference for students will spend 0.5
hours drafting a letter in support of a student's application to a
competitive Site. We estimate that PIs (or their designated users) will
spend 4.7 hours using the system to track and manage applications to
their Site.
Respondents: Individuals.
Estimated Number of Respondents: 66,499.
Estimated Total Annual Burden on Respondents: 146,710 hours.
Frequency of Responses: Three rounds of data collection.
Dated: June 28, 2021.
Suzanne H. Plimpton,
Reports Clearance Officer, National Science Foundation.
[FR Doc. 2021-14108 Filed 6-30-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7555-01-P
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