Notice2021-19262
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
September 7, 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 22 comments were 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 170 (Tuesday, September 7, 2021)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 170 (Tuesday, September 7, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 50183-50185]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2021-19262]
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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 22 comments were 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#f182819d989c81859eb19f8297df969e87"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="681b18040105181c0728061b0e460f071e">[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's Major
Facilities Guide
The draft Major Facilities Guide were made available for review by
the public on the NSF website at <a href="https://www.nsf.gov/bfa/lfo/lfo_documents.jsp">https://www.nsf.gov/bfa/lfo/lfo_documents.jsp</a>. In response to the Federal Register notice published
February 2, 2021, at 86 FR 7884, NSF received 22 comments from 2
different institutions/individuals. A summary of the comments on the
Major Facilities Guide follows:
<bullet> 7 requested clarifications and content regarding the
fourth pillar, Mission Alignment, of information security programs for
major facility cybersecurity programs;
<bullet> 12 requested clarifications and updates on the processes
and requirements associated with NSF oversight of the various stages of
the facility lifecycle; and
<bullet> 3 requested clarifications regarding NSF ``No Cost
Overrun'' Policy and budget contingency for the construction stage of
major facility projects.
The full comments and NSF's response may be found via: <a href="http://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain">http://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain</a> and <a href="https://www.nsf.gov/bfa/lfo/lfo_documents.jsp">https://www.nsf.gov/bfa/lfo/lfo_documents.jsp</a>.
Title of Collection: Major Facilities Guide.
[[Page 50184]]
OMB Approval Number: 3145-0239.
Type of Request: Intent to seek approval to renew with revisions an
information collection for three years.
Proposed Project: The National Science Foundation Act of 1950 (Pub.
L. 81-507) set forth NSF's mission and purpose:
``To promote the progress of science; to advance the national
health, prosperity, and welfare; to secure the national defense. * *
*''
The Act authorized and directed NSF to initiate and support:
<bullet> Basic scientific research and research fundamental to the
engineering process;
<bullet> Programs to strengthen scientific and engineering research
potential;
<bullet> Science and engineering education programs at all levels
and in all the various fields of science and engineering;
<bullet> Programs that provide a source of information for policy
formulation; and
<bullet> Other activities to promote these ends.
Among Federal agencies, NSF is a leader in providing the academic
community with advanced instrumentation needed to conduct state-of-the-
art research and to educate the next generation of scientists,
engineers and technical workers. The knowledge generated by these tools
sustains U.S. leadership in science and engineering (S&E) to drive the
U.S. economy and secure the future. NSF's responsibility is to ensure
that the research and education communities have access to these
resources, and to provide the support needed to utilize them optimally,
and implement timely upgrades.
The scale of advanced instrumentation ranges from small research
instruments to shared resources or facilities that can be used by
entire communities. The demand for such instrumentation is very high,
and is growing rapidly, along with the pace of discovery. For major
facilities and shared infrastructure, the need is particularly high.
This trend is expected to accelerate in the future as increasing
numbers of researchers and educators rely on such major facilities,
instruments, and databases to provide the reach to make the next
intellectual leaps.
NSF currently provides support for facility construction from two
accounts: The Major Research Equipment and Facility Construction
(MREFC) account, and the Research and Related Activities (R&RA)
account. The MREFC account, established in FY 1995, is a separate
budget line item that provides an agency-wide mechanism, permitting
directorates to undertake major facility projects greater than $100M
and mid-scale research infrastructure projects between $20M and $100M.
Smaller mid-scale and research instrumentation projects continue to be
supported from the R&RA Account.
Facilities are defined as shared-use infrastructure,
instrumentation and equipment that are accessible to a broad community
of researchers and/or educators. Facilities may be centralized or may
consist of distributed installations. They may incorporate large-scale
networking or computational infrastructure, multi-user instruments or
networks of such instruments, or other infrastructure, instrumentation
and equipment having a major impact on a broad segment of a scientific
or engineering discipline. Historically, awards have been made for such
diverse projects as accelerators, telescopes, research vessels and
aircraft, and geographically distributed but networked sensors and
instrumentation.
The growth and diversification of major facility projects require
that NSF remain attentive to the ever-changing issues and challenges
inherent in their planning, construction, operation, management and
oversight. Most importantly, dedicated, competent NSF and awardee staff
are needed to manage and oversee these projects; giving the attention
and oversight that good practice dictates and that proper
accountability to taxpayers and Congress demands. To this end, there is
also a need for consistent, documented requirements and procedures to
be understood and used by NSF program managers and awardees for all
such major projects.
Use of the Information: Facilities are an essential part of the
science and engineering enterprise, and supporting them is one major
responsibility of the National Science Foundation (NSF). NSF makes
awards to external entities--primarily universities, consortia of
universities or non-profit organizations--to undertake construction,
management and operation of facilities. Such awards frequently take the
form of cooperative agreements. NSF does not directly construct or
operate the facilities it supports. However, NSF retains responsibility
for overseeing their development, management and successful
performance. The Major Facilities Guide is intended to:
<bullet> Provide step-by-step guidance for NSF staff and awardees
to carry out effective project planning, management and oversight of
major facilities while considering the varying requirements of a
diverse portfolio;
<bullet> Clearly state the policies, processes and procedures
pertinent at each stage of a facility's life cycle from development
through construction, operations, and termination; and
<bullet> Document and disseminate ``good practices'' identified
over time so that NSF and awardees can carry out their responsibilities
more effectively.
This version of the Major Facilities Guide reflects new legislation
applicable to major facilities, NSF's expectations for construction
schedules for alignment with good practices, minimum competencies for
project personnel, and guidance on the content of Segregation of
Funding Plans and how to scale earned value management systems (EVMS).
The Guide does not replace existing formal procedures required for all
NSF awards, which are described in the, Proposal & Award Policies &
Procedures Guide (PAPPG). Instead, it draws upon and supplements it for
the purpose of providing detailed guidance on NSF policy and procedures
related to the planning and oversight of major facilities and mid-scale
projects. All facilities projects require merit and technical review,
as well as approval of certain deliverables. The level of review and
approval varies substantially from standard grants, as does the level
of oversight needed to ensure appropriate and proper accountability for
federal funds. The requirements, recommended procedures and best
practices presented in the Guide apply to any facility significant
enough to require close and substantial interaction with the Foundation
and the National Science Board.
This Guide will be updated periodically to reflect changes in
requirements, policies and/or procedures. Award Recipients are expected
to monitor and adopt the requirements and best practices included in
the Guide which are aimed at improving management and oversight of
major facilities projects and at enabling the most efficient and cost-
effective delivery of tools to the research and education communities.
The submission of proposals and subsequent project documentation to
the Foundation related to the development, construction and operations
of major facilities is part of the collection of information. This
information is used to help NSF fulfill this responsibility in
supporting merit-based research and education projects in all the
scientific and engineering disciplines. The Foundation also has a
continuing commitment to provide oversight on facilities development
and construction which must be balanced against monitoring its
information
[[Page 50185]]
collection so as to identify and address any excessive reporting
burdens.
NSF has approximately twenty-two (22) major facilities in various
stages of development, construction, operations and termination.
Facilities undergoing a major upgrade may be classified in both design
or construction and operations at the same time. Two to four (2 to 4)
new awards are made approximately every five (5) years based on science
community infrastructure needs and availability of funding. Among the
twenty-five major facilities, there are approximately seven (7)
facilities annually that are either in development or construction.
These stages require the highest level of reporting and management
documentation per the Major Facilities Guide. NSF estimates there will
be twelve (12) mid-scale projects in progress at a given time.
Burden to the Public: The Foundation estimates that approximately
five (5) Full Time Equivalents (FTEs) are necessary for each major
facility project in design or construction to respond to NSF
performance and financial reporting and project management
documentation requirements on an annual basis; or 10,400 hours per
year. The Foundation estimates approximately one and half (1.5) FTE for
a major facility in operations to respond to NSF performance and
financial reporting on an annual basis; or 3,120 hours per year. For
mid-scale projects, the Foundation estimates approximately one (1) Full
Time Equivalent (FTE's) is necessary for each mid-scale project to
respond to NSF project management documentation requirements on an
annual basis; or 2,080 hours per year. With seven (7) major facilities
in design or construction and eighteen (18) in operations and twelve
(12) mid-scale projects, this equates to roughly 165,000 public burden
hours annually.
Dated: September 1, 2021.
Suzanne H. Plimpton,
Reports Clearance Officer, National Science Foundation.
[FR Doc. 2021-19262 Filed 9-3-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7555-01-P
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