Notice2021-21326
Agency Information Collection Activities: Comment Request; Grantee Reporting Requirements for NSF NRT Program
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 30, 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 no comments were received. NSF is forwarding the proposed new 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 187 (Thursday, September 30, 2021)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 187 (Thursday, September 30, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 54251-54252]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2021-21326]
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NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION
Agency Information Collection Activities: Comment Request;
Grantee Reporting Requirements for NSF NRT Program
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 no comments were received. NSF is forwarding the proposed
new submission to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for
[[Page 54252]]
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#e695968a8f8b969289a6889580c8818990"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="98ebe8f4f1f5e8ecf7d8f6ebfeb6fff7ee">[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: Title of Collection: NSF Research
Traineeship (NRT) Monitoring Program.
OMB Number: 3145-NEW.
Type of Request: Intent to seek approval to establish an
information collection.
Abstract: The National Science Foundation's (NSF's) Division of
Graduate Education (DGE) in the Directorate for Education and Human
Resources (EHR) administers the NSF Research Traineeship (NRT) program.
The NRT program is designed to encourage the development and
implementation of bold, new, and potentially 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 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.
Currently NRT awardees provide NSF with information on their
activities through periodic research performance progress reports. The
NRT program will now replace these reports with a tailored program
monitoring system that will use internet-based information and
communication technologies to collect, review, and validate specific
data on NRT awards. EHR is committed to ensuring the efficiency and
effectiveness with which respondents provide and NSF staff can access
and analyze data on funded projects within the NRT program.
The NRT monitoring system will include subsets of questions aimed
at the different project participants (i.e., Principal Investigators
(PIs) and trainees), and will allow for data analysis and data report
generation by authorized NSF staff. The collections will generally
include 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, and audit purposes to
respond to queries from the Congress, the public, NSF's external merit
reviewers who serve as advisors, including Committees of Visitors
(COVs), 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 FY 2018-2022
Strategic Plan may be found at: <a href="https://www.nsf.gov/publications/pub_summ.jsp?ods_key=nsf18045">https://www.nsf.gov/publications/pub_summ.jsp?ods_key=nsf18045</a>.
Since this collection will primarily be used for accountability and
evaluation purposes, including responding to queries from COVs and
other scientific experts, a census rather than a sampling design
typically is necessary. At the individual project level, funding can be
adjusted based on individual project's 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 and rigorous research and portfolio evaluation studies.
Use of the Information: The information collected is primarily for
the purposes of program monitoring and accountability purposes. The
information may also be used to respond to queries from Congress, NSF's
external merit reviewers, and as the basis for program evaluations.
Respondents: NRT PIs, coPIs, Faculty, and Trainees.
Estimated number of respondents: 2,346.
Average Burden per Reporting: The average hours per year works out
to 4,207.5 hours. This reflects a range of 10-15 minutes for the PI/
coPI/Faculty surveys, 1.5 hours for the trainee survey, and 24 hours
for the project survey.
Frequency: Once annually
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 respondents,
including through the use of automated collection techniques or other
forms of information technology.
Dated: September 27, 2021.
Suzanne H. Plimpton,
Reports Clearance Officer, National Science Foundation.
[FR Doc. 2021-21326 Filed 9-29-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7555-01-P
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