Notice2022-01249
Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection; 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
January 24, 2022
Issuing agencies
National Science Foundation
Abstract
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 opportunity for public comment on revisions to the Business Systems Review (BSR) Guide. 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.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 87 Issue 15 (Monday, January 24, 2022)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 15 (Monday, January 24, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 3591-3592]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2022-01249]
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NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION
Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection;
Comment Request
AGENCY: National Science Foundation.
ACTION: Notice and request for comments.
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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 opportunity for
public comment on revisions to the Business Systems Review (BSR) Guide.
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 should be received by March 25, 2022 to be
assured of consideration. Comments received after that date will be
considered to the extent practicable.
ADDRESSES: Written comments regarding the information collection and
requests for copies of the proposed information collection request
should be addressed to Suzanne Plimpton, Reports Clearance Officer,
National Science Foundation, 2415 Eisenhower Ave., Rm. E 7400,
Alexandria, VA 22314, or by email to <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#354645595c5845415a755b46531b525a43"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="c2b1b2aeabafb2b6ad82acb1a4eca5adb4">[email protected]</span></a>.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Suzanne Plimpton on (703) 292-7556 or
send email to <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#8efdfee2e7e3fefae1cee0fde8a0e9e1f8"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="fa898a9693978a8e95ba94899cd49d958c">[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).
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This clearance request is for a renewal of
the NSF Business Systems Review Guide (BSR). It aligns with the Uniform
Guidance (UG) and the NSF Research Infrastructure Guide which is
intended for use by NSF staff and by external proponents of major
facility projects for use in planning. The primary purpose of this
revision is to clarify the BSR process, update references to the
revised UG, and address new requirements and policy in the UG and NSF
terms and conditions. The draft version of the NSF BSR Guide is
available on the NSF website at: <a href="http://www.nsf.gov/bfa/lfo/lfo_documents.jsp">http://www.nsf.gov/bfa/lfo/lfo_documents.jsp</a>. To facilitate review, a Change Log with brief
comment explanations of the changes is provided in the guide.
Comments: In addition to the type of comments identified above,
comments are also 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. After obtaining and considering public comment, NSF will
prepare the submission requesting OMB clearance of this collection for
no longer than 3 years.
Title of Collection: Business Systems Review Guide.
OMB Approval Number: 3145-0255.
Expiration Date of Approval: January 31, 2024.
Type of Request: Intent to seek approval to extend with revision 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:
[ballot] Basic scientific research and research fundamental to the
engineering process;
[ballot] Programs to strengthen scientific and engineering research
potential;
[ballot] Science and engineering education programs at all levels
and in all the various fields of science and engineering;
[ballot] Programs that provide a source of information for policy
formulation; and
[ballot] 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 large 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 large facility projects, roughly $100M or
greater, and mid-scale projects in the range of approximately $20-
$100M.
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
[[Page 3592]]
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 large 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 large 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.
Business Systems Reviews (BSR) of NSF's Major Facilities are
designed to provide reasonable assurance that the business systems
(people, processes, and technologies) of NSF Recipients are effective
in meeting administrative responsibilities and satisfying Federal
regulatory requirements, including those listed in NSF's Proposal &
Award Policies & Procedures Guide (PAPPG).
These reviews are not considered audits but are intended to be
assistive in nature; aiding the Recipient in following good practices
where appropriate and bringing them into compliance, if needed. A team
of BSR participants is assembled to assess the Recipient's policies,
procedures, and practices to determine whether, taken collectively,
these administrative business systems used in managing the Facility
meet NSF award expectations and comply with Federal regulations.
The BSR Guide is designed for use by both our customer community
and NSF staff for guidance in executing these reviews. The BSR Guide
defines the overall framework and structure and summarizes the details
outlined in the internal operating guidelines and procedures used by
BSR Participants to execute the review process. Management principles
and practices are specified for seven core functional areas (CFA) and
are used by BSR participants in performing these evaluations. Roles and
responsibilities of the NSF stakeholders involved in the process are
outlined in the BSR Guide as well as the expectations of the Recipient.
This version of the Business Systems Guide aligns with the Uniform
Guidance and the NSF Research Infrastructure Guide. 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 good practices included in the Guide.
The submission of Award Recipient and Project administrative
business process and procedural documentation used in support of
operations of the 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 through their full life cycle which must be balanced against
monitoring its information collection so as to identify and address any
excessive review and reporting burdens.
NSF has approximately twenty (20) Major Facilities in various
stages of design, construction, operations, and divestment. The need
for a BSR and review scope is based on NSF's internal annual Major
Facility Portfolio Risk Assessment and the assessment of various risks
factors.
Burden to the Public: The Foundation estimates that approximately
one and half (1.5) Full Time Equivalents (FTEs) are necessary for a
major facility to respond to the requirements of a BSR; or 3,120 hours.
With an average of four (4) BSRs conducted a year, this equates to
roughly 12,000 public burden hours annually.
Dated: January 19, 2022.
Suzanne H. Plimpton,
Reports Clearance Officer,National Science Foundation.
[FR Doc. 2022-01249 Filed 1-21-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7555-01-P
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