Notice2022-11281
Notice of Intent To Extend and Revise Currently Approved Information Collection
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
May 26, 2022
Issuing agencies
Agriculture DepartmentNational Institute of Food and Agriculture
Abstract
In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 and Office of Management and Budget (OMB) regulations this notice announces the National Institute of Food and Agriculture's (NIFA) intention to extend and revise a previously approved information collection, entitled NIFA Proposal Review Process. This information collection replaces an existing information collection, also entitled NIFA Proposal Review Process.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 87 Issue 102 (Thursday, May 26, 2022)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 102 (Thursday, May 26, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 31973-31974]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2022-11281]
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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
National Institute of Food and Agriculture
Notice of Intent To Extend and Revise Currently Approved
Information Collection
AGENCY: National Institute of Food and Agriculture, USDA.
ACTION: Notice and request for comments.
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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 and
Office of Management and Budget (OMB) regulations this notice announces
the National Institute of Food and Agriculture's (NIFA) intention to
extend and revise a previously approved information collection,
entitled NIFA Proposal Review Process. This information collection
replaces an existing information collection, also entitled NIFA
Proposal Review Process.
DATES: Written comments on this notice must be received by July 25,
2022 to be assured of consideration. Comments received after that date
will be considered to the extent practicable.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments through the Federal eRulemaking
Portal: <a href="http://www.regulations.gov">http://www.regulations.gov</a>. Follow the instructions for
submitting comments.
Instructions: All comments received will be posted without change
to <a href="http://www.regulations.gov">http://www.regulations.gov</a>, including any personal information
provided.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Robert Martin, 202-445-5388,
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#c193aea3a4b3b5efaca0b3b5a8aff281b4b2a5a0efa6aeb7"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="44162b262136306a292536302d2a7704313720256a232b32">[email protected]</span></a>.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Title of Collection: NIFA Proposal Review Process.
OMB Control Number: 0524-0041.
Expiration Date of Current Approval: 8/31/2022.
Type of Request: Notice of intent to extend and revise a currently
approved information collection. The burden for this collection remains
unchanged.
NIFA is requesting a three-year extension for the current
collection entitled ``NIFA Proposal Review Process.'' NIFA is also
proposing to update the collection so that the previously approved
Reviewer Questionnaire, as well as the Conflict of Interest and
Confidentiality Certification Form are both available on NIFA's Peer
Review System (PRS) web-based portal. Additionally, NIFA is proposing
some minor updates to the wording of questions in the Reviewer
Questionnaire in order to ensure that peer review panels have the
required scientific and technical expertise, comprised of research,
education, extension, and other subject matter experts as appropriate,
while remaining inclusive, representative, and diverse. Furthermore,
the data collected through this questionnaire will ensure that NIFA is
compliant in its Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) practices.
Abstract: The National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) is
responsible for performing a review of proposals submitted to NIFA
competitive award programs in accordance with section 103(a) of the
Agricultural Research, Extension, and Education Reform Act of 1998, 7
U.S.C. 7613(a). Reviews are undertaken to ensure that projects
supported by NIFA are of high quality, and are consistent with the
goals and requirements of the funding program.
Proposals submitted to NIFA undergo a programmatic evaluation to
determine worthiness of Federal support. The evaluations consist of a
peer panel review and may also entail an assessment by Federal
employees and electronically submitted (ad-hoc) reviews in the Peer
Review System.
The information collected from the evaluations is used to support
NIFA grant programs. NIFA uses the results of the proposal evaluation
to determine whether a proposal should be declined or recommended for
award. When NIFA has rendered a decision, copies of reviews, excluding
the names of the reviewers, and summaries of review panel
deliberations, if any, are provided to the submitting Project Director.
Given the highly technical nature of many of these proposals, the
quality of the peer review greatly depends on the appropriate matching
of the subject matter of the proposal with the scientific and technical
expertise of the potential reviewer. In order to obtain this
information, an electronic questionnaire is used to collect information
about potential panel and ad-hoc reviewers. If the reviewer is already
in the NIFA database, the questionnaire asks potential reviewers to
update their basic biographical information including address, contact
information, professional expertise, and their availability to review
for NIFA in the future. If the reviewer is new, they are prompted to
complete the questionnaire. This information has been invaluable in the
NIFA review process, which has been recognized by the grantee and
grantor community for its quality.
The applications and associated materials made available to
reviewers, as well as the discussions that take place during panel
review meetings are strictly confidential and are not to be disclosed
to or discussed with anyone who has not been officially designated to
participate in the review process. While each panelist certifies at the
time of preparing a review they do not have a conflict-of-interest with
a particular application and will maintain its confidentiality in the
Peer Review System, a certification of their intent at the time of the
panel review proceedings is collected to emphasize and reinforce
confidentiality not only of applications and reviews but also panel
discussions. On the Conflict-of-Interest and Confidentiality
Certification Form, the panelist affirms they understand the
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conflict-of-interest guidelines and will not be involved in the review
of the application(s) where a conflict exists. The panelist also
affirms their intent to maintain the confidentiality of the panel
process and not disclose to another individual any information related
to the peer review or use any information for personal benefit.
Estimate of Burden: NIFA estimates that anywhere from one hour to
twenty hours may be required to review a proposal. It is estimated that
approximately five hours are required to review an average proposal.
Each proposal receives an average of four reviews, accounting for an
annual burden of 20 hours. NIFA estimates it receives 4,600 competitive
applications each year. The total annual burden on reviewers is 92,000
hours. NIFA estimates that the potential reviewer questionnaire takes
an estimated 10 minutes to complete. The database consists of
approximately 50,000 reviewers. The total annual burden of
questionnaire is 8,330 hours. NIFA estimates that the potential
Conflict-of-Interest and Confidentiality Certification Form takes an
estimated 10 minutes to complete. The agency has approximately 1,000
panelists each year. The total annual burden of the certification form
is 167 hours. The total annual burden of the component of the entire
review process is 100,497 hours.
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 will
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 to be
collected; 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.
All responses to this notice will be summarized and included in the
request to OMB for approval. All comments will become a matter of
public record.
Obtaining a Copy of the Information Collection: A copy of the
information collection and related instructions may be obtained free of
charge by contacting Robert Martin as directed above.
Done at Washington, DC, this day of May 13, 2022.
Dionne Toombs,
Acting Director, National Institute of Food and Agriculture, U.S.
Department of Agriculture.
[FR Doc. 2022-11281 Filed 5-25-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE P
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