Notice2022-18847
Agency Information Collection Activities: Comment Request
Primary source
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Published
September 1, 2022
Issuing agencies
National Science Foundation
Abstract
The National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics (NCSES) within the National Science Foundation (NSF), as the Standard Application Process (SAP) Program Management Office designated by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), is announcing plans to establish a common form information collection. NCSES will request approval for an SAP Portal information collection as a Common Form to permit other federal agency users to streamline the information collection in coordination with OMB. The purpose of this notice is to allow for 60 days of public comment on the proposed SAP Portal information collection as a Common Form, prior to the submission of the information collection request (ICR) to OMB for approval.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 87 Issue 169 (Thursday, September 1, 2022)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 169 (Thursday, September 1, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 53793-53795]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2022-18847]
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NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION
Agency Information Collection Activities: Comment Request
AGENCY: National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics,
National Science Foundation.
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: The National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics
(NCSES) within the National Science Foundation (NSF), as the Standard
Application Process (SAP) Program Management Office designated by the
Office of Management and Budget (OMB), is announcing plans to establish
a common form information collection. NCSES will request approval for
an SAP Portal information collection as a Common Form to permit other
federal agency users to streamline the information collection in
coordination with OMB. The purpose of this notice is to allow for 60
days of public comment on the proposed SAP Portal information
collection as a Common Form, prior to the submission of the information
collection request (ICR) to OMB for approval.
DATES: Written comments on this notice must be received by October 31,
2022 to be assured of consideration. Comments received after that date
will be considered to the extent practicable. Send comments to the
address below.
Comments: Comments are invited on (a) whether the proposed
collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of
the functions of the federal statistical agencies, including whether
the information will have practical utility; (b) the accuracy of the
NSF's estimate of the burden of the proposed collection of information;
(c) ways to enhance the quality, use, 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 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.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Suzanne H. Plimpton, Reports Clearance
Officer, National Science Foundation, 2415 Eisenhower Avenue, Suite
W18253, Alexandria, Virginia 22314; telephone (703) 292-7556; or send
email to <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#f685869a9f9b868299b6988590d8919980"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="6310130f0a0e13170c230d10054d040c15">[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: The Foundations for Evidence-Based
Policymaking Act of 2018 mandates that OMB establish a Standard
Application Process (SAP) for requesting access to certain confidential
data assets. While the adoption of the SAP is required for statistical
agencies and units designated under CIPSEA, it is recognized that other
agencies and organizational units within the Executive branch may
benefit from the adoption of the SAP to accept applications for access
to confidential data assets. The SAP is to be a process through which
agencies, the Congressional Budget Office, State, local, and Tribal
governments, researchers, and other individuals, as appropriate, may
apply to access confidential data assets held by a federal statistical
agency or unit for the purposes of developing evidence. With the
Interagency Council on Statistical Policy (ICSP) as advisors, the
entities upon whom this requirement is levied are working with the SAP
Project Management Office (PMO) and with OMB to implement the SAP. The
SAP Portal is to be a single web-based common application for the
public to request access to confidential data assets from federal
statistical agencies and units. In accordance with the requirements of
the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, NCSES is providing an opportunity
for public comment on this action. After obtaining and considering
public comment, NCSES will prepare the submission requesting that OMB
approve clearance of this collection for three years.
This request is on behalf of the following federal statistical
agencies and units, which may use the Common Form:
<bullet> Bureau of Economic Analysis (Department of Commerce)
<bullet> Bureau of Justice Statistics (Department of Justice)
<bullet> Bureau of Labor Statistics (Department of Labor)
<bullet> Bureau of Transportation Statistics (Department of
Transportation)
<bullet> Census Bureau (Department of Commerce)
[[Page 53794]]
<bullet> Economic Research Service (Department of Agriculture)
<bullet> Energy Information Administration (Department of Energy)
<bullet> National Agricultural Statistics Service (Department of
Agriculture)
<bullet> National Center for Education Statistics (Department of
Education)
<bullet> National Center for Health Statistics (Department of
Health and Human Services)
<bullet> National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics
(National Science Foundation)
<bullet> Office of Research, Evaluation, and Statistics (Social
Security Administration)
<bullet> Statistics of Income Division (Income Revenue Service)
<bullet> Microeconomic Surveys Unit (Federal Reserve Board)
<bullet> Center for Behavioral Health Statistics and Quality
(Department of Health and Human Services)
<bullet> National Animal Health Monitoring System (Department of
Agriculture)
Title of collection: Standard Application Process (SAP) Portal.
OMB Control Number: 3145-NEW.
Expiration Date of Current Approval: Not Applicable.
Type of Request: Intent to seek approval to collect information
from the public through the Standard Application Process (SAP) Portal,
as a Common Form.
Abstract: Established within the NSF by the America COMPETES
Reauthorization Act of 2010 Sec. 505, codified in the National Science
Foundation Act of 1950, as amended, the National Center for Science and
Engineering Statistics (NCSES) serves as a central Federal
clearinghouse for the collection, interpretation, analysis, and
dissemination of objective data on science, engineering, technology,
and research and development for use by practitioners, researchers,
policymakers, and the public.
Title III of the Foundations for Evidence-Based Policymaking Act of
2018 (hereafter referred to as the Evidence Act) mandates that OMB
establish a Standard Application Process (SAP) for requesting access to
certain confidential data assets. Specifically, the Evidence Act
requires OMB to establish a common application process through which
agencies, the Congressional Budget Office, State, local, and Tribal
governments, researchers, and other individuals, as appropriate, may
apply for access to confidential data assets collected, accessed, or
acquired by a statistical agency or unit. This new process will be
implemented while maintaining stringent controls to protect
confidentiality and privacy, as required by the law.
The Evidence Act requires that each statistical agency or unit
establish an identical application process. The Evidence Act further
requires that federal statistical agencies establish common criteria
for determining whether to approve an application for confidential
data, timeframes for prompt determination, an appeals process for
adverse determinations, and standards for transparency. In response to
these requirements, the statistical agencies and units will operate a
web-based portal (referred to as the SAP Portal) on behalf of OMB to
provide the common application form to applicants. The objective of the
SAP Portal is to increase public access to confidential data for the
purposes of evidence building and reduce the burden of applying for
confidential data, which currently involves separate processes with
each of the federal statistical agencies and units.
Data collected, accessed, or acquired by statistical agencies and
units is vital for developing evidence on conditions, characteristics,
and behaviors of the public and on the operations and outcomes of
public programs and policies. This evidence can benefit the
stakeholders in the programs, the broader public, as well as
policymakers and program managers at the local, State, Tribal, and
National levels. The many benefits of access to data for evidence
building notwithstanding, the process of discovering confidential data,
applying for access, and, in certain cases, revising an application or
appealing an adverse determination through the SAP Portal still places
a burden on the public, as outlined below.
The SAP Policy: At the recommendation of the ICSP, the SAP Policy
establishes the SAP to be implemented by statistical agencies and units
and incorporates directives from the Evidence Act. The policy is
intended to provide guidance as to the application and review processes
using the SAP Portal, setting forth clear standards that enable
statistical agencies and units to implement a common application form
and a uniform review process. The methods of collection outlined below
are in accordance with the SAP Policy. The SAP Policy was submitted to
the public for comment in January 2022 (87 FR 2459, 2022). The policy
is currently under review and has not yet been finalized.
For the purpose of the SAP Policy, the application process begins
with an applicant discovering a confidential data asset for which a
statistical agency or unit is accepting applications to access for the
purpose of building evidence and ends with the agency or unit's
determination on whether to grant access. In the case of an adverse
determination, the application process ends with the conclusion of an
appeals process if the applicant elects to appeal the determination.
The SAP Portal: The SAP Portal is an application interface
connecting applicants seeking data with a catalog of data assets owned
by the federal statistical agencies and units. The SAP Portal is not a
new data repository or warehouse; confidential data assets will
continue to be stored in secure data access facilities owned and hosted
by the federal statistical agencies and units. The Portal will provide
a streamlined application process across agencies, reducing
redundancies in the application process. This single SAP Portal will
improve the process for applicants, tracking and communicating the
application process throughout its lifecycle. This reduces redundancies
and burden on applicants that request access to data from multiple
agencies. The SAP Portal will automate key tasks to save resources and
time, and will bring agencies into compliance with the Evidence Act
statutory requirements.
Data Discovery: Individuals begin the process of accessing
restricted use data by discovering confidential data assets through the
SAP data catalog, maintained by federal statistical agencies at
<a href="http://www.researchdatagov.org">www.researchdatagov.org</a>. Potential applicants can search by agency,
topic, or keyword to identify data of interest or relevance. Once they
have identified data of interest, applicants can view metadata
outlining the title, description or abstract, scope and coverage, and
detailed methodology related to a specific data asset to determine its
relevance to their research.
While statistical agencies and units shall endeavor to include
metadata in the SAP data catalog on all confidential data assets for
which they accept applications, it may not be feasible to include
metadata for some data assets (e.g., potential curated versions of
administrative data). A statistical agency or unit may still accept an
application through the SAP Policy even if the requested data asset is
not listed in the SAP data catalog.
SAP Application Process: Individuals who have identified and wish
to access confidential data assets will be able to apply for access
through the SAP Portal when it is released to the public in late 2022.
Applicants must create an account and follow all steps to complete the
application. Applicants begin by entering their personal, contact, and
institutional information, as well as the
[[Page 53795]]
personal, contact, and institutional information of all individuals on
their research team. Applicants proceed to provide summary information
about their proposed project, to include project title, duration,
funding, timeline, and other details including the data asset(s) they
are requesting and any proposed linkages to data not listed in the SAP
data catalog, including non-federal data sources. Applicants then
proceed to enter detailed information regarding their proposed project,
including a project abstract, research question(s), literature review,
project scope, research methodology, project products, and anticipated
output. Applicants must demonstrate a need for confidential data,
outlining why their research question cannot be answered using publicly
available information.
Submission for Review: Upon submission of their application,
applicants will receive a notification that their application has been
received and is under review by the data-owning agency or agencies (in
the event where data assets are requested from multiple agencies). At
this point, applicants will also be notified that application approval
does not alone grant access to confidential data, and that, if
approved, applicants must comply with the data-owning agency's security
requirements outside of the SAP Portal, which may include a background
check.
In accordance with the Evidence Act and the direction of the ICSP,
agencies will approve or reject an application within a prompt
timeframe. In some cases, agencies may determine that additional
clarity, information, or modification is needed and request the
applicant to ``revise and resubmit'' their application. This is also in
accordance with the SAP Policy, which was submitted to the public for
comment in January 2022 (87 FR 2459, 2022). The policy is currently
under review and has not yet been finalized.
Appeals Process: In the event of an adverse determination, the
applicant will be provided justification through the SAP Portal
detailing the determination. The SAP Portal will provide the applicant
with the option to submit an appeal for reconsideration by the data-
owning agency or agencies. Applicants can also file an appeal for
noncompliance with SAP Policy.
Access to Restricted Use Data: In the event of a positive
determination, the applicant will be notified that their proposal has
been accepted. The positive or final adverse determination concludes
the SAP Portal process. In the instance of a positive determination,
the data-owning agency (or agencies) will contact the applicant to
provide instructions on the agency's security requirements that must be
completed to gain access to the confidential data. The completion and
submission of the agency's security requirements will take place
outside of the SAP Portal and is therefore not included in the estimate
of burden below.
Estimate of Burden: The amount of time to complete an application
within the SAP Portal may vary depending on the number of individuals
on the application, the topic of the proposal, and the data assets
being requested. To request access to NCSES data assets, it is
estimated that the average time to complete and submit an application
within the SAP Portal is 60 minutes. This estimate includes the time
needed to complete the SAP Portal application fields (applicant
information and research proposal); it does not include an estimate of
the time needed to develop a research proposal itself. The research
proposal is developed outside of the SAP Portal and may be written for
multiple audiences (e.g., to solicit funding); therefore, it is not
included in the estimate of burden for the SAP Portal.
The expected number of applications submitted to NCSES in a given
year may vary. Overall, NCSES estimates it may receive 20 application
submissions within the SAP Portal per year. NCSES estimates that the
total burden for the SAP Portal over the course of the three-year OMB
clearance will be about 60 hours and, as a result, an average annual
burden of 20 hours.
Dated: August 26, 2022.
Suzanne H. Plimpton,
Reports Clearance Officer, National Science Foundation.
[FR Doc. 2022-18847 Filed 8-31-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7555-01-P
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