Notice2025-12689
Notice of Intent To Extend and Revise Previously 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
July 8, 2025
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.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 90 Issue 128 (Tuesday, July 8, 2025)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 128 (Tuesday, July 8, 2025)]
[Notices]
[Pages 30036-30037]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2025-12689]
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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
National Institute of Food and Agriculture
Notice of Intent To Extend and Revise Previously 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.
DATES: Written comments on this notice must be received by September 8,
2025 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: Laura Givens, 816-527-5379,
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#064a6773746728416f70636875467375626728616970"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="2569445057440b624c53404b5665505641440b424a53">[email protected]</span></a>.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
[[Page 30037]]
Title of Collection: NIFA Proposal Review Process.
OMB Control Number: 0524-0041.
Expiration Date of Current Approval: 9/30/2025.
Type of Request: Notice of intent to extend and revise a previously
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 to ensure that peer review panels have the
required scientific and technical expertise while remaining in
compliance with statistical directives from OMB.
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 justification 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. 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 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:
Estimated number of respondents by form/process:
Reviewer Questionnaire: 1,000.
Conflict-of-Interest and Confidentiality Certification: 1,000.
Proposal Review Process: 4,600.
The individual form/process burden hours are as follows:
Reviewer Questionnaire: 167 hours.
Conflict-of-Interest and Confidentiality Certification: 167 hours.
Proposal Review Process: 92,000 hours.
Estimated Total Annual Burden on the public for all forms and
processes: 92,334 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 Laura Givens as directed above.
Drenda Williams,
Associate Director for Operations, National Institute of Food and
Agriculture, U.S. Department of Agriculture.
[FR Doc. 2025-12689 Filed 7-7-25; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-22-P
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