[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 106 (Wednesday, June 4, 2025)]
[Notices]
[Pages 23715-23716]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2025-10164]
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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: Submission for OMB review; comment request.
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SUMMARY: The National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics
(NCSES) within the National Science Foundation (NSF) has submitted the
following information collection requirements 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 one comment was received. NSF is forwarding the proposed
renewal submission to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for
clearance simultaneously with the publication of this second notice.
The full submission may be found at: http://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain.
DATES: Written comments and recommendations for the proposed
information collection should be sent within 30 days of publication of
this notice to www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAmain. 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, Suite
E6300, Alexandria, Virginia 22314; telephone (703) 292-7556; or send
email to [email protected]. Individuals who use a telecommunications
device for the deaf (TDD) may call the Federal Information Relay
Service (FIRS) at 1-800-877-8339 between 8:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m.,
Eastern Time, Monday through Friday. You also may obtain a copy of the
information collection request from Ms. Plimpton.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: NCSES 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.
Title of Collection: Higher Education Research and Development
Survey.
OMB Approval Number: 3145-0100.
Summary of Collection: The Higher Education Research and
Development (R&D) Survey (formerly known as the Survey of R&D
Expenditures at Universities and Colleges) originated in fiscal year
(FY) 1954 and has been conducted annually since FY 1972. The survey
represents one facet of the higher education component of the NSF's
National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics (NCSES)
statistical program authorized by the America COMPETES Reauthorization
Act of 2010 Sec. 505, codified in the National Science Foundation Act
of 1950 (NSF Act), as amended, at 42 U.S.C. 1862. The collection also
includes the Federally Funded Research and Development (FFRDC) R&D
Survey, which has been conducted annually for all FFRDCs since 2001.
Between 1953 and 2001, only FFRDCs administered by academic
institutions were surveyed.
Use of the Information: The proposed project will continue the
annual survey cycle for three years. The Higher Education R&D Survey
will provide continuity of statistics on R&D expenditures by source of
funding, type of R&D (basic research, applied research, or
development), and field of research, with separate data requested on
research equipment by field. Further breakdowns are collected on funds
passed through to subrecipients and funds received as a subrecipient,
and on R&D expenditures by field from specific federal agency sources.
The survey also requests total R&D expenditures funded from foreign
sources, R&D within an institution's medical school, clinical trial
expenditures, R&D by type of funding mechanism (contracts vs. grants),
and R&D by cost category (salaries, equipment, software, etc.). In
addition, the survey requests headcounts and full-time equivalents of
R&D personnel (researchers, R&D technicians, and R&D support staff).
Data are incorporated into a statutorily required biennial report
on indicators of the state of science and engineering in the United
States (42 U.S.C. 1863, Section (j)(1)). Data are also published in
NSF's annual publication series Higher Education Research and
Development, available on the web at http://www.nsf.gov/statistics/srvyherd/.
The Federally Funded Research and Development Centers R&D Survey
will also provide continuity of statistics on R&D expenditures by
source of funding (federal, state and local, business, nonprofit, or
other, and federal agency source), and type of R&D (basic research,
applied research, or development). The FFRDC R&D Survey also collects
headcounts and full-time equivalents of R&D personnel (researchers, R&D
technicians, and R&D support staff).
Data are published in NSF's annual publication series FFRDC
Research and Development Survey, available on the web at https://www.nsf.gov/statistics/srvyffrdc/.
Expected respondents: The FY 2025 Higher Education R&D Survey will
be administered to approximately 690 institutions. In addition, a
shorter version of the survey asking for R&D expenditures by source of
funding and broad field will be administered to approximately 250
institutions spending at least $150 thousand but less than $1 million
on R&D in their previous fiscal year. A short population review
screener is also administered to approximately 135 institutions before
the survey cycle to identify potential eligible institutions not
already in the survey frame. Finally, a survey requesting R&D
expenditures by source of funds, cost categories, type of R&D,
[[Page 23716]]
and R&D personnel totals will be administered to the 42 Federally
Funded Research and Development Centers.
Estimate of burden: The Higher Education R&D Survey is a fully
automated web data collection effort and is handled primarily by
administrators in university sponsored programs and accounting offices.
Response to this voluntary survey has exceeded 95 percent each year.
Response to the fully automated FFRDC R&D web survey is 100 percent
each year.
The total annual calculated burden across all forms is 44,698
hours. The average burden estimate per survey cycle is 64 hours for the
approximately 655 institutions reporting at least $1 million in R&D
expenditures, 8 hours for the approximately 260 institutions reporting
at least $150 thousand but less than $1 million, 1 hour for the
approximately 110 institutions in the population screener, and 14 hours
for the 42 organizations completing the FFRDC R&D Survey.
Comments: As required by 5 CFR 1320.8(d), comments on the
information collection activities as part of this study were solicited
through publication of a 60-Day Notice in the Federal Register on March
30, 2022, at 90 FR 2034. One comment was received, to which we here
respond. The comment came from the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA).
They expressed strong support for the HERD and FFRDC surveys. NCSES is
in regular contact with BEA about their data needs and sends annual
data files to support their national income and product accounts
(NIPAs), industry economic accounts (IEAs), and gross domestic product
(GDP) by state estimates. In their comment, BEA noted the specific
items used from each survey.
Comments regarding (a) whether the 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 burden including the validity of
the methodology and assumptions used; (c) ways to enhance the quality,
utility and clarity of the information to be collected; or (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 should be addressed to the points
of contact in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section.
Dated: May 30, 2025.
Suzanne H. Plimpton,
Reports Clearance Officer, National Science Foundation.
[FR Doc. 2025-10164 Filed 6-3-25; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7555-01-P