E9-196. Notice of Intent to Seek Approval To Extend and Revise a Current Information Collection

AGENCY:

National Science Foundation.

ACTION:

Notice and request for comments.

SUMMARY:

The National Science Foundation (NSF) is announcing plans to request renewal of this collection. In accordance with the requirement of section 3506(c)(2)(A) of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (Pub. L. 104-13), we are providing opportunity for public comment on this action. After obtaining and considering public comment, NSF will prepare the submission requesting that OMB approve clearance of this collection for three years.

DATES:

Written comments on this notice must be received by March 10, 2009 to be assured of consideration. Comments received after that date will be considered to the extent practicable.

For Additional Information or Comments:

Contact Suzanne H. Plimpton, Reports Clearance Officer, National Science Foundation, 4201 Wilson Boulevard, Suite 295, Arlington, Virginia 22230; telephone [phone]; or send e-mail to [e-mail]. 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 a.m. and 8 p.m., Eastern time, Monday through Friday. You also may obtain a copy of the data collection instrument and instructions from Ms. Plimpton.

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 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 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.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Title of Collection: Survey of Research and Development Expenditures at Universities and Colleges; OMB Control Number 3145-0100.

Expiration Date of Current Approval: May 31, 2009.

Proposed Renewal Project: Separately budgeted current fund expenditures on research and development in the sciences and engineering performed by universities and colleges and federally funded research and development centers—A web survey, the Survey of Research and Development Expenditures at Universities and Colleges, originated in fiscal year (FY) 1954 and has been conducted annually since FY 1972. The survey is the academic research and development expenditure component of the NSF statistical program that seeks to provide a “central clearinghouse for the collection, interpretation, and analysis of data on the availability of, and the current and projected need for, scientific and technical resources in the United States, and to provide a source of information for policy formulation by other agencies of the Federal government,” as mandated in the National Science Foundation Act of 1950.

Use of the Information: The proposed project will continue the annual survey cycle for up to three years. The Academic R&D Survey will be a census of the full population-for FY 2009 an expected 751 institutions (713 universities or colleges plus 38 federally funded research and development centers—FFRDCs). These institutions account for over 95 percent of the Nation's academic R&D funds. NSF will also conduct a pretest of a revised and expanded version of the survey for planned implementation in FY 2010 with a subset of 40 universities or colleges.

The survey has provided continuity of statistics on R&D expenditures by source of funds and by science & engineering (S&E) field, with separate data requested on current fund expenditures for research equipment by S&E field. Further breakdowns are collected on passed through funds to subrecipients and received as a subrecipient, and on R&D expenditures by field of science and engineering from specific Federal Government agency sources. Information on R&D for non-S&E fields is also requested. Data are published in NSF's annual publication series Academic R&D Expenditures and are available electronically on the World Wide Web.

The survey is a fully automated web data collection effort and is handled primarily by the administrators in university budget and accounting offices. To minimize burden, institutions are provided with an abundance of guidance and help menus on the web, in addition to printing and responding via paper copy if necessary. Each record is pre-loaded with the institution's 2 previous years data and a complete program for editing and trend checking. Response to this voluntary survey in FY 2007 was 96.9 percent.

Burden estimates ¹

Year	Total number of institutions	Doctorate-granting burden hours	Masters-granting burden hours	Bachelors degree burden hours	FFRDC's burden hours
FY 1999	480	20.8	13.0	7.5	9.4
FY 2000	700	21.0	12.0	10.5	9.2
FY 2001	625	30.2	11.9	9.0	12.1
FY 2002	625	28.7	14.9	12.2	4.5
1 Average burden hours for institutions responding to burden item.

Dated: January 6, 2009.

Suzanne H. Plimpton,

Reports Clearance Officer, National Science Foundation.