2018-23784. Agency Information Collection Activities: Comment Request; Education and Human Resources Program Monitoring Clearance

AGENCY:

National Science Foundation.

ACTION:

Notice.

SUMMARY:

The National Science Foundation (NSF) is announcing plans to renew this collection. In accordance with the requirements of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, we are providing opportunity for public comment on this action. After obtaining and considering public comment, NSF will prepare the submission requesting Office of Management and Budget (OMB) clearance of this collection for no longer than 3 years.

DATES:

Written comments on this notice must be received by December 31, 2018 to be assured consideration. Comments received after that date will be considered to the extent practicable. Send comments to address below.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Suzanne H. Plimpton, Reports Clearance Officer, National Science Foundation, 2415 Eisenhower Avenue, Suite W18253, Alexandria, Virginia 22314; telephone [phone]; or send email 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, which is accessible 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year (including Federal holidays).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Comments: Comments are invited on (a) whether the proposed collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the NCSES, including whether the information will have practical utility; (b) the accuracy of the NCSES'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, 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 collection techniques or other forms of information technology.

Title of Collection: Education and Human Resources Program Monitoring Clearance.

OMB Approval Number: 3145-0226.

Expiration Date of Approval: April 30, 2019.

Type of Request: Intent to seek renewal of an information collection.

Abstract: The National Science Foundation (NSF) requests re-clearance of program accountability data collections that describe and track the impact of NSF funding that focuses on the Nation's science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education and STEM workforce. NSF funds grants, contracts, and cooperative agreements to colleges, universities, and other eligible institutions, and provides graduate research fellowships to individuals in all parts of the United States and internationally.

The Directorate for Education and Human Resources (EHR), a unit within NSF, promotes rigor and vitality within the Nation's STEM education enterprise to further the development of the 21st century's STEM workforce and public scientific literacy. EHR does this through diverse projects and programs that support research, extension, outreach, and hands-on activities that service STEM learning and research at all institutional (e.g., pre-school through postdoctoral) levels in formal and informal settings; and individuals of all ages (birth and beyond). EHR also focuses on broadening participation in STEM learning and careers among United States citizens, permanent residents, and nationals, particularly those individuals traditionally underemployed in the STEM research workforce, including but not limited to women, persons with disabilities, and racial and ethnic minorities.

The scope of this information collection request will primarily cover descriptive information gathered from education and training (E&T) projects that are funded by NSF. NSF will primarily use the data from this collection for program planning, management, and audit purposes to respond to queries from the Congress, the public, NSF's external merit reviewers who serve as advisors, including Committees of Visitors (COVs), the NSF's Office of the Inspector General, and as a basis for either internal or third-party evaluations of individual programs.

The collections will generally include three categories of descriptive data: (1) Staff and project participants (data that are also necessary to determine individual-level treatment and control groups for future third-party study or for internal evaluation); (2) project implementation characteristics (also necessary for future use to identify well-matched comparison groups); and (3) project outputs (necessary to measure baseline for pre- and post- NSF-funding-level impacts).

Use of the Information: This information is required for effective administration, communication, program and project monitoring and evaluation, and for measuring attainment of NSF's program, project, and strategic goals, and as identified by the President's Accountability in Government Initiative; GPRA, and the NSF's Strategic Plan. The Foundation's FY 2014-2018 Strategic Plan may be found at: http://www.nsf.gov/​pubs/​2014/​nsf14043/​nsf14043.pdf.

Since this collection will primarily be used for accountability and evaluation purposes, including responding to queries from COVs and other scientific experts, a census rather than sampling design typically is necessary. At the individual project level funding can be adjusted based on individual project's responses to some of the surveys. Some data collected under this collection will serve as baseline data for separate research and evaluation studies.

NSF-funded contract or grantee researchers and internal or external evaluators in part may identify control, comparison, or treatment groups for NSF's E&T portfolio using some of the descriptive data gathered through this collection to conduct well-designed, rigorous research and portfolio evaluation studies.

Respondents: Individuals or households, not-for-profit institutions, business or other for profit, and Federal, State, local or tribal government.

Number of Respondents: 2,160.

Burden on the Public: NSF estimates that a total reporting and recordkeeping burden of 39,802 hours will result from activities to monitor EHR STEM education programs. The calculation is shown in table 1.

Table 1—Anticipated Programs That Will Collect Data on Project Progress and Outcomes Along With the Number of Respondents and Burden Hours per Collection per Year

Collection title	Number of respondents	Number of responses	Annual hour burden
Centers of Research Excellence in Science and Technology (CREST) and Historically Black Colleges and Universities Research Infrastructure for Science and Engineering (HBCU-RISE) Monitoring System	30	30	1,650
Integrative Graduate Education and Research Traineeship Program (IGERT) Monitoring System	35	35	1,890
Louis Stokes Alliances for Minority Participation (LSAMP) Monitoring System	602	602	13,846
Louis Stokes Alliances for Minority Participation Bridge to the Doctorate (LSAMP-BD) Monitoring System	56	56	2,128
Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship Program (Noyce) Monitoring System	460	460	6,440
Scholarships in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (S-STEM) Monitoring System	700	1,750	4,200
Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Talent Expansion Program (STEP) Monitoring System	277	277	6,648
Total	2,160	3,210	39,802

Dated: October 26, 2018.

Suzanne H. Plimpton,

Reports Clearance Officer, National Science Foundation.