2020-03356. Agency Information Collection Activities: Comment Request; Grantee Reporting Requirements for the Emerging Frontiers in Research and Innovation Program

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 April 20, 2020 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 W18200, 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:

Title of Collection: Grantee Reporting Requirements for the Emerging Frontiers in Research and Innovation Program.

OMB Number: 3145-0233.

Expiration Date of Approval: June 30, 2020.

Type of Request: Revision to and extension of approval of an information collection.

Proposed Project: The Emerging Frontiers in Research and Innovation (EFRI) program recommends, prioritizes, and funds interdisciplinary initiatives at the emerging frontier of engineering research and education. These investments represent transformative opportunities, potentially leading to: new research areas for NSF, ENG, and other agencies; new industries or capabilities that result in a leadership position for the country; and/or significant progress on a recognized national need or grand challenge.

Established in 2007, EFRI supports cutting-edge research that is difficult to fund through other NSF programs, such as single-investigator grants or large research centers. EFRI seeks high-risk opportunities with the potential for a large payoff where researchers are encouraged to stretch beyond their ongoing activities. Based on input from workshops, advisory committees, technical meetings, professional societies, research proposals, and suggestions from the research community, the EFRI program identifies those emerging opportunities and manages a formal process for funding their research. The emerging ideas tackled by EFRI are “frontier” because they not only push the understood limits of engineering but actually overlap multiple fields. The EFRI funding process inspires investigators with different expertise to work together on one emerging concept.

EFRI awards require multi-disciplinary teams of at least one Principal Investigator and two Co-Principal Investigators. The anticipated duration of all awards is 4-years. With respect to the anticipated funding level, each project team may receive support of up to a total of $2,000,000 spread over four years, pending the availability of funds. In this respect, EFRI awards are above the average single-investigator award amounts.

EFRI-funded projects could include research opportunities and mentoring for educators, scholars, and university students, as well as outreach programs that help stir the imagination of K-12 students, often with a focus on groups underrepresented in science and engineering.

We are seeking to collect additional information from the grantees about the outcomes of their research that goes above and beyond the standard reporting requirements used by the NSF and spans over a period of 5 years after the award. This data collection effort will enable program officers to longitudinally monitor outputs and outcomes given the unique goals and purpose of the program. This is very important to enable appropriate and accurate evidence-based management of the program and to determine whether or not the specific goals of the program are being met.

Grantees will be requested to submit this information on an annual basis to support performance review and the management of EFRI grants by EFRI officers. EFRI grantees will be requested to submit these indicators to NSF via a data collection website that will be embedded in NSF's IT infrastructure. These indicators are both quantitative and descriptive and may include, for example, the characteristics of project personnel and students; sources of complementary funding and in-kind support to the EFRI project; characteristics of industrial and/or other sector participation; research activities; education activities; knowledge transfer activities; patents, licenses; publications; descriptions of significant advances and other outcomes of the EFRI effort.

Each submission will address the following major categories of activities: (1) Knowledge transfer across disciplines, (2) innovation of ideas in areas of great opportunity, (3) potential for translational research, (4) project results that advance the frontier/creation of new fields of study, (5) introduction to the classroom of innovative research methods or discoveries, (6) fostering participation of underrepresented groups in science, and (7) impacting student career trajectory. For each of the categories, the report will enumerate specific outputs and outcomes.

Use of the Information: The data collected will be used for NSF internal reports, historical data, and performance review by peer site visit teams, program level studies and evaluations, and for securing future funding for continued EFRI program maintenance and growth.

Estimate of Burden: Approximately 7 hours per grant for approximately 100 grants per year for a total of 700 hours per year.

Respondents: Principal Investigators who lead the EFRI grants, and co-Principal Investigators and students involved in EFRI-funded research.

Estimated Number of Responses per Report: One report collected for each of the approximately 100 grantees every year, including sub-reports from co-PIs and student researchers.

Dated: February 14, 2020.

Suzanne H. Plimpton,

Reports Clearance Officer, National Science Foundation.