03-9682. 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 no longer than 3 years.

DATES:

Written comments on this notice must be received by June 20, 2003 to be assured of consideration. Comments received after that date will be considered to the extent practicable.

FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION OR COMMENTS:

Contact Teresa R. Pierce, Reports Clearance Officer, National Science Foundation, 4201 Wilson Boulevard, Suite 295, Arlington, Virginia 22230; telephone [phone]; or send email to [e-mail]. You also may obtain a copy of the data collection instrument and instructions from Ms. Pierce.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Title of Collection: Academic Research and Development Survey Expenditures at Universities and Colleges, FY 2003 through FY 2006; OMB Control Number 3145-0100.

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.

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 Scientific and Engineering Expenditures at Universities and Colleges, originated in fiscal year (FY) 1954 and has been conducted annually since FY 1972. The survey is the academic 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 current survey cycle for three to five years. The Academic R&D Survey will be a census of the full population of an expected 646 institutions (610 universities or colleges plus 36 federally funded research and development centers—FFRDCs) for academic years 2003 through FY 2006. These institutions account for over 95 percent of the Nation's academic R&D funds. 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. Additional measures on current fund expenditures for separately budgeted research and developoment by field of science and engineering are requested as being part of the core survey on select Federal Government agency sources. Data are published in NSF's annual publication series Academic Science and Engineering 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 at the Institutional Research 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 institutions 2 previous year's data and a complete program for editing and trend checking. Response to this voluntary survey in FY 2001 was 95.4 percent. Burden estimates are as follows: ^[1]

* * * * *

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

Dated: April 15, 2003.

Teresa R. Pierce,

Reports Clearance Officer.

Footnotes

1.  Average burden hours for institutions responding to burden item.