2021-18163. Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for Review and Approval; Comment Request; The Standardized Research Performance Progress Report (RPPR)

AGENCY:

Office of the Secretary, Commerce.

ACTION:

Notice of information collection, request for comment.

SUMMARY:

The Department of Commerce, in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) of 1995, invites the general public and other Federal agencies to comment on proposed, and continuing information collections, which helps us assess the impact of our information collection requirements and minimize the public's reporting burden. The purpose of this notice is to allow for 60 days of public comment on the proposed extension of the standardized Research Performance Progress Report (RPPR), prior to the submission of the information collection request (ICR) to OMB for approval.

DATES:

To ensure consideration, comments regarding this proposed information collection must be received on or before October 25, 2021.

ADDRESSES:

Interested persons are invited to submit written comments by email to [e-mail]. Please reference the Research Performance Progress Report (RPPR) or the OMB Control Number 0690-0032 in the subject line of your comments. All comments received are part of the public record. No comments will be posted to http://www.regulations.gov for public viewing until after the comment period has closed. Comments will generally be posted without change. All Personally Identifiable Information (for example, name and address) voluntarily submitted by the commenter may be publicly accessible. Do not submit Confidential Business Information or otherwise sensitive or protected information. You may submit attachments to electronic comments in Microsoft Word, Excel, or Adobe PDF file formats.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Requests for additional information or specific questions related to collection activities should be directed to Sheleen Dumas, Department PRA Clearance Officer, Office of the Chief Information Officer, U.S. Department of Commerce, 202-482-3306, [e-mail].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Abstract

The Department of Commerce plans to request a three-year extension of the Research Performance Progress Report (RPPR). This Research Performance Progress Report (RPPR) directly benefits award recipients by making it easier for them to administer Federal grant and cooperative agreement programs through standardization of the types of information required in performance reports—thereby reducing their administrative effort and costs. The RPPR also makes it easier to compare the outputs, outcomes, etc. of research programs across the government.

The RPPR resulted from an initiative of the Research Business Models (RBM) Subcommittee of the Committee on Science (CoS), a committee of the National Science and Technology Council (NSTC). One of the RBM Subcommittee's priority areas is to create greater consistency in the administration of Federal research awards. Given the increasing complexity of interdisciplinary and interagency research, it is important for Federal agencies to manage awards in a similar fashion. The RPPR is used by agencies that support research and research-related activities for use in submission of progress reports. It is intended to replace other performance reporting formats currently in use by agencies. The RPPR does not change the performance reporting requirements specified in 2 CFR part 215 (OMB Circular A-110) and the Common Rule implementing OMB Circular A-102. Each category in the RPPR is a separate reporting component. Agencies will direct recipients to report on the one mandatory component (“Accomplishments”), and may direct them to report on optional components, as appropriate. Within a particular component, agencies may direct recipients to complete only specific questions, as not all questions within a given component may be relevant to all agencies. Agencies may develop an agency- or program-specific component, if necessary, to meet programmatic requirements, although agencies should minimize the degree to which they supplement the standard components. Such agency- or program specific requirements will require review and clearance by OMB.

III. Data

OMB Control Number: 0690-0032.

Form Number(s): None.

Type of Review: Regular submission, Request for an Extension (without change of a currently approved collection).

Affected Public: State and Local governments.

Estimated Number of Respondents: 19,998.

Estimated Time per Response: 8 minutes for monthly respondents who report via internet, mail or faxing the form, 23 minutes for annual respondents who report via internet, mail or faxing the form and 3 minutes for monthly and annual respondents who report by telephone or send electronic files or printouts.

Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 17,625.

Estimated Total Annual Cost to Public: $0. (This is not the cost of respondents' time, but the indirect costs respondents may incur for such things as purchases of specialized software or hardware needed to report, or expenditures for accounting or records maintenance services required specifically by the collection.)

Respondent's Obligation: Voluntary.

Legal Authority: Title 13 U.S.C. 131 and 182.

IV. Request for Comments

We are soliciting public comments to permit the Department/Bureau to: (a) Evaluate whether the proposed information collection is necessary for the proper functions of the Department, including whether the information will have practical utility; (b) Evaluate the accuracy of our estimate of the time and cost burden for this proposed collection, including the validity of the methodology and assumptions used; (c) Evaluate ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; and (d) Minimize the reporting burden on those who are to respond, including the use of automated collection techniques or other forms of information technology.

Comments that you submit in response to this notice are a matter of public record. We will include, or summarize, each comment in our request to OMB to approve this ICR. Before including your address, phone number, email address, or other personal identifying information in your comment, you should be aware that your entire comment—including your personal identifying information—may be made publicly available at any time. While you may ask us in your comment to withhold your personal identifying information from public review, we cannot guarantee that we will be able to do so.

Sheleen Dumas,

Department PRA Clearance Officer, Office of the Chief Information Officer, Commerce Department.