This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER
contains documents other than rules or proposed rules that are applicable to the public. Notices of hearings and investigations, committee meetings, agency decisions and rulings, delegations of authority, filing of petitions and applications and agency statements of organization and functions are examples of documents appearing in this section. 

# Notices Federal Register 

### 54955

Vol. 79, No. 178

Monday, September 15, 2014

**DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE**

**Economic Research Service**

**Notice of Intent To Request Renewal of a Currently Approved Information**  **Collection**

**AGENCY :**  Economic Research Service,
USDA.

**ACTION :**  Notice and request for

comments.

**SUMMARY :**  In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, this notice invites the general public and other public agencies to send comments regarding any aspect of this information collection. This notice announces the intention of the Economic Research Service to request a renewal to a currently approved information collection, namely a pilot generic clearance for experimental economic research.

**DATES :**  Written comments on this notice must be received on or before November 14, 2014 to be assured of consideration.

**ADDRESSES :**  Address all comments concerning this notice to Nathaniel Higgins, Resource and Rural Economics Division, Economic Research Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, 1400 Independence Ave. SW., Mail Stop 1800, Room 6–135B, Washington, DC 20250–0002. Comments may also be submitted via fax to the attention of Nathaniel Higgins at 202–245–4847 or via email to nhiggins@ers.usda.gov.

All written comments will be open for public inspection at the office of the Economic Research Service during regular business hours (8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday) at 355 E St. SW., Room 6–135B, Washington, DC

20024–3221.

All responses to this notice will be summarized and included in the request for Office of Management and Budget approval. All comments and replies will be a matter of public record. 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, including the validity of the methodology and assumptions used; (c) ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; and (d) ways to minimize the burden of the collection of information on those who are to respond, including use of appropriate automated, electronic, mechanical, or other technological collection techniques or other forms of information technology.

**FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT :**  For further information contact Nathaniel Higgins at the mailing address in the preamble. Tel. 202–694–5602.

**SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION :** 

Title: A Pilot Generic Clearance for Experimental Economic Research.

OMB Number: 0536–0070. Expiration Date: November 30, 2014. Type of Request: Renewal of a currently approved information collection.

Abstract: The Economic Research Service (ERS) of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) requests approval from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for renewal of a pilot generic clearance that allows ERS to conduct experimentaleconomic research into the costeffectiveness of alternative policy mechanisms. ERS offers policy-relevant research to its stakeholders, including other agencies of the USDA, but does not offer recommendations or make policy decisions itself. Research conducted under the expected clearance will be used to assess features of alternative policy mechanisms, but will not be used for the purposes making regulatory decisions; ERS does not intend to use the information collected under this approval for the purposes of developing or evaluating specific policies. ERS will not conduct any experiments which alter a government program. ERS has no regulatory or program authority with which to conduct such an experiment.

The primary mission of ERS is to provide economic and other social science information and analysis for public and private decisions on agriculture, food, natural resources, and rural America. ERS has constructed a set of key strategic goals in support of this mission. Research conducted under this generic clearance will further an ongoing initiative that would use insights from behavioral economics to provide economic intelligence, research, and analysis to inform agricultural resource and conservation policies. Information collected from these experiments will allow ERS to develop and implement state-of-the-art research methodologies to better inform and advance scientific understanding for its customers in response to both specific requests and in anticipation of future need.

ERS envisions using a number of research techniques, as appropriate to the individual investigation. These include laboratory and field techniques, exploratory interviews, pilot experiments, and respondent debriefing. Laboratory and field techniques are two methodologies based on comparison of outcomes over groups that have been randomized into different treatments. This request is being sought as a continuing pilot of the concept of using a generic approval mechanism for those types of experiments. As such, experiments will be limited to two topic areas: Conservation and nutrition.

Following standard OMB requirements ERS will submit to OMB individually for review of each specific experiment it undertakes under this generic clearance and provide OMB with all materials associated with the experiment.

Authority: Legislative authority for the planned information collection are 7 U.S.C. 2204(a) and 7 U.S.C. 2026(a)(1).

ERS intends to protect respondent information under the Privacy Act of 1974 and the E-Government Act of 2002. ERS has decided not to invoke the Confidential Information Protection and Statistical Efficiency Act of 2002 (CIPSEA). The complexity and cost necessary to invoke CIPSEA is not justified given the nature of the collection; the collections would generally be designed to be hosted in university computer labs, where CIPSEA compliance could not be assured.

Consistent with the Privacy Act and the E-Government Act, a Systems of Records Notice (SORN) and a Privacy Impact Assessment (PIA) will be submitted for approval, as appropriate.


### 54956 Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 178 / Monday, September 15, 2014 / Notices

The SORN and PIA will document the ways in which participant personally identifiable information will be collected, stored, and accessed. Data will be managed for research purposes only.

Specific details regarding information handling will be specified in individual submissions under this generic clearance, but will conform to these broad guidelines. Affected Public: Respondents will include individuals and households.

Estimated Number of Respondents and Respondent Burden: In all cases, participation will be voluntary and time commitments will be minimal (15–90 minutes). No experiments will put participants at risk of physical, monetary, or psychological harm. No data collection is estimated to take longer than 90 minutes per respondent, including the time required for respondents and non-respondents to review instructions and participate in the data collection.

The estimated number of respondents participating in data collections under this generic clearance over an eighteen months period is 6,900. The maximum total estimated response burden for all of those participating in the study is 7,025 hours.

Type of research instrument Estimated number of respondents Estimated number of
responses per

respondent Average burden-hours
per response Estimated total burden hours

requested

Laboratory study ........................................................................................... 4,240 1 1.5 (90 mins) .... 6,360 Field study .................................................................................................... 2,660 1 ≤ 1 (15 mins) ..... 665

Total ....................................................................................................... 6,900 .............

........... ........................... 7,025

Dated: September 4, 2014. Mary Bohman,
Administrator, Economic Research Service.

[FR Doc. 2014–21904 Filed 9–12–14; 8:45 am]

**BILLING CODE 3410–18–P**

**DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE**

**Foreign Agricultural Service**

**Notice of Request for Approval of a New Information Collection** 

**AGENCY :**  Foreign Agricultural Service,
USDA.

**ACTION :**  Notice and request for

comments.

**SUMMARY :**  In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. Chapter 35), this notice announces the intention of the Foreign Agricultural Service to request approval for a new information collection forGeneral Administrative Policy for CostReimbursable Agreements.

**DATES :**  Comments on this notice must be received by November 14, 2014 to be assured of consideration.

Additional Information or Comments: Contact: Chris Coppenbarger, Grants Management Officer, Office of the Chief Operating Officer, MS–3118, U.S. Department of Agriculture, 1400 Independence Ave. SW., Washington, DC 20250; Tel: (202) 720–2568, Fax: (202) 690–4029, Email: christopher.coppenbarger@fas.usda.gov.

**SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION :** 

The Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) intends to establish uniform guidelines for the use,award and administration of costreimbursable agreements entered into under the authority of 7 U.S.C. 3319a and subsequently to publish regulations on the use, award, and administration of such agreements. The intended effect is to issue agency regulations to reflectcurrent statutory authority and longheld agency business practices.

Title: General Administrative Policy for Cost-Reimbursable Agreements.

OMB Number: 0551–New. Expiration Date of Approval: Three years from approval date.

Type of Request: New information collection.

Estimate of Burden: Public reporting burden for this collection of information is estimated to average 4.0 hours per

response.

Type of Respondents: U.S. institutions of higher education.

Estimated Number of Respondents:

250.

Estimated Number of Responses: 750. Estimated Total Annual Burden on Respondents: 3,000.

Copies of this information collection can be obtained from Connie Ehrhart, the Agency Information Collection Coordinator, at (202) 690–1578 or email

at Connie.Ehrhart@fas.usda.gov.

Abstract: This information collection is required to support the planned FAS guidelines and regulations regarding‘‘General Administrative Policy for Costreimbursable Agreements’’ for agreements entered into under 7 U.S.C. 3319a. These guidelines establish the requirements for participation in the following FAS programs listed in the Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance: 10.613, Faculty Exchange Program; 10.614, Scientific Cooperation Exchange Program with China; 10.777, Norman E. Borlaug International Agricultural Science and Technology Fellowship; 10.960, Technical Agricultural Assistance; 10.961, Scientific Cooperation and Research Program; 10.962, Cochran Fellowship ProgramInternational Training-Foreign Participant. This information collection is necessary for FAS to manage, plan, and evaluate these programs and to ensure the proper and judicious use of government resources. Without the information collection, FAS would not be able to conduct any of the activities falling under the authorities and instruments listed above (i.e., the agency would not be able to develop projects, make or receive payments, monitor projects, identify financial and accounting errors, report to www.usaspending.gov, etc.).

FAS will determine the specific means of collection that will be used based on the availability of technology and, as applicable, (1) an informal agreement of FAS and the respondent, (2) the terms of a signed agreement between FAS and the respondent, or (3) the provision of written, procedural rules made publicly available by FAS to the respondent. The information will be collected via phone calls, emails, fax, postal mail, person-to-person meetings, as data entry into grant management system(s), and/or any other commonly used means of communication available to both parties. FAS will encourage the respondent to use modern information technology to reduce the administrative burden whenever possible. Respondents that meet user criteria and choose to utilize the FAS’s electronic grants management system will not be required to provide duplicate information for subsequent or current transactions. Any party may initiate a conversation at any time to discuss the possibility of entering into a non-assistance cooperative agreement.

FAS uses the following forms to obtain information from respondents