Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 25 / Friday, February 6, 2015 / Notices 6773 

1National Science Foundation. (2012). NSF at a 

glance. Retrieved from http://www.nsf.gov/about/

glance.jsp. 

• Programs that provide a source of 

information for policy formulation; and 

• Other activities to promote these 

ends. 

Over the years, NSF’s statutory 

authority has been modified in a 

number of significant ways. In 1968, 

authority to support applied research 

was added to the Organic Act. In 1980, 

The Science and Engineering Equal 

Opportunities Act gave NSF standing 

authority to support activities to 

improve the participation of women and 

minorities in science and engineering. 

Another major change occurred in 

1986, when engineering was accorded 

equal status with science in the Organic 

Act. NSF has always dedicated itself to 

providing the leadership and vision 

needed to keep the words and ideas 

embedded in its mission statement fresh 

and up-to-date. Even in today’s rapidly 

changing environment, NSF’s core 

purpose resonates clearly in everything 

it does: Promoting achievement and 

progress in science and engineering and 

enhancing the potential for research and 

education to contribute to the Nation. 

While NSF’s vision of the future and the 

mechanisms it uses to carry out its 

charges have evolved significantly over 

the last four decades, its ultimate 

mission remains the same. 

Use of the Information: The regular 

submission of proposals to the 

Foundation is part of the collection of 

information and is used to help NSF 

fulfill this responsibility by initiating 

and supporting merit-selected research 

and education projects in all the 

scientific and engineering disciplines. 

NSF receives more than 50,000 

proposals annually for new projects, 

and makes approximately 11,000 new 

awards. 

Support is made primarily through 

grants, contracts, and other agreements 

awarded to more than 2,000 colleges, 

universities, academic consortia, 

nonprofit institutions, and small 

businesses. The awards are based 

mainly on evaluations of proposal merit 

submitted to the Foundation. 

The Foundation has a continuing 

commitment to monitor the operations 

of its information collection to identify 

and address excessive reporting burdens 

as well as to identify any real or 

apparent inequities based on gender, 

race, ethnicity, or disability of the 

proposed principal investigator(s)/

project director(s) or the co-principal 

investigator(s)/co-project director(s). 

Burden on the Public: The Foundation 

estimates that an average of 120 hours 

is expended for each proposal 

submitted. An estimated 50,000 

proposals are expected during the 

course of one year for a total of 

6,000,000 public burden hours 

annually. 

Dated: February 3, 2015. 

Suzanne H. Plimpton, 

Reports Clearance Officer, National Science 

Foundation. 

[FR Doc. 2015–02386 Filed 2–5–15; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 7555–01–P 

NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION 

Agency Information Collection 

Activities: Comment Request; 

Engineering IIP Program Monitoring 

Clearance 

AGENCY: National Science Foundation. 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: Under the Paperwork 

Reduction Act of 1995, Pub. L. 104–13 

(44 U.S.C. U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)), and as 

part of its continuing effort to reduce 

paperwork and respondent burden, the 

National Science Foundation invites the 

general public and other Federal 

agencies to take this opportunity to 

comment on this information collection. 

This is the second notice for public 

comment; the first was published in the 

Federal Register at 79 FR 9485 and no 

comments were received. NSF is 

forwarding the proposed submission to 

the Office of Management and Budget 

(OMB) for clearance simultaneously 

with the publication of this second 

notice. The full submission may be 

found at: http://www.reginfo.gov/public/ 

do/PRAMain. 

DATES: Comments regarding these 

information collections are best assured 

of having their full effect if received by 

OMB within March 9, 2015. 

ADDRESSES: Written comments 

regarding the information collection and 

requests for copies of the proposed 

information collection request should be 

addressed to Suzanne Plimpton, Reports 

Clearance Officer, National Science 

Foundation, 4201 Wilson Blvd., Rm. 

1265, Arlington, VA 22230, or by email 

to splimpto@nsf.gov. Copies of the 

submission may be obtained by calling 

(703) 292–7556. 

FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: Contact 

Suzanne Plimpton, the NSF Reports 

Clearance Officer, phone (703) 292– 

7556, or send email to splimpto@

nsf.gov. 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). 

An agency may not conduct or 

sponsor a collection of information 

unless the collection of information 

displays a currently valid OMB control 

number and the agency informs 

potential persons who are to respond to 

the collection of information that such 

persons are not required to respond to 

the collection of information unless it 

displays a currently valid OMB control 

number. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Title of Collection: Engineering IIP 

Program; Monitoring Data Collections. 

OMB Number: 3145–NEW. 

Type of Request: Intent to seek 

approval to establish specific collections 

for 5 IIP programs for post-award output 

and outcome monitoring. 

Abstract 

Proposed Project: NSF provides 

nearly 20 percent of federal funding for 

basic research to academic institutions.1

Within NSF, the Directorate for 

Engineering (ENG) has primary 

responsibility for promoting the 

progress of engineering in the United 

States in order to enable the Nation’s 

capacity to perform. Its investments in 

engineering research and education aim 

to build and strengthen a national 

capacity for innovation that can lead 

over time to the creation of new shared 

wealth and a better quality of life. Most 

NSF programs in engineering are funded 

through the Directorate for Engineering, 

which also sponsors the NSF’s 

Industrial Innovation and Partnerships 

(IIP) Division. To these ends, ENG 

provides support for research and 

implementation activities that may meet 

national needs. While scientists seek to 

discover what is not yet known, 

engineers apply fundamental science to 

design and develop new devices and 

engineered systems to solve societal 

problems. ENG also focuses on 

broadening participation in engineering 

research and careers, particularly among 

those individuals traditionally 

underrepresented and underemployed 

in the STEM workforce, including but 

not limited to, women, persons with 

disabilities, and racial and ethnic 

minorities. 

This request seeks approval for a 

group of information collections 

intended to monitor outputs, short-term, 

intermediate and long-term outcomes of 

NSF–ENG investments in research and 

innovation in the Division of Industrial 

Innovation and Partnerships (IIP). IIP 

programs serve the entire foundation by 

fostering partnerships to advance 

technological innovation and plays an 

important role in the public-private 


asabaliauskas on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
6774 Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 25 / Friday, February 6, 2015 / Notices 

2National Science Foundation. (2014) About IIP. 

Retrieved from http://www.nsf.gov/eng/iip/

about.jsp. 

innovation partnership enterprise by 

investing in science and engineering 

research across all disciplines that have 

the potential for high impact in meeting 

national and societal needs. IIP focuses 

on leveraging federal, small business, 

industrial, university, state and 

community college resources. 

Genuine partnerships between 

academe and industry are an important 

aspect of IIP programs and should 

facilitate the types of infrastructure that 

can sustain and nurture the spread of 

innovative activity. 

Innovation infrastructures educate 

and train human capital for the research 

enterprise and the entrepreneurial 

aspects of innovation; develop social 

networks characterized by shared 

commitment and trust; and build a base 

of operational support without which 

sustainable partnerships cannot exist. 

This support includes a diversified base 

of private investment, a physical place 

to provide a context for incubation, 

technical, management, and 

administrative support, laboratories, 

communications services, and reliable 

sources of capital. One end of the 

innovation spectrum within the division 

includes unsolicited research proposals 

generated by the academic community. 

On the other end of the innovation 

spectrum, IIP supports small business 

research proposals aimed at pursuing 

opportunities to commercialize 

products and services. 

IIP is home to the two Congressionally 

mandated small business research 

programs, the Small Business 

Innovation Research (SBIR) program 

and the Small Business Technology 

Transfer (STTR) program. IIP also 

manages the Partnerships for 

Innovation: Accelerating Innovation 

Research (PFI:AIR) as well as the 

Partnerships for Innovation: Building 

Innovation Capacity (PFI:BIC) program, 

which stimulate innovation by building 

partnerships across the scientific, 

engineering, and business community. 

In addition, the IIP leverages industrial 

support through the Industry/University 

Cooperative Research Centers (I/UCRC) 

program. The division also actively 

participates in NSF-wide programs, 

such as the Grants Opportunities for 

Academic Liaison with Industry 

(GOALI) program. Another NSF-wide 

program in which IIP actively 

participates is the Innovation Corps 

program (I-Corps), which equips 

scientists with the entrepreneurial tools 

needed to transform discoveries with 

commercial realization potential into 

innovative technologies.2 ENG-funded 

projects could include research 

opportunities and mentoring for 

educators, scholars, small businesses 

and university students. 

These survey questionnaires, 

individually tailored to measure outputs 

and outcomes for different programs, 

will provide essential information for 

program monitoring purposes. Data 

collected by ENG IIP program 

monitoring collections will be used for 

program planning, management, and 

evaluation. Summaries of monitoring 

data are used to respond to queries from 

Congress, the public, NSF’s external 

merit reviewers who serve as advisors, 

including Committees of Visitors 

(COVs), and NSF’s Office of the 

Inspector General. These data are 

needed for effective administration, 

program and project monitoring, 

evaluation, and for measuring 

attainment of NSF’s program and 

strategic goals, as identified by the 

President’s Accountable Government 

Initiative, the Government Performance 

and Results Act (GPRA) Modernization 

Act of 2010, and NSF’s Strategic Plan. 

The seven (7) program-specific 

collections included in this request are 

designed to assist in management of 

specific programs and to serve as data 

resources for current and future program 

evaluations. As such, expected 

outcomes could vary according to the 

nature of the program funding, field of 

study, and other program 

characteristics. 

Office Programs 

Industrial Innovation and Partnerships (IIP) ............................................. Grant Opportunities for Academic Liaison with Industry (GOALI). 

Innovation Corps (I-Corps). 

Partnerships For Innovation: Accelerating Innovation Research 

(PFI:AIR). 

Partnerships For Innovation: building Innovation Capacity (PFI:BIC). 

Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR). 

This data collection effort will enable 

program officers to longitudinally 

monitor outputs and outcomes given the 

unique goals and purpose of their 

programs. This is very important to 

enable appropriate and accurate 

evidence-based management of the 

programs and to determine whether or 

not the specific goals of the programs 

are being met. 

Grantees will be invited to submit this 

information on a periodic basis via data 

collection methods that include but are 

not limited to online surveys, 

interviews, phone interviews, etc. These 

indicators are both quantitative and 

descriptive and may include, for 

example, the characteristics of project 

personnel and students; sources of 

complementary cash and in-kind 

support to the ENG 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 

ENG-funded effort. 

Use of the Information: The data 

collected will be used for NSF internal 

reports, historical data, program level 

studies and evaluations, and for 

securing future funding for the ENG 

program maintenance and growth. 

These data could be used for program 

evaluation purposes if deemed 

necessary for a particular program. 

Evaluation designs could make use of 

metadata associated with the award, and 

other characteristics to identify a 

comparison group to evaluate the 

impact of the program funding and 

other interesting research questions. 


asabaliauskas on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 25 / Friday, February 6, 2015 / Notices 6775 

ESTIMATE OF BURDEN

Collection title Number of 

respondents 

Annual number of hours/ 

respondents 

Annual hour 

burden 

Grant Opportunities for Academic Liaison with Industry (GOALI) .............................................. 200 2 400 

Innovation Corps (I-Corps) Longitudinal Collection ..................................................................... 800 .25 200 

Innovation Corps (I-Corps) Pre-Course Survey Questionnaire ................................................... 150 .25 37.5 

Innovation Corps (I-Corps) Post-Course Survey Questionnaire ................................................. 150 .25 37.5 

Partnerships for Innovation: Accelerating Innovation Research (PFI:AIR) ................................. 200 2 400 

Partnerships for Innovation: Building Innovation Capacity (PFI:BIC) ......................................... 30 2 60 

Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) .............................................................................. 1,100 2 2,200 

Total ...................................................................................................................................... 2,630 8.75 3,335 

Below is an example that shows how 

the hour burden was estimated for the 

monitoring system. 

The estimated average number of 

annual respondents is 2,630, with an 

estimated annual response burden of 

3,335 hours. For post-award monitoring 

systems, IIP expects to collect data at 1, 

2, 5, and 10 years post-award, in order 

to have the best chance of capturing the 

more immediate outcomes expected by 

1–2 years post-award, intermediate 

outcomes at 5 years post-award, and 

long-term outcomes/impacts at 10 years 

post award. These seven (7) data 

collections spread over the span of 10 

years; this averages to 0.25 data 

collections/year. For the IIP division, 

many awards are made in translational 

research, such that we might expect a 

shorter and more condensed timeline of 

outcomes and impacts. Thus, some 

programs may wish to collect data 

quarterly for the first two years of the 

award, and then once annually at 5 and 

10 years post-award. The annual 

number of responses for the first 2 years 

post award is included in this table. 

For life-of-award monitoring, the data 

collection burden to awardees will be 

limited to no more than 2 hours of the 

respondents’ time in each instance. 

Respondents: The respondents are 

PIs, partners or students. For some 

programs (I-Corps) the burden already 

includes a response from 3 members of 

the team in the pre and post surveys. 

For all others, one PI or assignee per 

award completes the questionnaire. 

Estimates of Annualized Cost to 

Respondents for the Hour 

Burdens: The overall annualized cost 

to the respondents is estimated to be 

$215,660. The following table shows the 

annualized estimate of costs to PI/

program coordinator respondents, who 

are generally university professors. This 

estimated hourly rate is based on a 

report from the American Association of 

University Professors, ‘‘Annual Report 

on the Economic Status of the 

Profession, 2011–12,’’ Academe, 

March–April 2012, Survey Report Table 

4. According to this report, the average 

salary of an associate professor across 

all types of doctoral-granting 

institutions (public, privateindependent, religiously affiliated) was 

$86,319. When divided by the number 

of standard annual work hours (2,080), 

this calculates to approximately $41 per 

hour. 

Respondent Number of 

respondents 

Burden 

hours per 

respondent 

Average 

hourly rate 

Estimated 

annual cost 

PIs, Assignees, Partners or Students ............................................................. 2,630 2 $41 $215,660 

Estimated Number of Responses per 

Report 

Data collection for the collections 

involves all awardees in the programs 

involved. The table below shows the 

total universe and sample size for each 

of the collections. 

RESPONDENT UNIVERSE AND SAMPLE SIZE OF ENG PROGRAM MONITORING CLEARANCE COLLECTIONS

Collection title Universe of 

respondents Sample size 

Grant Opportunities for Academic Liaison with Industry (GOALI) .......................................................................... 200 200 

Innovation Corps (I-Corps) Longitudinal Collection ................................................................................................. 800 800 

Innovation Corps (I-Corps) Pre-Course Survey Questionnaire ............................................................................... 150 150 

Innovation Corps (I-Corps) Post-Course Survey Questionnaire ............................................................................. 150 150 

Partnerships for Innovation: Accelerating Innovation Research (PFI:AIR) ............................................................. 200 200 

Partnerships for Innovation: Building Innovation Capacity (PFI:BIC) ..................................................................... 30 30 

Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) .......................................................................................................... 1,100 1,100 


asabaliauskas on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
6776 Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 25 / Friday, February 6, 2015 / Notices 

1Request of the United States Postal Service to 

Add Priority Mail Contract 106 to Competitive 

Product List and Notice of Filing (Under Seal) of 

Unredacted Governors’ Decision, Contract, and 

Supporting Data, January 30, 2014 (Request). 

Dated: February 3, 2015. 

Suzanne H. Plimpton, 

Reports Clearance Officer, National Science 

Foundation. 

[FR Doc. 2015–02385 Filed 2–5–15; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 7555–01–P 

NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION 

Proposal Review Panel for Materials 

Research; Notice of Meeting 

In accordance with the Federal 

Advisory Committee Act (Pub. L. 92– 

463 as amended), the National Science 

Foundation announces the following 

meeting: 

NAME: Site visit review of the Materials 

Research Science and Engineering 

Center (MRSEC) at the University of 

Wisconsin—Madison by the Division of 

Materials Research (DMR) #1203 

DATES AND TIMES: April 26, 2015; 7:00 

p.m. to 9:00 p.m. 

April 27, 2015; 7:00 a.m.–8:30 p.m. 

April 28, 2015; 7:15 a.m.–4:30 p.m. 

PLACE: University of Wisconsin, 

Madison, WI. 

TYPE OF MEETING: Part Open. 

CONTACT PERSON: Dr. Thomas Rieker, 

Program Director, Division of Materials 

Research, Room 1065, National Science 

Foundation, 4201 Wilson Boulevard, 

Arlington, VA 22230, Telephone (703) 

292–4914. 

PURPOSE OF MEETING: To provide advice 

and recommendations concerning 

further support of the MRSEC at the 

University of Wisconsin. 

AGENDA: 

Sunday, April 26, 2015 

7:00 p.m.–9:00 p.m. Closed—Briefing 

of panel 

Monday, April 27, 2015 

7:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m. Open—Review of 

the MRSEC 

5:00 p.m.–6:30 p.m. Closed— 

Executive Session 

7:00 p.m.–8:30 p.m. Open—Dinner 

Tuesday, April 28, 2015 

7:30 a.m.–10:10 a.m. Open—Review of 

the MRSEC 

10:10 a.m.–4:30 p.m. Closed— 

Executive Session, Draft and 

Review Report 

REASON FOR CLOSING: The work being 

reviewed may include information of a 

proprietary or confidential nature, 

including technical information; 

financial data, such as salaries and 

personal information concerning 

individuals associated with the MRSEC. 

These matters are exempt under 5 

U.S.C. 552 b(c), (4) and (6) of the 

Government in the Sunshine Act. 

Dated: February 3, 2015. 

Suzanne Plimpton, 

Acting Committee Management Officer. 

[FR Doc. 2015–02384 Filed 2–5–15; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 7555–01–P 

POSTAL REGULATORY COMMISSION 

[Docket Nos. MC2015–25 and CP2015–34; 

Order No. 2343] 

New Postal Product 

AGENCY: Postal Regulatory Commission. 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: The Commission is noticing a 

recent Postal Service filing concerning 

an addition of Priority Mail Contract 

106 to the competitive product list. This 

notice informs the public of the filing, 

invites public comment, and takes other 

administrative steps. 

DATES: Comments are due: February 10, 

2015. 

ADDRESSES: Submit comments 

electronically via the Commission’s 

Filing Online system at http://

www.prc.gov. Those who cannot submit 

comments electronically should contact 

the person identified in the FOR FURTHER

INFORMATION CONTACT section by 

telephone for advice on filing 

alternatives. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

David A. Trissell, General Counsel, at 

202–789–6820. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Table of Contents 

I. Introduction 

II. Notice of Commission Action 

III. Ordering Paragraphs 

I. Introduction 

In accordance with 39 U.S.C. 3642 

and 39 CFR 3020.30 et seq., the Postal 

Service filed a formal request and 

associated supporting information to 

add Priority Mail Contract 106 to the 

competitive product list.1

The Postal Service 

contemporaneously filed a redacted 

contract related to the proposed new 

product under 39 U.S.C. 3632(b)(3) and 

39 CFR 3015.5. Id. Attachment B. 

To support its Request, the Postal 

Service filed a copy of the contract, a 

copy of the Governors’ Decision 

authorizing the product, proposed 

changes to the Mail Classification 

Schedule, a Statement of Supporting 

Justification, a certification of 

compliance with 39 U.S.C. 3633(a), and 

an application for non-public treatment 

of certain materials. It also filed 

supporting financial workpapers. 

II. Notice of Commission Action 

The Commission establishes Docket 

Nos. MC2015–25 and CP2015–34 to 

consider the Request pertaining to the 

proposed Priority Mail Contract 106 

product and the related contract, 

respectively. 

The Commission invites comments on 

whether the Postal Service’s filings in 

the captioned dockets are consistent 

with the policies of 39 U.S.C. 3632, 

3633, or 3642, 39 CFR part 3015, and 39 

CFR part 3020, subpart B. Comments are 

due no later than February 10, 2015. 

The public portions of these filings can 

be accessed via the Commission’s Web 

site (http://www.prc.gov). 

The Commission appoints Kenneth R. 

Moeller to serve as Public 

Representative in these dockets. 

III. Ordering Paragraphs 

It is ordered: 

1. The Commission establishes Docket 

Nos. MC2015–25 and CP2015–34 to 

consider the matters raised in each 

docket. 

2. Pursuant to 39 U.S.C. 505, Kenneth 

R. Moeller is appointed to serve as an 

officer of the Commission to represent 

the interests of the general public in 

these proceedings (Public 

Representative). 

3. Comments are due no later than 

February 10, 2015. 

4. The Secretary shall arrange for 

publication of this order in the Federal 

Register. 

By the Commission. 

Shoshana M. Grove, 

Secretary. 

[FR Doc. 2015–02422 Filed 2–5–15; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 7710–FW–P 

POSTAL REGULATORY COMMISSION 

[Docket Nos. MC2015–30 and CP2015–39; 

Order No. 2338] 

New Postal Product 

AGENCY: Postal Regulatory Commission. 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: The Commission is noticing a 

recent Postal Service filing concerning 

the addition of Priority Mail Contract 

111 negotiated service agreement. This 

notice informs the public of the filing, 

invites public comment, and takes other 

administrative steps. 

DATES: Comments are due: February 9, 

2015. 


asabaliauskas on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES