1550 Federal Register / Vol. 90, No. 5 / Wednesday, January 8, 2025 / Notices 

E. Grant Terms 

Applicants to the TIG program may 

propose grant terms between 12 and 36 

months for general category projects and 

between 12 and 18 months for 

Technology Improvement Projects. For 

SEA Grants, the grant term is set at 24 

months. The grant terms for projects in 

the General TIG and SEA categories will 

begin on January 1, 2026. TIP Grants 

will have a start date of October 1, 2025. 

Alternate start dates may be available. 

III. Grant Application Process 

A. Technology Initiative Grant 

Application Process 

The TIG application process will be 

administered in LSC’s unified grants 

management system, GrantEase. 

Applicants in the General TIG and SEA 

categories must first submit a preapplication to LSC in GrantEase by 

March 21, 2025, at 11:59 p.m. ET, to be 

considered for a grant. After review by 

LSC staff, LSC’s president decides 

which applicants will be asked to 

submit a full application. Applicants 

will be notified of approval to submit a 

full application by late April 2025. Full 

applications are due to LSC in the 

GrantEase system on June 18, 2025, at 

11:59 p.m. ET. Once received, full 

applications will undergo a rigorous 

review by LSC staff. LSC’s president 

makes the final decisions on funding for 

the TIG program. 

As noted above, applicants applying 

for TIP funding are not required to 

submit pre-applications. LSC will 

launch the online application system for 

TIP by April 1, 2025, and set a 

submission deadline of May 23, 2025, at 

11:59 p.m. ET. LSC follows a similar 

review process for applications in these 

categories, which includes LSC staff 

conducting a rigorous review of all 

proposals and the LSC president making 

final funding decisions. 

B. Late or Incomplete Applications 

LSC may consider a request to submit 

a pre-application after the deadline, but 

only if the applicant has submitted an 

email to techgrants@lsc.gov explaining 

the circumstances that caused the delay 

prior to the pre-application deadline. 

Communication with LSC staff, 

including assigned program liaisons, is 

not a substitute for sending a formal 

request and explanation to techgrants@

lsc.gov. At its discretion, LSC may 

consider incomplete applications. LSC 

will determine whether it will consider 

late or incomplete applications on a 

case-by-case basis. 

C. Multiple Pre-Applications 

Applicants may submit multiple preapplications. If applying for multiple 

grants that require pre-applications, 

applicants should submit separate preapplications for each funding request. 

D. Additional Information and 

Guidelines 

Additional guidance and instructions 

on the pre-application and application 

processes for Technology Initiative 

Grants will be available and regularly 

updated at https://www.lsc.gov/grants/ 

technology-initiative-grant-program. 

(Authority: 42 U.S.C. 2996g(e).) 

Dated: January 3, 2025. 

Stefanie Davis, 

Deputy General Counsel, Legal Services 

Corporation. 

[FR Doc. 2025–00214 Filed 1–7–25; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 7050–01–P 

NATIONAL FOUNDATION ON THE 

ARTS AND THE HUMANITIES 

Federal Council on the Arts and the 

Humanities 

Arts and Artifacts Indemnity Panel 

Advisory Committee 

AGENCY: Federal Council on the Arts 

and the Humanities; National 

Foundation on the Arts and the 

Humanities. 

ACTION: Notice of meeting. 

SUMMARY: Pursuant to the Federal 

Advisory Committee Act, notice is 

hereby given that the Federal Council 

on the Arts and the Humanities will 

hold a meeting of the Arts and Artifacts 

Domestic Indemnity Panel. 

DATES: The meeting will be held on 

Wednesday, February 5, 2025, from 

12:00 p.m. until adjourned. 

ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held by 

videoconference originating at the 

National Endowment for the Arts, 

Washington, DC 20506. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Elizabeth Voyatzis, Committee 

Management Officer, 400 7th Street SW, 

Room 4060, Washington, DC 20506, 

(202) 606–8322; evoyatzis@neh.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

purpose of the meeting is for panel 

review, discussion, evaluation, and 

recommendation on applications for 

Certificates of Indemnity submitted to 

the Federal Council on the Arts and the 

Humanities, for exhibitions beginning 

on or after April 1, 2025. Because the 

meeting will consider proprietary 

financial and commercial data provided 

in confidence by indemnity applicants, 

and material that is likely to disclose 

trade secrets or other privileged or 

confidential information, and because it 

is important to keep the values of 

objects to be indemnified and the 

methods of transportation and security 

measures confidential, I have 

determined that that the meeting will be 

closed to the public pursuant to 

subsection (c)(4) of section 552b of Title 

5, United States Code. I have made this 

determination under the authority 

granted me by the Chairman’s 

Delegation of Authority to Close 

Advisory Committee Meetings, dated 

April 15, 2016. 

Dated: January 3, 2025. 

Jessica Graves, 

Paralegal Specialist, National Endowment for 

the Humanities. 

[FR Doc. 2025–00239 Filed 1–7–25; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 7536–01–P 

NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION 

Agency Information Collection 

Activities: Comment Request; National 

Science Foundation Research 

Infrastructure Guide 

AGENCY: National Science Foundation. 

ACTION: Notice and request for 

comments. 

SUMMARY: In accordance with the 

requirement of the Paperwork 

Reduction Act of 1995, the National 

Science Foundation (NSF) is providing 

opportunity for public comment on 

revisions to the NSF Research 

Infrastructure Guide (RIG). 

DATES: Written comments should be 

received by March 10, 2025, to be 

assured of consideration. Comments 

received after that date will be 

considered to the extent practicable. 

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, 2415 Eisenhower Ave., 

Alexandria, VA 22314, or by email to 

splimpto@nsf.gov. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Suzanne Plimpton on (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). 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 


lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with NOTICES1
Federal Register / Vol. 90, No. 5 / Wednesday, January 8, 2025 / Notices 1551 

Title of Collection: Research 

Infrastructure Guide. 

OMB Approval Number: 3145–0239. 

Expiration Date of Approval: June 30, 

2025. 

Type of Request: Intent to seek 

approval to extend with revision an 

information collection for three years. 

Proposed Project: The revision to the 

Research Infrastructure Guide (RIG) 

aims to enhance guidance for the 

Construction Stage and implementation, 

focusing on planning and execution, 

and improve guidance for Operations 

Stage planning. It introduces contextual 

guidance for tailoring, scaling, and 

progressively elaborating planning 

efforts across all life cycle stages of 

Major Facilities and Mid-scale Research 

Infrastructure (RI). The updates provide 

more comprehensive project 

management guidance, including risk 

management, contingency estimating 

and management, and performance 

measurement. Additionally, the revision 

offers enhanced supplemental guidance 

on cyberinfrastructure, information 

assurance, partnerships, and Agile 

methodology for NSF projects. The draft 

version of the NSF RIG is available on 

the NSF website at: https://new.nsf.gov/ 

bfa/rio/resources. 

To facilitate review, a section called 

List of Changes with brief descriptions 

of the changes is provided in the RIG. 

NSF is particularly interested in public 

comment on the new content provided 

in Sections 2.9 Mid-scale Research 

Infrastructure Guidance, 3.5 

Construction Stage and Implementation 

Planning, and 3.6 Operations Stage 

Planning. 

The National Science Foundation Act 

of 1950 (Pub. L. 81–507) set forth NSF’s 

mission and purpose: 

‘‘To promote the progress of science; 

to advance the national health, 

prosperity, and welfare; to secure the 

national defense. * * *’’ 

The Act authorized and directed NSF 

to initiate and support: 

• Basic scientific research and 

research fundamental to the engineering 

process; 

• Programs to strengthen scientific 

and engineering research potential; 

• Science and engineering education 

programs at all levels and in all the 

various fields of science and 

engineering; 

• Programs that provide a source of 

information for policy formulation; and 

• Other activities to promote these 

ends. 

Among Federal agencies, NSF is a 

leader in providing the academic 

community with advanced 

instrumentation needed to conduct 

state-of-the-art research and to educate 

the next generation of scientists, 

engineers, and technical workers. The 

knowledge generated by these tools 

sustains U.S. leadership in science and 

engineering to drive the U.S. economy 

and secure the future. A crucial part of 

NSF’s responsibility is to ensure that the 

research and education communities 

have access to these resources and to 

provide the support needed to utilize 

them optimally and implement timely 

upgrades. 

The scale of advanced 

instrumentation spans from small 

research tools to large, shared resources 

or facilities accessible to entire scientific 

communities. Demand for such 

instrumentation is rapidly growing, 

driven by the accelerating pace of 

discovery. The need for shared Research 

Infrastructure (RI) is especially high, 

and this demand is expected to increase 

further as more researchers and 

educators depend on these expansive 

facilities, instruments, and databases to 

achieve the next significant intellectual 

breakthroughs. 

NSF defines RI as any combination of 

facilities, equipment, instrumentation, 

computational hardware and software, 

and the necessary human capital in 

support of the same. Historically, NSF 

has supported diverse types of RI, 

including particle accelerators, 

detectors, radio and optical telescopes, 

remote research stations, research 

vessels and aircraft, high-performance 

computing, and geographically 

distributed observatories, as well as 

large-scale surveys and data sets. 

NSF currently provides support for 

facility construction through the Major 

Research Equipment and Facility 

Construction (MREFC) account and the 

Research and Related Activities (R&RA) 

account. The MREFC account, 

established in FY1995, is an agencywide capital account that provides 

funding for the Construction Stage of 

Major Facilities with a Total Project 

Cost (TPC) of $100M or greater for 

construction, and Mid-scale RI with a 

TPC of $20–$100M. 

The growth and diversification of 

Major Facility and Mid-scale RI require 

that NSF remain attentive to the everchanging issues and challenges inherent 

in their planning, construction, 

operation, management, and oversight. 

Most importantly, dedicated, competent 

NSF and Awardee staff are needed to 

manage and oversee these RI, giving the 

attention and oversight that good 

practice dictates and that proper 

accountability to taxpayers and 

Congress demands. To this end, there is 

also a need for consistent, documented 

requirements and procedures to be 

understood and used by NSF program 

managers and awardees for all such RI. 

Use of the Information: Research 

Infrastructure (RI) is a crucial 

component of the science and 

engineering enterprise, and supporting 

it is one of NSF’s primary 

responsibilities. NSF provides awards to 

external entities—primarily universities, 

university consortia, or non-profit 

organizations—to construct, manage, 

and operate these facilities. These 

awards are typically made through 

cooperative agreements. While NSF 

does not directly build or operate the 

facilities it funds, it remains responsible 

for overseeing their development, 

management, and overall performance. 

The Research Infrastructure Guide 

(RIG) is intended to: 

• Articulate NSF’s oversight policies, 

processes, and procedures at each life 

cycle stage for Major Facilities and Midscale RI. 

• Provide guidance to organizations 

for proposal development and effective 

management of funded activities, 

following established program and 

project management best practices. 

This version of the RIG provides 

enhanced guidance for planning across 

all life cycle stages, including 

Development, Design, Construction and 

implementation, Operations, and 

Disposition. It offers detailed 

instructions on tailoring, appropriately 

scaling, and progressively elaborating 

plans to align with the scale and 

complexity of the RI. Additionally, key 

project management elements are 

improved to ensure stronger oversight. 

The RIG does not replace the formal 

procedures outlined in the Proposal & 

Award Policies and Procedures Guide 

(PAPPG), which are required for all NSF 

awards. Instead, it supplements the 

PAPPG by providing specific guidance 

on NSF policies and procedures for the 

planning, management, and oversight of 

Major Facilities and Mid-scale RI. All RI 

require merit and technical review, as 

well as approval of specific deliverables. 

The level of review and approval for 

these projects differs significantly from 

standard grants, as does the degree of 

oversight necessary to ensure proper 

accountability for federal funds. The 

RIG’s requirements, recommended 

procedures, and best practices apply to 

any RI substantial enough to require 

ongoing, close interaction with NSF and 

the National Science Board. 

NSF will update the RIG periodically 

to reflect requirements, policies, and/or 

procedures changes. Awardees are 

expected to monitor and adopt the 

requirements and best practices 

included in the RIG, which aim to 

improve management and oversight of 


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1552 Federal Register / Vol. 90, No. 5 / Wednesday, January 8, 2025 / Notices 

1See Docket No. RM2018–3, Order Adopting 

Final Rules Relating to Non-Public Information, 

June 27, 2018, Attachment A at 19–22 (Order No. 

4679). 

Major Facility and Mid-scale RIs and 

enable the most efficient and costeffective delivery of tools to the research 

and education communities. 

Submitting proposals and subsequent 

documentation related to the 

development, design, construction or 

implementation, and operations of a 

Major Facility or Mid-scale RI to NSF is 

part of the information collected that 

NSF uses to fulfill its responsibility to 

support merit-based research and 

education projects in all the scientific 

and engineering disciplines. NSF is also 

committed to providing oversight on RI, 

which they must balance against 

monitoring its information collection to 

identify and address any excessive 

reporting burdens. 

NSF has approximately 25 Major 

Facilities in various stages of 

Development, Design, Construction, 

Operations, and Disposition. Major 

Facilities undergoing a significant 

upgrade may be classified in both 

design or construction and operations at 

the same time. Two to four new 

construction awards are made 

approximately every five years based on 

science community RI needs and 

availability of funding. Among the 25 

Major Facilities, there are approximately 

seven (7) facilities annually that are 

either in Design or Construction Stages. 

These stages require the highest level of 

reporting and management 

documentation per the RIG. Currently, 

there are approximately 27 Mid-scale 

Research Infrastructure in the Track1 

Program and nine in the Track 2 

Program. 

Burden on the Public: NSF estimates 

that approximately five Full Time 

Equivalents (FTEs) are necessary for 

each Major Facility in design or 

construction to respond to NSF 

performance and financial reporting and 

project management documentation 

requirements on an annual basis; or 

10,400 hours per year. NSF estimates 

approximately one and half (1.5) FTE 

for a Major Facility in operations to 

respond to performance and financial 

reporting on an annual basis; or 3,120 

hours per year. For Mid-scale RI, NSF 

estimates approximately one (1) FTE is 

necessary for each Mid-Scale RI to 

respond to NSF project management 

documentation requirements on an 

annual basis; or 2,080 hours per year. 

With seven (7) Major Facilities in design 

or construction and twenty-one (20) in 

operations and four (4) Mid-scale RI, 

this equates to roughly 150,000 public 

burden hours annually. 

Comments: In addition to the 

previously mentioned types of 

comments, feedback is also invited on 

the following: 

(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; 

and 

(d) ways to minimize the burden of 

the collection of information on 

respondents, including through the use 

of automated collection techniques or 

other forms of information technology. 

After obtaining and considering 

public comment, NSF will prepare the 

submission requesting OMB clearance 

of this collection for no longer than 3 

years. 

Dated: January 3, 2025. 

Suzanne H. Plimpton, 

Reports Clearance Officer, National Science 

Foundation. 

[FR Doc. 2025–00197 Filed 1–7–25; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 7555–01–P 

POSTAL REGULATORY COMMISSION 

[Docket Nos. CP2023–204; K2025–100; 

MC2025–1013 and K2025–1012; MC2025– 

1014 and K2025–1013; MC2025–1015 and 

K2025–1014; MC2025–1016 and K2025– 

1015; MC2025–1017 and K2025–1016; 

MC2025–1018 and K2025–1017; MC2025– 

1019 and K2025–1018; MC2025–1020 and 

K2025–1019; MC2025–1021 and K2025– 

1020; MC2025–1022 and K2025–1021; 

MC2025–1023 and K2025–1022; MC2025– 

1024 and K2025–1023; MC2025–1030 and 

K2025–1029; MC2025–1031 and K2025– 

1030; MC2025–1032 and K2025–1031; 

MC2025–1033 and K2025–1032; MC2025– 

1034 and K2025–1033; MC2025–1035 and 

K2025–1034; MC2025–1036 and K2025– 

1035] 

New Postal Products 

AGENCY: Postal Regulatory Commission. 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: The Commission is noticing a 

recent Postal Service filing for the 

Commission’s consideration concerning 

a negotiated service agreement. This 

notice informs the public of the filing, 

invites public comment, and takes other 

administrative steps. 

DATES: Comments are due: January 10, 

2025. 

ADDRESSES: Submit comments 

electronically via the Commission’s 

Filing Online system at https://

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. Public Proceeding(s) 

III. Summary Proceeding(s) 

I. Introduction 

Pursuant to 39 CFR 3041.405, the 

Commission gives notice that the Postal 

Service filed request(s) for the 

Commission to consider matters related 

to Competitive negotiated service 

agreement(s). The request(s) may 

propose the addition of a negotiated 

service agreement from the Competitive 

product list or the modification of an 

existing product currently appearing on 

the Competitive product list. 

The public portions of the Postal 

Service’s request(s) can be accessed via 

the Commission’s website (http://

www.prc.gov). Non-public portions of 

the Postal Service’s request(s), if any, 

can be accessed through compliance 

with the requirements of 39 CFR 

3011.301.1

Section II identifies the docket 

number(s) associated with each Postal 

Service request, if any, that will be 

reviewed in a public proceeding as 

defined by 39 CFR 3010.101(p), the title 

of each such request, the request’s 

acceptance date, and the authority cited 

by the Postal Service for each request. 

For each such request, the Commission 

appoints an officer of the Commission to 

represent the interests of the general 

public in the proceeding, pursuant to 39 

U.S.C. 505 and 39 CFR 3000.114 (Public 

Representative). Section II also 

establishes comment deadline(s) 

pertaining to each such request. 

The Commission invites comments on 

whether the Postal Service’s request(s) 

identified in Section II, if any, are 

consistent with the policies of title 39. 

Applicable statutory and regulatory 

requirements include 39 U.S.C. 3632, 39 

U.S.C. 3633, 39 U.S.C. 3642, 39 CFR 

part 3035, and 39 CFR part 3041. 

Comment deadline(s) for each such 

request, if any, appear in Section II. 

Section III identifies the docket 

number(s) associated with each Postal 

Service request, if any, to add a 


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