59116 Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 201 / Thursday, October 18, 2007 / Notices 

Preservation and Access Humanities 

Collections and Resources, submitted to 

the Division of Preservation and Access, 

at the July 17, 2007 deadline. 

8. Date: November 29, 2007. 

Time: 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. 

Room: 315. 

Program: This meeting will review 

applications for Faculty Humanities 

Workshops, submitted to the Division of 

Education Programs, at the September 

17, 2007 deadline. 

Heather C. Gottry, 

Acting Advisory Committee Management 

Officer. 

[FR Doc. E7–20546 Filed 10–17–07; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 7536–01–P 

NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION 

Notice of Intent To Seek Approval To 

Establish an Information Collection 

AGENCY: National Science Foundation. 

ACTION: Notice and request for 

comments. 

SUMMARY: The National Science 

Foundation (NSF) is announcing plans 

to request clearance 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 three years. 

DATES: Written comments on this notice 

must be received by December 17, 2007 

to be assured of consideration. 

Comments received after that date will 

be considered to the extent practicable. 

Comments: 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; (d) ways to 

minimize the burden of the collection of 

information on those who are to 

respond, including through the use of 

appropriate automated, electronic, 

mechanical or other technological 

collection techniques or other forms of 

information technology. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Suzanne Plimpton, Reports Clearance 

Officer, National Science Foundation, 

4201 Wilso Boulevard, Suite 295, 

Arlingon, Virginia 22230; telephone 

(703) 292–7556; or sent e-mail 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 between 8 a.m. and 8 

p.m., Eastern time, Monday through 

Friday. You may obtain a copy of the 

data collection instrument and 

instructions from Ms. Plimpton. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Title of Collection: Descriptive and 

Exploratory Study of the National 

Science Foundation’s Small Grants for 

Exploratory Research Funding 

Mechanism. 

OMB Number: 3145–New. 

Expiration Date of Approval: Not 

applicable. 

Type of request: New. 

Abstract: The SGER funding 

mechanism was developed in 1989 by 

an external committee, and authorized 

by NSF Director Bloch for use beginning 

at the start of Fiscal Year 1990. The 

committee’s charge was to recommend 

whether NSF as a whole should adopt 

a mechanism similar to one that had 

been piloted by the Engineering 

Directorate, known as Small Grants for 

Expedited Research. While that title 

emphasized award timeliness, the 

mechanism’s purposes included 

funding innovative research ideas. The 

current formulation of SGER remains 

conceptually and administratively 

similar to its original purposes and 

practices. Over time, NSF has 

broadened award parameters (award 

ceiling and duration) and sharpened 

definitions of purposes (e.g., inserting 

the term Transformative Research). In at 

least one case the SGER mechanism was 

modified for a specific program purpose 

(the Nanoscale Exploratory Grants, 

which were externally reviewed). 

All applicants will be asked about 

topics relating to the application process 

(how they found out about SGER, why 

this mechanism and not a standard 

proposal, etc.). Awardees will also be 

asked about activities resulting from 

their awards, such as follow-on 

proposals, involvement of graduate 

students, and testing of new 

instrumentation. Declinees will be 

asked, for example, what action they 

took concerning the declined proposal 

(wrote standard proposal to NSF or 

another agency, and whether that was 

awarded). All applicants will be asked 

about the guidelines and funding and 

mechanism, and how they can be 

improved, e.g., through changes in their 

design components, expected outcomes, 

proposal review criteria, etc. 

The survey data collection will be 

done on the World Wide Web. 

Estimate of Burden: Public reporting 

burden for this collection of information 

is estimated to average 30 minutes per 

response. 

Respondents: Government grant 

holders—Individuals. 

Estimated Number of Responses per 

Form: 2500. 

Estimated Total Annual Burden on 

Respondents: 400 hours (800 

respondents at 30 minutes per 

response). 

Frequency of Response: Once. 

Dated: October 12, 2007. 

Suzanne H. Plimpton, 

Reports Clearance Officer, National Science 

Foundation. 

[FR Doc. 07–5137 Filed 10–17–07; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 7555–01–M 

NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION 

Advisory Committee for Social, 

Behavioral, and Economic Sciences; 

Notice of Meeting 

In accordance with Federal Advisory 

Committee Act (Pub. L. 92–463, as 

amended), the National Science 

Foundation announces the following 

meeting: 

Name: Advisory Committee for Social, 

Behavioral, and Economic Sciences (#1171). 

Date/Time: November 8, 2007; 8:30 a.m. to 

5 p.m.; November 9, 2007; 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. 

Place: National Science Foundation, 4121 

Wilson Blvd., Room 555, Stafford II 

Arlington, VA 22230. 

Type of Meeting: Open. 

Contact Person: Mr. Tyrone Jordan, Office 

of the Assistant Director, Directorate for 

Social, Behavioral, and Economic Sciences, 

National Science Foundation, 4201 Wilson 

Boulevard, Room 905, Arlington, VA 22230, 

703–292–8741. 

Summary Minutes: May be obtained from 

contact person listed above. 

Purpose of Meeting: To provide advice and 

recommendations to the National Science 

Foundation on major goals and policies 

pertaining to Social, Behavioral and 

Economic Sciences Directorate programs and 

activities. 

Agenda: Thursday, November 8, 2007. 

• Programmatic Updates—Science of 

Science and Innovation Policy, Science of 

Learning Centers. 

• Broadening Participation—Presentation 

of NSF-wide Working Group, SBE Specific 

Topics. 

• Cyber-enabled Discovery and 

Innovation. 

• Emerging Areas in SBE—Complexity and 

Systems Thinking Cyberinfrastructure, 

Environment, Neuroscience, Learning. 

Friday, November 9, 2007. 

• Working Group on Impact of Proposal 

Award & Management Mechanisms Briefing. 

• Discussion with Deputy Director, NSF. 

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