26286 Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 90 / Tuesday, May 11, 2010 / Notices 

CONTACT PERSON FOR MORE

INFORMATION: Lester A. Heltzer, 

Executive Secretary, (202) 273–1067. 

Lester A. Heltzer, 

Executive Secretary. 

[FR Doc. 2010–11355 Filed 5–7–10; 4:15 pm] 

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NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION 

Agency Information Collection 

Activities: Comment Request 

AGENCY: National Science Foundation. 

ACTION: Submission for OMB review; 

comment request. 

SUMMARY: The National Science 

Foundation (NSF) has submitted the 

following information collection 

requirement to OMB for review and 

clearance under the Paperwork 

Reduction Act of 1995, Public Law 104– 

13. This is the second notice for public 

comment; the first was published in the 

Federal Register at 75 FR 9000, and no 

comments were received. NSF is 

forwarding the proposed renewal 

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. 

Comments regarding (a) whether the 

collection of information is necessary 

for the proper performance of the 

functions of the agency, including 

whether the information will have 

practical utility; (b) the accuracy of the 

agency’s estimate of burden including 

the validity of the methodology and 

assumptions used; (c) ways to enhance 

the quality, utility and clarity of the 

information to be collected; (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 should be 

addressed to: Office of Information and 

Regulatory Affairs of OMB, Attention: 

Desk Officer for National Science 

Foundation, 725–17th Street, NW., 

Room 10235, Washington, DC 20503, 

and to Suzanne H. Plimpton, Reports 

Clearance Officer, National Science 

Foundation, 4201 Wilson Boulevard, 

Suite 295, Arlington, Virginia 22230 or 

send 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, which is accessible 24 hours a 

day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year 

(including Federal holidays). 

Comments regarding these 

information collections are best assured 

of having their full effect if received 

within 30 days of this notification. 

Copies of the submission(s) may be 

obtained by calling 703–292–7556. 

NSF 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: ‘‘National Science 

Foundation Proposal and Award 

Information—NSF Proposal and Award 

Policies & Procedures Guide.’’ 

OMB Approval Number: 3145–0058. 

Type of Request: Intent to seek 

approval to extend with revision an 

information collection for three years. 

Proposed Project: The National 

Science Foundation (NSF) is an 

independent Federal agency created by 

the National Science Foundation Act of 

1950, as amended (42 U.S.C. 1861–75). 

The Act states the purpose of the NSF 

is ‘‘to promote the progress of science; 

[and] to advance the national health, 

prosperity, and welfare by supporting 

research and education in all fields of 

science and engineering.’’ 

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. 

The Foundation fulfills this 

responsibility by initiating and 

supporting merit-selected research and 

education projects in all the scientific 

and engineering disciplines. It does this 

through grants and cooperative 

agreements to more than 2,800 colleges, 

universities, K–12 school systems, 

businesses, informal science 

organizations and other research 

institutions throughout the U.S. The 

awards are based mainly on evaluations 

of proposal merit submitted to the 

Foundation. The Foundation accounts 

for about one-fourth of Federal support 

to academic institutions for basic 

research. 

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 40,000 

proposals annually for new projects, 

and makes approximately 10,500 new 

awards. 

Burden on the Public: It has been 

estimated that the public expends an 

average of approximately 120 burden 

hours for each proposal submitted. NSF 

received approximately 64,000 

proposals in FY 2009, for an estimated 

7,680,000 burden hours. 

The Foundation has based its 

reporting burden on the review of 

approximately 64,000 new proposals 

received during FY 2009. It has been 

estimated that anywhere from one hour 

to 20 hours may be required to review 

a proposal. We have estimated that 

approximately 5 hours are required to 

review an average proposal. Each 

proposal receives an average of 3 

reviews, resulting in approximately 

960,000 burden hours each year. 

The information collected on reviewer 

background questionnaire (NSF 428A) is 

used by managers to maintain an 

automated database of reviewers for the 

many disciplines represented by the 

proposals submitted to the Foundation. 

Information collected on gender, race, 

and ethnicity is used in meeting NSF 

needs for data to permit response to 

Congressional and other queries into 

equity issues. These data also are used 

in the design, implementation, and 

monitoring of NSF efforts to increase the 

participation of various groups in 

science, engineering, and education. 

The estimated burden for the Reviewer 

Background Information (NSF 428A) is 

estimated at 5 minutes per respondent 

with up to 10,000 potential new 

reviewers for a total of 83 hours. 

The aggregate number of burden 

hours is estimated to be 8,640,083. The 

actual burden on respondents has not 

changed. 

Dated: May 5, 2010. 

Suzanne H. Plimpton, 

Reports Clearance Officer, National Science 

Foundation. 

[FR Doc. 2010–11075 Filed 5–10–10; 8:45 am] 

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