0362 suppt statement 2008rev

SUPPORTING STATEMENT
SEA GRANT FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS FOR GRANTS,
FOR SEA GRANT FELLOWSHIPS, AND FOR DESIGNATION AS A SEA GRANT
COLLEGE OR REGIONAL CONSORTIUM
OMB CONTROL NO. 0648-0362
The title of the collection is simplified to not refer specifically to “John A. Knauss Marine Policy
Fellowships".
A. JUSTIFICATION
1. Explain the circumstances that make the collection of information necessary.
The objectives of the National Sea Grant College Program, according to the Sea Grant legislation
(33 U.S.C. Sections 1121-1131) are to increase the understanding, assessments, development,
utilization, and conservation of the Nation's ocean, coastal, and Great Lakes resources. It
accomplishes these objectives by conducting research, education, and outreach programs.
Grant monies are available for funding activities that help attain the objectives of the Sea Grant
Program. Both single and multi-project grants are awarded, with the latter representing about 80 percent
of the total grant program. In addition to the SF-424 and other standard grant application requirements,
three additional forms are required with a grant application. These are the Sea Grant Control Form,
used to identify the organizations and personnel who would be involved in the grant; the Project Record
Form, which collects summary data on projects; and the Sea Grant Budget, used in place of the SF
424A or 424C. NOAA Form 90-1, Sea Grant Control, NOAA Form 90-2, Project Record Form, and
NOAA Form 90-4, the Sea Grant Budget, are approved under 0648-0362. Each form provides
information needed by the program but not supplied by the standard application process. The specific
needs are described in Question 2 below.
The Sea Grant legislation (33 USC 1126) provides for the designation of a public or private institution
of higher education, institute, laboratory, or State or local agency as a Sea Grant College or Sea Grant
Institute. Applications are required for designation of Sea Grant Colleges and Sea Grant Institutes.
Institutions seeking designation as a Sea Grant college or Sea Grant institute must submit an
application in accordance with directions found at 15 CFR 918.7. This is a one-time collection
required only when a college or institution first requests to join the Sea Grant Program, or when an
existing project seeks to change the scope of its current designation. The data the collection provides
helps the program officers determine the suitability of the applicant for meeting the standards and
conditions for being a Sea Grant College as set forth in 33 USC 1126 and 15 CFR 918.5. These
requirements are currently cleared under OMB Control No. 0648-0362.
Applications are required in order to be awarded a Sea Grant Fellowship, including the Dean John
A. Knauss Marine Policy Fellowships. The requirements are set forth annually in announcements
published in the Federal Register. These requirements are currently approved under OMB Control
No. 0648-0362.

2. Explain how, by whom, how frequently, and for what purpose the information will be used.
If the information collected will be disseminated to the public or used to support information
that will be disseminated to the public, then explain how the collection complies with all
applicable Information Quality Guidelines.
Sea Grant Colleges or Institutes: The application for designation as a Sea Grant College or Sea Grant
Institute is required only when a college or university requests to be recognized as a Sea Grant program.
Existing programs may also use the same application process to request a change in the scope of their
current designation. Applications are to provide an outline of the applicant’s capabilities and the reasons
why it merits designation. The standards to be met are set forth in 15 CFR 918.3. The data the
collection provides helps the program officers determine the suitability of the applicant for meeting the
standards and qualifications for being a Sea Grant College or Institute as set in the authorizing
legislation.
Sea Grant Fellowships: Applications for Sea Grant Fellowships, including a Dean John A. Knauss
Marine Policy Fellowship, must include a resume or curriculum vitae; a personal education and/or
career goal statement; up to three letters of recommendation, including one from the student’s major
professor or student advisor; and a copy of undergraduate and graduate student transcripts. Depending
upon the nature of the Sea Grant Fellowship, additional information may be required including a letter
of endorsement from the sponsoring state Sea Grant Director; a brief description of and letter of
endorsement from a required partner, if any; a project description if the fellowship is research related;
and information about the student’s remaining degree requirements. This information is used by
program officers to evaluate the applicants and to determine which applicants will be most likely to
forward the goals of the Sea Grant Program during and after the fellowship. The program seeks to
support not only the best students but ones who intend to pursue related goals in the future.
Sea Grants:
The NOAA Form 90-1, Sea Grant Control, is used primarily to identify the organizations and personnel
who would be involved in the proposed grant. A goal of the Sea Grant Program is to maximize the
number of graduate students working on research projects. For funded grants, the information is used
by the National Sea Grant Office (NSGO) to collate accurate information on the number of students
supported with Sea Grant funds and to summarize the impact of Sea Grants on the academic
community. In addition, the form provides information on collaborations between governmental
organizations, industry, and the Sea Grant Program. The data supplied in this document form the basis
for many of our responses to the Administration, the Congress, other agencies, and to the public about
the scope of Sea Grant activities. Certain minimal summary financial data is also required to help
evaluate whether the resources proposed are sufficient to achieve the goals. Much of this information is
similar to biographical and other information contained in OMB Circulars A- 102 and A-110, but
NOAA has found it more efficient to use a form to gather this and related information.
The NOAA Form 90-2, Project Record Form requires information on the investigators involved, as well
as the overall funding, objectives, methodology, and rationale for the project. The information is used
by both the NSGO and the state Sea Grant programs to help determine the value of each individual
project to the total program, whether matching costs are allowed, the rationale for funding and the
methodology used, as well as administrative controls. The summary helps the NSGO evaluate the
proposals during its funding decisions. The information is also placed on a database where both Sea

Grant personnel and potential grant applicants can access this data to see what other projects have been
proposed and funded. This speeds the review process and reduces the chance of applicants wasting time
making proposals that duplicate an existing or past project. It also provides the basic data for the next
project summary for an ongoing project, so that the data only has to be updated rather than resubmitted.
The information required on that form is now produced with and provided to Sea Grant in various
electronic software formats (Word, Wordperfect, Rich Text Format and Adobe pdf) that more
efficiently collect the information required to monitor and evaluate the programs. The programs send
this information to the NSGO where it is added to project summary information in our database.
The NOAA Form 90-4, Sea Grant Budget, is required in place of the SF 424A or SF 424C. The SF-424
provides only a summary of costs for the entire award. It does not give a detailed breakdown of costs
associated with each project in a multi-project award, and such a breakdown is necessary for these
applications because the Sea Grant program awards large multi-institution omnibus grants. The Form
90-4 gives the program officer a detailed breakdown of costs for each project funded by Sea Grant and
allows the officer to determine whether or not the cost of a project is reasonable based on the level of
effort stated in the proposal. Without these breakdowns, it would be impossible for the program officer
to efficiently monitor the use of resources or the costs associated with each project funded by the
National Sea Grant College Program.
In response to Section 515 of the Treasury and General Government Appropriations Act for Fiscal Year
2001 (Public Law 106-554), NOAA has issued guidelines for ensuring and maximizing the quality of
information disseminated by the agency. Information submitted to the National Sea Grant Office in
grant applications is regularly subjected to internal NSGO review as part of the grant award process. Of
the various types of information collected (described above) some of the information will be
disseminated to the public or used to support publicly disseminated information. Sea Grant has
administrative mechanisms in place to ensure that a basic level of quality of information products is
maintained. These include procedures for competitive peer review of all research grants, performancebased evaluations of all university Sea Grant Programs according to guidelines set by the NSGO, and
quality oversight by the Sea Grant Review Panel, a legislatively mandated federal advisory committee
(33 USC 1126).
The Sea Grant Office is a science and education organization. It does not have regulatory
responsibilities. In general, the NSGO provides summary information to the public about the grants it
awards. Information is publically disseminated through the publication of reports describing Sea
Grant’s university-based research, education, and outreach activities. These reports are widely
distributed in both print and web-based formats. All reports and supporting data are reviewed for
objectivity, utility and integrity, as required by the NOAA guidelines, before they are disseminated.
Previously disseminated information is reviewed on a regular basis to ensure the information is current
and continues to comply with the NOAA guidelines.
3. Describe whether, and to what extent, the collection of information involves the use of
automated, electronic, mechanical, or other technological techniques or other forms of
information technology.
The NOAA Form 90-1, Sea Grant Control, NOAA Form 90-2, Project Record Form, and NOAA
Form 90-4, are available in electronic format and can be completed on line at

http://www.seagrant.noaa.gov/other/admininfo.html. The NSGO maintains a relational database
to store, archive, and retrieve information provided on these forms.
4. Describe efforts to identify duplication.
There is no similar data available from other sources.
5. If the collection of information involves small businesses or other small entities, describe the
methods used to minimize burden.
These requirements have no significant impact on small businesses or entities.
6. Describe the consequences to the Federal program or policy activities if the collection is not
conducted or is conducted less frequently.
The grant and fellowship application information is required as part of the annual grant application
process and cannot be collected less frequently. The requests for Sea Grant College or Sea Grant
Institute designation or change in designation is a one-time action at the respondent’s discretion.
7. Explain any special circumstances that require the collection to be conducted in a
manner inconsistent with OMB guidelines.
The collection is consistent with OMB guidelines.
8. Provide a copy of the PRA Federal Register notice that solicited public comments on the
information collection prior to this submission. Summarize the public comments received in
response to that notice and describe the actions taken by the agency in response to those
comments. Describe the efforts to consult with persons outside the agency to obtain their views on
the availability of data, frequency of collection, the clarity of instructions and recordkeeping,
disclosure, or reporting format (if any), and on the data elements to be recorded, disclosed, or
reported.
A Federal Register notice soliciting comments on this information collection was published on August
13, 2007. No comments were received.
9. Explain any decisions to provide payments or gifts to respondents, other than
remuneration of contractors or grantees.
No payments or gifts are made.
10. Describe any assurance of confidentiality provided to respondents and the basis for
assurance in statute, regulation, or agency policy.
No confidentiality is promised.

11. Provide additional justification for any questions of a sensitive nature, such as sexual
behavior and attitudes, religious beliefs, and other matters that are commonly considered
private.
No sensitive questions are asked.
12. Provide an estimate in hours of the burden of the collection of information.
The estimated number of hours for each requirement is as follows:
Form 90-1, Sea Grant Control
Estimated Number of Respondents – 111 (31 institutions and 80 individuals at those institutions)
Estimated Total Responses - 680 (600 for institutions*, 80 for individuals)
Average response time - 30 minutes
Total Annual response time - 340 hours
Form 90-2, Project Record Form
Estimated Number of Respondents - 111
Estimated Total Responses 680
Average response time 20 minutes
Total Annual response time - 227 Hours
Form 90-4, Sea Grant Budget
Estimated Number of Respondents - 111
Estimated Total Responses - 680
Average response time - 15 minutes
Total Annual response time - 170 hours
Application for Designation as a Sea Grant College or Regional Consortium**
Estimated Number of Respondents - 1
Estimated Total Responses - 1
Average response time - 20 hours
Total Annual response time - 20 hours
Application for Sea Grant Fellowships
Estimated Number of Respondents - 50
Estimated Total Responses - 50
Average response time - 2 hours
Total Annual response time - 100 hours
Collection Totals: 162 respondents, 2,091 responses, 857 hours.
* Institutions respond to multiple grant solicitations.
** Association of academic institutions in that state

13. Provide an estimate of the total annual cost burden to the respondents or recordkeepers resulting from the collection.
Because 95 percent of the forms are filled out and submitted electronically, the total annual cost
for copying and mailing by respondents resulting from the collection is estimated to be less than
$1000: for those sent via FEDEX or similar services, at $9.50 for 2-day delivery. The estimated
cost is 105 x $9.50 = $997.50 ($998).
14. Provide estimates of annualized cost to the Federal government.
The total cost burden to the government for conducting the collections and handling the information
submitted is estimated at $65,928. This does not include costs for secondary uses of the information.
This estimate is based on staff time per response of 5 minutes for the 90-1 and 15 minutes each for the
Project Record Form and Sea Grant Budget. An application for designation takes about 200 person
hours to review. A fellowship application takes about 12 hours to review (4 persons at 2 hours each). A
salary cost of $41/hr was used.
15. Explain the reasons for any program changes or adjustments reported in Items 13 or 14 of the
OMB 83-I.
More responses are estimated than previously, because in the last renewal, respondents for the Sea
Grant Control requirement who provided the information NOT using the forms (as is allowed) were not
counted as respondents, and their time was not included in the burden. For this renewal request, that
omission has been rectified, resulting in 350 more responses and 185 more hours than previously.
In spite of the increase in estimated burden requests, however, a recent increase in electronic
submission has resulted in a decrease in reporting/recordkeeping costs. Previously, the cost was
estimated to be $1,377. With 30 per cent of the then 1,741 responses being submitted electronically,
that left 70 percent, or 1,219 responses to be mailed. Dividing $1, 377 by 1,219 would result in $1.13
per response. Apparently this estimate, for postage for about 3 ounces, was given because, although
most respondents were already using FEDEX or its equivalent, this was not (and still is not) required.
However, the new estimate, based on those using FEDEX or equivalent rather than emailing, takes the
current practice, rather than the requirement, into account. The net decrease in estimated costs is due to
1,114 fewer mailed responses, but adding $8.84 to the cost per mailed response.
16. For collections whose results will be published, outline the plans for tabulation and
publication.
The NSGO provides summary information to the public about the grants it awards. Information is
summarized and disseminated through the publication of reports describing Sea Grant’s universitybased research, education, and outreach activities. These reports are widely distributed in both print and
web-based formats.
17. If seeking approval to not display the expiration date for OMB approval of the information
collection, explain the reasons why display would be inappropriate.

N/A.
18. Explain each exception to the certification statement identified in Item 19 of the OMB 83-I.
There are no exceptions.
B. COLLECTIONS OF INFORMATION EMPLOYING STATISTICAL METHODS
This collection does not employ statistical methods.