SUPPORTING STATEMENT
U.S. Department of Commerce
National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)
NIST Summer Institute for Middle School Science Teachers
(NIST Summer Institute)
and the NIST Research Experience for Teachers (NIST RET)
OMB Control No. 0693-0059
A. JUSTIFICATION
This is a revision/extension request for approval.
1. Explain the circumstances that make the collection of information necessary.
The NIST Summer Institute and the NIST RET are two competitive financial assistance (cooperative agreement) programs that offer middle school (Grades 6-8) science teachers an opportunity to participate in hands-on activities, lectures, tours, visits, or scientific research with scientists and engineers in NIST laboratories. The aim is to encourage them to inspire students to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields.
Applications nominating middle school science teachers to participate in these two programs may only be submitted by U.S. public school districts and U.S. accredited private educational institutions in response to NIST announcements of availability of funds/Federal Funding Opportunity (FFO) posted on the Grants.gov Web site. In addition to the application requirements of the applicant, the nominated middle school science teachers must complete a teacher application form.
This request is for the information collection for the required form (NIST-1103) to be completed by nominated middle school (Grades 6-8) teachers.
The revisions to this collection are:
(1) Additional Applicant Information Requirement is no longer required and has been removed from this information collection; and (2) Question 12 on form NIST-1103 was changed to make the application more generic and not include specific dates.
The information collected is used by NIST to perform the requisite reviews of the applications to determine eligibility, to make funding decisions, and to meet programmatic requirements, as well as compliance with 15 C.F.R. Part 14. This information will also be used for selection of a control group matching selected teachers to teachers not chosen, based on education, experience, grade levels taught, and to be taught. The control group will be used for comparison with the group of participants to assess program effectiveness. Additional information such as subjects covered in teacher classes will be used to develop the program and select topics and activities most relevant for the participants.
The statutory authorities for these programs are 15 U.S.C. § 272 (b)(4) and 15 U.S.C. § 278g-2a.
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 applicable NIST Information Quality Guidelines.
NIST announces the availability of Federal funds generally annually by posting a FFO on the Grants.gov Web site www.grants.gov. The FFO provides detailed guidance for eligible applicants, i.e., U.S. public school districts and U.S. accredited private educational institutions, interested in submitting applications to NIST to support middle school science teachers to participate in the NIST Summer Institute or the NIST RET programs.
Upon receipt of timely applications, an initial administrative review will be conducted to determine: a) eligibility, b) completeness, and responsiveness. Applications that are ineligible, incomplete, and/or non-responsive will be eliminated from further review. Each of the eligible, complete, and responsive applications will be considered further for possible funding. The designated Selecting Official for the respective programs will make final funding recommendations based on the evaluation criteria described in the FFO. The final approval of selected applications and award of cooperative agreements will be made by the NIST Grants Officer. The award decision of the NIST Grants Officer is final and cannot be appealed.
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.
Applications may be submitted electronically via Grants.gov (www.grants.gov).
4. Describe efforts to identify duplication.
The NIST Summer Institute and the NIST RET information collection needs to accomplish the goals and objectives of the programs. There are no other collections that gather similar information. The information requested is unique to each financial assistance application. No duplication of effort exists with other Federal government information collection efforts. Some of the questions may overlap with material provided in other parts of another Federal financial assistance application. If appropriate the applicant may simply copy the information from those parts of the application and paste it as appropriate.
5. If the collection of information impacts small businesses or other small entities, describe the methods used to minimize burden.
Not applicable. The collection of information under these programs has no impact on small businesses or other small entities as they are not eligible to participate.
6. Describe the consequences to the Federal program or policy activities if the collection is not conducted or is conducted less frequently.
The programs cannot be accomplished without the collected information because it is critical in evaluating applications, and making funding decisions, which includes selecting and placing nominated teachers based on their background, experience, and interests.
7. Explain any special circumstances that require the collection to be conducted in a manner inconsistent with OMB guidelines.
The proposed collection of information will be conducted in a manner that 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 record keeping, disclosure, or reporting format (if any), and on the data elements to be recorded, disclosed, or reported.
A Federal Register Notice soliciting public comments was published on May 11, 2011
(Vol. 76, pages 27305-27306).
NIST received one comment from [email protected] stating “These are free courses for already highly paid teachers with high pensions.” No response was provided. Comment uploaded into ROCIS.
9. Explain any decisions to provide payments or gifts to respondents, other than remuneration of contractors or grantees.
Not applicable.
10. Describe any assurance of confidentiality provided to respondents and the basis for assurance in statute, regulation, or agency policy.
No assurance of confidentiality is given.
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.
Not applicable. The information collected does not include questions of a sensitive nature.
12. Provide an estimate in hours of the burden of the collection of information.
The burden hours for the collection of information are estimated at 100 based on approximately 100 teacher applications at 1 hour per teacher application.
13. Provide an estimate of the total annual cost burden to the respondents or record-keepers resulting from the collection of information (excluding the value of the burden hours in Question 12 above).
None anticipated.
14. Provide estimates of annualized cost to the Federal government.
Based on receiving approximately 50 NIST-1103s each for both programs for a total of 100 and taking into consideration the following:
It takes approximately 10 minutes to review each NIST-1103 (approximately 100) during the initial review process for both programs,
100 x $7.50 (GS-13 @ $45/hr divided by 60 = $0.75/minute x 10 minutes) = $750.
It takes approximately 15 minutes to review:
a. Approximately 50% or 25 NIST-1103s under the NIST Summer Institute during control group assessment and
b. Approximately 90% or 45 NIST-1103s under the NIST RET that pass the initial review and receive a substantive review against the evaluation criteria.
25 applications x $11.25 (GS-13 @ $45/hr divided by 60 = $0.75/minute x 15 minutes) = $281.25
45 applications x $11.25 (GS-13 @ $45/hr divided by 60 = $0.75/minute x 15 minutes) = $506.25
TOTAL: $1,537.50 ($1,538)
15. Explain the reasons for any program changes or adjustments.
The program change reduction from 400 burden hours to 100 is due to the elimination of the Additional Applicant Information Requirement. Also, the form was changed to remove specific dates which will not affect responses or burden hours.
Question 12 on form NIST-1103 used to say:
12. If nominated for the NIST Summer Institute, will you be able to commit two (2) full weeks to attend the NIST Summer Institute, July 18-29, 2011, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday or if nominated for the NIST RET, will you be able to commit six (6) full weeks to participate in the NIST RET, Summer 2011, from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday?
Question 12 on form NIST-1103 changed to:
12. If nominated for the NIST Summer Institute, will you be able to commit two (2) full weeks to attend the NIST Summer Institute, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday on the dates specified in the Announcement of Federal Funding Opportunity (FFO) or if nominated for the NIST RET, will you be able to commit six (6) full weeks to participate in the NIST RET, from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday during the summer?
16. For collections of information whose results will be published, outline the plans for tabulation and publication.
Not applicable. The results of this collection will not be published for statistical use.
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.
Not applicable.
18. Explain each exception to the certification statement.
Not applicable. No exception to the certification statement is requested.
B. COLLECTIONS OF INFORMATION EMPLOYING STATISTICAL METHODS
This collection of information does not employ statistical methods.
| File Type | application/msword |
| File Title | SUPPORTING STATEMENT |
| Author | LambisB |
| Last Modified By | gbanks |
| File Modified | 2011-08-11 |
| File Created | 2011-08-08 |