FY 2009 Academic R&D Survey advance and cover letters

Advance/cover letters for FY 2009 Academic R&D Survey and HERD Pilot

FY 2009 Regular Survey Advance E-mail

To: Primary contact e-mail

From: NSF R&D Expenditures Survey

Re: Verifying respondent for NSF Academic R&D Expenditures Survey

Dear [[firstname]] [[lastname]]:

The National Science Foundation (NSF) is about to begin the FY 2009 Survey of Research and Development (R&D) Expenditures at Universities and Colleges. I would appreciate very much if you would take a moment to reply and let us know whether or not you are still the appropriate contact person.

Your contact information appears below, and we can update it if you would like to make any changes.

Name: [[firstname]] [[lastname]]

Title: [[title]]

Phone: [[phone]]

E-mail: [[email]]

Address:

[[institution]]

[[addr]]

[[city]], [[state]] [[zip]]

This annual survey is being conducted for NSF by ICF Macro. For assistance, please call Ronald Santa Cruz of ICF Macro at (866) 349-8626, or send an email to Survey Support at [email protected].

Thank you for your help with this important project.

Sincerely,

Ronda Britt

Survey Manager, Academic R&D Expenditures Survey

Division of Science Resources Statistics

National Science Foundation

FY 2009 Regular Survey Launch E-mail (Cover letter)

To: Primary contact e-mail

From: NSF R&D Expenditures Survey

Re: NSF Academic R&D Expenditures Survey

Atth: Academic survey PDF

Dear [[firstname]] [[lastname]]:

The website is now open for the National Science Foundation's (NSF's) FY 2009 Survey of Research and Development (R&D) Expenditures at Universities and Colleges. The deadline for your institution’s response is January 29, 2010.

Survey web site: www.nsfrdsurvey.org

Your institution's ID: [[fice]]

Password: [[password]]

Your institution is one of 680 institutions surveyed to provide information on our nation’s academic research expenditures. Institutions are included if: (1) the institution grants doctoral, master’s, or bachelor’s degrees in science or engineering (S&E), and (2) the institution performed at least $150,000 during FY 2009 in separately budgeted research and development within S&E fields. If you think your institution does not meet the criteria for our survey, please reply to this e-mail to let us know.

This year’s survey PDF is attached to this email. It includes the definitions and instructions needed to complete the web survey. This annual survey is being conducted for NSF by ICF Macro.

If you have any questions about the survey website, please contact Ronald Santa Cruz at (866) 349-8626 or send an email to Survey Support at [email protected]. If you have questions about the survey items, please contact me at [email protected].

Thank you for your cooperation in providing this important information.

Sincerely,

Ronda Britt

Survey Manager, Academic R&D Expenditures Survey

Division of Science Resources Statistics

National Science Foundation

FY 2009 HERD Pilot Advance letter (mailed to institution president, cc to survey respondent)

{Respondent Name}

{Title/Office}

{Institution}

{Address}

{City, State, ZIP}

Dear NAME,

Your institution is one of 40 selected for a November 2009 pilot test of the National Science Foundation’s (NSF) Higher Education Research and Development Survey (HERD). In FY 2010, this survey will replace the NSF Survey of Research and Development Expenditures at Universities and Colleges. Your participation in the pilot test will substitute for your FY 2009 response to this survey. The FY 2009 detailed statistical tables for academic R&D expenditures will continue to include comparable information for all institutions including those responding to the pilot survey.

Your participation in the pilot test is a crucial last step before the new survey is introduced in 2010. We recognize the additional effort needed to respond to the revised survey, and we greatly appreciate your time and assistance. Your experiences in collecting the new survey items will help us make decisions about changes or deletions for the FY 2010 HERD.

The new items in the survey come from two years of redesign efforts. Initially, a workshop of those who use the survey data discussed ways to update the data collected in order to reflect today’s academic institutions. Subsequently, an expert panel discussed the data users’ recommendations. We also obtained opinions during our visits with current respondents at 32 institutions across the country. The enclosed draft of the questionnaire includes the following changes and additions.

Changes:

• All fields of R&D, not just science and engineering, included in all question totals

• Categories added for source of funds and type of research (basic research, applied research, and development).

• Fields of R&D reported by types of non-federal funding

Additions:

• Total R&D expenditures for medical schools, clinical trials, interdisciplinary research centers

• Breakdowns by R&D contracts versus grants, types of cost (salary, equipment, etc).

• Counts of personnel involved in R&D

• Proposal and award activity for R&D

You may download additional copies of the current draft of the survey questionnaire at [URL to be determined]. Some minor changes may result from this summer’s web usability test. In November, we will send you a link to the final pilot version of the web survey, which will include a link to the updated PDF questionnaire. The deadline for completed survey forms is January 29, 2010.

We believe the new survey will be a valuable source of information on academic R&D for a wide array of data users, including universities, government agencies, and academic researchers. If you have questions regarding the pilot test or the revised questionnaire, please contact me at [email protected] or (703) 292-7765.

Thank you for your continued contributions to reporting accurate information on our nation’s academic R&D activities.

Sincerely,

Ronda Britt

Survey Manager

Division of Science Resources Statistics

National Science Foundation

FY 2009 HERD Pilot Launch Email (Cover letter)

To: Primary contact e-mail

From: NSF Higher Education R&D Survey

Re: NSF Higher Education R&D Survey pilot test

Atth: HERD PDF

Dear [[firstname]] [[lastname]]:

The website is now open for the pilot test of the National Science Foundation's (NSF's) Higher Education Research and Development Survey (HERD). In FY 2010, this survey will replace the NSF Survey of Research and Development Expenditures at Universities and Colleges (Academic R&D Survey). Your institution is one of 40 randomly selected to complete this revised survey instead of the regular FY 2009 Academic R&D Survey. Your participation in the pilot test will substitute for your FY 2009 response to the regular survey. The deadline for your institution’s response is January 29, 2010.

Survey web site: www.nsfherdsurvey.org

Your institution's ID: [[fice]]

Password: [[password]]

A PDF of the HERD questionnaire is attached to this email. It is provided as a quick reference document containing all of the questions, definitions, and instructions found on the web survey. This survey is being conducted for NSF by Westat.

If you have any questions about the survey website, please contact Mary Hagedorn at (800) 937-8281 or send an email to [email protected]. If you have questions about the survey items, please contact me at [email protected].

Thank you for your cooperation in providing this important information.

Sincerely,

Ronda Britt

Survey Manager

Division of Science Resources Statistics

National Science Foundation