Businessd R&D and Innovation Survey

Attachment A1

DC

UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
Economics and Statistics Administration

U.S. Census Bureau
Washington, DC 20233-0001

A message from the Directors, U.S. Census Bureau and National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics
The U.S. Census Bureau has selected your business to participate in the 2015 Business R&D and Innovation
Survey. This national survey collects information from businesses operating in the U.S. and is the single most
important source of up-to-date information on business research and development in the United States. Accurate
information about R&D and innovation will help leaders in the public and private sectors make better decisions to
strengthen American competitiveness.
As the survey coordinator, we ask that you gather information from the appropriate people within your company and
file your responses using our Business Help Site. Each section of the form contains an instruction ‘Who should
answer this section’ that provides information on the data requested.
YOUR RESPONSE IS REQUIRED BY LAW. Title 13 United States Code, Sections (8b), 131 and 182, and Title 42
United States Code, Sections 1861-76 (National Science Foundation Act of 1950, as amended) authorize the collection
of information in this survey. Title 13 United States Code, Sections 224 and 225 require businesses and other
organizations that receive this questionnaire to answer the questions and return the report to the U.S. Census Bureau.
We estimate this survey to take 15 hours to complete. On the back of this letter, you will find disclosure descriptions
regarding Office of Management and Budget number; authority and confidentiality; and burden estimate statement.
Please read the instructions, complete the form, and return it by the due date printed on the form. You can complete
your form online by following the instructions provided.
Title 13 United States Code, Section 9 also requires that we keep your answers strictly confidential. The information you
provide may be seen only by persons sworn to uphold the confidentiality of Census Bureau information and may be used
only for statistical purposes. Further, copies retained in your files are immune from legal process.
You can file your survey online through the Census Bureau’s Business Help Site: https://econhelp.census.gov/brdis.
Electronic versions of the survey form (Excel and PDF) are also available from this website. See the enclosed instruction
sheet for more specific instructions on how to upload data from the electronic versions of the questionnaire. Your user ID
and password are:
User ID:
Password:
Your company’s response is due 60 days from receipt. If you need assistance or would like to request that a paper
booklet be mailed to your company, please call our survey analysts at 1-800-772-7851, option ‘5’, between 8:00 am
and 4:45 pm Eastern time, Monday through Friday.
Thank you in advance for your cooperation.
Sincerely,

John R. Gawalt
Director
National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics
National Science Foundation

John H. Thompson
Director
U.S. Census Bureau

Enclosures
The Business R&D and Innovation Survey is conducted under a joint partnership agreement
between the National Science Foundation and the U.S. Census Bureau.
BRDI-L1 (MM-DD-YYYY)

census.gov

OMB Number
You are not required to respond to this collection of information if it does not display a valid approval number
from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). The eight-digit OMB number is 0607-0912 and appears
in the upper right corner of the report form/login screen.
Authority and Confidentiality
Title 13 United States Code, Sections 8(b), 131, and 182, and Title 42 United States Code, Sections 1861-76
(National Science Foundation Act of 1950, as amended) authorize this collection. Title 13 United States
Code, Sections 224 and 225 require businesses and other organizations that receive this questionnaire to
answer the questions and return the report to the U.S. Census Bureau. By Section 9 of the same law, your
report is confidential. It may be seen only by persons sworn to uphold the confidentiality of Census Bureau
information, and may be used only for statistical purposes. The law also provides that copies of your report
retained in your files are immune from legal process.
Burden Estimate Statement
Public reporting burden for this collection of information is estimated to average 15 hours per response,
including the time for reviewing instructions, searching existing data sources, gathering and maintaining the
data needed, and completing and reviewing the collection of information. Send comments regarding this
burden estimate or any other aspect of this collection of information, including suggestions for reducing this
burden to: ECON Survey Comments 0607-0912, U.S. Census Bureau, 4600 Silver Hill Road, Room
EMD-8K122, Washington, DC 20233. You may e-mail comments to [email protected].
Be sure to use ECON Survey Comments 0607-0912 as the subject.
Survey Results
Your survey information will be aggregated to produce summary statistics for reports produced by the
National Science Foundation (NSF). You can learn more about the ways the data collected by this survey
are used at http://www.nsf.gov/statistics/srvyindustry/about/brdis/how.cfm.