Supporting Statement for 2019 NSF PI/SPO Customer Feedback Survey

Request for Approval under the “Generic Clearance for the Collection of Routine
Customer Feedback” (OMB Control Number: 3145-0215)
TITLE OF INFORMATION COLLECTION: 2019 NSF PI/SPO Customer Feedback Survey
PURPOSE:
The 2019 NSF PI/SPO Survey is a follow-up to the 2015 NSF Proposal Submission Modernization Survey
which guided NSF's Proposal Submission Modernization (PSM) efforts. The 2019 PI/SPO Survey will survey
PIs/Co-PIs and SPOs on Proposal Submission Modernization to solicit feedback to improve user experience and
to decrease administrative burden.
DESCRIPTION OF RESPONDENTS:
The Research.gov Business Office will request voluntary feedback from NSF grant applicants (principal
investigators/researchers) as well as Sponsored Project Office (SPO) administrative staff with recent experience
reviewing and submitting NSF grant proposals. The survey will be sent to researchers who have submitted
proposals between FY 2016 – FY 2018. The survey will also be sent to SPO staff who have experience
submitting proposals between FY 2014 – FY 2018.
TYPE OF COLLECTION: (Check one)
[ ] Customer Comment Card/Complaint Form
[ ] Usability Testing (e.g., Website or Software
[] Focus Group

[X] Customer Satisfaction Survey
[ ] Small Discussion Group
[ ] Other: ______________________

CERTIFICATION:
I certify the following to be true:
1. The collection is voluntary.
2. The collection is low-burden for respondents and low-cost for the Federal Government.
3. The collection is non-controversial and does not raise issues of concern to other federal agencies.
4. The results are not intended to be disseminated to the public.
5. Information gathered will not be used for the purpose of substantially informing influential policy decisions.
6. The collection is targeted to the solicitation of opinions from respondents who have experience with the
program or may have experience with the program in the future.
Name:__Suzanne H. Plimpton, NSF Reports Clearance Officer_______________________
To assist review, please provide answers to the following question:
Personally Identifiable Information:
1. Is personally identifiable information (PII) collected? [ ] Yes [X ] No
2. If Yes, is the information that will be collected included in records that are subject to the Privacy Act of
1974? [ ] Yes [ ] No
3. If Applicable, has a System or Records Notice been published? [ ] Yes [ ] No
Gifts or Payments:
Is an incentive (e.g., money or reimbursement of expenses, token of appreciation) provided to participants? [ ]
Yes [X] No

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BURDEN HOURS
Category of Respondent
NSF Principal Investigators
Sponsored Projects Office (SPO) Staff
Totals

No. of
Respondents
8,000
2,000
10,000

Participation
Time
10 minutes
10 minutes
10 minutes

Burden
1,333 hours
333 hours
1,667 hours

FEDERAL COST: The estimated annual cost to the Federal government is MINIMAL.
If you are conducting a focus group, survey, or plan to employ statistical methods, please provide
answers to the following questions:
The selection of your targeted respondents
1. Do you have a customer list or something similar that defines the universe of potential respondents and do
you have a sampling plan for selecting from this universe?
[X] Yes
[ ] No
If the answer is yes, please provide a description of both below (or attach the sampling plan)? If the answer is
no, please provide a description of how you plan to identify your potential group of respondents and how you
will select them?
The Research.gov Business Office will request voluntary feedback from NSF grant applicants (principal
investigators/researchers) as well as Sponsored Project Office (SPO) administrative staff with recent experience
reviewing and submitting NSF grant proposals. The survey will be sent to researchers who have submitted
proposals between FY 2016 – FY 2018. The survey will also be sent to SPO staff that has experience reviewing
and submitting proposals between FY 2014 – FY 2018.
Administration of the Instrument
1. How will you collect the information? (Check all that apply)
[ X] Web-based or other forms of Social Media
[ ] Telephone
[ ] In-person
[ ] Mail
[ ] Other, Explain
2. Will interviewers or facilitators be used? [ ] Yes [ X] No
Please make sure that all instruments, instructions, and scripts are submitted with the request.

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