First SDR FR Notice 2021

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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 23 / Friday, February 5, 2021 / Notices

Dated: February 2, 2021.
Dawn D. Wolfgang,
NCUA PRA Clearance Officer.
[FR Doc. 2021–02450 Filed 2–4–21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7535–01–P

NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION
Agency Information Collection
Activities: Comment Request; Survey
of Doctorate Recipients
National Science Foundation.
Notice.

AGENCY:
ACTION:

The National Science
Foundation (NSF) is announcing plans
to renew this collection. In accordance
with the requirements of the Paperwork
Reduction Act of 1995, we are providing
opportunity for public comment on this
action. After obtaining and considering
public comment, NSF will prepare the
submission requesting Office of
Management and Budget (OMB)
clearance of this collection for no longer
than 3 years.
DATES: Written comments on this notice
must be received by April 6, 2021 to be
assured consideration. Comments
received after that date will be
considered to the extent practicable.
Send comments to the address below.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Suzanne H. Plimpton, Reports Clearance
Officer, National Science Foundation,
2415 Eisenhower Avenue, Suite
W18200, Alexandria, Virginia 22314;
telephone (703) 292–7556; or send email
to [email protected]. Individuals who
use a telecommunications device for the
deaf (TDD) may call the Federal
Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 1–
800–877–8339, which is accessible 24
hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a
year (including Federal holidays).
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Title of Collection: 2021 Survey of
Doctorate Recipients.
OMB Control Number: 3145–0020.
Expiration Date of Current Approval:
August 31, 2022.
Type of Request: Intent to seek
approval to extend an information
collection for three years.
Abstract: Established within the NSF
by the America COMPETES
Reauthorization Act of 2010 § 505,
codified in the National Science
Foundation Act of 1950, as amended,
the National Center for Science and
Engineering Statistics (NCSES) serves as
a central Federal clearinghouse for the
collection, interpretation, analysis, and
dissemination of objective data on
science, engineering, technology, and
research and development for use by

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practitioners, researchers, policymakers,
and the public.
NCSES is the primary sponsor of the
Survey of Doctorate Recipients (SDR);
the National Institutes of Health (NIH)
serves as a co-sponsor. The SDR has
been conducted biennially since 1973
and is a longitudinal survey. The 2021
SDR will consist of a sample of
individuals under 76 years of age who
have earned a research doctoral degree
in a science, engineering, or health
(SEH) field from a U.S. academic
institution. The purpose of this panel
survey is to collect data to provide
national estimates on the doctoral
science and engineering workforce and
changes in their employment,
education, and demographic
characteristics. NCSES uses these data
to prepare essential congressionally
mandated reports (explained below).
Government agencies and academic
researchers use SDR data and
publications to make planning decisions
regarding science and engineering
research, training, and employment
opportunities. Employers also use the
SDR to understand trends in
employment sectors, industry types, and
salary. Students who want to learn
about the relationship between graduate
education and careers often obtain
valuable information from the SDR. Data
and publications from the SDR are
available to the public on the NCSES
website: https://www.nsf.gov/statistics/
srvydoctoratework/.
The SDR will collect data by web
survey, mail questionnaire, and
computer-assisted telephone interviews
beginning in July 2021. The survey will
be collected in conformance with the
Confidential Information Protection and
Statistical Efficiency Act of 2002 and
the individual’s response to the survey
is voluntary. NCSES will ensure that all
information collected will be kept
strictly confidential and will be used
only for statistical purposes.
Use of the Information: NCSES uses
the information from the SDR to prepare
two congressionally mandated reports:
Women, Minorities, and Persons With
Disabilities in Science and Engineering
and Science and Engineering Indicators.
NCSES publishes statistics from the
SDR in many reports, but primarily in
the biennial series, Characteristics of
Scientists and Engineers with U.S.
Doctorates. As with prior SDR data
collections, a cross-sectional public
release file of collected data, designed to
protect respondent confidentiality, will
be made available to researchers on the
NCSES website: https://
ncsesdata.nsf.gov/datadownload/.
Expected Respondents: The U.S.
Office of Management and Budget

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(OMB) previously directed that NCSES
enhance and expand the sample to
measure employment outcomes by the
fine field of degree taxonomy used in
the Survey of Earned Doctorates. NCSES
initiated this change in the 2015 cycle
and maintained it in each subsequent
cycle. For the 2021 SDR, a statistical
sample of approximately 131,000
individuals with U.S. earned doctorates
in science, engineering, or health will be
contacted. As with prior SDR data
collection cycles, the sample consists of
all eligible cases from the previous cycle
(116,000), as well as a sample of 10,000
new doctoral graduates. In addition, the
sample includes 5,000 cases that will be
part of a non-production bridge panel
designed to quantify the potential
impact of question wording
modifications on key survey estimates.
For 2021, the new graduate sample
received their doctorate between July
2017 and June 2019. Across the full
sample, approximately 116,760
individuals will reside in the U.S. and
14,240 will reside abroad.
Estimate of Burden: NCSES expects
the overall 2021 SDR response rate to be
approximately 70 percent. The amount
of time to complete the questionnaire
may vary depending on an individual’s
circumstances; however, based on 2019
SDR completion times, NCSES estimates
an average completion time of
approximately 21 minutes. NCSES
estimates that the average annual
burden for the 2021 survey cycle over
the course of the three-year OMB
clearance period will be no more than
10,699 hours [(131,000 individuals ×
70% response × 21 minutes)/3 years/60
minutes].
Comments: Comments are invited on
(a) whether the proposed collection of
information is necessary for the proper
performance of the functions of NCSES,
including whether the information shall
have practical utility; (b) the accuracy of
NCSES’s estimate of the burden of the
proposed collection of information; (c)
ways to enhance the quality, use, and
clarity of the information on
respondents, including through the use
of automated collection techniques or
other forms of information technology;
and (d) ways to minimize the burden of
the collection of information on those
who are to respond, including through
the use of appropriate automated,
electronic, mechanical, or other
technological collection techniques or
other forms of information technology.

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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 23 / Friday, February 5, 2021 / Notices
Dated: February 2, 2021.
Suzanne H. Plimpton,
Reports Clearance Officer, National Science
Foundation.
[FR Doc. 2021–02447 Filed 2–4–21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7555–01–P

NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION
Agency Information Collection
Activities: Comment Request; Survey
of Earned Doctorates
National Science Foundation.
Submission for OMB review;
comment request.

AGENCY:
ACTION:

The National Science
Foundation (NSF) has submitted the
following information collection
requirement to OMB for review and
clearance under the Paperwork
Reduction Act of 1995. This is the
second notice for public comment; the
first was published in the Federal
Register, and one comment was
received. NSF is forwarding the
proposed submission to the Office of
Management and Budget (OMB) for
clearance simultaneously with the
publication of this second notice.
DATES: Written comments and
recommendations for the proposed
information collection should be sent
within 30 days of publication of this
notice to www.reginfo.gov/public/do/
PRAmain. Find this particular
information collection by selecting
‘‘Currently under 30-day Review—Open
for Public Comments’’ or by using the
search function.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Suzanne H. Plimpton, Reports Clearance
Officer, National Science Foundation,
2415 Eisenhower Avenue, Alexandria,
VA 22314, or send email to splimpto@
nsf.gov. Individuals who use a
telecommunications device for the deaf
(TDD) may call the Federal Information
Relay Service (FIRS) at 1–800–877–
8339, which is accessible 24 hours a
day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year
(including federal holidays).
Copies of the submission may be
obtained by calling 703–292–7556.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: NSF may
not conduct or sponsor a collection of
information unless the collection of
information displays a currently valid
OMB control number and the agency
informs potential persons who are to
respond to the collection of information
that such persons are not required to
respond to the collection of information
unless it displays a currently valid OMB
control number.
Title of Collection: Survey of Earned
Doctorates.

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OMB Control Number: 3145–0019.
Summary of Collection: The SED has
been conducted annually since 1958
and is jointly sponsored by four Federal
agencies (NSF/NCSES, National
Institutes of Health, U.S. Department of
Education/National Center for
Education Statistics, and National
Endowment for the Humanities) to
avoid duplication of effort in collecting
such data. The authority to collect
information for the Survey of Earned
Doctorates (SED) is established under
the National Science Foundation Act of
1950, as amended, Public Law 507 (42
U.S.C. 1862), Section 3(a) (6), which
directs the NSF ‘‘. . . to provide a
central clearinghouse for the collection,
interpretation, and analysis of data on
scientific and engineering resources and
to provide a source of information for
policy formation by other agencies of
the federal government.’’
This request to extend the information
collection for three years is to cover the
2022 and 2023 SED survey cycles. Data
are obtained primarily via Web survey
from each person earning a research
doctorate at the time they receive the
degree. Graduate schools help distribute
the SED to their graduating doctorate
recipients.
The survey will be collected in
conformance with the NSF Act of 1950,
as amended, and the Privacy Act of
1974. Responses from individuals are
voluntary. NCSES will ensure that all
individually identifiable information
collected will be kept strictly
confidential and will be used for
research or statistical purposes,
analyzing data, and preparing scientific
reports and articles.
Use of the Information: NCSES, as the
lead agency, publishes statistics from
the survey in several reports, but
primarily in the annual publication
series reporting on all fields of study,
titled Doctorate Recipients from U.S.
Universities. Information from the SED
is also used to prepare congressionally
mandated reports such as Science and
Engineering Indicators and Women,
Minorities and Persons with Disabilities
in Science and Engineering.
Expected Respondents: The SED is a
census of all individuals receiving a
research doctorate from an accredited
U.S. academic institution in an
academic year (AY) beginning 1 July
and ending 30 June of the following
year. Based on the historical trend,
NCSES expects that approximately
57,000 individuals will receive a
research doctorate from U.S. institutions
in AY2022, and approximately 58,000
in AY2023. NCSES estimates the
response rate will be 92 percent for both
the 2022 and 2023 SED survey cycles.

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In addition to the survey completion of
individuals receiving their research
doctorates, the SED requires the
collection of administrative data such as
graduation lists from approximately 600
Institutional Coordinators at the
participating institutions who help to
distribute the Web survey link, track
survey completions, and submit
information to the SED survey
contractor.
Estimate of Burden: Based on an
average Web survey completion time of
20 minutes, the respondent burden for
completing the SED is estimated at
17,480 hours in 2022 (57,000 doctorate
recipients × 92% response × 20 minutes)
and 17,787 hours in 2023 (58,000
doctorate recipients x 92% response x
20 minutes). With about 600 schools
expected to participate in the 2022 and
2023 SED, the estimated burden to
Institutional Coordinators is 12,000
hours for each survey cycle. Therefore,
the total burden for the SED is estimated
to be 29,480 (17,480 + 12,000) hours in
the 2022 survey cycle and 29,787
(17,787 + 12,000) hours in the 2023
survey cycle. NCSES estimates that the
average annual burden for the 2022 and
2023 survey cycles over the course of
the three-year OMB clearance period
will be no more than 19,756 hours
[(29,480 hours + 29,787 hours)/3 years].
Comment: As required by 5 CFR
1320.8(d), comments on the information
collection activities were solicited
through publication of a 60-day notice
in the Federal Register on 14 October
2020 at 85 FR 65078. NCSES received
one public comment from the
Federation of American Societies for
Experimental Biology advocating for the
collection of information on the
participation of sexual and gender
minorities in doctoral education. NCSES
informed the commenter that it shares
their interest in improving federal data
collections and providing reliable
measures for important segments of the
population. NCSES also informed the
commenter that it is conducting
research to evaluate these measures
with the goal that this research, in
combination with on-going sexual
orientation and gender identity (SOGI)
survey content research being
conducted by other federal agencies,
will enable the development of standard
guidance for collecting SOGI data in the
near future.
Comments: Comments are invited on
(a) whether the proposed collection of
information is necessary for the proper
performance of the functions of the
Agency, including whether the
information shall have practical utility;
(b) the accuracy of the Agency’s
estimate of burden of the proposed

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