Directorate for Education and Human Resources Proposed Data Collection Available for Public Comment and Recommendations

NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION

Directorate for Education and Human Resources Proposed Data

Collection Available for Public Comment and Recommendations

In compliance with the requirement of Section 2506(c)(2)(A) of the

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 for opportunity for public comment on

proposed data collection projects, the National Science Foundation

(NSF) will publish periodic summaries of proposed projects. To request

more information on the proposed project or to obtain a copy of the

data collection plans and instruments, call the NSF Clearance Officer

on (703) 306-1243.

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

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practical utility; (b) the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the

burden of the proposed collection of information; (c) ways to enhance

the quality, utility, and clarity of the information on respondents,

including through the use of automated collection techniques or other

forms of information technology.

Proposed Project: Program Evaluation of the Experimental Program to

Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR). EPSCoR is an ongoing

initiative of the National Science Foundation (NSF)--and, in parallel,

of six other federal agencies--to increase the research competitiveness

of faculty and universities in selected states. The design calls for

five sub-studies drawn from the broader framework of the program's

objectives, structure, and strategies, which was developed in

conjunction with several workgroups. New, non-archival data collections

in subsidies 3, 4, and 5 are being submitted for OMB review. The

studies are:

Substudy No. 1: Has There Been an Increase in Funded Research?

The substudy will be conducted for each EPSCoR state, across EPSCoR

states, and between EPSCoR and non-EPSCoR states. The study will be

conducted using total levels of external awards, disaggregated by

sector (federal/state/industry), and within the federal sector by

agency. These data are currently available from existing NSF databases

for the period from EPSCoR's inception through FY 1992.

Substudy No. 2: How Competitive Was EPSCoR Research at the Time of

Award?

The data for Substudy No. 2 will come from the archival records

maintained by NSF. The results of each round of reviews have been kept

in a separate notebook, reflecting the applications and their

components, the nature of the peer review, and the disposition of the

review. From these notebooks and the award jackets, the evaluation team

will reconstruct the peer review outcomes for the last two program

announcements: EPSCoR's Advanced Development Program awards (n=17) and

the Systemic Improvement awards (n=19) made between 1992 and 1995.

Substudy No. 3: How Competitive Was EPSCoR-Funded Research Later

On?

Substudy No. 3 will involve three complementary data collection

activities at the level of the individual research investigator and

research group. The first of these activities consists of a citation

analysis utilizing data from the NSF Database of EPSCoR Projects. The

second two activities, which utilize the sample from the citation

analysis, are a mail survey and a telephone survey.

Sampling. As of 1994, according to the NSF EPSCoR Database, an

estimated 1,184 faculty were participating in the EPSCoR program. Using

the database, a random sample (with replacement in case of 0

publications) of 10 researchers from the 13 states will be drawn. To

allow for the practice of co-principal investigators in many fields,

the second author, where practical, will also be included as a

separate, independent researcher. Thus, an initial list of between 130

to 260 faculty (13 states x 10 (or 20) researchers), will be

identified. From this list, up to three publications per faculty member

will be selected, for a total number of between 130 and 780

observations, with the actual number likely to be between 390 and 780.

The article is the unit of analysis.

Mail Survey: Editors of the journals in which EPSCoR researchers

have published will be invited to conduct qualitative assessments of

the article authored by the EPSCoR faculty member with the comparison

article by the non-EPSCoR author plus an additional number of articles

that appeared in the same journal issue.

This comparison will be made for a 10 percent sample of the

articles selected above (n=390 to 780 articles or 39-78 journals). The

review protocol will be structured and brief to minimize burden and

facilitate response.

Telephone Survey. The lead authors of the same 10 percent sample

will be contacted telephonically, to determine whether (or not) their

own research and the research of colleagues in a research cluster have

thrived over time. This will involve telephone discussions with a

sample of the investigators, to determine their post-EPSCoR

experiences, both as individuals and as part of a research cluster. The

authors will be asked to respond to a brief, structured interview

protocol.

Substudies No. 4 and 5: Have Universities Implemented Research-

Supporting Changes? and Have States Initiated Research-Supporting

Changes?

Both field-based studies will involve the same five sites, with

separate site visits approximately one year apart. The fieldwork for

both studies is to be conducted by COSMOS.

Field-Based Studies. The site visits for each year will consist of

structured and consistent--but not identical--interviews at the same 5

states. In year one, interviews will be held with university officials

(provosts, vice presidents for research, deans, department heads, and

sponsored program officers) involved in formulating and implementing

institutional policies. In year two, the focus is on state technology

development, inter-institutional coordination, and state financing and

regulation of university activities. These structured interviews will

be held with state officials. It is anticipated that 10 individuals

will be interviewed at each site.

Burden estimates across all data collections are as follows:

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Burden

Year Respondents hours

------------------------------------------------------------------------

1996.............................................. 50 100

1997.............................................. 128 228

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Send comments to Herman Fleming, Clearance Officer, National

Science Foundation, 4201 Wilson Boulevard, Suite 485, Arlington, VA

22230. Written comments should be received within 60 days of

publication.

Dated: October 17, 1995.

Herman G. Fleming,

NSF Reports Clearance Officer.

[FR Doc. 95-26229 Filed 10-23-95; 8:45 am]

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