NSF Asks for Comments on Same Old Data Collection Renewal Again
Published Date: 9/9/2026
Notice
Summary
The National Science Foundation (NSF) has submitted the following request for revision of the approved collection of research and development data in accordance with 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 renewal submission to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for clearance simultaneously with the publication of this second notice.
Analyzed Economic Effects
3 provisions identified: 0 benefits, 3 costs, 0 mixed.
PIs and Faculty: Annual Reporting Requirement
If you are a Principal Investigator (PI) or faculty/co-PI on an NSF Research Traineeship (NRT) award, your project must provide annual reports through the NRT monitoring system for the life of the award. The Project Survey for PIs is once annually and is estimated at 30 hours per PI (130 PIs total = 3,900 hours), the PI Survey is once annually at 10 minutes per PI (130 PIs total = 22 hours), and the Faculty Survey is once annually at 10 minutes per respondent (1,560 faculty/co‑PIs total = 260 hours).
Graduate Trainees: Annual 90-Minute Survey
If you are a trainee supported by an NSF NRT award, you will be required to complete the Trainee Survey once each year for the life of the award. The Trainee Survey is estimated to take 90 minutes per trainee and the notice lists 1,300 trainees for a total annual burden of 1,950 hours.
Aggregate Reporting Burden for NRT Monitoring
NSF estimates the NRT monitoring system will collect responses from 3,120 respondents annually with a total burden of 6,132 hours per year across all surveys. The collection uses a census approach and will be used by NSF for program planning, management, audits, and internal or third‑party evaluations.
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