Notice of Intent To Extend and Revise a Currently Approved Information Collection
| Published date | 29 November 2021 |
| Citation | 86 FR 67679 |
| Record Number | 2021-25896 |
| Section | Notices |
| Court | National Institute Of Food And Agriculture |
67679
Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 226 / Monday, November 29, 2021 / Notices
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
National Institute of Food and
Agriculture
Notice of Intent To Extend and Revise
a Currently Approved Information
Collection
AGENCY
: National Institute of Food and
Agriculture, USDA.
ACTION
: Notice and request for
comments.
SUMMARY
: In accordance with the
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 and
Office of Management and Budget
(OMB) regulations, this notice
announces the National Institute of
Food and Agriculture’s (NIFA) intention
to request a new information collection
titled Small Business Innovation
Research (SBIR) Program Lifecycle
Certification. This information
collection replaces an existing
information collection, Small Business
Innovation Research (SBIR) Program
Lifecycle Certification.
DATES
: Written comments on this notice
must be received by January 28, 2022 to
be assured of consideration. Comments
received after that date will be
considered to the extent practicable.
ADDRESSES
: You may submit comments
through the Federal eRulemaking Portal:
http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the
instructions for submitting comments.
Instructions: All comments received
will be posted without change to http://
www.regulations.gov, including any
personal information provided.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT
:
Robert Martin, 202–445–5388,
Robert.martin3@usda.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION
:
Title of Collection: Small Business
Innovation Research (SBIR) Program
Lifecycle Certification.
OMB Control Number: 4040–001.
Expiration Date of Current Approval:
12/31/2022.
Type of Request: Notice of intent to
extend and revise a currently approved
information collection. The burden for
this collection remains unchanged.
NIFA is requesting a one-year
extension for the current collection
entitled ‘‘Small Business Innovation
Research (SBIR) Program Lifecycle
Certification.’’
NIFA asks recipients of SBIR grants to
submit the Lifecycle Certification form
as part of their required interim and
final reports. NIFA is also proposing
updates to the existing Certification
form to match the language provided for
this form in the 2020 ‘‘SBA SBIR/STTR
Policy Directive,’’ October 1, 2020.
These changes are in response to the
recommendation by the Government
Accountability Office (GAO) in its SBIR
Fraud Waste and Abuse Review,
completed on June 30, 2021.
Abstract: The SBIR program at the
U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)
makes competitively awarded grants to
qualified small businesses to support
high quality, advanced concepts
research related to important scientific
problems and opportunities in
agriculture that could lead to significant
public benefit if successful.
The objectives of the SBIR Program
are to: Stimulate technological
innovations in the private sector;
strengthen the role of small businesses
in meeting Federal research and
development needs; increase private
sector commercialization of innovations
derived from USDA-supported research
and development efforts; and foster and
encourage participation by women-
owned and socially and economically
disadvantaged small business firms in
technological innovations. The USDA
SBIR program is carried out in three
separate phases:
1. Phase I awards to determine,
insofar as possible, the scientific and
technical merit and feasibility of ideas
that appear to have commercial
potential.
2. Phase II awards to further develop
work from Phase I that meets particular
program needs and exhibits potential for
commercial application.
3. Phase III awards where commercial
applications of SBIR- funded
R(Research)/R&D (Research and
Development) are funded by non-
Federal sources of capital; or where
products, services or further research
intended for use by the Federal
Government are funded by follow-on
non-SBIR Federal Funding Agreements.
The USDA SBIR Program is
administered by the National Institute of
Food and Agriculture (NIFA) of the
USDA. NIFA exercises overall oversight
for the policies and procedures
governing SBIR grants awarded to the
U.S. small business community,
representing approximately 2.5% to
2.8% of the USDA extramural R/R&D
budget. This represents approximately
$201M in Phase II grants awarded to the
U.S. small business community from
1994 to 2014. In 1982, the Small
Business Innovation Research (SBIR)
Grants Program (Pub. L. 97–219, 96 stat.
217), 15 U.S.C. 638, was authorized, and
in 2016, The National Defense
Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017
(Pub. L. 114–328), enacted on December
23, 2016, reauthorized the SBIR and
STTR programs through September 30,
2022.
The Lifecycle Certification form is
used by USDA to ensure Small Business
Concerns continue to meet specific
program requirements during the life of
the Funding Agreement. The GAO
determined that the previously
approved form currently in use has
material deviations from the Small
Business Administration (SBA) model
language. NIFA is proposing minor
changes to two of the questions on the
form. The proposed changes contain
clarifying language intended to address
the GAO’s recommendation that the
language on the Lifecycle Certification
form should match the model SBA
language.
Estimate of Burden: The annual
public reporting burden for the
collection of information is estimated to
average one (1) hour per response.
Respondents include businesses or
other for-profit concerns.
Estimated Number of Respondents:
110.
Estimated Number of Responses per
Respondent: 2.
Estimated Burden per Response: 1
hour.
Estimated Total Annual Burden on
Respondents: 500 hours.
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 will have 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 to be collected; 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.
All responses to this notice will be
summarized and included in the request
to OMB for approval. All comments will
become a matter of public record.
Obtaining a Copy of the Information
Collection: A copy of the information
collection and related instructions may
be obtained free of charge by contacting
Robert Martin as directed above.
Done at Washington, DC, this day of
November 18, 2021.
Carrie L. Castille,
Director, National Institute of Food and
Agriculture, U.S. Department of Agriculture.
[FR Doc. 2021–25896 Filed 11–26–21; 8:45 am]
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