[Federal Register: October 31, 2003 (Volume 68, Number 211)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Page 62048-62049]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr31oc03-27]
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NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION
48 CFR Parts 1835 and 1852
RIN 2700-AC64
Research and Development Abstracts
AGENCY: National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).
ACTION: Proposed rule.
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SUMMARY: This is a proposed rule to amend the NASA FAR Supplement (NFS)
to include a requirement for the electronic submission of abstracts of
the planned research to be conducted under contracts containing
research and development (R&D) effort valued at over $25,000. This
requirement is being established to support NASA's implementation of
section 207(g) of the E-Government Act of 2002 that mandates the
development and maintenance of a repository that integrates information
on research and development funded by the Federal Government. This
proposed rule would help improve access to information on NASA funded
research and development activities, thus providing public and private
research managers improved capability for R&D program planning.
DATES: Comments should be submitted on or before December 30, 2003.
ADDRESSES: Interested parties should submit written comments to Thomas
Sauret, NASA Headquarters, Office of Procurement, Contract Management
Division (Code HK), Washington, DC 20546. Comments may also be submitted by e-mail to: Thomas.E.Sauret@nasa.gov.
Comments that concern information collection requirements must be
sent to the Office of Management and Budget at the address listed in
the Paperwork Reduction Act section of this document. A copy of those
comments may also be sent to the Agency representative named in the
preceding paragraph.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Thomas Sauret, Code HK, (202) 358-1068, e-mail: Thomas.E.Sauret@nasa.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
A. Background
This proposed rule would add a new section 1835.003-70, NASA
Research and Development (R&D) Abstracts, and a related clause,
1852.235-75, NASA Research and Development (R&D) Abstracts. The new
clause provides for the collection of abstracts or summaries for NASA
funded awards with R&D effort greater than $25,000. The requirements of
section 207(g) of the E-Government Act of 2002 (Pub. L. 107-347)
provide the basis for this change. Section 207(g) mandates the
development and maintenance of a repository that integrates information
on research and development funded by the Federal Government. In
furtherance of that requirement, NASA has developed a Web-based
database system to collect summaries or abstracts for all the Agency's
procurements containing research and development effort valued over
$25,000. For procurements that include a combination of R&D with other
types of services and supplies, submission of an abstract would be
required only when the value of the R&D portion of the acquisition
exceeds $25,000. A NASA Web site (Abstract Collection and Transmittal
System (ACTS), http://proposals.hq.nasa.gov/acts/) has been established
for recipients of NASA R&D contracts to enter their abstract data. ACTS
will transfer submitted abstracts to a government-wide database
sponsored by the National Science Foundation (NSF). The NSF sponsored
government-wide database is available to other agencies and to the
public. NASA's ACTS database is designed only as a collection and
transmittal tool and will not be open to the general public.
B. Regulatory Flexibility Act
This proposed rule is not expected to have a significant economic
impact on a substantial number of small business entities within the
meaning of the Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 601, et. seq.),
because the administrative costs associated with the one time
submission of the R&D abstract is not expected to exceed the micro-
purchase threshold and should be included in the contract price.
C. Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995
This proposed rule contains information collection requirements. As
required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3507 (d)),
NASA has submitted a copy of the information collection requirements to
the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for its review and approval.
OMB is required to make a decision concerning the collection of
information contained in these proposed regulations between 30 and 60
days after publication of this document in the Federal Register.
Therefore, a comment to OMB regarding this information collection is
best assured of having its full effect if OMB receives it within 30
days of publication of this notice. This does not affect the deadline
for the public to comment on the proposed regulations. All comments
regarding this information collection should be sent to: Desk Officer
for NASA; Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office of
Management and Budget, Room 10236, New Executive Office Building;
Washington, DC 20503.
Collection of Information: NASA Research and Development Abstracts
Collection
The public reporting and recordkeeping burden for this collection
of information is estimated to be 1,500 hours. The estimated burden has
been calculated as follows:
Responses.............................. 3000
Hours per response..................... x 0.5 (30 min.)
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Annual reporting burden................ 1500 hours
The estimated number of responses shown above is the total number
of NASA research-related contracts awards, as well as awards made
through grants and agreements. This estimate reflects the combined
paperwork clearance request the Agency is submitting to OMB.
List of Subjects in 48 CFR Parts 1835 and 1852
Government procurement.
Tom Luedtke,
Assistant Administrator for Procurement.
Accordingly, 48 CFR Parts 1835 and 1852 are proposed to be amended
as follows:
[[Page 62049]]
1. The authority citation for 48 CFR Parts 1835 and 1852 continues
to read as follows:
Authority: 42 U.S.C. 2473(c)(1).
PART 1835--RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT CONTRACTING
2. Section 1835.003-70 is added to read as follows:
1835.003-70 NASA Research and Development (R&D) Abstracts.
(a) The E-Government Act of 2002 (Pub. L. No. 107-347) mandates the
development and maintenance of a repository that integrates information
on research and development funded by the Federal Government. In
support of that requirement, NASA will collect research abstracts and
forward them to an appropriate central repository where they will be
available for use by government agencies and other users.
(b) Information on R&D awards subject to the clause at 1852.235-75,
NASA Research and Development (R&D) Abstracts, including contractor
name and contract number, shall be automatically entered by NASA into
the NASA R&D Abstract Collection and Transmittal System (ACTS) database
on a monthly basis. The database may be accessed via the Web site
listed in the clause. Contracting officers shall check the Web site to
determine if the selected contractor is listed as an entity already
registered in the ACTS database. If the contractor is registered, then
no further action by the contracting officer is required. If the
contractor is not already registered in ACTS, the contracting officer
must obtain from their Center ACTS point of contact a new ACTS user
identification and password for the selected contractor. The
contracting officer shall provide the user identification and password
to the contractor.
3. Section 1835.070 is amended by adding paragraph (f) to read as
follows:
1835.070 NASA contract clauses and solicitation provision.
* * * * *
(f) The contracting officer shall insert the clause at 1852.235-75,
NASA Research and Development (R&D) Abstracts, in all contracts that
include research and development effort that exceeds $25,000. This
requirement does not apply to intragovernmental transfers.
PART 1852--SOLICITATION PROVISIONS AND CONTRACT CLAUSES
4. Section 1852.235-75 is added to read as follows:
1852.235-75 NASA Research and Development (R&D) Abstracts.
As prescribed in 1835.070(f), insert the following clause:
NASA Research and Development (R&D) Abstracts
(XX/XX)
(a) The Contractor shall, within 60 days after award (or 30 days
after the award information is entered into the NASA R&D Abstract
Collection and Transmittal System (ACTS) database, whichever is
later), enter a summary or abstract of the research and development
activity to be conducted under this contract into the ACTS database.
The database may be accessed at the following URL: http://proposals.hq.nasa.gov/acts/
.
(b) The abstract should range from 250 to 500 words in length.
The abstract will be made available to the public without
restrictions; therefore, caution is advised against inclusion of any
material for which dissemination in the public domain may be
prohibited such as trade secrets, proprietary information or export
controlled information.
(c) The abstract and other pertinent award information will be
included in a database of R&D abstracts from across the Federal
Government. The government-wide database will include abstracts and
other information concerning awards, such as the dollar value and
estimated completion date. The government-wide database will be
accessible to other government agencies and private organizations
and will allow entities to search the database for a variety of
information regarding current research awards. The NASA ACTS
database will not be searchable by the general public.
(d) Access to the NASA ACTS database requires user
identification and a password to ensure that only authorized
personnel enter abstract information. The Contracting Officer will
provide instructions regarding user identification and password
access if the Contractor does not already possess an ACTS
identification and password.
[FR Doc. 03-27492 Filed 10-30-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7510-01-P