NIFA Notice on Information Collection Activities

Content

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 extend and revise a previously approved information collection,
entitled NIFA Proposal Review Process.

DATES:

Written comments on this notice must be received by September 8, 2025 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:

Laura Givens, 816-527-5379, Laura.Givens@usda.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Title of Collection: NIFA Proposal Review Process.

OMB Control Number: 0524-0041.

Expiration Date of Current Approval: 9/30/2025.

Type of Request: Notice of intent to extend and revise a previously approved information collection. The burden for this collection remains
unchanged.

NIFA is requesting a three-year extension for the current collection entitled “NIFA Proposal Review Process.”

NIFA is also proposing to update the collection so that the previously approved Reviewer Questionnaire, as well as the Conflict
of Interest and Confidentiality Certification Form are both available on NIFA's Peer Review System (PRS) web-based portal.
Additionally, NIFA is proposing some minor updates to the wording of questions in the Reviewer Questionnaire to ensure that
peer review panels have the required scientific and technical expertise while remaining in compliance with statistical directives
from OMB.

Abstract: The National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) is responsible for performing a review of proposals submitted to NIFA
competitive award programs in accordance with section 103(a) of the Agricultural Research, Extension, and Education Reform
Act of 1998, 7 U.S.C. 7613(a). Reviews are undertaken to ensure that projects supported by NIFA are of high quality and are
consistent with the goals and requirements of the funding program.

Proposals submitted to NIFA undergo a programmatic evaluation to determine justification of Federal support. The evaluations
consist of a peer panel review and may also entail an assessment by Federal employees and electronically submitted (ad-hoc)
reviews in the Peer Review System.

The information collected from the evaluations is used to support NIFA grant programs. NIFA uses the results of the proposal
evaluation to determine whether a proposal should be declined or recommended for award. When NIFA has rendered a decision,
copies of reviews (excluding the names of the reviewers) and summaries of review panel deliberations, if any, are provided
to the submitting Project Director.

Given the highly technical nature of many of these proposals, the quality of the peer review greatly depends on the appropriate
matching of the subject matter of the proposal with the scientific and technical expertise of the potential reviewer. To obtain
this information, an electronic questionnaire is used to collect information about potential panel and ad-hoc reviewers. If
the reviewer is already in the NIFA database, the questionnaire asks potential reviewers to update their basic biographical
information including address, contact information, professional expertise, and their availability to review for NIFA in the
future. If the reviewer is new, they are prompted to complete the questionnaire. This information has been invaluable in the
NIFA review process, which has been recognized by the grantee and grantor community for its quality.

The applications and associated materials made available to reviewers, as well as the discussions that take place during panel
review meetings, are strictly confidential and are not to be disclosed to or discussed with anyone who has not been officially
designated to participate in the review process. While each panelist certifies at the time of preparing a review they do not
have a conflict-of-interest with a particular application and will maintain its confidentiality in the Peer Review System,
a certification of their intent at the time of the panel review proceedings is collected to emphasize and reinforce confidentiality
not only of applications and reviews but also panel discussions. On the Conflict-of-Interest and Confidentiality Certification
form, the panelist affirms they understand the conflict-of-interest guidelines and will not be involved in the review of the
application(s) where a conflict exists. The panelist also affirms their intent to maintain the confidentiality of the panel
process and not disclose to another individual any information related to the peer review or use any information for personal
benefit.

Estimate of Burden:

Estimated number of respondents by form/process:

Reviewer Questionnaire: 1,000.

Conflict-of-Interest and Confidentiality Certification: 1,000.

Proposal Review Process: 4,600.

The individual form/process burden hours are as follows:

Reviewer Questionnaire: 167 hours.

Conflict-of-Interest and Confidentiality Certification: 167 hours.

Proposal Review Process: 92,000 hours.

Estimated Total Annual Burden on the public for all forms and processes: 92,334 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 Laura Givens as
directed above.

Drenda Williams, Associate Director for Operations, National Institute of Food and Agriculture, U.S. Department of Agriculture. [FR Doc. 2025-12689 Filed 7-7-25; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 3410-22-P

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