[CHAPTER  1, Survey Introduction]
 
Michael: Hello. Welcome to the Facilities Survey webinar. I’m Michael Gibbons, the project officer for the Survey of Science and Engineering Research Facilities, commonly referred to as the Facilities Survey, at the National Science Foundation’s National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics. I’ve been in this role since 2012. I also serve as the project officer for our Higher Education R&D survey, also known as the HERD survey. Overall, I’ve been collecting higher education R&D data for 26 years. I’m here with Eric Jodts, the project director for the Facilities Survey at Westat. Westat is our survey contractor. Eric has been on this project for more than 16 years, as have several key members of his team. The Westat team are the primary points of contact for our respondents and I think they do a great job of providing support to our survey institutions while ensuring that all of the data are published accurately. And I'd like to thank you for your continued survey participation. We are conducting this webinar for several reasons. We'd like to provide some context for those who are newer to the survey and we'd like to address some common questions that we receive. We hope the webinar will be informative and make it easier for you to respond. I'm going to begin with an overview of the facility survey, including a brief mention of the background and intent. Hopefully, this will provide some context as to why we’re all working on this. After I discuss the survey background, Eric will discuss the Facilities Survey web platform to give you some navigation insights. Finally, we’ll take time to explore some of the common questions and challenges our coordinators have raised over the years. And thank you for your continued survey participation.
 
[CHAPTER 2, Survey Background]
 
Michael: The survey is conducted by the National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics, or NCSES, which is one of 13 principal federal statistical agencies. NCSES is located within the National Science Foundation's Social, Behavioral and Economic Sciences directorate. For context, some of the other statistical agencies are the Census Bureau, which conducts the decennial census, the Bureau of Labor Statistics, which measures the gross domestic product, and the Bureau of Economic Analysis, which calculates the inflation rate. NCSES focuses on the science and engineering enterprise within the United States, which includes all sectors of the economy, including higher education. As noted here, NCSES provides data users with objective, high-quality statistical information on U.S. and international science, engineering, technology and R&D, and fosters research that improves the measurement and understanding of the science and engineering enterprise. We accomplish this to a large extent through the 16 surveys that we manage. Ten of these cover R&D by sector—business, federal government, nonprofit, higher education, and state and local government sectors. Another six surveys focus on enrollments, degrees, and the science and engineering workforce. NCSES publishes data tables and short, policy-neutral reports for these surveys. Our surveys, including the Facilities Survey, are also used to support the biennial Science and Engineering Indicators report produced for the National Science Board. Access to all NCSES surveys, analysis, data and documentation are available at www.ncses.nsf.gov. Congress mandated NSF in 1986 to identify and assess the research facilities needs of colleges and universities by individual science and engineering field. This mandate stemmed from a growing awareness in the 70s and 80s that the research facilities at academic institutions were deteriorating and impeding progress in science and engineering research and education. A number of reports detailing the problems were published in the early 80s. The reports helped inform Congress of the need for federal support of academic R&D facilities, and the implications if the trends continued. Congress named several specific areas that needed to be accounted for in the survey, and NSF has fulfilled this mandate through the Biennial Facilities Survey ever since. The survey is a census of all U.S. universities and colleges with a minimum of $1M in science and engineering R&D spending as identified through our HERD survey. NSF is mandated to conduct the survey, but the survey is voluntary for the universities. We've been fortunate enough to have consistently high participation, which has consistently exceeded 95% since 2011. Data from this survey serve several audiences. At the national level, the data provide Congress and federal agencies with a quantitative picture of the inventory and condition of existing science and engineering research space at research-performing academic institutions. This survey also provides data on the current and future capital expenditures for research facilities by universities and colleges; sources of funding for research facilities at these institutions; and plans for future repair, renovation and new construction of science and engineering research facilities. Congress uses the Facilities Survey data to assist them in estimating appropriations and programmatic decisions. Specific mentions of the Facilities Survey data periodically appear in the President's budget proposals after going through the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. State legislatures and agencies also use the data for funding purposes. Private sector architectural, engineering and construction firms have used the data to understand trends in the industry. Several professional associations use the data to assess the needs of their members and more effectively lobby Congress for funding in their associated fields of science. Finally, some universities use these data in combination with other R&D data to benchmark themselves versus their peers. To meet these needs, we produce national totals as well as institutional-level data tables, overview reports called InfoBriefs, entire survey year data files, and data through our reporting tool. All of these are available on the NSF website at www.ncses.nsf.gov.
Description: Databases and special data tabulations include the NCSES Data Table Builder, Public Use Files, and Science and Engineering State Profiles.
 
Michael: So again, I'd like to thank you for your efforts to provide these data. This helps us serve these data user communities.
 
[CHAPTER 3, Facilities vs. HERD]
 
Michael: I wanted to take a moment to clarify the differences between the HERD and Facilities surveys.  As I mentioned at the beginning of the webinar, I manage both surveys for NCSES. The HERD, the Higher Education, R&D and development survey, and the Facilities Survey serve distinct but complementary purposes in understanding research activity at the U.S. academic institutions. The HERD survey, conducted annually since the 1950s, focuses on research and development performance. It includes all U.S. degree granting institutions that report at least $150,000 in total R&D expenditures, regardless of the field. This broad scope allows HERD to capture data from approximately 900 institutions, including those below the Facility Survey inclusion threshold. HERD collects detailed expenditure data by funding source, R&D field, across about 40 fields, and type of research. In contrast, the Facilities Survey is a biennial study that concentrates on research capacity, specifically the physical space available for science and engineering research. It targets a subset of HERD institutions, those reporting at least $1 million in S&E R&D expenditures, recently over 600 universities. The Facilities Survey gathers data on the amount of research space by field (covering about 12 fields) and includes capital expenditures related to new construction, repairs, and renovations. In summary, while HERD provides a comprehensive view of R&D expenditures across a wide range of institutions and disciplines, the Facilities Survey offers a focused look at the infrastructure supporting science and engineering research at institutions with significant R&D activity.
 
[CHAPTER 4, Web Survey Platform]
 
Michael: Next, Eric will walk us through a demo of the web survey platform. He'll provide an overview of the site's key features, share navigation tips, and demonstrate how to effectively use the platform to complete and submit your survey.
Eric: Hi everyone. As Mike mentioned, I'm Eric Jodts and I serve as the project director for the Facilities Survey at Westat. I'm going to start by reviewing where to find some of the content in the web survey. This is a partial image of the web survey login screen. Coordinators appointed by the institution president will receive an email with the login credentials in mid-October. Coordinators may designate other staff to help them collect and/or enter information into the web survey on their behalf. The survey layout and locations remain the same as in recent cycles. Throughout the survey, there are edit checks that look for consistency across questions and will flag data conflicts. Feel free to contact the help desk with any questions you may have as you complete the survey.  Upon your very first login for the cycle you'll be taken to the Web Instructions tab. To locate a list of changes made to the survey since the prior cycle, please scroll down until you see the "Changes from Previous Survey Cycle" section. You can return to the web instructions at any time by selecting the tab from the main navigation menu at the top of the screen. Next, we'll review how to access your institution's responses to the previous cycle. After identifying survey changes, returning institutions often find it helpful to review a copy of their previous survey submission. If your institution responded to the prior cycle, a PDF of the completed survey can be accessed by selecting the "Print 2023 Survey" tab located at the top of the screen. These tabs remain visible regardless of where you are in the survey. After clicking the tab, a link will appear to download the file. If your institution did not participate in the prior cycle, a message will indicate that no file is available.  Once file link is clicked, the PDF can be printed or saved for future reference. We'll now move on to cover common challenges and questions, starting with what to report.
 
[CHAPTER 5, What to Report]
 
Eric: What is considered science and engineering or S&E research for the purposes of this survey? What is not? What should be reported in "other field of S&E"? To ensure accurate responses throughout the survey, it's important to understand what qualifies as S&E research and research space. The official survey definitions provide this guidance. These definitions can be found in two places: on page 2 of the PDF version of the survey or via links throughout the web survey. Let's take a minute to read through these. Research is all research and experimental development activities of your institution that are separately accounted for. These R&D activities comprise creative and systematic work undertaken in order to increase the stock of knowledge, including knowledge of humankind, culture and society, and to devise new applications of available knowledge. This research can be funded by your own institution, the federal government, a state government, foundations, corporations or other sources. Research space is the net assignable square feet of space and buildings within which research activities take place. Research facilities are located within buildings. A building is a roofed structure for permanent or temporary shelter for persons, animals, plants, materials or equipment. Structures should be included if they are: (1) attached to a foundation, (2) roofed, (3) serviced by a utility exclusive of lighting, and (4) a source of significant maintenance and repair activities. Net assignable square feet is the sum of all areas on all floors of a building assigned to, or available to be assigned to, an occupant for a specific use, such as research or instruction. NASF is measured from the inside faces of walls. At the end of the list, the fields of S&E included in this survey are noted.
 
Description: Please refer to these definitions when answering all survey questions.
 
Eric: Question 2 has a list of the major disciplines included in each of the fields. In the previous slide, we covered the definition of a building, but we often receive questions from institutions on this topic, so we want to review it in more detail. As mentioned before, research space is located within buildings. Greenhouses, field labs, etc. may be reported to the extent that they fit the definition of a building shown here and the definitions reviewed on the previous slide. Typically, buildings include both research space and non-research space, such as administrative, instructional, and unassigned space such as corridors. Almost all questions on this study ask about costs related to research space, or the amount of research space measured in net assignable square feet. To accurately identify and report research space in this survey, refer to the list of qualifying items provided on page three of the PDF questionnaire and also available via links throughout the web survey. This list of items outlines what we consider to be research space for the purposes of this survey. Some examples of research space which should be included are: clean rooms, laboratory support space, core laboratories, research animal space, space for clinical trial research, offices that are used to support research, and leased space used for research. Below the list of what research space includes, there are examples of space which should not be included in this survey. For example, you should exclude: non-science and engineering space, animal or agricultural space that does not support research or is not within a building as defined earlier, Federally Funded Research and Development Centers, and space that your institution leases to an outside organization. When completing the survey, it's important to understand how to distinguish between research and non-research space within buildings. As noted earlier, buildings typically include both research and non-research space, such as administrative, instructional, and unassigned space such as corridors, and most of our survey questions are limited to the research space. However, there are few exceptions in the new construction project form. Almost all questions on this study ask about costs related to the research space or the amount of research space measured in net assignable square feet. Research space is that which is attributed to OMB's Uniform Guidance functionality of research, so please do not include other functionalities such as instruction. You can provide estimates if you do not have exact figures, although you should provide the most precise data possible using exact figures if available.
 
[CHAPTER 6, Fiscal Year Defined]
 
Eric: When completing the survey, please use your institution’s fiscal year as the reference point. The fiscal year often ends June 30 or September 30 and institutions should respond to the survey as of the end date of their fiscal year referenced for that cycle. Since the survey invitation for a cycle comes out in October and is due in December, the fiscal year should have ended by the time you respond to the survey.
 
[CHAPTER 7, Research Animal Space]
 
Eric:  On this survey we do include research animal space both within the survey fields and in some questions focused on this topic.You should include housing facilities for research animals and associated maintenance areas, including: cage rooms, stalls, wards, isolation rooms, exercise rooms, feed storage rooms, cage-washing rooms, holding and storage areas, and so on. However, as noted earlier, you should not include animal field buildings sheltering animals that do not directly support research or that are not subject to government regulations concerning humane care and use of laboratory animals. Also, animal research buildings must meet the definition of a building as described earlier. Thus, pastures are not considered research space. We want to reiterate the research animal space questions are confidential and will never be reported at the institution level.
 
[CHAPTER 8, Prorating Space]
 
Eric: When research space is shared among fields or used for other purposes in addition to research, we ask that you report the portion of the space used for research by each science and engineering field requested. For example, if two S&E fields shared the space equally, you should report half of the space in one S&E field and half in the other. Or, if an area was used for research one-fourth of the time and for instruction the rest of the time, respondents should report one-fourth of the space as research space. It might be helpful to review some prorating examples. First, let’s assume the engineering lab at University X is approximately 5,000 square feet and is used three days of the week for instruction and two days of the week for research. The institution should report 2,000 square feet of research space in Question 2d, Engineering, which is two-fifths of the space and corresponds to the two-fifths of the time used for research. For our second example, let’s assume the life sciences lab at University Y is 2,000 square feet, and is used by both the Chemistry and Biology departments for research only. Chemistry professors occupy 75% of the lab space and Biology professors occupy the other 25% of the space. The institution should report 1,500 NASF for Chemistry (under Physical sciences) and 500 NASF for Biology, under Biological and biomedical sciences, in Question 2. This corresponds to 75% of the 2,000 NASF for Chemistry and 25% of the space for Biology. If you're unsure where to report data for a particular discipline, you should use the example lists of disciplines shown under each S&E field in Question 2. If still unclear, you can review the larger list of disciplines in the crosswalk provided on the S&E Field List tab in the web survey. Multidisciplinary research space should be classified under the primary S&E field. If you are unable to classify multidisciplinary S&E space within one or more of the provided categories, you should use the other field of S&E category. Research animal space should be included under the appropriate S&E field or fields within each question. If you have a central animal facility shared by numerous fields, you should prorate the space, reporting the portion used for research by each field. For example, if animals supporting Biology research occupy two-thirds of the central facility, then two-thirds of the space should be reported under Biology. Similarly, research space at medical schools should be reported under the appropriate field or fields.
 
[CHAPTER 9, Other Field]
 
Eric: Now we want to talk a little bit about the "other field of S&E" within the survey. As we discussed a little while ago, the disciplines listed in the survey under the fields of science and engineering are intended to be examples. Within each of those lists we have a field called “other”, for example “other field of computer science” or “other field of engineering.” However, for instances where reporting the space under the listed fields of S&E is not possible, then we provide a separate category for "other field of S&E." This can be used when the research itself is so intertwined across fields that it would be impossible to separate out. However, we expect that most shared space can be prorated into the listed fields as covered in the preceding slides. As noted earlier, you should not use this category to report space in non-S&E fields such as law, business, or education, unless the S&E interdisciplinary research being conducted includes one of these fields and it is not possible to exclude the non-S&E space. However, we ask that you try to prorate the space by field and report it in the named S&E fields, keeping in mind that estimates are acceptable. Lastly, the “other field of S&E” space should not be used to report planned repair and renovation costs or planned new construction for a building that will be shared among various departments, but for which the exact details are not known. We would like you to try to prorate the space by the fields of S&E that will be housed in the new building. If you cannot estimate the NASF by fields that will be used, you should provide the total amount and any other information that you do have, for example, the names of the departments that will be using the space that added information can be provided in question 20, which allows you to comment on your reported data.
 
[CHAPTER 10, Clinical Trials]
 
Eric: Now we want to talk a little bit about the other field of S&E within the survey.  As we discussed a little while ago, the disciplines listed in the survey under the fields of science and engineering are intended to be examples. Within each of those lists we have a field called “other”, for example “other field of computer science” or “other field of engineering. However, for instances where reporting the space under the listed fields of S&E is not possible, then we provide a separate category for “other field of S&E.”  This can be used when the research itself is so intertwined across fields that it would be impossible to separate out. However, we expect that most shared space can be prorated into the listed fields as covered in the preceding slides. As noted earlier, you should not use this category to report space in non-S&E fields such as law, business, or education – unless the S&E interdisciplinary research being conducted includes one of these fields and it is not possible to exclude the non-S&E space.  However, we ask that you try to prorate the space by field and report it in the named S&E fields, keeping in mind that estimates are acceptable. Lastly, the “other field of S&E” space should not be used to report planned repair and renovation costs or planned new construction for a building that will be shared among various departments, but for which the exact details are not known. We would like you to try to prorate the space by the fields of S&E that will be housed in the new building. If you cannot estimate the NASF by fields that will be used, you should provide the total amount and any other information that you do have, for example, the names of the departments that will be using the space. That added information can be provided in Question 20, which allows you to comment on your reported data.
 
[CHAPTER 11, Condition of Research Space]
 
Eric: Next, let’s review the question on condition of research space. This question collects estimates of the percent of the NASF reported in question 2 that fell into each of four condition categories at the end of the reference fiscal year.  We understand that this can be difficult to answer, however, this question is required as part of the congressional mandate. Let's start by reviewing the definitions. Superior condition: a space that is suitable for the most scientifically competitive research in this field over the next 2 years. Satisfactory condition: a space that is suitable for continued use over the next 2 years for most levels of research in this field, but may require minor repairs or renovation. Space that requires renovation will no longer be suitable for current research without undergoing major renovation within the next 2 years. Requires replacement should be used when should stop using space for current research within the next 2 years. While these general descriptions are provided for each of the four condition categories, the question is subjective and you should use your best judgment to answer as accurately as possible. If your institution does not have research space in a particular field, you should check the appropriate box and continue to the next field. Research animal space should be included under the appropriate field or fields as it was reported in Question 2. If your institution has a central animal facility shared by numerous fields, you should follow the same prorating procedures by field as used in Question 2. Responses to this question are confidential and will not be made publicly available. Your responses to this or any other question in the Facilities Survey are not used to determine NSF funding decisions (i.e., grant applications). You should answer to the best of your knowledge to provide a current and accurate picture of research conditions at your institution.
 
[CHAPTER 12, Reporting Costs]
 
Eric: The next thing we'd like to discuss is cost related data. These questions are designed to capture financial information associated with maintaining and improving your space. They begin with Question 8 on repairs and renovations. Cost data is also collected in Question 10 which is the Individual Project Form for new construction, Question 12 for planned repair and renovations, Question 14 for planned new construction, Question 16 for deferred repair and renovations, and Question 18 for deferred new construction. And if your institution has a medical school, costs are broken out for that in the follow up questions for each of these.
 
[CHAPTER 13, Repairs and Renovations]
 
Eric: Similar to Research Space, the survey provides explicit definitions to help you define which costs should be included in your reporting. Let's review some of the key definitions for costs related to repairs and renovations. First, repairs and renovations are defined as activities such as fixing up facilities in deteriorated condition, capital improvements on facilities, conversion of facilities, and the building out of shell space. You should include any repairs or renovations to existing space that are performed in combination with new construction projects. You should not report building additions here, since they are reported in this survey under new construction. Start date for repairs and renovations is the date on which the physical work of the repairs or renovations actually began. Completion costs include planning, site preparation, construction, fixed equipment, nonfixed equipment that costs $1 million or more, and building infrastructure such as plumbing, lighting, air exchange, and safety systems either in the building or within 5 feet of the building foundation.
 
[CHAPTER 14, New Construction and Prorating Costs]
 
Eric: Now let's cover new construction, which in the Facilities Survey is reported separately from repairs and renovations. Let's review two key definitions for new construction. First, we define new construction as the construction of a new building as well as additions to existing buildings. Given the unique nature of new construction, we have a separate definition for start date which we distinguish with the term project.  Project start date is defined as the first placement of permanent construction of a building or addition on site, such as the pouring of a slab or footing, the installation of piles, the construction of columns or any work beyond the stage of excavation. When determining project start date, please exclude planning, demolition or other site preparation work. Since the nature of new construction projects varies quite a bit and we have found that people have different ideas of when a project has started, we developed this definition to allow for consistent reporting of new construction projects across time and staff. The very specific nature of this definition ensures that institutions can accurately determine in which fiscal year the project should be reported. The purpose of the definition is only intended to define the fiscal year in which a project is reported and not the costs to be reported. Therefore, although it may seem to conflict with the project start date definition, institutions should include all project costs that fit this definition, whether or not they occurred before the project start date. As we do for space questions, we need to prorate costs for shared space. The proration guidelines with regard to sharing across purpose or fields is the same.  However, unlike in the space questions we have a minimum threshold for reporting costs.  Therefore, you should only include projects whose prorated cost was estimated to be $250,000 or more for at least one field of S&E. NCSES uses this threshold to limit the number of projects that institutions need to report to ease survey burden. We review this threshold periodically when we conduct interviews and site visits with respondents to solicit their feedback of the survey content. Each of the survey questions on cost provides prorating examples for cost reporting and they are similar to the examples provided earlier on NASF. The important thing to keep in mind is that if a prorated cost falls below the minimum reporting threshold of $250,000 you should not report that cost in the survey.  Therefore, a project that exceeded the minimum threshold, but supported multiple fields would only be reported after proration in the fields where the prorated costs exceed the $250,000 threshold. It may be helpful to review a cost proration example. A shared chemistry/biology lab at University Z is being renovated.  The total project cost is $500,000. Sixty percent of the space is used for biology and the remainder for chemistry. After prorating, that means that $300,000 of the costs are for biology and $200,000 of the costs are for chemistry. The institution should report $300,000 for Biology and $0 for Chemistry since the amount is below the reporting threshold of $250,000. When responding to Question 14 regarding planned new construction, please follow these guidelines: All survey responses should reflect the status as of the end of your institution’s fiscal year. For example, if your fiscal year ends on September 30, report planned new construction based on what was known or planned as of that date. If your institution had plans for new construction within the two years following the fiscal year end, report those plans. If no construction was planned or the information was not available as of the fiscal year end, select “None” or leave the fields blank as appropriate. Estimates are acceptable. If construction was planned, but exact dollar amounts were not finalized, you may provide reasonable estimates based on available information. Reminder: The survey is typically completed after the fiscal year ends, so you should be able to look back and determine what was planned as of that date.
 
[CHAPTER 15, Deferred Questions]
 
Eric: To help clarify how to respond to the questions that deal with deferred projects, this section provides detailed guidance. Question 16 asks about deferred repairs and renovations and Question 18 asks about deferred new construction. Aside from type of project, the questions and instructions are similar, so let’s review Question 16 in detail to understand the definitions and instructions for deferred projects. Question 16 collects estimates of the costs of any deferred repair and renovation projects of S&E research facilities that are needed to meet current research program commitments, but are not yet funded and not yet scheduled to start in the two years following the survey reference year. You should not include projects planned for developing new programs or expanding current programs. Current research program commitments include current faculty and staff or those to whom offers have been made or grants awarded, whether or not the research has actually begun, and programs which have been approved. As with all other questions, research animal, medical school, and clinical trial space should be included in the appropriate S&E field or fields, and the cost threshold to report projects is $250,000 in at least one field of S&E, after prorating. If your institution does not have any fields with deferred repair or renovation projects that meet the guidelines, you should check the appropriate box and skip to Question 18. For the deferred questions, respondents should estimate costs separately for projects included in their approved institutional plans and projects not included in these plans. Institutional plans usually include goals, strategies, and budgets for fulfilling the institution’s mission during a specific time period (for example, a master plan or 5-year capital plan). All other deferred projects should go in the right-hand column labeled: for projects not included in your plan. I'll now hand it back to Mike to talk about the role of the Institutional Coordinator.
 
[CHAPTER 16, Ideal Respondent]
 
Eric: Understanding who should complete the survey is essential to ensuring accurate and comprehensive responses. While there are no specific guidelines, the ideal survey respondent is one who knows, has access to, or can gather information on: types of research space in use of the institution, measurements and conditions of research space, information and space sharing to allow for prorating of space and; recent, planned and deferred new construction, repairs and renovations. In many institutions, information on space utilization is available by running reports in space management software, but in others it might need to be looked up in floor plans or by taking measurements. Institutions must follow established cost accounting guidelines in research funding, such as 2 CFR 220 – Cost Principles for Educational Institutions, or OMB Circular A-21, and through that process must classify their research space. As a result, some of the legwork may have already been conducted and be available through the office responsible for that process. Given that the variety of organizational arrangements across institutions and specific responsibilities of each unit, the ideal survey respondent varies in title and position across institutions. Successful respondents to the Facilities Survey have a variety of titles – though typically senior – across the following areas and departments, such as: various Research offices, Facilities, Grants and Contracts, Budget, Capital Planning and Academic Affairs. Staff at the director, chancellor, dean, and administrator levels often have the knowledge regarding where information resides across the institution as well as the authority to access or collect the information. However, it is quite common for coordinators at this level to delegate the actual collection and entry of information to more junior staff. If you are taking over responsibility for the survey at your institution and want to ensure you receive future communications, you can contact the Facilities Survey Help Desk at facilitiessurvey@westat.com or (888) 811-1838 to update your information. While some individuals reach out directly to NCSES staff (such as me), those messages are typically forwarded to the Help Desk, and we make a note of the change. However, please note that at the beginning of the official data collection period, a formal letter is sent to the president of your institution, requesting them to nominate the survey coordinator. This nomination is required for us to officially update the contact on record. We have an internal process that helps manage these transitions. While we cannot make official changes without direction from the institution's leadership. If you know you are the appropriate contact, you may wish to proactively reach out to your president's office ahead of our outreach in early fall. This can help facilitate a smoother transition when the nomination request is sent.
 
[CHAPTER 17, Conclusion]
 
Michael: I’d like to remind you that we try our best to make the survey process as smooth as possible. If you have questions, you can always call or email our Help Desk. You can also contact me with survey questions or questions about data accessibility.
 
Description: Contact email: M-G-I-B-B-O-N-S@nsf.gov
 
Michael: The final question on the survey, Question 20, provides space for comments. We appreciate receiving any comments you provide. We review all of these to ensure that we understand any issues of importance to you. This can include uncertainties you have about how to address some questions, lack of clarity in our guidance, or anything related to the survey. The comment box is a good way to get your message to us as you’re wrapping up your survey. Finally, I’d like to thank you again for your work on the survey. We appreciate it, and it helps us produce the best possible data for our data users.