Businessd R&D and Innovation Survey

Attachment A2

DC

UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
Economics and Statistics Administration

U.S. Census Bureau
Washington, DC 20233-0001

A message from the Directors, U.S. Census Bureau and National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics
The U.S. Census Bureau has selected your business to participate in the 2015 Business R&D and Innovation Survey.
We have selected your company for the survey. This national survey collects information from businesses operating in
the U.S. and is the single most important source of up-to-date information on business research and development in the
United States. Accurate information about R&D and innovation will help leaders in the public and private sectors make
better decisions to strengthen American competitiveness.
YOUR RESPONSE IS REQUIRED BY LAW. Title 13 United States Code, Sections 8(b), 131, and 182, and Title 42
United States Code, Sections 1861-76 (National Science Foundation Act of 1950, as amended) authorize this collection.
Title 13 United States Code, Sections 224 and 225 require businesses and other organizations that receive this
questionnaire to answer the questions and return the report to the U.S. Census Bureau. We estimate this survey to take
35 minutes to complete. On the back of this letter you will find disclosure descriptions regarding Office of Management
and Budget number; authority and confidentiality; and burden estimate statement. Please read the instructions and
complete the form. You can complete your form online by following the instructions provided.
Title 13 United States Code, Section 9 also requires that we keep your answers strictly confidential. The information
you provide may be seen only by persons sworn to uphold the confidentiality of Census Bureau information and may
be used only for statistical purposes. Further, copies retained in your files are immune from legal process.
You can file your survey online through the Census Bureau’s Business Help Site: https://econhelp.census.gov/brdscr .
Electronic versions of the survey form (Excel and PDF) are also available from this website. Your User ID and
Password are located on the front page of the enclosed questionnaire booklet. Alternatively, you may return your
completed questionnaire in the enclosed envelope.
Your company’s response is due 30 days from receipt. If you need assistance, please call our survey
analysts at 1-800-772-7851, option ‘5’, between 8:00 am and 4:45 pm Eastern time, Monday through Friday.
A small percentage of respondents to this survey may be asked to report additional detail on a follow-up
survey. This detail is needed to produce comprehensive national statistics.

Thank you in advance for your cooperation.

Sincerely,

John R. Gawalt
Director
National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics
National Science Foundation

John H. Thompson
Director
U.S. Census Bureau

Enclosures
The Business R&D and Innovation Survey is conducted under a joint partnership agreement
between the National Science Foundation and the U.S. Census Bureau.
BRD-L1(S)-WF (MM-DD-YYYY)

census.gov

OMB Number
You are not required to respond to this collection of information if it does not display a valid approval number
from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). The eight-digit OMB number is 0607-0912 and appears
in the upper right corner of the report form/login screen.
Authority and Confidentiality
Title 13 United States Code, Sections 8(b), 131, and 182, and Title 42 United States Code, Sections 1861-76
(National Science Foundation Act of 1950, as amended) authorize this collection. Title 13 United States
Code, Sections 224 and 225 require businesses and other organizations that receive this questionnaire to
answer the questions and return the report to the U.S. Census Bureau. By Section 9 of the same law, your
report is confidential. It may be seen only by persons sworn to uphold the confidentiality of Census Bureau
information, and may be used only for statistical purposes. The law also provides that copies of your report
retained in your files are immune from legal process.
Burden Estimate Statement
Public reporting burden for this collection of information is estimated to average 35 minutes per response,
including the time for reviewing instructions, searching existing data sources, gathering and maintaining the
data needed, and completing and reviewing the collection of information. Send comments regarding this
burden estimate or any other aspect of this collection of information, including suggestions for reducing this
burden to: ECON Survey Comments 0607-0912, U.S. Census Bureau, 4600 Silver Hill Road, Room
EMD-8K122, Washington, DC 20233. You may e-mail comments to ECON.Survey.Comments@census.gov.
Be sure to use ECON Survey Comments 0607-0912 as the subject.
Survey Results
Your survey information will be aggregated to produce summary statistics for reports produced by the
National Science Foundation (NSF). You can learn more about the ways the data collected by this survey
are used at http://www.nsf.gov/statistics/srvyindustry/about/brdis/how.cfm.