National Science Foundation
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Who We Are |
Mission:
The National Science Foundation Act of 1950 (Public Law 81-507) sets forth NSF's mission: ?To promote the progress of science; to advance the national health, prosperity, and welfare; to secure the national defense?.? To carry out this mission, NSF supports basic research and education across all fields of science and engineering and at all levels of education. See NSF's Strategic Plan at http://www.nsf.gov/publications/pub_summ.jsp?ods_key=nsf0648.
Organization:
NSF's organization reflects the major fields of science and engineering. These include biological sciences, computer and information science and engineering, engineering, geosciences, mathematics and physical sciences, and social, behavioral, and economic sciences. NSF also carries out specific responsibilities for education and human resources, cyberinfrastructure, international science and engineering, and polar programs. The 24-member National Science Board establishes the overall policies of the Foundation. See NSF's organization chart at http://www.nsf.gov/staff/orgchart.jsp.
Personnel: The NSF workforce includes over 1,300 full-time staff as well as about 150 temporary appointees under the Intergovernmental Personnel Act. For information about employment opportunities, see http://www.nsf.gov/about/career_opps/ and http://www.usajobs.opm.gov. Budgetary Resources: FY 2008 appropriations totaled $6,127.5 million or $20 per capita. |
Budget Snapshot |
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Performance Snapshot |
Accomplishments:
In FY 2008, NSF received over 44,400 grant proposals and made 11,162 new awards, mostly to individual investigators or small groups of investigators at nearly 1,900 colleges, universities, and other public and private institutions throughout the United States. Ninety percent of NSF's funding was allocated through a merit-based review process that is recognized throughout government as the exemplar for effective and efficient use of public funds, with 248,000 proposal reviews conducted. Results reported by NSF-supported investigators can be found at http://www.nsf.gov/discoveries.
Challenges: NSF is pursuing changes in a number of areas in order to stay focused on the frontiers of science and engineering: (1) Establishing new funding mechanisms and providing additional guidance for the merit review process to enhance its ability to identify and support research that is potentially transformative. (2) Investing in technology to support program oversight and management. For example, the recently launched Research.gov portal provides a menu of grants management services tailored to the needs of the research community. (3) Addressing strong proposal pressure. The competition for NSF funds is intense. To address this challenge, NSF is pursuing a variety of approaches that balance trade-offs between keeping the proposal workload at a productive and manageable level--for both NSF and the applicant community--and encouraging the free flow of ideas to NSF. |
$ in millions
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Summary of National Science Foundation Ratings for Fiscal Year 2008
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Strategic Goal:
Learning
Cultivate a world-class, broadly inclusive science and engineering workforce and expand the scientific literacy of all citizens. |
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2008 Actual = $847
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Performance Measure(s)* | 2006 Results | 2007 Results | 2008 Target | 2008 Results | 2009 Target |
Demonstrate significant achievement according to an independent assessment by the NSF Advisory Committee for GPRA Performance Assessment. | Achieved | Achieved | To achieve | Achieved | To achieve |
Strategic Goal:
Research Infrastructure
Build the nation's research capability through critical investments in advanced instrumentation, facilities, cyberinfrastructure, and experimental tools. |
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2008 Actual = $1,590
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Performance Measure(s)* | 2006 Results | 2007 Results | 2008 Target | 2008 Results | 2009 Target |
Demonstrate significant achievement according to an independent assessment by the NSF Advisory Committee for GPRA Performance Assessment. | Achieved | Achieved | To achieve | Achieved | To achieve |
Strategic Goal:
Stewardship
Support excellence in science and engineering research and education through a capable and responsive organization. |
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2008 Actual = $362
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Performance Measure(s)* | 2006 Results | 2007 Results | 2008 Target | 2008 Results | 2009 Target |
For 70 percent of proposals, be able to inform applicants whether their proposals have been declined or recommended for funding within 6 months of deadline or target date, or of receipt date, whichever is later. | 78% | 77% | 70% | 78% | 70% |