Background
In 2009, new reviewers will be given additional flexibility regarding their tour of duty, and other efforts will be undertaken to improve retention of standing review members.

Baseline Data

• 2008 Academic Rank of CSR Reviewers (PDF - 31 KB)
• Increased Use of Adhoc Reviewers (Final Report, page 29) (PDF - 1.61 MB) - As a result of the increase in the number of applications submitted, there has been a corresponding increase in the number of temporary reviewers needed. In FY 2005, this number reached a high of approximately 15,000 reviewers.  Most recently, these numbers have been reduced to approximately 12,000, due in part to an increase in the number of charter study section members.
• Increase in Reviewer Workload (Final Report, page 30) (PDF - 1.61 MB) - Another trend contributing to the need for additional reviewers relates to reducing individual reviewer workload. The average number of applications reviewed per reviewer has steadily decreased from just slightly less than 12 applications per reviewer in the mid-1990s to a low of six applications per reviewer in 2005. Over the past two years however, the trend appears to be increasing again: Each reviewer is now reviewing, on average, seven applications.
  

Policy

• CSR Selection of Reviewers Process
  

• Why should I becoming a reviewer?
• Why become a reviewer?
• How can I volunteer to become a reviewer?