NationalScience

Foundation

Overview

Agenda

• Our Legacy: About NSF• Our Work: Programs & The Merit Review Process• Our Opportunities: Working at the NSF

Our Legacy: About NSF

NSF Vision (2011)NSF envisions a nation that capitalizes on new concepts in science and engineering and provides global leadership in advancing research and education.

NSF-3

NSF Mission (1950)To promote the progress of science; to advance the national health, prosperity and welfare; to secure the national defense.

With an annual budget of about $7 billion, NSF

funds approximately

25 % of all federally

supported basic research

conducted by U.S. colleges

and universities.

NSF Support for Basic Research at Academic Institutions: Share of Total Federal Support

All Life Sciences

Social Science & Psychology

Physical Sciences

Engineering

Environmental Sciences

Matematics & Computer Sciences

Other Sciences

4.7%

27.7%

35.5%

44.5%

50.3%

76.0%

39.1%

NSF’s Strategic Goals

Innovate for Society, linking with societal needs, and impacting economic and societal welfare.

Perform as a Model Organization, attaining excellence and inclusion inall operational aspects.

Transform the Frontiers, seamlessly integrating research and education, coupling research infrastructure and discovery.

Mathematical& PhysicalSciences

(MPS)

Geosciences(GEO)

Engineering(ENG)

Computer &Information

Science &Engineering

(CISE)

BiologicalSciences

(BIO)

Office of theInspector General

(OIG)

DirectorDeputy Director

National Science Board(NSB)

Office of Cyberinfrastructure

Office of Diversity & Inclusion

Office of the General Counsel

Office of Integrative Activities

Office of International Science & Engineering

Office of Legislative &Public Affairs

Office of Polar Programs

Social, Behavioral

& EconomicSciences

(SBE)

Education & HumanResources

(EHR)

Budget, Finance & Award

Management(BFA)

Information& Resource

Management(IRM)

NSF Organizational Chart

NSF Workforce

• Consists of approximately – 1,450 Federal employees (includes staff of the National

Science Board Office and the Office of the Inspector General);

– 200 Non-Federal Intergovernmental Personnel Act (IPA) assignees coming from research institutions;

– 450 contract workers.

• Unlike other science agencies, NSF does not maintain its own research laboratories.

Our Work: Programs & The Merit Review Process

13

What is a Program?• A well-defined grant-giving

function, usually with a well-defined budget

• Usually means an individual investigator grant program, but could also refer to a facilities program (e.g., National Radio Astronomy Observatory), a center program or fellowship program for students.

Programs are the

implementation arm of NSF.

What is NSF’s Merit Review Process?

• The review process ensures that proposals submitted to NSF are reviewed in a fair, transparent, and in-depth manner

• NSF proposals receive an external review by experts;

• Program Officers make funding recommendations based on the input received from reviewers.

NSF receives approximately 42,000

proposals each year for research, education

and training projects, of which approximately 10,000 are funded.

• Program Directors oversee the National Science Foundation’s “gold standard” merit review process.

Program directors have the

opportunity to be involved with a

broad spectrum of national scientific

programs and initiatives that

ultimately increase intellectual

awareness and enhance

professional growth.

What do Program Directors do?

NSF Merit Review Process

Proposal Review Criterion:Intellectual Merit

• Advance knowledge & understanding• Well thought-out• Principal Investigator qualifications• Access to resources• Creative or original• Potentially transformative

Proposal Review Criterion:Broader Impacts

• Advancement of discovery and understanding while promoting teaching, training, and learning

• Broaden participation of underrepresented groups

• Enhancement of infrastructure for research and education

• Dissemination of results to enhance scientific and technological understanding

• Benefits to society• Mentoring Activities for Postdoctoral

Researchers

• Integration of Research and Education

• Integrating Diversity into NSF Programs, Projects, and Activities

• Postdoc Mentoring Plan

• Data Management Plan

Additional ConsiderationsThat Apply to All Proposals

!

• Established Spring 2010, charged with “examining the two Merit Review Criteria and their effectiveness in achieving the goals for NSF support for science and engineering research and education”

• Focusing on:

– How criteria are being interpreted and used by PIs, reviewers, and NSF staff

– Strengths and weaknesses of criteria

– Impact of criteria on how PIs develop projects

– Role of the institution

NSB Task Force on Merit Review

NSB Report on Merit Review Criteria: Overall Findings• The Intellectual Merit and Broader Impacts review

criteria together capture the important elements that should guide the evaluation of NSF proposals.

• Revisions to the descriptions of the Broader Impacts criterion and how it is implemented are needed.

• Use of the review criteria should be informed by a guiding set of core principles.

• NSB approved report in December 2011 and published in January 2012: http://www.nsf.gov/nsb/publications/2011/meritreviewcriteria.pdf

• NSF Working Group is developing policies and internal and external implementation plans

• Revised criteria and principles will be published in the Proposal & Award Policies and Procedures Guide (PAPPG)

Implementation and Next Steps

Working at NSF

Program Appointment Types

• Excepted Service (Temporary or Permanent)• Intergovernmental Personnel Act Assignments (IPAs)• Visiting Scientists, Engineers and Educators (VSEEs)

Science and Engineering Onboard Counts

To apply for scientific and professional positions at NSF• Go to http://www.nsf.gov/about/

– Click on “Career Opportunities”– Scroll down to “Current Vacancies” and click on “Scientific and

Professional” – Select your Directorate of Choice from the dropdown menu and open

your desired position. – Program Directors may be appointed on a Federal Permanent or Federal

Temporary basis, through the Visiting Scientist, Engineer, and Educator (VSEE) program or under the provisions of the Intergovernmental Personnel Act (IPA).

• Contact the relevant NSF program office• Contact the Division of Human Resource Management • Check http://www.usajobs.gov• For more information about rotator opportunities at NSF,

please visithttp://www.nsf.gov/about/career_opps/rotators/