21st Century Integrated Digital Experience Act - Report to OMB on Modernizing Agency Websites and Digital Services
Prepared for OMB per the requirements of section 3(b)(2) of Public Law 115-336.
As required by section 3(b)(2) of Public Law 115-3361, the 21st Century Integrated Digital Experience Act (21st Century IDEA), this report includes a list of key websites and digital services operated by the National Science Foundation (NSF) that have been prioritized and targeted for modernization.
BACKGROUND
The 21st Century IDEA Act requires each federal executive branch agency to provide a prioritized list of the agency's "most-viewed or ... otherwise important" public websites and digital services in compliance with section 3(a) of the law, and to provide an estimation of the cost and schedule to modernize those sites and services.
KEY WEBSITES AND DIGITAL SERVICES
NSF reviewed its list of public websites and digital services and identified the following as most utilized by the public and/or important for public engagement:
- https://www.nsf.gov - The main public-facing website of the Foundation to deliver news and information about to the public regarding research, funding, awards, etc.
- https://www.research.gov - A principal tool used by individuals and institutions to make grant proposals to NSF, receive grant awards, and comply with the terms of those grant awards.
MODERNIZATION PRIORITIES
NSF has implemented modernized publicly-facing websites that meet the requirements of the 21st Century IDEA Act. NSF continues to focus on enhancing agency websites and electronic services to ensure users are able to complete digital transactions in an efficient and accurate manner. Specifically, NSF.gov is in the later phases of a modernization. Feedback from NSF website users informed modernization efforts. NSF is also modernizing the website platform by moving to a cloud provider. The new NSF.gov is expected to be completed within the eighteen months.
NSF's Research.gov site is also undergoing continual modernization, with an eye to modernizing legacy services and enhancing the user experience. For example, Research.gov's Proposal Preparation and Submission Site modernized proposal submission capabilities, reducing administrative burden with an intuitive interface and automated compliance checking. The modernization effort on Research.gov also focus on panelist functions, notifications and requests, and proposal review functionality.
The table below provides both estimated costs and timeframes for the NSF.gov and Research.gov modernization efforts currently underway.
Website/Digital Service Undergoing Modernization |
Estimated Cost |
Estimated Schedule |
|---|---|---|
NSF.gov:
|
$3.1 M |
18 months to completion |
Research.gov:
|
$17.7 M (covers FY20 & FY21) |
18 - 24 months to completion |
Dorothy Aronson
NSF Chief Information Officer