Introduction

NSF funds research and education in science and engineering. It does this through grants and contracts to more than 2,000 colleges, universities, and other research institutions in all parts of the United States. The Foundation accounts for about 25 percent of Federal support to academic institutions for basic research.

NSF receives approximately 30,000 new proposals each year and processes a total of 60,000 proposal actions for research, graduate and postdoctoral fellowships, and math/science/engineering education projects; it makes approximately 20,000 awards. These typically go to universities, colleges, academic consortia, nonprofit institutions, and small businesses. The agency operates no laboratories itself but does support National Research Centers, certain oceanographic vessels, and Antarctic research stations. The Foundation also supports cooperative research between universities and industry and U.S. participation in international scientific efforts.

The Foundation is led by a presidentially appointed director and a National Science Board composed of 24 outstanding scientists, engineers, and educators from universities, colleges, industries, and other organizations involved in research and education.

NSF is structured much like a university, with grants-making divisions for the various disciplines and fields of science and engineering and science education. NSF also uses a formal management process to coordinate research in strategic areas that cross traditional disciplinary boundaries. The Foundation is helped by advisors from the scientific and engineering community and from industry who serve on formal committees or as ad hoc reviewers of proposals. This advisory system, which focuses on both program direction and specific proposals, involves more than 59,000 scientists and engineers a year. NSF staff members who are experts in a certain field or area make award recommendations; applicants get anonymous verbatim copies of peer reviews.

Awardees are wholly responsible for doing their research and preparing the results for publication; the Foundation does not assume responsibility for such findings or their interpretation.

NSF welcomes proposals on behalf of all qualified scientists and engineers and strongly encourages women, minorities, and people with disabilities to compete fully in its programs. In accordance with federal statutes and regulations and NSF policies, no person on grounds of race, color, age, sex, national origin, or disability shall be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subject to discrimination under any program or activity receiving financial assistance from NSF.