On September 10, the National Science Foundation (NSF) Chief of Staff, Brian Stone, performing the duties of the Director, released a memo, NSF leadership in a new golden age of science, outlining plans to implement Science: A New Golden Age. The memo was met with mixed reactions from the science community. On one hand, some appreciated an effort for at least some transparency and an explanation for some of the recent changes at the agency. But others, traumatized from grant terminations and dramatic disruptions – including the proposal to eliminate the Social, Behavioral and Economic Sciences Directorate (SBE) – expressed confusion and frustration about how the stated goals contradict their direct experience competing for NSF funding. Members of Congress also questioned the appropriateness of NSF moving forward in the absence of a Senate-confirmed Director, not to mention a vacant National Science Board.
Below are some key provisions in the memo. FABBS notes significant tension between using the NSF budget to fulfill its mission to invest in fundamental sciences with pressures from the administration to fund current priorities in technology.
- Commitment to core mission – While the memo commits to the NSF core mission to support foundational research to drive economic competitiveness, prosperity, and national security, this contradicts available data about the dramatic decrease in the number of new awards across NSF Directorates (see Grant Witness). Last month, Nature reported that NSF was allocating roughly $1 billion of its budget to key priorities. The math doesn’t add up. How could this administration maintain commitment to fundamental science and add inspiring new priorities, while recommending a 55 percent cut to the budget?
- Office of Metascience (OMS) – The OMS would develop and evaluate new approaches to funding, merit review, and program management. These tools and measures have evolved largely thanks to the investment in the Science of Science and Innovation Program (SciSIP) in SBE. According to the memo, OMS aims to double the scientific productivity and impact of each federal research dollar by 2036. This has raised concerns that prioritizing productivity and impact may come at the cost of rigor.
- Pioneering at Scientific Frontiers – NSF plans to organize multi-directorate, thesis-driven efforts around major scientific opportunities that require cross-disciplinary collaboration. The first four will be:
- Future of Intelligence: Advancing AI and understanding of intelligence. While the description includes neuroscience, FABBS is communicating to NSF the importance of including behavioral and cognitive understanding of human intelligence.
- Frontier of Quantum Phenomena: Foundational research in quantum science and technology.
- Advanced Materials and Matter: Discovery and manipulation of advanced materials.
- Foundations of Biological Design: Tools to control and understand living systems.
The memo suggests that this is a move to portfolio-based funding, however, it comes at the expense of NSF’s ability to serve the mission of the agency to support fundamental science across all disciplines
