NSF Announces Changes to Support Exceptional Science in a New Era of Discovery

NSF News reports that the U.S. National Science Foundation, which was founded in 1950 with the aim of maintaining American discovery at the forefront, has seen changes in the surrounding science and technology ecosystem. The foundation notes that science today is not solely a progression from laboratory to application, as philanthropy and the private sector have become significant contributors to both basic and applied research. Furthermore, artificial intelligence is influencing both the subjects of study and the organization of research itself.

To address these developments, NSF is implementing a portfolio approach, which dictates that the structure of an award should correspond to the nature of the work. The agency plans to broaden who conducts NSF-supported work and how it is conducted to facilitate ambitious, multidisciplinary investigations at the scientific frontier. NSF intends to identify and back exceptional students and early-career researchers during periods of high research creativity. A new Office of Metascience will be established to evaluate the efficacy of new initiatives, scaling successful ones and discontinuing ineffective ones.

NSF states that its objective is to foster conditions where exceptional science occurs more frequently. The foundation is doubling its commitment to this goal through these initiatives. The current direction of NSF is consistent with the ambitious outlook presented in Science: A New Golden Age, which is described as the first comprehensive reevaluation of the U.S. science and technology enterprise since Vannevar Bush's 1945 publication, Science: The Endless Frontier, and the Fiscal Year 2028 OMB-OSTP R&D Budget Priorities Memorandum. NSF is working with federal research agencies across the government to advance the American scientific frontier.

In the near future, NSF will issue a series of Dear Colleague Letters and announcements. These will include more funding opportunities that highlight the strengths of NSF over the preceding 76 years, alongside novel and ambitious concepts designed to revitalize America's pioneering spirit of discovery. The statement was initially conceived as an internal communication to NSF staff to provide context regarding the themes in Science: A New Golden Age and NSF's strategy for implementing these priorities and principles. The agency also recognizes the necessity of sharing these plans with the wider research community to offer a clear and complete vision of NSF's leadership as it enters a new phase of discovery.