National Science Foundation, U.S.

The National Science Foundation (NSF) was created by the U.S. Congress in 1950 as an independent [Page 508]federal agency with a general mandate to promote the progress of science, particularly in the areas of national health, prosperity, welfare, and national defense. Later on, this federal agency concentrated on areas of basic research in science and engineering, leaving other areas such as health and national defense to different agencies. Today, NSF is the only U.S. federal agency with a mandate to support all nonmedical fields of research. NSF is the most important source of basic science funding in the world, with a budget that by the year 2008 surpassed $6 billion. In the United States especially, a good portion of the scientific progress with which science communicators are most concerned is generated from this investment; in addition, NSF is an important source of background statistics on all areas of science and education, including statistics on science literacy and public understanding of science.

Although the budget for NSF comes from the U.S. Congress, the agency has usually been able to stay away from political turmoil and severe budgetary constraints. In fact, NSF usually garners bipartisan support in Congress, which sometimes funds it with even more money than it requests. Thus, this federal agency has seen its budget increase steadily over the years. That support has increased significantly after events such as the launch of the Soviet satellite Sputnik in 1957 and the technological boom of the 1980s. Most recipients of the money NSF grants are America's colleges and universities. Although the NSF budget is less than 5% of the federal budget for research and development, it provides about 20% of the federal money that U.S. academic institutions of higher education receive.

NSF has its headquarters in Arlington, Virginia, and has a staff of about 1,700 employees who are overseen by a director, who works together with a 24-member National Science Board. Both the director and the board members serve for 6-year terms and are appointed by the president of the United States and confirmed by the U.S. Senate. The board meets six times a year to establish the general policies of the foundation.

In addition to funding research in the traditional academic research areas, NSF dollars support less traditional areas considered high-risk, either those pursuing less conventional directions or those representing novel collaborations among people from different disciplines. Sometimes NSF also supports international ventures. Some NSF funding goes to educational projects in the sciences and social sciences, ranging from public outreach efforts to formal education at all levels—from primary school to postsecondary education.

As part of its mandate, NSF identifies areas of science that need federal funding and establishes programs to address those needs. To that end, NSF constantly gathers information about research activities in the United States and other countries. Among the data they gather and analyze is information about the levels of public understanding of science in the United States and the world, education from the elementary to the postdoctoral level, demographics of colleges and universities both nationally and internationally, research and development in the United States in general, the impact and needs of industry in scientific areas, science-related facilities, and information technologies. Reports by NSF are made public in print as well as in electronic documents through its Web site.

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