The National Science Foundation (NSF) is an independent federal agency created by Congress in 1950 “to promote the progress of science, to improve national health, prosperity, and welfare, and to ensure national defense…” NSF is vital because we support basic research and people to create knowledge that will transform the future. This type of support:
Is a major driver of the U.S. economy.
Enhances the nation’s security.
Advances knowledge to sustain global leadership.
With an annual budget of $8.8 billion (fiscal year 2022), we are the source of approximately 25 percent of all government-supported basic research conducted by U.S. colleges and universities. In many fields, such as mathematics, computer science, and the social sciences, NSF is a major source of federal support. MORE
The NSF leadership consists of two main components: a director who oversees NSF staff and management responsible for program creation and administration, merit assessment, planning, budget, and day-to-day operations; and a National Science Board (NSB) of 24 people. The term of office for the director and all board members is six years. Each of them, as well as the NSF deputy director, is appointed by the U.S. president and confirmed by the U.S. Senate. NSF currently has a total staff of about 2,100 at its headquarters in Alexandria, Virginia, including about 1,400 full-time employees, 200 scientists from research institutes on temporary assignments, 450 contract workers, and staff from the NSB office and inspector’s office.
As stated in the strategic plan, NSF is the only Federal agency charged with supporting all areas of basic science and technology except the medical sciences. Our goal is to keep the United States at the forefront of discovery in fields ranging from astronomy to geology to zoology. So in addition to funding research in traditional academic fields, the agency also supports “high-risk, high-return” ideas, new collaborations, and numerous projects which may seem like science fiction today but the public will take for granted tomorrow. And in any case, we ensure that research is fully integrated with education so that today’s groundbreaking work also contributes to educating the best scientists and engineers of tomorrow.
NSF’s task of identifying and funding work at the forefront of science and technology is not a top-down process. NSF works from the bottom up, closely monitoring research in the United States and around the world, keeping in constant contact with the research community to identify ever-changing research horizons, tracking which areas are most likely to lead to impressive progress and choosing the most promising people to conduct research.
