AIP FYI #79: NSF Releases Strategic Plan; Seeks Public Input
Earlier this month the National Science Foundation released a draft
Strategic Plan for FY 2003 through FY 2008. The foundation is now
seeking public comment on this report.
There is little that is surprising in this thirty-page report
required by the Government Performance and Results Act of 1993. A
centerpiece of the Clinton’s Administration early efforts to make
government agencies more efficient and effective, the act requires
that agencies submit an updated strategic plan every three years.
An earlier NSF plan was for the years FY 2001-2006.
As described by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), “the
strategic plan is a tool to be used in setting priorities and
allocating resources consistent with those priorities.” Measuring
the results of basic research, which frequently has a long term
horizon, can be a daunting challenge. The foundation comments on
this, stating, “Although, in the short term, it is sometimes
difficult to link specific research and education projects with
these longer term impacts, the overall linkage has been demonstrated
time and again, and underpins the public’s confidence in the value
of S&E [science and engineering] research and education.” The Bush
Administration took the Clinton Administration evaluation process a
step further, assessing program performance in four areas. There is
continued acknowledgment that measuring an agency’s research
performance is difficult, with the NSF strategic plan quoting an
OMB-OSTP joint memorandum: “While the [investment evaluation]
criteria apply broadly to all types of R&D, agencies should not have
the same expectations for planning and measuring the results of
long-term, high-risk basic research as they have for applied
research and development . . . . Serendipitous results are often
the most interesting and ultimately may have the most value.”
The foundation’s draft Strategic Plan addresses the unique problems
inherent in the performance evaluation process through three
previous goals that center on people, ideas, and tools, while
adding a fourth goal, organizational excellence. To do so, the plan
outlines three core strategies for the long term: (1) develop
intellectual capital, (2) integrate research and education, and (3)
promote partnerships. The NSF will follow two major integrative
investment strategies. The first is to strengthen core activities.
The foundation intends to do so by making larger, longer-term
grants, the plan explaining that the FY 2004 request “defines a path
toward average annualized research grants of $250,000 for five
years.” The second strategy is to identify and support priority
areas. One of the six priority areas is nanoscale science and
engineering.
The Strategic Plan describes how the foundation establishes
priorities and the resources it allocates to people, ideas, and
tools. Strategic goals are outlined for each. Appendices provide
further detail.
NSF Director Rita Colwell, in a cover letter, explained “The views
of the science and engineering community and the public are very
important to us and will be reflected in the final draft of the
updated plan.” The letter and plan can be viewed at
http://www.nsf.gov/od/stratplan_03-08/draft-stratplan.htm The
comment deadline is July 15.
Richard M. Jones
Media and Government Relations Division
The American Institute of Physics
fyi@aip.org http://www.aip.org/gov
(301) 209-3094