SOCIAL, BEHAVIORAL, AND ECONOMIC SCIENCES

Social, Behavioral, and Economic Research
Science Resources Studies
International Science and Engineering Activities

1. Develop basic scientific knowledge of human social behavior, interaction, and decisionmaking and of social and economic systems, organizations, and institutions.

2. Collect, analyze, and publish data on the status of the Nation's science and engineering human, institutional, and financial resources.

3. Advance the U.S. science and engineering enterprise by promoting healthy international relationships and enhancing the work of U.S. researchers through cooperative activities with foreign scientists, engineers, and their institutions.

• Social, Behavioral, and Economic Research supports disciplinary research and related activities to advance understanding of human beings and human culture; disciplinary and interdisciplinary research on human social behavior, social organizations, and systems; and funding of both basic and methodological research and the development of resources for the conduct of research, including large-scale data collection activities.

• Science Resources Studies provide data, analysis, and reports on the overall scientific and technological enterprise and its impact on society.

• International Programs supports joint efforts with advanced and developing countries.

For More Information
For further information, contact the responsible Division Director, National Science Foundation, 4201 Wilson Boulevard, Arlington, Virginia 22230.

Social, Behavioral, and Economic Research

All programs in SBER consider proposals for research projects, conferences, and workshops. Some programs also consider proposals for doctoral dissertation improvement assistance, the acquisition of specialized research and computing equipment, group international travel, and large-scale data collection. SBER conducts special initiatives and competitions on a number of topics, including the human dimensions of global change, cognitive science and intelligent systems, and research to improve the quality and the accessibility of social, behavioral, and economic data resources.

Deadline
Proposals may be submitted at any time. For review within six months, proposals should be submitted in line with target or deadline dates, which vary by division and by program. Target and deadline dates are published regularly in the NSF Bulletin, or contact the appropriate division or program for the dates.

CLUSTERS AND PROGRAMS IN SBER

ANTHROPOLOGICAL AND GEOGRAPHIC SCIENCES CLUSTER

• Archaeology and Archaeometry Program- -Supports archaeological research that contributes to an anthropological understanding of the past. Both fieldwork and nonfieldwork are eligible for support. Through a special archaeometry competition, the program provides support for projects that conduct archaeometric work of anthropological significance and that develop archaeometric techniques. Support also is provided for preserving and increasing research accessibility of systematic anthropological collections and for archaeometric laboratories.

• Cultural Anthropology Program-- Supports basic research on the causes and consequences of cross-cultural and intracultural variation as such research broadens or refines anthropological theory. The program provides Ethnographic Research Training Awards to graduate programs to enhance the quality of students' field research. It also provides Scholars' Awards in Methodological Training for Cultural Anthropologists to senior researchers who wish to upgrade their research skills by learning a particular analytical technique (NSF 88-60).

• Geography and Regional Science Program--Supports basic research on the causes and consequences of geographical differences in economic, social, cultural, and physical phenomena, including interactions among places and regions and interrelations between human activities and the natural environment. Projects on a variety of domestic and overseas topics qualify for support if they will enhance geographical theory and its applications.

• Physical Anthropology Program-- Supports basic research in areas relating to human evolution and contemporary human variation. Research areas supported by the program include, but are not limited to, human genetic variation, human adaptation, human osteology, human paleontology, primate functional anatomy, and primate behavior.

COGNITIVE, PSYCHOLOGICAL, AND LANGUAGE SCIENCES CLUSTER

• Human Cognition and Perception Program--Supports the following: research on the description, modeling, and development of human mental and perceptual processes, including learning, reasoning, problem solving, concept formation, memory, attention, and perception; research emanating from a variety of theoretical traditions; and quantitative modeling of cognitive and perceptual processes and the development of methods for their study. Most research takes place in the laboratory, but field research is supported as appropriate. Research may use clinical populations of subjects only when the primary justification for the research is its broader, general scientific importance.

• Linguistics Program--Supports scientific research of all types that focus on natural human language as an object of investigation. The program supports research on the syntactic, semantic, phonetic, and phonological properties of individual languages and of language in general; the psychological processes involved in the use of language; the development of linguistic capacities in children; social and cultural factors in language use, variation, and change; the acoustics of speech and the physiological and psychological processes involved in the production and perception of speech; and the biological bases of language in the central nervous system.

• Social Psychology Program--Supports research on human and social behavior, including cultural influences and development over the lifespan. Research topics include aggression; altruism; attitude formation and change; attitudes and behavior; attributional processes; emotion; environmental psychology; group decisionmaking, performance, and process; health psychology; intergroup relations; interpersonal attraction and relations; nonverbal communication; person perception; personality processes; prejudice; the self; social comparison; social cognition; social influence; and stereotyping.

ECONOMIC, DECISION, AND MANAGEMENT SCIENCES CLUSTER

• Decision, Risk, and Management Science Program--Supports research that explores fundamental issues in management science; risk analysis; societal and public policy decisionmaking; behavioral decisionmaking; and judgment, organizational design, and decisionmaking under uncertainty. Research funded by the program is directed at increasing the understanding and effectiveness of problem solving, information processing, and decisionmaking by individuals, groups, organizations, and society. Funded research must be relevant to an operational or applied context, grounded in theory, based on empirical observation or subject to empirical validation, and generalizable. The program conducts a special joint NSF/private-sector initiative through which NSF funding is matched by contributions from private firms to conduct basic research that is firmly grounded in real and practical contexts.

• Economics Program--Supports basic scientific research designed to improve the understanding of the processes and institutions of the U.S. economy and of the world system of which it is a part, and emphasizes strengthening both empirical and theoretical economic analysis as well as the methods for rigorous research on economic behavior. Topics of current interest are computational economics; the transformation of command economies; human-resource-related issues (poverty, labor productivity, the family, gender and racial discrimination, etc.); and global environmental change. Conferences and interdisciplinary research that strengthen links among economics and the other social and behavioral sciences as well as mathematics and statistics are supported. The program funds research in almost every subfield of economics, including econometrics, economic history, finance, industrial organization, international economics, labor economics, public finance, macroeconomics, and mathematical economics.

SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, AND SOCIETY CLUSTER

• Ethics and Values Studies Program--Supports research and educational projects that contribute to developing and transmitting knowledge about ethics, values, and the conduct of science and engineering. The program supports research that examines the intellectual, ethical, value, and policy contexts that influence and that are influenced by the development, use, and effects of science and technology. Projects are expected to contribute to understanding the ethical and social values, policies, and obligations and responsibilities that arise in these interactions.

• Research on Science and Technology Program--Supports a small number of research projects that develop and improve approaches, methods, techniques, data, information, and knowledge needed to address research and technology questions and issues. It also supports analyses of significant research and technology issues of interest to users and decisionmakers, especially in the U.S. Government but also in academia, industry, State and local government, and the general public. Projects supported by the program include studies of the processes and impacts of scientific and engineering research and technological change (in the United States and elsewhere); studies of science and engineering human resources issues; improvement of methods, data, and information; and assessments of the state of knowledge of and future needs for research on science and technology.

• Science and Technology Studies Program--Supports research on the nature and processes of development in science and technology (past and present) and the differences in the nature of theory and evidence in various scientific and technological fields. It supports research on the interactions between science and technology and their impact on society, and the interactions of social and intellectual forces that influence science or technology. Also supported are examinations of topics like the social construction of scientific knowledge and institutions; relations among science, government, and other social institutions and groups; and processes of scientific innovation and change.

SOCIAL AND POLITICAL SCIENCES CLUSTER

• Law and Social Science Program-- Supports scientific research on law and lawlike systems of rules. The program encourages theoretically focused empirical studies aimed at advancing scientific knowledge about the impact of law; the nature, sources, and consequences of variations and changes in legal institutions and legal decisionmaking; and the dynamics of normative ordering in society. Included are studies of dispute processing, administrative and judicial decisionmaking, social control, compliance and deterrence, the regulatory role of law, legal and social change, and related inquiries on the relationship between legal processes and other social processes. The program supports cross-cultural research through its Global Perspectives on Sociolegal Studies initiative.

• Methodology, Measurement, and Statistics Program--Supports the development, application, and extension of methodology for social, behavioral, and economic research. Research includes methods for improving measurement in these sciences; fundamental research on new or existing procedures for data collection; research on the evaluation and comparison of existing databases; and statistical research benefiting one or more of the social, behavioral, and economic sciences.

• Political Science Program--Supports social scientific research to improve the understanding of politics, political behavior, and political institutions and processes. The program supports rigorous empirical research of theoretical importance in American politics, political behavior, comparative politics, international relations, public choice and political economy, and other fields of political science. Research areas that have been supported recently include studies of activists in American political parties, information and issues in voting, congressional elections and campaigns, divided government, support for political institutions, electoral systems, nationalism and its relationship to ethnicity and language, the process of democratization, international political economy, and international conflict.

• Sociology Program--Supports research on problems of human social organization, demography, and processes of individual and institutional change. The program encourages theoretically focused empirical investigations aimed at improving the explanation of fundamental social processes. Included is research on organizations and organizational behavior, population dynamics, social movements, social groups, labor force participation, stratification and mobility, family, social networks, socialization, gender roles, and the sociology of science and technology.

Science Resources Studies

• Periodic monitoring of national research and development support and the supply and use of scientific and technical personnel;

• Analysis of factors responsible for changes in the science and technology resource system, and assessment of the effects of those changes;

• Collection, analysis, and dissemination of information on the economic, social, professional, and demographic characteristics of scientific and technical personnel; and

• Compilation of information on U.S. and international science and technology resources and their characteristics, dynamics, and development of means to measure science and technology output.

• Studies designed to track the training and distribution of the Nation's scientists and engineers. Specific topics of interest are the current and future use of scientific and technical personnel and the changing characteristics of scientists and engineers.

• Collection, analysis, and dissemination of information on the characteristics and patterns of funding for research and development and for other scientific and technological activities.

• Studies of the science and technology enterprise. A major component is the development of special indicators, primarily of an output nature, such as bibliometrics and studies of patents and licenses. Also included are modeling and simulation activities designed to better understand the distribution of human and financial resources for science and technology.

• Collection and analysis of data on international science and technology investments, activities, and capabilities. More extensive and more current information is sought on foreign science and technology inputs, outputs, and impacts. Emphasis is on the collection and analysis of data on the major R&D- performing countries.

Deadlines
Proposals may be submitted at any time during the year. Program announcements and requests for proposals are issued from time to time for special projects and studies in targeted areas; such solicitations specify deadlines for submission.

For More Information
For further information, contact the Division of Science Resources Studies, National Science Foundation, 4201 Wilson Boulevard, Arlington, Virginia 22230, (703) 306-1780.

International Science and Engineering Activities

The Division of International Programs has the special function of expanding and facilitating the international aspects of NSF's mission by promoting new partnerships between U.S. scientists and engineers and foreign colleagues. Detailed information about individual programs, deadlines, and application procedures can be found in the program announcement titled International Opportunities for Scientists and Engineers (NSF 93-51, revised 11/93).

Types of Activities
Types of activities supported by International Programs include the following:

1. Cooperative research involving a partnership between at least one U.S. principal investigator/research institution and a foreign counterpart investigator/institution;

2. Joint seminars and workshops;

3. Planning visits;

4. Postdoctoral and Junior Investigator Research Fellowships; and

5. Dissertation Enhancement Awards.

Eligibility
Proposals for international activities are eligible for consideration in all fields of science and engineering supported by the Foundation. Proposals must be submitted by a U.S. institution, except in the case of planning visits and Postdoctoral and Junior Investigator Research Fellowships, in which case individual applications are accepted. Postdoctoral and Junior Investigator Research Fellows must be U.S. citizens or permanent residents.

PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS

• International Research Experiences for Junior Scientists and Engineers--A high priority is assigned to projects that include aspects designed to enhance the international perspectives of the next generation of U.S. scientists and engineers. Examples include cooperative research projects that involve undergraduates, graduate students, and postdoctoral scholars. International Programs also awards Postdoctoral and Junior Investigator Research Fellowships.

• Science and Engineering Interactions with Developing Countries--International Programs places particular emphasis on catalyzing long-term science and engineering links with developing countries, particularly in Africa, Latin America, and Southeast Asia. Research in these countries is relatively difficult to initiate, and opportunities to establish collegial relationships have been relatively neglected by U.S. investigators. Recognizing that isolation is a substantial barrier to scientific work in many developing countries, projects that aim to establish center-to-center links and networks among centers are encouraged, as are projects judged to be effective at improving scientific infrastructures and enhancing necessary conditions for effective long-term partnerships.

• New Opportunities in Science and Engineering Collaborations with Developed Countries--International Programs supports projects designed to expand opportunities in science and engineering collaborations with developed countries, including Japan and those in Western Europe. Program development workshops and support for the relatively risky exploratory phases of research collaborations are emphasized. The objectives of supporting these projects include promoting access to excellent facilities and establishing long-term research relationships that can ultimately compete for support outside of International Programs on the basis of their potential to enhance the Nation's science and engineering capabilities.

• Eastern Europe, Including the Successor States of the Soviet Union--The large stake that the United States has in assisting in the transformation of the science and technology systems of Eastern Europe and, in particular, the successor states of the Soviet Union is now widely recognized. In addition to supporting cooperative research between individual investigators, International Programs encourages projects that aim to establish long-term links between U.S. science and technology centers and centers of excellence in the region, on regional as opposed to bilateral projects, and on interactions mediated by professional science and engineering societies. A long-term objective is to assist scientists and engineers in the region to become fully participating members of the international scientific community.

• Regional and Multilateral Initiatives--International Programs encourages collaborative research projects and exploratory workshops involving scientists from several foreign countries. Proposals that involve U.S. scientists and engineers in research activities of multilateral organizations such as the European Community (EC), the Organization of American States (OAS), or the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) are also encouraged.

• Research on International Aspects of Research and Technology--Research on the international aspects of research and technology is also supported, an important objective being to increase the body of knowledge available on significant international research and technology issues that can serve as the basis for policy development in government, academia, and industry.

• Africa, Near East, and South Asia, (703) 306-1707;

• The Americas, (703) 306-1706;

• East Asia and the Pacific, (703) 306-1704;

• Eastern Europe, including the successor states of the Soviet Union, (703) 306-1703;

• Japan, (703) 306-1701;

• Western Europe, (703) 306-1702;

• Research on International Aspects of Research and Technology, (703) 306-1711; and

• Postdoctoral and Junior Investigator Research Fellowships, (703) 306-1706.