FAQ: Transformative Research

Questions

1. Why does NSF prioritize funding potentially transformative research proposals?

   As part of the larger federal research and development effort, NSF has an overarching mandate to help keep all the fields and disciplines of science and engineering research healthy and strong.

   NSF's "foundational" support of research — through its core disciplinary programs; its interdisciplinary programs; and its support for facilities, equipment, instrumentation, centers of research and activities such as workshops — commonly results in transformative advances within fields of science or engineering.

   But NSF also explicitly calls for potentially transformative proposals to help ensure that NSF and the research community maintain a focus on the frontiers of science and engineering.

   Investigators working at the frontier might need to take high risks in their research. NSF encourages and supports these ventures, working to ensure the agency and its reviewers support proposals with great potential, even if they may challenge current paradigms or otherwise be considered risky.

2. How does NSF identify potentially transformative research proposals?

   It is a difficult challenge to identify potentially transformative research, and different types of research proposals may produce transformative results. Proposals may:

   • Request support for dramatically new ways of conceptualizing and addressing major scientific or technological challenges.
   • Request support for key incremental or threshold advances — such as new methods or analytical techniques — that, if successful, could put a discipline on a new scientific trajectory, provide tools that allow unprecedented insights, or radically accelerate the rate of data collection.

   Finally, some proposals may generate serendipitous transformative results that would have been almost impossible to predict prior to conducting the research.

   Questions reviewers and NSF staff may consider in determining the potential for a project to produce transformative results include:

   • Does the proposed research challenge conventional wisdom or direction of a field?
   • Does the proposed research bring new perspectives to an area?
   • Is the proposed research at the interface of disciplines or does it involve promising new interdisciplinary methods?

3. Do reviewer ratings inform NSF's program directors about the potentially transformative nature of a given proposal?

   While NSF asks reviewers and panelists to provide a summary rating or score for each review, it is the narrative comments that provide the most information about the relative merits of a proposal, including its potential to lead to transformative research.

4. Is potentially transformative research always interdisciplinary?

   No. A proposal within a single field of science, engineering and/or education can lead to transformative results.

5. Is a potentially transformative research proposal always a high-risk proposal?

   No. A proposal could demonstrate that the results are readily attainable and yet will have a transformative impact.

6. Will a potentially transformative research proposal always challenge "conventional wisdom"?

   No. For example, conventional projects have led to unexpected and transformative results.

7. Can the development of an instrument or other "tool" be considered potentially transformative research?

   Absolutely. The proposal should state how and why the proposed "tool" can enable transformative research.

8. Does a proposal that does not mention its potential for transformative research have a chance of being funded?

   Yes. The potentially transformative nature of a proposal is only one of several characteristics considered in the development of a comprehensive evaluation. Other proposal review criteria may be found in NSF's Grant Proposal Guide and may also be stated in the specific program announcement or solicitation.

   The evaluation of a proposal recognizes that any given proposal will have particular strengths and weaknesses when considering the entire suite of review criteria.

9. What percentage of NSF's budget will be used to fund potentially transformative research?

   NSF does not have a specific budget target for transformative research funding. However, NSF strives to promote and fund potentially transformative research throughout all of its programs and funding mechanisms. These include:

   • Supporting new activities, like Ideas Labs, which are designed to ask and answer questions that could lead to transformative work.
   • Supporting researchers at very exploratory stages of their work through the EAGER funding mechanism.
   • Supporting potentially transformative work within a field through NSF's disciplinary "core" programs.
   • Encouraging collaborations of interdisciplinary teams, or perhaps teams involving industrial partners, in many NSF solicitations to support the development of new and potentially transformative perspectives.
   • Supporting facilities and centers to provide the tools, instruments and infrastructure scientists and engineers need for potentially transformative work.

10. Has NSF set aside funds for potentially transformative research proposals?

    No. However, an NSF division, office or directorate may choose to designate funds to support projects with particularly noteworthy characteristics, including their potential for transformative research.

11. I discussed my ideas for an EAGER proposal with an NSF program officer, but I was discouraged from submitting. What are my options?

    Program officers play a critical role in providing guidance to the community on the various funding opportunities at NSF. If a program officer advises against an EAGER submission, there may be other funding opportunities available. If your project involves multiple disciplines, you may find it useful to discuss the proposed work with another program officer. You also retain the option to submit the proposal as an EAGER, which would then receive a review of the proposal from the program officer.

12. What should I do if I have a potentially transformative research project that does not seem to "fit" in any NSF program?

    Contact any program officer who may have expertise in or near the area of your proposed research. If the first officer you contact is not the most appropriate, he/she should be able to direct you to the appropriate person. The program officer may also decide to discuss the proposed research with other program officers.

13. In making a funding decision, how much weight is given to whether a proposal has the potential for transformative research?

    This is a difficult question to answer without placing it in context. Promoting and funding potentially transformative research is a high priority for NSF, so the potential for transformative research would be considered very positively in making a funding decision.

14. Is the merit review process too conservative to lead to the funding of potentially transformative research proposals?

    Although this is a common perception, it does not appear consistent with the experience at NSF. The agency’s program officers are informed that promoting and funding potentially transformative research is a high priority for the agency, and they are expected to communicate this to panels and ad hoc reviewers. It should also be noted that NSF program officers have the responsibility and authority to recommend awards for proposals that were not among the most highly ranked by the review panels as part of their charge to develop and maintain a balanced portfolio of investments.

15. Was my proposal declined simply because it was too risky?

    Risk is only one aspect of proposal review; there can be multiple reasons for declines. Investigators are encouraged to discuss the specific reasons for a decline with their program officer. Unfortunately, due to budget limitations, NSF declines a high percentage of meritorious proposals.

16. If I receive an award for a potentially transformative research project that has a high degree of risk, and the project is not successful, will this jeopardize future funding possibilities?

    No. Reviewers will be asked to comment on the quality of past work. However, due to the possibly risky nature of potentially transformative research, it is expected that even high-quality research may not initially succeed. Please note that your proposal may contain up to five pages to describe the results of prior NSF funding.