Meeting Our Goals

To exert the catalytic leadership necessary to meet its goals, NSF must draw on its particular strengths and responsibilities within the Federal portfolio of programs investing in research and education in science and engineering. NSF's relative strengths - a prominent role in the support of research and education at academic institutions and an obligation to attend to the progress of science and engineering in a very broad sense - must be central elements in determining the core strategies that will address NSF's three overlapping goals. At the same time, NSF's mission responsibilities - support of research and education projects and strengthening scientific and engineering research potential - must be properly balanced for effectiveness in achieving its vision and accomplishing its mission in the current environment.

Core Strategies

• Develop Intellectual Capital.
• Strengthen the Physical Infrastructure.
• Integrate Research and Education.
• Promote Partnerships.

The first two core strategies have to do with basic components of infrastructure, the foundation on which everything else stands. For NSF to reach its goals, the Nation must have a healthy, world class infrastructure for research and education that comprises both human resources (researchers, educators, students) and physical resources (facilities, equipment, instruments) at its research and education institutions.

Develop Intellectual Capital. NSF's investments in the Nation's intellectual capital, that is, in the people and the ideas they create, are essential to meeting the agency's three goals.

Selecting the best ideas in research and education and the most capable people to carry them out is at the heart of NSF's programmatic activities and the merit review system with which we implement those programs. This approach and the philosophy underlying it are part of the core values of the organization. The approach is only effective when the pool of ideas and talent on which the process draws is far-reaching.

NSF works to ensure that this pool is as extensive and diverse as possible by seeking out and supporting excellent activities that involve groups and regions that traditionally have not participated fully in science, mathematics, and engineering. This includes, in particular, women, minorities and individuals with disabilities. In a democratic society that is highly dependent on science, mathematics and engineering for its well-being and its place in the world, the scientific enterprise cannot thrive unless it is open to all segments of the population. Diversifying the workforce to create a more inclusive and robust scientific enterprise is necessary to assure excellence. Bringing the benefits of a diverse population to science, mathematics and engineering requires that NSF work with its partners toward the assignment and acceptance of responsibility for assuring that the full range of talents in the population is engaged.

America's future depends on the next generation, those currently being educated in our schools, colleges, and universities or embarking on their careers in industry, academia, or government. Enhancing their capacity to perform - create, innovate, and solve problems - and to demonstrate that capacity must be a vital component of NSF's activities. Vibrant educational programs for all students, resources to pursue advanced education and training, and resources to initiate research and education programs are important components of this enhancement.

Acknowledging excellence when it is fully apparent is comparatively easy; recognizing potential, and developing the capacity for excellence is a much more difficult task. NSF is committed to making this task an integral part of upholding world leadership.

Strengthen the Physical Infrastructure. In many situations in science and engineering, creative, innovative ideas go unexplored because the physical resources necessary for their pursuit are not available.

To strengthen the physical component of the science and engineering infrastructure, NSF's programs support investments in facilities planning and modernization, instrument acquisition, instrument design and development, and shared-use research platforms. In all of these areas, NSF is promoting the development of an intelligent, agile, and adaptable infrastructure for the future- one that takes full advantage of the capabilities of the emerging information infrastructure.

The physical infrastructure is an enabling aspect of NSF's activities. It helps create an environment in which effective progress is possible. The Foundation also is working with the National Science and Technology Council to develop a mechanism for interagency coordination of infrastructure support.

Integrate Research and Education. NSF's close involvement with academic institutions gives it the ability to promote the closer coupling of research and education, an ability the Foundation is only beginning to use effectively.

Support for basic research in an education-rich environment characterizes the American research endeavor and distinguishes it from that in many other countries. Effective integration of research and education means that both the findings and methods of research can be quickly and effectively communicated in a broader context and to an expanded audience. This enhances the impact of the research and strengthens the infrastructure of science and technology. Education in a research-rich environment permits informed decisions on what can and should be taught and emphasizes for students the importance of generating new ideas and approaches, preparing them to do the same in their future careers. It also serves to produce the next generation of research-trained college and university faculty and a teaching corps that understands the real nature of science, a regeneration process that keeps the entire system vital.

(Gather/Scatter March-April 1991)
Molecular models have applications in many areas - including pharmaceutics, advanced materials, and education.

Most research NSF supports takes place at academic institutions where the opportunity for educational interaction is abundant. Advanced training in science and engineering generally includes a research apprenticeship component, where students learn about research by doing it. Yet NSF recognizes that most education takes place outside of a research environment, and that there are stresses in the system that make it difficult to take advantage of the natural connections between research and education, even in our research universities.

NSF aims to engage researchers and educators in a joint effort to infuse education with the joy of discovery and to bring an awareness of the needs of the learning process to research, creating a rich environment for both. We will foster these natural connections through programmatic activity that brings out the synergy between research and education and that provides incentives for those who want to strengthen the connections. This approach emphasizes the strong bond between learning and inquiry. It recognizes the importance of building a solid understanding of math and science principles, as well as developing skills for formulating and solving substantive problems. It provides the foundation that will allow students to address complex situations they have not previously encountered.

Promote Partnerships. This plan is based on the premise that NSF cannot reach its goals by itself. Success requires collaboration with many different partners, including the academic community, industry, elementary and secondary schools, other Federal agencies, state and local governments, and other institutions involved in science and engineering. Our goal of world leadership requires that we carry our partnerships across national boundaries, working with comparable organizations in other countries to promote international cooperation wherever mutually beneficial.

NSF's responsibility for activities across the spectrum of fundamental science, mathematics and engineering promotes its effective partnership in a variety ofsituations, particularly between the discoverers and the potential users of new knowledge. Partnerships also permit the agency to take advantage of the ties that the interdependence of basic research, applied research, and technology create among Federal agencies. Effective partnerships bring together the best minds in our society and may also help to share the fiscal responsibilities for research and education. Shared investments, shared risks, and shared benefits are key elements in NSF's approach to partnerships.