(National Center for Supercomputing Applications)The goals, strategies, and approaches outlined in the previous sections provide the strategic framework within which the Foundation and its organizational units will prepare performance plans, allocate resources, and assess results. NSF's three interrelated goals and the various strategies and approaches needed to achieve them ultimately require a balanced approach.
The successful implementation of this framework is the next (and perhaps most challenging) step in this strategic planning process. Just as any investor seeks a balanced and diversified portfolio, the Foundation strives for balance among the elements of its varied portfolio in order to maximize its overall value to the public. There is no simple formula to do this, for the ideal balance changes continually. If successfully implemented, this plan and the Foundation's planning process will provide the guidance necessary to attain a timely balance.
(Ann Hawthorne)
Caption: Polar research uncovers history locked in
snow.