Foundation for the 21ST Century: A Progressive Framework for the National ScienceFoundation. Report of the National Science Board Commission on the Future of the National Science Foundation

摘要

This report of the National Science Board Commission on the future of theNational Science Foundation stresses the fundamental importance of continuing the NSF's basic mission of supporting first-rate research, identified and defined by the best researchers within the academic community. At the same time, the commission underscores the importance of supporting key strategic research areas in response to scientific opportunities to meet national goals. Throughout the report, the commission identifies challenging issues that will require NSF attention. These include evolving research fields, interdisciplinary opportunities, increasing dependencies among stages in technology development, grant size, student support, improved science education, knowledge diffusion, and facility needs. The commission strongly recommends that the NSF's responsibilities and opportunities--both present and proposed--and its budgetary needs be examined within the context of a newly conceived Federal R&D budget capable of responding to national needs. To this end, the commission urges that its recommendations be considered by the National Science Board in the context of the board's own responsibility to develop and carry out national policy for science and engineering research and education more broadly.