Invest in fundamental research to ensure significant continuing advances across science, engineering, and education

Statement:

Invest in fundamental research to ensure significant continuing advances across NSF science, engineering, and education.

Description:

This objective encompasses NSF’s largest and most important function – awarding grants to support research. This investment objective has a clear record of producing major new paradigms and technology disruptions that have the power to change our world and impact individual lives. Investments have led to major discoveries recognized by the most highly prized international awards. These types of investments have potentially high payoffs, but are not without risk, as major advances cannot result from every grant. It is rarely possible to predict whether any specific award will generate outcomes with important societal implications. Rather, fundamental research will generate new knowledge that may in the future contribute, often in unpredictable ways, to addressing a national challenge. Often, a long period of incremental advances in knowledge is needed to set the stage for the creative leaps that produce game-changing innovation.

It is vital to the successful realization of this strategic objective that NSF places a high priority on cultivating strong communities of fundamental researchers and intellectual pioneers across the globe, working both as individuals and in a variety of collaborative ways. It is also important that NSF balance its portfolio with a mix of programs and funding modalities to ensure fundamental research is conducted across a wide variety of fields of science, engineering, and education.

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FY 16-17 Priority Goal: Invest strategically in public participation in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics research (PPSR)

Statement:

Build the capacity of the Nation to solve research challenges and improve learning by investing strategically in crowdsourcing and other forms of public participation in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics research (PPSR).

By September 30, 2017, NSF will implement mechanisms to expand and deepen the engagement of the public in research.

Description:

Problem/Opportunity:

Scientists, mathematicians, and engineers have involved the public in their research efforts to solve challenging problems for centuries in a variety of fields. For example, daily precipitation data collected by volunteers throughout the US have been used to develop more accurate, fine-grained models that improve weather forecasting, agriculture, and disaster risk analyses. Water quality and wildlife monitoring projects allow communities to understand their local environments in systematic ways and allow them to compare their findings with those from other areas. These types of activities have been referred to in a variety of ways. For this Agency Priority Goal, "Public Participation in Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics Research" (PPSR) is used as an overarching term that includes citizen science, crowdsourcing research, and similar activities.

PPSR has grown significantly in the past decade, in part due to new technological tools that facilitate interactions between scientists and participants. There are a number of economic, societal, and technological trends that are increasing the variety and value of what public participation in research can accomplish. These trends include: the democratization of the tools needed to design and make a variety of items; the Maker Movement; the emergence of online communities with shared interests in projects such as exploration of diverse fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) by members of the public; and crowdfunding platforms that allow teams to raise funding for their projects.

New technological tools also have facilitated crowdsourcing research, a process in which open calls are made for voluntary contributions to STEM problem-solving. These calls are typically either to a non-specified group of individuals ("the crowd") or to individuals with specific expertise, thus leveraging the skills and knowledge of many.

Without public participants and their contributions, some STEM research that addresses challenging problems would not be practical or even possible, e.g., projects mandating data collection from many geographical locations or over long periods of time or projects that require expertise for analysis of data as well as large sets of visual or numeric data. PPSR approaches hold promise to continue to address new research questions and contribute to ongoing STEM research. Moreover, citizen science and crowdsourcing research provide opportunities for the broadest possible participation in learning how STEM research is done and in engaging in it directly. Participants include individuals from urban, suburban and rural communities; diverse economic, geographic, racial, ethnic, gender, and linguistic groups; and individuals with a range of abilities and disabilities.

The motivation for PPSR may be derived from community concerns or may be researcher-led. The level of public involvement varies from being contributory (e.g., collecting and recording data) to collaborative (e.g., analyzing samples and discussing results) to co-created (in which the public might be involved in all phases of the scientific process from defining the question for investigation, to experimenting, analyzing, and reporting). Thus, people with various interests and abilities are often able to participate and contribute productively.

With the opportunity to reach more people and therefore collect and analyze data sets more extensively than possible through the efforts of scientists alone, PPSR may go beyond simply enhancing our ability to do traditional STEM research better. Citizen science and crowdsourcing science enable us to pursue entirely new avenues of research and development that can only be achieved through public-scientist collaborations. The different perspectives and habits of mind that public participants can bring to bear on the interpretation of data may also open new avenues of research and development.

Over the past decade, NSF has funded hundreds of STEM research projects that rely on PPSR across a diverse array of fields. The scope of PPSR is broad and encompasses geosciences and biological sciences, technology and engineering, social and behavioral sciences, education, computer and information sciences, and physical sciences. These projects collectively have created a strong foundation for future PPSR activities and have identified areas for potential improvement and expansion. The next phase of NSF investments will expand beyond project-by-project approaches to explore underlying issues and areas for innovation. In particular, this next phase could help identify: new research challenges that might be addressed using PPSR; new PPSR-enabling technology; social aspects of working with the public; effective PPSR program design; learning experience facilitated by PPSR; ways in which PPSR can broaden participation in STEM; and a myriad of data-related issues, including data quality and collection, data management, visualization, and data ownership models. This phase of investments should also prompt the broader community to tackle long-standing but unresolved STEM challenges and to open doors to new STEM research areas.

To achieve this Agency Priority Goal NSF will use three specific mechanisms to fund proposals that explicitly include PPSR approaches: Research Coordination Networks (RCNs), EArly-concept Grants for Exploratory Research (EAGERs), and supplements to existing awards. Research Coordination Networks support communication and coordination across disciplinary, organizational, institutional, and geographic boundaries, thus facilitating ongoing activities above the project level. EAGERs are designed as "high risk-high payoff" awards. These types of awards will likely push our collective understandings of how PPSR is leveraged to support scientific discovery and the public's engagement with research. Supplements to existing awards provide opportunities to (1) include PPSR approaches in projects that are appropriate for PPSR but haven't already incorporated PPSR approaches and (2) for other projects to deepen their use of PPSR approaches.

This Agency Priority Goal also takes advantage of the Executive Branch's momentum in this area. For example, the White House honored Citizen Science Champions of Change and included citizen science projects and opportunities in its recent science fair. Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) rolled out a new toolkit for federal-sponsored PPSR projects on September 30, 2015 and issued a memo with actions for federal agencies with respect to PPSR. Among the public communities that NSF serves, this Agency Priority Goal is relevant and timely. It addresses the need for investments in PPSR as articulated in recent journals, such as Science; at conferences, such as the citizen science pre-conference workshop at AAAS in 2015; and by practitioner organizations, such as the Citizen Science Association.

Relationship to agency strategic goals and objectives

PPSR projects have both scientific value and educational value. Thus, PPSR supports NSF Strategic Goal 1, Objective 1 ("Invest in fundamental research to ensure significant continuing advances across science, engineering, and education") and NSF Strategic Goal 2, Objective 2 ("Build the capacity of the Nation to address societal challenges using a suite of formal, informal and broadly available STEM educational mechanisms").

Key barriers and challenges to its achievement

1. Coordinate cross-program and cross-directorate investments that enhance both an understanding of and ability to implement PPSR approaches.

2. Manage expectations among colleagues across the federal government and public sphere as PPSR is further developed to support their daily work.

External factors

OSTP and the Federal Community of Practice for Citizen Science and Crowdsourcing (FCPCSC) have directly contributed to development of this Agency Priority Goal. In addition, activities by federal agencies and offices related to open innovation, citizen science, and crowdsourcing research will inform the state of the field with respect to challenges and opportunities in PPSR.

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Statement:

Integrate education and research to support development of a diverse STEM workforce with cutting-edge capabilities

Description:

The global competitiveness of the United States in the 21^st century depends directly on the readiness of the Nation’s STEM workforce. Educational institutions around the country must recruit, train, and prepare a diverse STEM workforce to advance the frontiers of science and participate in the U.S. technology-based economy. One of NSF’s most enduring contributions to the national innovation ecosystem is the integration of education and research in the activities we support. When students participate in cutting-edge research activities under the guidance of the Nation’s most creative scientists and engineers, the students can gain the up-to-date knowledge and practical, hands-on experience needed to develop into creative contributors who can engage in innovative activities throughout all sectors of society. The successive cadres of high-tech workers, each armed with practical knowledge of the most advanced thinking and technology of the day, create the flow of highly adaptable human capital needed to power discovery and innovation. NSF also supports the development of a strong STEM workforce by investing in building the knowledge that informs improvements in STEM teaching and learning. Such improvements include effective curricular and teaching strategies for increased student learning, as well as new approaches enabled by advanced classroom technologies. Investments in social science and education research in learning, teaching, and institutions can have major impacts when derived insights are applied to the education of the STEM workforce.

The transformation of the frontiers of science and engineering requires dramatic change in the diversity of S&E communities. The demographic evolution in the United States is reflected in a strong, growing workforce whose makeup is changing rapidly. Women and members of minority groups represent an expanding portion of the country’s potential intellectual capital. NSF is committed to increasing access for currently underrepresented groups to STEM education and careers through our investments in research and education. The resulting enhancement of diversity is essential to provide the strength that comes from diverse perspectives, as well as to assure development of the Nation’s intellectual capital.

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FY 16-17 Priority Goal: Improve STEM graduate student preparedness

Statement:

Improve STEM graduate student preparedness for entering the workforce.

By September 30, 2017, NSF will fund at least three summer institutes and 75 supplements to existing awards to provide STEM doctoral students with opportunities to expand their knowledge and skills to prepare for a range of careers.

Description:

A strong global economy is reliant on the ability to capitalize on technical innovations that result from a skilled and agile STEM workforce. As a result, the Nation’s scientific workforce must evolve and mature to include more doctoral level researchers in positions outside of academia. These positions require comprehensive preparation in science at the graduate level, as well as proficiency in other critical skills.

Surveys of graduate students analyzed in recent reports have demonstrated that graduate student training has not kept pace with STEM workforce needs beyond traditional roles in academia. In recent years there has been a shift in the job market for science and engineering doctorate holder that has resulted in more varied career choices. Scientists and engineers with doctorates are now more evenly split between the business sector (45%) and the education sector (46%) (Source: Survey of Earned Doctorates, National Science Foundation, National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics 2013). Within the education sector, over 90 percent of doctorates are employed at 4-year institutions. However, Ph.D. training remains largely focused on preparation for the research component of academic careers with an emphasis on skills needed at research institutions. There is considerable value to traditional academic training, which can provide doctoral graduates with experience in critical thinking as well as oral and written communication

The purpose of this Priority Goal is to provide opportunities for science and engineering doctoral students so they can acquire the knowledge, experience, and skills needed for highly productive careers, inside and outside of academe. Although investments in the Graduate Research Internship Program (GRIP) and Graduate Research Opportunities Worldwide (GROW) provide support across disciplines that help address this issue, a larger, agency-wide effort directed at the specific goal of determining effective approaches to increased graduate student preparedness is needed.

The activities in this APG will be undertaken in coordination with NSF’s forthcoming strategic plan for investment in graduate students and graduate education. In addition, these approaches will be reported at the NSTC Committee on STEM Education’s Interagency Working Group on Graduate Education (co-chaired by NSF and NIH) as a possible model for consideration by other agencies.

The activities in this APG will be undertaken in coordination with NSF’s forthcoming strategic framework for investment in graduate education. In addition, these approaches will be reported at the National Science and Technology Council (NSTC) Committee on STEM Education’s Interagency Working Group on Graduate Education (co-chaired by NSF and NIH).

The NSTC Committee on STEM notes that “tomorrow’s STEM workforce will need to include effective change makers and entrepreneurs in business, public service, civil society, and academia. Some universities are encouraging students to set and meet more ambitious goals for their research, education, and service; giving students greater autonomy earlier in their career; connecting students to real-world problems at a regional, national, and global level; and involving students in the design of university curricula, research initiatives, and collaborations with external partners.” This APG will explore ways to partner with universities to identify and spread promising practices for achieving this vision.