The National Science Foundation (NSF) received a four percent increase in total funding from FY 17 enacted levels under the funding agreement passed by Congress last month for a total of $7.77 billion. This includes a five percent increase for the Research and Related Activities account, which supports most of the foundation’s extramural research, giving $6.33 billion towards these efforts. Additionally, another $900 million is available to support STEM education activities through the Education and Human Resources (EHR) account – a three percent increase over FY 17 enacted funding levels.
By convention, Congress leaves NSF the power to determine how funding should be split between research directorates. Congressional language accompanying the budget is more noteworthy for the budget changes it does NOT enact. Both the House and Senate require NSF to maintain current funding for the I-Corps program, which provides entrepreneurial training for scientists; the Trump Administration had requested a 13 percent cut for the program. Language also specifies that the newly renamed Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR) program should receive a 7 percent increase, totaling about $160 million. The EPSCoR program, which is limited to grantees in states that have historically not received large percentages of NSF funding, would have seen a 38 percent cut under the administration’s proposed budget. The agreement also did not instate changes to the merit review process that would highlight economic and security benefits of proposed research, or change NSF indirect cost policies. Both were seen as potential areas for policy change.
Although the budget agreement specifically does not get into funding levels for most NSF programs, there are exceptions. The following programs in EHR all receive specified funding levels, and generally receive level or increased levels of funding: Advancing Informal STEM Learning; CyberCorps: Scholarships for Service; Historically Black Colleges and Universities Undergraduate Program (HBCU-UP); Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation; Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship Program; Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math+ Computing Partnerships (STEM+C); and the Tribal Colleges and Universities Program. The Senate report also specifies $10 million for a new HBCUs Excellence in Research program, which will provide competitive grants to HCBUs to stimulate improvement of their R&D capacity and competitiveness. GRC expects funding levels for most other NSF grant programs to remain level or increase.
To read Congress’s justification for spending levels, click here (PDF-NSF language begins on p. 34). To read more about the final NSF budget agreement, click here.
