The National Science Foundation 

Open Government Plan 

3.5 

June 2015

This document has been archived and replaced by NSF 16-131.
TABLE OF CONTENT 

I. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY .................................................................................................. 1

II. NSF OPEN GOVERNMENT IN CONTEXT ........................................................................... 3

Open Government Directive: Overview ...........................................................................................3

NSF and NSB: Organizational Structures and Governance ................................................................4

Key Stakeholders ............................................................................................................................5

III. NSF STRATEGIC PLAN AND THE OGD ............................................................................. 7

Overview of the NSF Strategic Plan and Key Principles ....................................................................7

NSF’s Open Government Strategic Goals and Outcomes..................................................................8

IV. OPEN GOVERNMENT OPPORTUNITIES AND STRATEGIES ................................................ 9

Transparency Initiatives and Prioritization ......................................................................................9

Participation and Public Outreach ................................................................................................. 12

Open Innovation Methods ............................................................................................................13

V. COLLABORATIONS AND PARTNERSHIPS ....................................................................... 16

Social Media Tools .......................................................................................................................16

NITRD ..........................................................................................................................................17

Staff Collaboration Tools ..............................................................................................................18

Research.gov ................................................................................................................................18

VI. FOIA AND OTHER OPEN GOVERNMENT RELATED ACTIVITIES ....................................... 21

FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT ................................................................................................. 21

OPEN DATA ..................................................................................................................................21

PROACTIVE DISCLOSURES .............................................................................................................23

PRIVACY .......................................................................................................................................23

WHISTLEBLOWER PROTECTION.....................................................................................................24

Records Management ..................................................................................................................24

Congressional Requests for Information........................................................................................25

Declassification of Documents ......................................................................................................26

Participation and Public Affairs .....................................................................................................26

VII. FLAGSHIP INITIATIVE ................................................................................................... 29

NSF Open Government Plan 2.0 Open Data Access Flagship Initiative ............................................29

Other 2.0 Initiatives ......................................................................................................................30

NSF’s Open Government Plan 3.0 Flagship ....................................................................................30

APPENDIX 1: NSF OGD DATA AND REPORTS COLLECTION ..................................................... 32

Web Content ................................................................................................................................35

Tools ............................................................................................................................................35

Records and Reports ....................................................................................................................36
APPENDIX 2: CITED URLS (in order of appearance) ............................................................... 38

APPENDIX 3: LIST OF ACRONYMS ......................................................................................... 41
1 

I. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 

The National Science Foundation (NSF) is committed to meeting President Barack Obama’s goal of 

transparency as specified in the January 21, 2009, memorandum, “Transparency and Open 

Government.” This memorandum was reinforced by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) 

memorandum of December 8, 2009 to the heads of executive departments, directing specific actions to 

be executed to implement the principles of transparency, participation and collaboration. In April 2010 

the NSF Open Government Plan version 1.0 was released, followed in April 2012 by an updated version 

2.0. 

This document represents the NSF Government Plan 3.0, and reflects adherence to new guidelines 

subsequent to April 2012 including January 2014 guidelines presented by the Federal Government’s 

Chief Technology Officer (CTO), and reinforcing NSF’s commitment to open government.

Since its creation in 1950, NSF has viewed openness and transparency as critical to achieving the 

agency’s mission: “To promote the progress of science; to advance the national health, prosperity, and 

welfare; to secure the national defense." (NSF Act of 1950). Consequently, the agency has built a strong 

foundation of openness policies and practices that guide its research and education activities. NSF has 

always been an open agency, making all of its data–within the constraints of confidentiality and privacy 

– openly available via its website and other media. New technologies, many of which received their 

basic funding from NSF, now provide a means for the agency to take these openness practices to the 

next level and into the 21st century. 

Since the release of the NSF Open Government Plan 1.0 in April 2010, the agency has connected the 

plan to its then most recent strategic plan. Consequently, "Investing in Science, Engineering and 

Education for the Nation’s Future – NSF Strategic Plan for 2014-2018,"1

 is reflected in this most recent 

version of the NSF Open Government Plan. 

With respect to making its data and information available, NSF’s key principle in executing all of the 

elements of the NSF Open Government Plan is: Unless shown otherwise, the default position will be to 

make NSF data and information available in an open machine-readable format. 

This updated version of the plan (released in June 2015) is the result of NSF’s continued commitment to 

open government, and reflects the agency's intent to revise and improve the original plan. To ensure 

steady progress, NSF welcomes comments and suggestions on this version of the open government plan 

at opengov@nsf.gov. NSF, from its senior management through the entire foundation staff, is 

 

1

 http://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2014/nsf14043/nsf14043.pdf
2 

committed to the principles set forth in this plan. Indeed, this is reflected in the NSF strategic plan for 

2014-2018 where it states: "NSF is committed to the principles underlying open government, including 

transparency, public participation, and collaboration with other government agencies and private 

institutions." 
3

II. NSF OPEN GOVERNMENT IN CONTEXT

OPEN GOVERNMENT DIRECTIVE: OVERVIEW

In one of his first actions after taking office, President Obama issued a memorandum2stating the 

administration’s commitment to “creating an unprecedented level of openness in government.” The key 

principles of open government are:

 Transparency– Promotes accountability by providing the public with information about what the 

government is doing,

 Participation– Allows members of the public to contribute ideas and expertise so that their 

government can make policies with the benefit of information that is widely dispersed in 

society, and

 Collaboration– Improves the effectiveness of government by encouraging partnerships and 

cooperation within the Federal Government, across levels of government, and between the 

government and private institutions.

On December 8, 2009, OMB issued M-10-06, the Open Government Directive (OGD), requiring agencies 

to take specific steps toward the goal of creating a more open government. The directive specified a 

timetable for agencies to complete actions such as publishing in an open format at least three highvalue datasets and creating an open government Web page. In March 2011, the administration 

announced that agencies should make the following available on their websites: Congressional 

testimony; agency reports to Congress required by statute and staff directories. In February 2014, the 

Federal CTO issued a memo to heads of executive departments and agencies: “2014 Open Government 

Plans.” The NSF Open Government Plan 3.0 reflects the agency’s commitment to the administration’s 

open government goals as described in these documents.

Duties of the NSF CTO include serving as the Senior Accountable Official (SAO) for NSF’s open 

government activities. The CTO is located within the Office of the Director (OD), and is a member of 

NSF’s Senior Management Advisory Roundtable (SMART). In that capacity, as-needed reports are made 

to SMART and the OD on matters related to NSF open government activities, and related matters such 

as prizes and challenges.

 

2

 http://www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_office/TransparencyandOpenGovernment/
4 

The NSF Open Government Plan is a roadmap for the agency's efforts to: 

 Improve transparency through identifying and making available to the public, high-value data; 

 Expand opportunities for public participation and better integrate public input into NSF 

programs and policies; and 

 Seek out new or expanded opportunities for collaborations with other agencies throughout 

government and with private institutions through public-private partnerships. 

NSF provided the public with an opportunity to comment on Versions 1.0, 2.0 and 3.0 of the plan and 

continues to encourage the public to provide comments and suggestions at opengov@nsf.gov. 

NSF AND NSB: ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURES AND GOVERNANCE 

NSF is an independent Federal agency created by Congress in 1950. The NSF’s mission is: 

“To promote the progress of science; to advance the national health, prosperity, and welfare; to 

secure the national defense; and for other purposes.”

 (NSF Act of 1950) 

NSF is the only Federal agency whose mission includes support for all non-medical fields of fundamental 

science and engineering (S&E). With a budget of approximately $7 billion, NSF is the major source of 

Federal funding for research in areas such as mathematics, computer science and the social sciences, in 

addition to providing approximately 20 percent of all Federal funding in basic research. NSF funds 

research and education in most fields of S&E, and agency support goes to more than 2,000 colleges, 

universities, K-12 school systems, businesses, informal science organizations and other research 

organizations throughout the U.S. In 2014, NSF completed action on approximately 48,000 proposals 

resulting in more than 10,900 awards. Approximately 320,900 senior researchers, postdoctoral 

associates, teachers and students across all levels were directly involved in NSF research and education 

programs and activities. During this period NSF hosted thousands of visitors, and conducted over 

181,400 reviews by more than 15,500 panelists from across the Nation and the world.3

NSF leadership has two major components: A director, who oversees NSF staff responsible for program 

creation and administration, merit review, planning, budget and day-to-day operations; and a 24-

member National Science Board (NSB), composed of eminent individuals who meet in person five times 

a year to establish the overall policies of the agency. The director and all board members serve six-year 

terms. Both the director and a deputy director are appointed by the president and confirmed by the U.S. 

Senate. The president appoints members of the NSB, drawn from industry and universities representing 

a variety of S&E disciplines and geographic areas. At present, NSF has a total population of 

 

3 http://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2015/nsb201514/nsb201514.pdf
5 

approximately 2100 at its Arlington, VA, headquarters, including approximately 1400 federal employees, 

200 scientists on rotational assignments from research institutions, 450 contract workers and the staff 

of the NSB Office and the Office of Inspector General (OIG). 

NSF's program staff is organized into the following directorates and offices supporting S&E research and 

education: 

 Biological Sciences (BIO) 

 Computer and Information Science and Engineering (CISE) 

 Education and Human Resources (EHR) 

 Engineering (ENG) 

 Geosciences (GEO) 

 Mathematical and Physical Sciences (MPS) 

 Social and Economic Sciences (SBE) 

 Office of Integrative Activities (OIIA) 

 Office of International Science and Engineering (OISE) 

An assistant director or an office head leads each of these NSF organizational units. The OD is 

responsible for executive, business and administrative management functions and includes the Office of 

Diversity and Inclusion (ODI), the Office of the General Counsel (OGC) and the Office of Legislative and 

Public Affairs (OLPA). Two additional administrative offices are the Office of Budget, Finance and Award 

Management (BFA) and the Office of Information and Resource Management (OIRM). These 

organizational units are devoted to financial management, award processing and monitoring, 

information technology (IT), human resource management, outreach and other functions. 

The OIG provides independent oversight and is responsible for promoting efficiency and effectiveness in 

agency programs and operations, and for preventing and detecting fraud, waste, and abuse. By statute, 

the NSF OIG is independent from the agency, with the IG reporting directly to the NSB and Congress. 

KEY STAKEHOLDERS 

The NSF stakeholders consist of: 

 The American public; 

 Academic institutions, including graduate/undergraduate colleges and universities, two-year 

and community colleges, and K-12 schools; 

 The faculties in the above institutions; 

 The students in the above institutions; 

 Nonprofit institutions such as aquariums, zoos and museums; 

 Businesses conducting S&E research; 

 The news media (as a conduit to the public); 

 NSF staff; and 

 federal, state and other government agencies. 
6

The informational needs of these stakeholders consist of being informed of funding opportunities 

available through NSF as they develop; information on awards made; results of studies, reports and 

workshops supported by NSF; results of meetings and various evaluation reports; and the discoveries, 

breakthroughs and other outcomes of NSF-supported research and education and their impact on 

society.
7 

III. NSF STRATEGIC PLAN AND THE OGD 

OVERVIEW OF THE NSF STRATEGIC PLAN AND KEY PRINCIPLES 

In 2014, NSF published a new strategic plan, "Investing in Science, Engineering and Education for the 

Nation’s Future–NSF Strategic Plan for 2014-2018."4 In this latest plan, five core values are identified: 

scientific excellence, organizational excellence, learning, inclusiveness and accountability for public 

benefit. Organizational excellence, inclusiveness and accountability for public benefit are particularly 

germane to the OGD. As stated in the NSF strategic plan: 

 Organizational Excellence – Investing the resources entrusted to us optimally and efficiently, 

and realizing the full potential of our people in managing a capable, motivated, inclusive, and 

positive work environment; 

 Inclusiveness – Seeking and embracing contributions from all sources, including 

underrepresented groups, regions, and institutions; and 

 Accountability for Public Benefit – Operating with integrity and transparency, and maintaining 

the highest standards of performance in administration, business processes, management, and 

oversight, thereby providing the best value to the U.S. taxpayer. 

Clearly, these core values are consistent with the open government goals of transparency 

(accountability), participation (inclusiveness) and collaboration (excellence/inclusiveness). As a result, 

incorporating the OGD into the NSF culture was relatively straightforward. 

The NSF 2014-2018 strategic plan states the following vision: 

“A Nation that creates and exploits new concepts in science and engineering and provides global 

leadership in research and education.”

This vision is supported by three interrelated strategic goals: 

(1) Transform the frontiers of S&E – NSF supports fundamental, interdisciplinary, high-risk and 

potentially transformative research in S&E and the education of the next generation of the 

science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) workforce to continue this 

transformation. 

(2) Stimulate innovation and address societal needs through research and education – Through its 

targeted solicitations and core programs, the agency is able to focus the attention of the 

broader S&E community on fundamental aspects of high priority national challenges. This 

strategic goal echoes the “broader impacts” merit review criterion that was developed by the 

NSB, and explicitly requires NSF to engage the community in addressing particularly urgent 

 

4

 http://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2014/nsf14043/nsf14043.pdf
8 

challenges. The agency’s educational dimension is a key aspect of this strategic goal. NSF 

supports research and development (R&D) on STEM education and learning to prepare a 

diverse, globally competent STEM workforce and a STEM-literate citizenry. 

(3) Excel as a Federal science agency – NSF will integrate mission, vision, and core values to 

efficiently and effectively execute agency activities and provide the flexibility and agility 

required to meet the quickly evolving challenges associated with the first two strategic goals. 

Accomplishing goal three entails blending strong scientific leadership with robust organizational 

leadership, both characterized by vision and flexibility, and also supporting staff with the 

information and other resources that are essential to carry out the agency’s activities.

Open government activities more readily enable NSF to engage stakeholders and keep them informed 

about agency initiatives, directions and accomplishments. The key principle that will be applied in 

executing the elements of the NSF Open Government Plan is: To maximize information that will be made 

available within the constraints of confidentiality and privacy concerns. Unless shown otherwise, the 

default position will be to make NSF data and information available in an open machine- readable 

format. NSF is committed to publishing its data and information in this manner and seeks public input 

and review on a regular basis. 

This key principle is complemented by the agency’s commitment to maintaining an open and active 

dialog with the public at large and with various NSF stakeholders, as well as encouraging all NSF staff to 

actively participate in open government undertakings. 

NSF’S OPEN GOVERNMENT STRATEGIC GOALS AND OUTCOMES 

The NSF Open Government Plan serves as a roadmap to improve transparency and better integrate 

public participation and collaboration into NSF’s core mission, thereby enabling the agency to become 

more innovative and efficient. NSF has a long history of making its data readily available to the public via 

its website and other means, and the agency will continue to do so. NSF’s strategic open government 

goal is to make its data and information available in machine-readable format or in more innovative and 

productive ways, keeping up with and using evolving technology to further enhance NSF’s openness.

NSF’s open government strategic goal recognizes the importance of increased public awareness and 

appreciation of NSF’s mission and the agency’s contributions to the American citizenry. This will be 

accomplished by providing data that inform the public about national scientific priorities, NSF funding 

opportunities, NSF grants awarded, Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) results, S&E advances generated 

with NSF support, and statistical data related to funding and funding outcomes, as well as data on the 

state of STEM education, to name a few. 
9

IV. OPEN GOVERNMENT OPPORTUNITIES AND STRATEGIES

TRANSPARENCY INITIATIVES AND PRIORITIZATION

Description Notes

Average Dwell Time by Directorate FY2001 - FY2013

Budget History by Account since 1951 FY1951 - FY2013

Early and Later Career Funding Rates FY2001 - FY2013

FOIA Reports FY1998 - FY2014

Funding Rate by Principal Investigator 

Demographic

FY2001 - FY2013

Graduate Research Fellowships Award 

Recipients

FY2000 - FY21014

Graduate Research Fellowships Honorable 

Mention Recipients

FY2000 - FY2014

Key Science and Engineering Indicators Digest FY2014

Obligations for Top 200 Institutions by Fiscal 

Year

FY2001 - FY2013

Research Grant Funding Rates FY2013

Research Grant Funding Rate History FY2004 - FY2013

Research Spending and Results Search Tool FY2007 - FY2014

Science and Engineering Indicators FY2014

Science and Engineering Indicators State Tool FY2014

State Obligations by Fiscal Year FY2001 - FY2013

Statistical data resource for S&E and U.S. 

academic institutions (WebCasper)

Selected data from 1951 - 2015

SESTAT (S&E statistics) FY1993 - FY2013

Responsibility for ensuring transparency at NSF rests with NSF's SMART. All NSF data and information 

will be made available consistent with confidentiality and privacy constraints. NSF will continue to 

inventory data collected or generated by the foundation, building on the eGov content inventory (found

at http://www.nsf.gov/policies/egov_inventory.jsp) and records retention schedule (found at 

http://www.nsf.gov/policies/records/index.jsp). NSF will continue to provide opportunities for its 

stakeholders and the public to determine which datasets are high-value data collections. NSF will then 

prioritize the conversion to open formats, based on stakeholder and public interest.

Openness is an inherent part of NSF culture. As a result, NSF does not have any issues with what should 

be “open” because the default is that all NSF data and information are openly available within the 

constraints of confidentiality and privacy concerns. The challenge is in determining which of the already 

available open data are of sufficiently high value to warrant converting from existing formats to 

machine- readable formats such as comma-separated values (CSV), JSON and extensible markup

language (XML) or other accepted open formats as specified in the OGD. In addition, the agency is 
10

developing application programming interfaces (API) to provide a more readily available and friendlier 

access to some of its data. The strategy will therefore be to prioritize among these items using their 

potential as high-value data as the principal criteria as well as requests from the public. FOIA reports, 

award data and spending data continue to receive the most interest from the public and therefore are 

considered to be of high value. 

As noted earlier, NSF makes public a wide variety of agency information via the NSF website 

(http://www.nsf.gov).This includes: NSB meeting announcements and minutes; NSF solicitations; NSF 

funding trends data; NSF budget information; NSF-related statistical information; lists of publications 

available for download; award and funding information; minutes from the various directorate, office and 

NSF-wide advisory committees; committee of visitor reports for the various directorates and offices; an 

events calendar; texts of speeches given by the NSF director and deputy director; a list of NSF-related 

congressional hearings; news releases and media advisories; factsheets about NSF programs and 

priorities; feature articles; audio podcasts and videos about NSF-supported research results; and the NSF 

Multimedia Gallery which provides images and other visual media for educational and informational 

use. These and other items constitute materials for consideration in the context of the OGD. 

To further enhance transparency, NSF is actively supporting and participating in key government-wide, 

open government-related initiatives to provide the public with insight into NSF-funded research, 

spending and investments. These initiatives include: 

 Data.gov – http://catalog.data.gov/dataset?organization=nsfgov&q=national+science+foundation&sort=score+desc%2C+name+asc&_organization_limit=0. 

Provides the public with easy access to NSF data in open and machine-readable formats. The 

original datasets made available at the initiation of the NSF open government activity continue 

to be updated and maintained as new data become available (e.g., FOIA, “Science and 

Engineering Indicators”, etc.) NSF also offers easy, application-driven access to additional NSF 

data, such as important statistics regarding employment and education information for 

scientists and engineers, trend information across S&E indicators, and key information about 

NSF-funded awards, through three simple-to-use tools. Additionally, NSF continues to look for 

opportunities to provide additional high-value data through Data.gov based on input received 

from the public and NSF staff. APIs that provide easier access to some of this information may 

be found at: http://www.nsf.gov/developer/. 

 Science and Engineering Indicators State Data Tool – The SEI State Data Tool 

(http://www.nsf.gov/statistics/seind14/index.cfm/state-data) allows for interactive visual 

exploration of 58 state indicators covering the role of science and technology (S&T) in state and 

regional economic development. It covers state trends in S&T education, the employed 

workforce, finance, and R&D. The tool allows for in-depth exploration of a single indicator, 

comparisons of multiple indicators, and the ability to customize the graphics. Exploring a single 

indicator can be done using "table," "chart" or "map" view. Comparisons of indicators can be 

done across states or across years. The tool contains up to 20 years of data. 
11

 Science and Engineering Indicators (SEI) Digest – The U.S. holds a preeminent position in S&E in 

the world, derived in large part from the Nation's long history of public and private investment 

in S&E, R&D and education. Investment in R&D, science, technology and education correlate 

strongly with economic growth, as well as the development of a safe, healthy, and welleducated society. The SEI Digest (http://www.nsf.gov/statistics/indicators/) highlights key 

trends and data points and provides an interactive introduction to the types of data and 

information available in “Science and Engineering Indicators 2014.”

 USASpending.gov – Provides financial transparency, at the transaction level, into NSF financial 

assistance, including grants and contracts. Through this resource, the public can view key details 

about NSF awards and contracts for free in compliance with requirements set by the Federal 

Funding Accountability and Transparency Act of 2006. NSF has actively supported 

USASpending.gov and its mission since its inception and was the first agency to accurately match 

100 percent of major investment contracts to USASpending. 

https://www.usaspending.gov/DownloadCenter/Pages/DataDownload.aspx

 Federal IT Dashboard – Offers insight and transparency into NSF’s IT portfolio as a whole, as 

well as into the significant individual technology investments that are critical in supporting NSF’s 

mission and work. Through the IT Dashboard (http://www.itdashboard.gov/), the public can 

view plain language descriptions and comprehensible ratings for NSF technology investments, 

including ratings on tracking to cost and schedule, evaluation of the investment by the 

foundation’s Chief Information Officer (CIO), and an overall rating for the investment based on a 

combination of the other three ratings. The IT Dashboard also offers information on how NSF 

technology investments align with the foundation’s mission and an objective outlined in the 

strategic plan, and provides clear performance indicators for evaluating whether investments 

are meeting their targets. Additionally, the IT Dashboard offers easily accessible links to 

investment Exhibit 300s, offering the public a transparent view of NSF investments at the 

granular level. 

 Recovery.gov – Provides a central, online location for taxpayers to track NSF spending and 

activities related to the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (Recovery Act) of 2009. Easily 

accessible, high-value NSF information available through Recovery.gov includes summaries of 

overall Recovery Act spending with progress tracked weekly, detailed weekly financial reports, 

and descriptions of NSF’s Recovery Act plans, including overarching goals for Recovery Act funds 

and an accountability plan. 
12

In support of these initiatives, NSF has made data easily accessible to the public in machine-readable 

and open formats that can easily be shared via a variety of mechanisms (email, Facebook, Twitter, etc.), 

printed, or downloaded for use with data mining and extraction tools. Additionally, mechanisms are 

provided to allow the public to provide feedback, share their assessments of the quality of information 

available, and make suggestions for additional NSF information they would like to see made available.

PARTICIPATION AND PUBLIC OUTREACH

NSF's task of identifying and funding work at the frontiers of S&E is not a "top-down" process. NSF 

primarily operates from the "bottom up," keeping close track of research in the U.S. and around the 

world, maintaining constant contact with the S&E community to identify ever-moving horizons of 

inquiry, monitoring which areas are most likely to result in spectacular progress, and choosing the most 

promising people to conduct research and enhance education and learning.

Participation and citizen engagement are at the core of the way NSF conducts its business and fulfills its 

mission. One of the cornerstones of NSF’s success is its merit review process. In making award decisions, 

in 2014, NSF collected more than 181,400 reviews from more than 15,500 experts in the S&E 

community.5Subject matter experts drawn from the S&E academic and private-public communities 

provide these reviews. NSF program officers draw on these experts' insights to make informed decisions 

about the most promising projects to fund. Consistent with the open government principle of 

participation, NSF is constantly striving to increase both the size and diversity (gender, disabilities, 

ethnic, geographic, race, institutional, etc.) of the pool of reviewers to ensure that the merit review 

process benefits from broad input provided by individuals with a wide range of perspectives. This merit 

review process, recognized as a “gold standard” internationally, continues to be a key element of NSF’s 

public outreach and participation activities.

Each of the research directorates has an advisory committee whose membership is drawn from the 

academic and public-private sector communities and represents the stakeholders of that particular 

directorate. Each advisory committee meets twice a year. Advisory committee’s often create a task 

force to focus on specific directorate issues. These task forces usually meet on a more frequent basis, 

complementing the twice-yearly meetings.

The National Science Board, which sets policy for the Foundation and advises the White House and 

Congress on matters important to the health of the nation’s scientific enterprise, conducts its business 

in public, with advance notice, per the strictures of the Government in the Sunshine Act. Its in person

meetings are webcast. The Board also engages with the public in working meetings as it develops and 

issues reports on matters relevant to science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) and 

STEM education. For example, the Board recently released “Revisiting the STEM Workforce: A 

Companion to Science and Engineering Indicators 2014.” This report outlines how the understanding of 

 

5

 Report to the National Science Board on the National Science Foundation’s Merit Review Process 

Fiscal Year 2013. Chapter IV.
13

STEM workers and how they matter to innovation and competitiveness has changed over the lifetime of 

the NSF. It offers insights into how analyses of this workforce need to be adjusted to reflect conditions 

more accurately.

There are also advisory committees that cut across the entire foundation. An example of this type of 

advisory committee would be the NSF-wide Advisory Committee for Cyberinfrastructure (ACCI). 

Collecting ideas and input from researchers, industry, and educators, the ACCI established six task forces 

and asked them to address long-term cyberinfrastructure issues. By incorporating webcasts, video 

telecoms, wikis and document-sharing technologies, the task forces explored, discussed and generated a 

collection of recommendations and ideas that are being used by NSF in developing new programs 

and/or guiding existing activities. The impact of this particular activity can be found in NSF’s FY 2013 

CyberInfrastructure Framework for 21st Century Science and Engineering (CIF21), a major initiative that 

incorporated many recommendations from those task forces.

A recent example of NSF’s public engagement was its active participation at the third annual USA 

Science and Engineering Festival held at the Washington Convention Center in Washington, D.C., in April 

2014. At this event, NSF featured nearly two dozen exhibits as well as live stage shows designed to 

educate, entertain, and reflect the diverse research the foundation supports across all fields of S&E. 

In December 2011, the NSB released a report, “National Science Foundation's Merit Review Criteria: 

Review and Revisions,” on the merit review criteria. The report’s recommendations were the result of a 

thorough examination by NSB’s Task Force on Merit Review. In looking at the effectiveness of the two 

merit review criteria (intellectual merit and broader impacts), the task force solicited and received input 

from several stakeholder groups, both inside NSF and external to the agency, involving several thousand 

individuals. Based on the task force’s analyses and recognizing the provision in the America COMPETES 

Reauthorization Act of 2010 mandating the retention of the broader impacts criterion, the NSB 

determined that the two current merit review criteria remain appropriate for evaluation of NSF 

proposals and should be retained. In April 2012, NSF published a notice in the “Federal Register,” giving 

the public an opportunity to provide comments on proposed changes.

NSF's approach to soliciting input and feedback from the scientific community and the public has always 

been “early and often.” To support this approach, NSF provides a variety of mechanisms both proactive 

(where the public can actively contact the foundation) and direct (where NSF reaches out directly to 

share information and solicit input), for the community and the public to interact with the agency and 

provide feedback. Examples of proactive forums the foundation is employing to engage the public and 

the academic community and solicit their input include:

OPEN INNOVATION METHODS

 Prizes/Challenges – In 2011, NSF kicked-off its inaugural prize/challenge activity, US IGNITE. 

NSF continues to pursue and expand the use of prizes/challenges as a mechanism for both 

seeking innovative solutions and for engaging the public. In FY2014 NSF conducted four

prize/challenge competitions covering areas in astronomy, biology, education and visualization 
14

of scientific data. One of the prizes, “Beyond the Box” a digitization competition from NSF’s 

Directorate for Biology, will award $1,000,000 if successfully completed in September 2015. NSF 

will continue to explore the use of prizes/challenges where most appropriate and consistent 

with NSF’s mission.

 “National Day of Civic Hacking” – In June 2014, NSF was an active participant in this event 

hosting a “hackathon” in collaboration with the local Arlington and Alexandria communities. 

NSF’s goal for the event, in which more than 40 participants competed in a mobile applicationbuilding contest, was to use information from publically available data to address a Northern 

Virginia Challenge, a project that involves “mashing” data from various Federal, state and local 

government agencies.

One outcome from the 2014 event was an application put together by high-school students that 

mashes NSF award data and Patent and Trademark Office data to enable one to identify NSF 

awardees that were granted a patent. 

NSF plans to use the successful National Day of Civic Hacking event as a model for future 

collaboration with the IT and research communities. Indeed, NSF shall once again participate in 

a “National Day of Civic Hacking” event in 2015 as well as continue to serve as host to the local 

Northern Virginia Code for America Brigade. 

 Solicitations – A mechanism NSF uses to make the academic community aware of funding 

opportunities are solicitations. Frequently, these solicitations provide for mechanisms that 

enable interested parties to ask solicitation-specific questions. In addition, solicitation-specific 

frequently asked questions (FAQ) websites are created, where appropriate.

Feedback and inquiries received through online feedback mechanisms are monitored and 

suggestions are compiled for review and consideration. NSF representatives respond directly to 

inquiries received through feedback aliases and questions that appear frequently are 

incorporated into FAQ documents, which are subsequently posted online and distributed during 

outreach activities.

 Feedback email aliases – NSF has multiple email aliases that the public and research community 

can use to reach out to the foundation with questions or provide feedback on a variety of topics. 

These include NSF policy (policy@nsf.gov), NSF services (info@nsf.gov and 

feedback@research.gov), and NSF’s participation in open government (opengov@nsf.gov).

These online feedback mechanisms are complemented by a variety of interactive forums for direct 

outreach to the academic community, the general public, and NSF staff. NSF frequently promotes 

awareness and provides updates about the agency, its policies and initiatives, and the information and 

services it provides to the research community. It does this through presentations and exhibit booths at 
15

key outreach events such as meetings and conferences held by research administration associations, 

and at meetings of NSF’s core S&E community (for example, the Federal Demonstration Partnership, the 

National Council of University Research Administrators, and the Society of Research Administrators).

Additionally, NSF holds twice yearly grants conferences around the country to provide an opportunity 

for smaller academic institutions to learn more about the agency and its programs. The agency also 

sponsors “NSF Day” workshops focused on pre-award topics and targeted at junior faculty and others 

beginning a research career.

Complementing its in-person outreach, NSF interacts directly with the research community and public 

through online outreach mechanisms. One example of this activity is the increased use of interactive 

webinars. These webcasts allow NSF to share key information and updates with a larger audience as well 

as provide an opportunity for viewers to interact directly with the foundation through email or phone 

inquiries, which are then answered on air. A list of previous and upcoming webinars can be found at: 

http://www.nsf.gov/events/event_group.jsp?group_id=20018&org=NSF.

Providing live webcasts of meetings was one of the more popular requests NSF received during its initial 

open government public feedback. Consequently, the NSB began webcasting its meetings in 2011 and 

continues to do so. NSF has increased its use of video teleconferencing for public outreach. To engage 

the community on NSF systems and services, NSF offers WebEx and videoconferences training for its 

staff. These training sessions allow institutions and individuals at locations all across the country to 

easily and conveniently learn about the foundation firsthand.

In order to ensure that NSF staff members are armed with the background needed to disseminate 

information to the research community and the public about participation opportunities, NSF fosters a 

culture of education. The foundation holds interactive outreach activities to educate staff such as town 

halls, “brown bags,” and demonstrations, and provides detailed information online about participation 

opportunities and NSF initiatives (such as open government efforts) in forums that are accessible to all 

staff. Examples of this are the IT Innovation Forums which provide NSF staff with an opportunity to 

share experiences regarding IT services or tools that they’ve found to be particularly helpful.
16

V. COLLABORATIONS AND PARTNERSHIPS

Collaboration is not new to NSF. Indeed, collaboration is intrinsic to NSF's culture and the way that the 

agency conducts its business. NSF encourages both inter- and intra- foundation collaboration initiatives. 

NSF is actively engaged in activities that involve collaboration with other agencies and citizens, as well as 

across NSF organizational units.

SOCIAL MEDIA TOOLS

NSF’s commitment to utilizing social media can be seen in the multifaceted approach it takes to 

communicating the discoveries, innovations and other impacts related to the fundamental research NSF 

funds. NSF established a Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/US.NSF) to connect with public 

audiences interested in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) and STEM education, 

and to engage with the public about NSF’s activities. NSF's Facebook page has more than 270,000 

"fans"(people who have self-indicated they like the site). There is also a NSF Division of Polar Programs 

Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Division-of-Polar-Programs-National-ScienceFoundation/1392901317615113. NSF has a number of Twitter accounts, including the main NSF account 

(http://www.twitter.com/NSF), to extend its communication and outreach activities. The main NSF 

Twitter account has more than 660,000 followers.

NSF launched a Tumblr blog (http://nationalsciencefoundation.tumblr.com/) to facilitate engagement 

with a younger audience interested in STEM. More recently, NSF launched Director France Córdova’s 

Tumblr blog, Field Notes (http://nsfdirectorfieldnotes.tumblr.com/).

NSF Directorate for Biological Sciences’ (BIO) Division of Environmental Biology (DEB) launched a blog, 

DEBrief (http://nsfdeb.wordpress.com/), to encourage meaningful conversations about DEB-funded 

research. Other blogs within the BIO Directorate are: IOS in Focus (from the BIO Division of Integrative 

Organismal Systems, (https://nsfiosinfocus.wordpress.com/), the Division of Molecular and Cellular 

Biosciences Blog (https://nsfmcb.wordpress.com/) and BIO BUZZ, the blog of BIO’s Office of the 

Assistant Director (https://nsfbiobuzz.wordpress.com/). NSF also uses wikis; for example, the BIO 

Directorate is using a wiki to engage principal investigators (PIs) to provide ideas for tools and resources 

that could be used by their community. The Engineering (ENG) and the Mathematical and Physical 

Sciences (MPS) directorates have initiated blogs on their directorate websites, which periodically offer 

the perspectives of their assistant directors.

NSF's Flickr site (https://www.flickr.com/photos/nsf_beta) makes available research and education 

photos for others to use to illustrate science and engineering (S&E) topics. NSF has a YouTube Channel 

(https://www.youtube.com/user/VideosatNSF) where science-themed videos are available for viewing 

and comment. In addition, NSF has a Pinterest account (https://www.pinterest.com/USNSF/) to 

promote NSF research and programs through engaging and appealing images, illustrations and graphics.

NSF also has a LinkedIn page (https://www.linkedin.com/company/national-science-foundation) to 

engage with audiences about careers at the foundation. A complete list of NSF’s social media activities 

may be found at http://www.nsf.gov/social/. To guide NSF’s further use of social media, the agency 

established a Policy for Social Media Use in January 2011. In addition, the NSF Social Media Team 

developed in 2014 standard operating procedures for employees on the general use of social media, and 
17

the use of specific platforms such as Twitter, Facebook and Tumblr.

NSF partners with other federal agencies in numerous research and education programs and provides a 

list of these agency partnerships, arranged alphabetically by program title, on the NSF website at 

http://www.nsf.gov/about/partners/fedagencies.jsp. The agency has added a link to this list from the 

NSF open government page (http://www.nsf.gov/open/). NSF updates the list twice a year, in June and 

December.

Recent examples of NSF collaboration with other federal agencies are: the Materials Genome Initiative,

where NSF is working with NIST, DOD, DOE, NASA, and the private sector to cut in half the time it takes 

to “develop novel materials that can fuel advanced manufacturing and bolster the 21st century 

American economy6”; the administration’s $100M BRAIN Initiative7, a collaboration involving NSF, 

DARPA and NIH, seeks to better understand how the brain functions and how that understanding might 

be used for brain related illnesses such as Parkinson’s disease; and the administration’s Big Data 

Initiative8, a partnership involving NSF, DOD, NIH, DOE and USGS that is addressing the explosion in data 

creation (both in size and rate) and its access.

In addition, EPSCoR (Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research), established by NSF in 

1979, seeks to address the imbalance of distribution of Federal funds applied to research. In FY 1992, 

the Interagency Coordinating Committee9(EICC) was established among the Federal agencies with 

EPSCoR or EPSCoR-like programs. The major objectives of EICC focus on improving coordination among 

and between the Federal agencies in implementing EPSCoR and EPSCoR-like programs consistent with 

the policies of those agencies. Member agencies of EICC are: DOE, NIH, NSF, and USDA. The EICC serves 

as a working group for interagency coordination and communication and meets on a regular basis to 

pursue its goal. NSF’s EPSCoR staff serves as the chair and executive secretary of EICC.

NITRD

NSF co-chairs the interagency Networking and Information Technology Research and Development 

(NITRD) program (http://www.nitrd.gov/). Chartered by Federal law, NITRD is the primary mechanism 

by which the government coordinates its unclassified networking and IT R&D investments. Thirteen 

Federal agencies, including all of the large S&T agencies, are formal members of NITRD. These agencies 

work together to develop a broad spectrum of advanced networking and IT capabilities for Federal 

missions, U.S. science, engineering, and technology leadership, and U.S. economic competitiveness. 

NITRD efforts increase the overall effectiveness and productivity of Federal networking and IT R&D 

investments, leveraging strengths, avoiding duplication, and increasing interoperability of networking 

and IT R&D products. NSF program officers participate in each of NITRD's Program Component Areas 

(PCAs). An interagency working group or a coordinating group of interagency program managers guides 

 

6

 http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/microsites/ostp/mgi_press_release_6-24-13.pdf

7

 http://www.whitehouse.gov/share/brain-initiative

8

 http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/microsites/ostp/big_data_press_release_final_2.pdf

9

 http://www.nsf.gov/od/iia/programs/epscor/nsf_oiia_epscor_epscor_eicc.jsp
18

the work of each PCA. These groups meet monthly to coordinate planning and activities of the 

multiagency projects in their specialized research areas. In addition, PCAs hold workshops to solicit input 

from their respective stakeholder communities.

NITRD is also the home for various senior steering groups' activities, of which there are currently four: 

Big Data; Cyber Security and Information Assurance; Health Information Technology; and Wireless 

Spectrum. 

STAFF COLLABORATION TOOLS

NSF is actively pursuing increased use of technologies supporting virtual participation in meetings with 

its stakeholders. Live webcasts are allowing NSF staff to participate in reviews of directorate and office 

programs, while other live webcasts, that are available outside NSF, bring program managers together 

with potential grantees. Utilizing virtual participation technologies fosters broadening participation in 

addition to reducing costs.

In January 2011, NSF kicked off NSF’s IdeaShare, using the IdeaScale platform, an interactive electronic 

forum meant to solicit innovative ideas from NSF staff. The concept seeks to “gather our collected 

wisdom into a resource for solving current problems and tackling new challenges.” Ideas can be

provided on any topic and there also have been a number of ideation campaigns to address specific 

challenges. Most recently we had a campaign seeking ideas for how to celebrate public service at NSF as 

well as a campaign seeking ideas for NSF’s open government plan 3.0 flagship initiative.

RESEARCH.GOV

For many years, NSF has worked closely with the research community, gathering input to guide the 

direction of NSF’s innovative technology solutions in support of NSF’s mission and the research 

community’s needs. NSF’s approach to developing, updating, and improving the Research.gov website 

has been no different. NSF’s active collaboration and partnership with the research community is 

evident through Research.gov’s service delivery model. New Research.gov services are identified and 

prioritized based on input received from the research community. 

When implementing new services, NSF collaborates with individual and institution volunteers from the 

community who pilot new services and provide feedback and input on their experience. These 

collaborations allow the foundation to ensure that Research.gov services meet the needs of the 

community before being broadly released. Examples of this on Research.gov include:

 Research Spending and Results – Displays information, available to the public, about how NSF 

and NASA award dollars are being spent, what research is being performed, and how the 

outcome of the research is benefiting society. NSF data is available for awards made from 1994 

to the present, and NASA data is available for awards made from 2007 to the present. More 
19

specific details are also available including location (including Congressional district) of the 

entity receiving the award. As part of the Research Spending and Results service, PIs of NSFfunded projects now also create for the public, a project outcome report that demonstrates the 

intellectual merit and broader impact of their project.

 Science, Engineering & Education (SEE) Innovation – NSF seeks to provide transparent, open 

access to information about the outcome and impact of NSF-funded research and education 

activities. On Research.gov, NSF offers information about a wide range of NSF activities and 

spotlights investment outcomes that benefit society at large, in addition to advancing S&E. 

Featured content includes NSF-funded project highlights written in non-technical language, 

descriptions of major research infrastructure (including centers, facilities, observatories and 

research vessels), and easily accessible funding summaries, award details, and lists of recent 

awards and award abstracts. The funding and award information can be sorted by U.S. state and 

territory. Target audiences for this information are Federal, state, and local public policymakers; 

science-related organizations; industries with research and development components; 

educators; and the general public. Input from these groups was sought as part of the site 

development and rollout process.

 InCommon and Application Submission Web Service – In order to better meet the needs of and 

reduce the administrative burden on those doing business with NSF, Research.gov now offers 

InCommon, an identity management service, and Application Submission Web Services, a grant 

application submission service. InCommon, which was developed by an NSF-funded research 

project, is offered by the InCommon Federation, a nonprofit organization. If an institution is part 

of the InCommon Federation, its researchers and sponsored program offices can use their 

institutional IDs and passwords to access Research.gov. The Application Submission Web 

Service allows institutions to use their own systems to prepare and submit grant applications to 

NSF, allowing researchers to use a system they are familiar with while still providing a seamless 

submission process and complying with all relevant research and data standards used across the 

government.

Currently, NSF is developing additional Research.gov services that will fulfill demand in the research 

community. As with previous services, initial business requirements are being gathered from

volunteering individuals and institutions throughout the research community, and their input is being 

incorporated into the design of these services. Throughout the process of designing and implementing 

new services, NSF will continuously seek feedback from members of the research community by

speaking with them at events and conferences, encouraging them to contact NSF at 

feedback@Research.gov email, and having discussions with them during the feedback/question and 

answer portion of all Research.gov webinars. NSF also encourages interested individuals or institutions

to participate in pilot programs that test new or improved services. NSF uses this feedback, along with

lessons learned from past service implementations, to ensure that services are designed and rolled out 
20

in such a way that they are consistent with government-wide standards, are reducing the administrative

burden on researchers and institution staff, and are addressing the dynamic needs of the research

community on the cutting edge of scientific advancement and the public who want to know about the

research.

In addition to partnering with individuals and institutions on service development, NSF actively

promotes awareness about and participation in Research.gov. NSF also gives institutions and the 

research community the opportunity to participate in the improvement and advancement of 

Research.gov, and to interact meaningfully and frequently with NSF staff about Research.gov. For

example, NSF recently initiated a Research.gov webinar series that allows members of the research

community to learn about Research.gov services by interacting in real-time with NSF staff, asking

questions, and providing feedback without having to travel. Individual or institution- specific webinars

are also available at any time for any individual or institution. Other outreach channels include online

factsheets, demos, and conferences or events that educate stakeholders about the research mission, 

Research.gov, and its services. Additionally, NSF collaborates with research associations to raise 

awareness within the community of new Research.gov services. For example, Research.gov

representatives speak at meetings of these associations to keep their members abreast of progress, 

collect feedback, answer questions, and explain how Research.gov is using previously collected input to 

improve the website.

NSF recognizes the value of collaboration at these various scales of activity and will continue to explore

new and innovative methods of engaging the public and the research community in ways that enhance 

NSF’s mission, support the science, engineering and education communities, and generate value to the 

American public.
21

VI. FOIA AND OTHER OPEN GOVERNMENT RELATED ACTIVITIES

FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT

NSF has a long tradition of making its FOIA responses openly available and accessible to the public. FOIA 

requests are received electronically – either directly to the NSF FOIA Officer or via the foia@nsf.gov

alias. NSF FOIA policy is currently available at http://www.nsf.gov/policies/foia.jsp. The FOIA Annual 

Reports covering the fiscal years 1998 through 2014 inclusive are available in DOC, HTML, PDF and TXT 

formats at http://www.nsf.gov/policies/foia_annual_reports.jsp. Chief FOIA Officer Reports from 2010 

to 2015 are available in PDF and XML formats at 

http://www.nsf.gov/policies/chief_foia_officer_reports.jsp.

OPEN DATA

 Process for systematically inventorying non-public, restricted and public data assets –

Responsibility for ensuring transparency at NSF rests with the NSF OGD SAO and with the NSF 

Senior Management Advisory Roundtable (SMART). NSF’s process for systematically 

inventorying non-public, restricted and public data assets is conducting quarterly data and 

metadata inventory reviews, consulting with OGC to address privacy and confidentiality 

requirements related to non-public and restricted datasets to ensure the information is of high 

quality and serves the public interest. NSF’s default position is to make data and information 

available and accessible in an open machine-readable format.

 Making public data assets available for download and/or use through an application 

programming interface (API) – In compliance with the OGD, Digital Government Strategy, and 

Open Data Policy, NSF has invested resources to ensure more than 90 data assets are available 

for download and/or use through an API on Data.gov and the NSF public data inventory. 

Currently, there are two fully launched web APIs:

o NSF GRFP Awardees and Honorable Mentions (2000-2013) 

(https://explore.data.gov/developers/docs/nsf-grfp-awardees-and-honorable-mentions2000-2012) The Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP) provides three years of 

support for graduate study leading to research-based masters or doctoral degrees in 

disciplines relevant to the mission of the Foundation. This dataset includes GRFP 

Awardees and Honorable Mention recipients for 2000 to 2012.

o NSF Funding Rate History API (https://explore.data.gov/developers/docs/nsf-fundingrate-history) contains FY 2001-FY 2013 NSF funding rates for competitive research 

proposals by organizational unit. The funding rate is calculated by dividing the number 

of awards by the number of awards and declines.

A new Web API covering NSF awards was recently released. The award search API will provide 

information about how Federal research dollars are being spent and what research is being 

performed, in a format that allows developers to use NSF data in new and unique ways (for 
22

example, by creating “mashups” of NSF data with data from other sources). 

http://www.research.gov/common/webapi/awardapisearch-v1.htm

NSF is committed to exploring the development of APIs for other datasets. There are several 

high-value datasets that have been identified as candidates, including Science and Engineering 

Indicators and data from the Scientists and Engineers Statistical Data System (SESTAT). 

 Encouraging public use of already released datasets – NSF encourages public use of released 

datasets to promote public knowledge of the agency’s activities and outcomes, and to foster 

innovation related to S&E. NSF publicizes agency data sets on the agency’s Open Government 

(https://www.nsf.gov/open/), Digital Strategy (https://www.nsf.gov/digitalstrategy/), Open 

Data (http://www.nsf.gov/data) and Developer (http://www.nsf.gov/developer/) Web pages, as 

well as through the agency’s social media sites. 

 Identification of potential dataset and timelines for release – As previously described, NSF 

periodically inventories data assets not yet publicly available, by following the processes and 

goals outlined in the Open Data Policy inventory schedule (http://www.nsf.gov/data/). 

NSF will continue to provide opportunities for its stakeholders and the public to provide input 

on which datasets are high-value data collections. NSF will then prioritize the conversion to 

open formats, based on stakeholder and public interest. 

 Participation in Transparency Initiatives – To further enhance transparency, NSF is actively 

supporting and participating in key government-wide open government-related initiatives to 

provide the public with insight into NSF-funded research, spending and investments. These 

initiatives include:

o Data.gov – Provides the public with easy access to NSF data in open and machinereadable formats. The original datasets made available at the initiation of the NSF open 

government activity continue to be updated and maintained as new data become 

available (e.g. NSF’s annual FOIA report, “Science and Engineering Indicators”, etc.). 

o USASpending.gov – Provides financial transparency, at the transaction level, into NSF 

financial assistance, including grants and contracts. Through this resource, the public 

can view key details about NSF awards and contracts for free in compliance with 

requirements set by the Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act of 2006.

o Federal IT Dashboard (http://www.itdashboard.gov/) – Offers insight and transparency 

into NSF’s IT portfolio as a whole, as well as into the significant individual technology 

investments that are critical in supporting NSF’s mission and work. 

o Recovery.gov – Provides a central, online location for taxpayers to track NSF spending 

and activities related to the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (Recovery Act) of 

2009. 

o Regulations.gov – Provides the research community and members of the public with a 

Web-based, central location to track regulations proposed by NSF and to provide 
23

comment when applicable. 

 Websites – NSF’s Digital Strategy Web page (http://www.nsf.gov/digitalstrategy/) – Describes 

the agency’s approaches for enabling the American people and NSF’s increasingly mobile 

workforce to access high-quality digital government information and services anywhere, 

anytime, and on any device. 

NSF’s Digital Strategy compliance efforts have been focused in three broad areas: Building 

information-centric systems and tools, utilizing shared platforms to improve information 

dissemination across government, and delivering customer-centric, highly effective services. NSF 

engaged with customers to identify high-value datasets for increased openness, and 

implemented two new Web APIs featuring agency data. The agency also released several new 

mobile services for key information on NSF.gov. http://www.nsf.gov/mobile/

PROACTIVE DISCLOSURES

NSF is developing a plan to restructure the FOIA web page and the Open Government web page to allow 

a FOIA requester and the public to more easily find information. The NSF OGC is looking to expand NSF's 

online presence while consolidating multiple links to the same topic. The goal is to make both portals 

user friendly. NSF plans on adding a link to the NSF home page for open government next to the FOIA 

link. The NSF open government page will have the following links: NSF budget, obligations, ARRA, FOIA, 

privacy, fellowships (with links to GRFP, NOYCE and any other fellowships), NSF research area, learning 

resources, Research.gov, Data.gov, Recovery.gov, USASpending.gov, Science.gov and the NSF library 

(there are some items here that the public may not be aware of such as board minutes).

NSF is continually looking at ways to connect with the public. The agency is reviewing items that are 

frequently requested such as FOIA logs and major contracts in order to add these items to our NSF’s 

Web page.

PRIVACY

NSF Privacy and Compliance Reports

Report Recipient

Privacy Policy http://www.nsf.gov/policies/privacy.jsp

Privacy Impact Assessments http://www.nsf.gov/policies/pia.jsp

Privacy Act System of Records Notices http://www.nsf.gov/policies/privacy_act.jsp

SAO for privacy reporting submitted with the 

annual Federal Information Security 

Management Act (FISMA) report

OMB Congress, Government Accountability Office

Privacy Breach Reports (as required) Internal NSF recipients; US-CERT, law enforcement 

agencies, and the NSF IG as applicable
24

WHISTLEBLOWER PROTECTION

In 1994, Congress enacted 5 U.S.C. §2302(c) in response to reports of widespread unawareness in the 

Federal workforce of employees’ right to be free from prohibited personnel practices (PPP), especially 

retaliation for whistle-blowing.

This provision charges "[t]he head of each agency" with responsibility for "ensuring (in consultation with 

the Office of Special Counsel (OSC)) that agency employees are informed of the rights and remedies 

available to them" under the prohibited personnel practice and whistleblower retaliation protection 

provisions of Title 5.

The OSC's 2302(c) Certification Program allows Federal agencies to meet the statutory obligation to 

inform their workforces about the rights and remedies available to them under the Whistleblower 

Protection Act (WPA) and related civil service laws. The program requires agencies to recertify every 

three years.

Under the 2302(c) Certification Program, OSC certifies an agency’s compliance with 5 U.S.C. §2302(c) if 

the agency meets the following five requirements:

(1) Placing informational posters at agency facilities;

(2) Providing information about PPPs and the WPA to new employees as part of the orientation 

process;

(3) Providing information to current employees about PPPs and the WPA;

(4) Training supervisors on PPPs and the WPA; and

(5) Creating a computer link from the agency’s website to OSC’s web site.

The last item above is fulfilled via a link in NSF’s intranet website. 

On August 24, 2010, NSF obtained its initial 2302(c) certification from OSC, and was recertified effective 

August 15, 2013. In meeting these requirements, NSF joins more than 20 other agencies and/or 

subcomponents in obtaining such certification.

The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) recognizes 2302(c) certification as a "suggested 

performance indicator" for “getting to green” on the Strategic Management of the Human Capital 

element of the President's Management Agenda.

Specific details regarding NSF and whistle-blower protection can be found at

http://www.nsf.gov/oig/whistleblower.jsp.

RECORDS MANAGEMENT

NSF recognizes the importance of managing all of its records in compliance with applicable Federal 

requirements. The agency continuously reviews National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) 

approved records schedules to ensure they correctly represent the organization’s current business 

practices (http://www.nsf.gov/policies/records/index.jsp).
25

To meet the requirements of the President’s November 28, 2011, Memorandum on Managing 

Government Records and the accompanying August 24, 2012, Managing Government Records Directive,

NSF has met the following milestones: Designated a SAO to oversee a review of the records 

management program; transferred all permanent records over 30 years old to NARA; ensured that all 

NSF records officers received the NARA Certificate of Federal Records Management Training and 

established an on-line records management training course for all employees. NSF is evaluating options 

for converting existing permanent records to electronic formats and is ensuring that capability in new 

agency enterprise systems that produce permanent official records. NSF will continue to look at best 

practices from across the Federal Government and research opportunities to identify the most 

appropriate and effective ways to leverage this technology for the ultimate benefit of the public. These 

accomplishments will position NSF to meet certain targets and requirements of the Managing 

Government Records Directive over the coming years.

NSF’s largest permanent record group is the grant/proposal awards group. The schedule for these 

records was updated to reflect the agency’s move from paper-based to electronic format. NSF is using 

the Electronic Records Archives to transfer eligible permanent electronic records to NARA for archiving.

The NSF records office is working together with the IT office during the electronic records transfer 

process. These groups’ collaborative efforts ensure that records and archival management functions are 

incorporated into the design of new electronic systems and are compliant with NARA guidelines. 

NSF has implemented an Electronic Records Management System and is working to bring all legacy 

paper records and electronic records into it. The agency is analyzing every opportunity to transition its 

business practices from paper-based record keeping to electronic records management. These 

opportunities continue to present themselves as legacy systems are replaced and the life cycle of their 

record output is evaluated and brought into alignment with current organizational goals and practices. 

NSF also recognizes the importance of records management training for all agency staff. The agency is 

enhancing training programs to make sure all employees are aware of their responsibility to identify and 

protect agency official records.

CONGRESSIONAL REQUESTS FOR INFORMATION

Congressional requests for information typically are addressed to the NSF director in the OD. The 

Congressional Affairs Group in the Office of Legislative and Public Affairs (OLPA) assigns these requests 

to the organizational unit within NSF that has the necessary background and information consistent with 

providing a cogent response. The request is routed with a timeframe as to when a response is required, 

and then the response is sent to the requester following necessary clearance processes.

In keeping with the administration's statement for Sunshine Week in March 2011, NSF has developed a 

new Reports to Congress Web page (http://www.nsf.gov/about/congress/nsf-congress-reports.jsp) that 

provides links to agency reports that are required by statute. There is a link on the NSF open 

government Web page to the Reports to Congress page.
26

The Congressional Affairs Group in OLPA manages congressional requests for information. Locate a staff 

person for assistance here: http://www.nsf.gov/staff/staff_list.jsp?orgId=5210&subDiv=y&org=OLPA

DECLASSIFICATION OF DOCUMENTS

This is not applicable to NSF pursuant with Executive Order 13526 of December 2009 and with Chapter 

VIII, section 850 of the NSF “Grant Policy Manual”

(http://www.nsf.gov/pubs/manuals/gpm05_131/gpm8.jsp#850), which states that NSF does not have 

classification authority and describes the steps that should be taken if NSF material is determined to 

possibly require classification. In this instance, the material would be sent to another agency that does 

have classification authority for a classification determination to be made. 

PARTICIPATION AND PUBLIC AFFAIRS

OLPA advances NSF’s mission “to promote the progress of science...” through strategic communications 

aligned to the foundation’s objectives. OLPA employs a wide variety of tools and techniques to engage 

the general public and key audiences including Congress, the news media, state and local governments, 

other federal agencies, and the research and education communities.

Examples of tools and techniques used to engage NSF's audiences include the following:

 News From the Field – By partnering with public information officers at research institutions, 

NSF provides links to selected news releases from universities, colleges and other NSF-funded 

institutions. Many of these items are selected to appear in the changing banner at the top of the 

home page of the NSF website. These News From the Field items bring together in one place a 

larger number of the discoveries made possible by NSF support. The public can receive 

automatic updates via an RSS feed or GovDelivery alert notification. NSF also uses its social 

media channels to disseminate News From the Field stories. With more than 8,600 news items

published and the number increasing each day, News From the Field greatly enhances NSF’s 

ability to inform the public about the results of taxpayer supported research. See the News 

From the Field Web page http://www.nsf.gov/news/news_list.jsp?nt=12 for News From the 

Field.

 International Science and Engineering Visualization Challenge – Visuals can communicate 

research results and scientific phenomena in ways that mere words cannot. As the need to 

increase science literacy grows more urgent, illustrations can provide immediate and influential 

connections between scientists and the public, and may be the best hope for nurturing popular 

interest. For these reasons, NSF and "Popular Science" co-sponsor the International Science & 

Engineering Visualization Challenge. The competition seeks to encourage and expand the 

participation of people engaged in communicating science, engineering and technology for 

education and journalistic purposes. Judges appointed by NSF and "Popular Science" select 

winners in each of five categories: Photography, illustrations, informational posters and 

graphics, games and apps, and videos. The winning entries appear in a special section in 
27

"Popular Science" and PopSci.com, and on the NSF website. The challenge has resulted in a 

growing library of award-winning visualizations, available for use by teachers, students, and the 

public. The competition’s first winners were announced in 2003, and the most recent winners 

were announced in 2014. The competition accepted entries online for the first time in 2011, 

with entries submitted via the Challenge.gov website. Judging rounds take place in November 

and once the entries have been narrowed to the top 50, the public is invited to vote for their 

favorites. The entries that receive the most public votes in each category are named the 

people's choice winners. The current competition opened on September 1, 2014 and runs 

through September 2015 with awards made in February 2016. For more information, see the 

International Science and Engineering Visualization Challenge Special Report at 

http://www.nsf.gov/news/special_reports/scivis/index.jsp, or find more information on the 

Challenge.gov website at http://challenge.gov/NSF/209- international-science-engineeringvisualization-challenge.

 NSF Multimedia Gallery – NSF maintains a collection of illustrations, photos, animations, videos 

and audio programs covering all areas of S&E supported by the agency. Content for the NSF 

Multimedia Gallery (MMG) consists of works created by staff and contractors (as works for hire), 

and also works contributed by others outside the agency who have granted NSF permission to 

make their materials available to the public for educational, non-commercial/nonprofit, and 

informational purposes. To date, the MMG collection includes more than 4,660 image, video 

and audio files. The NSF MMG may be found at http://www.nsf.gov/news/mmg/.

 Science360 Network – NSF launched the Science360 Network as a multimedia Web portal 

devoted to all things scientific, technological, and engineering. The current site is rich with news, 

audios, and videos, and offers visitors a wide range of content that spotlights research and 

engineering advances and communicates the significance of S&E in our daily lives. The site is 

home to Science360 Radio, an Internet stream featuring continuous audio programming that is 

available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Science360 Radio offers more than 100 shows and 

podcasts, plus additional programming such as news and documentaries from NSF and external 

contributors like "Scientific American," "Discover," "Nature," and National Public Radio. The 

Science360 Network site also features an extensive collection of videos, both individual 

programs and video series such as "Science of NHL Hockey," "Science in Action," "Changing 

Planet," "Chemistry Now," "The Field Revealed," "Innovators," and “Science of the Winter 

Olympic Games 2014.” More than 100 contributors, including universities and U.S. and 

international agencies, have given NSF more than 1,000 videos. The website also provides a link 

to the Science360 News Service.

 Science360NewsService – Science360 News Service provides a compilation of news gathered 

from wherever science is happening, including directly from scientists, college and university 

press offices, popular and peer-reviewed journals, dozens of NSF S&E research centers, and 
28

funding sources that include government agencies, nonprofit organizations, and private 

industry. The news service’s podcasts, videos, images, and news briefs are distributed as daily 

updates to subscribers.

 Mobile – Appreciating the fact that today's citizenry are very mobile, NSF has developed free 

apps to extend the reach of Science360 into the mobile world. The Science360 Radio apps for 

iPhone and Android devices allow people to listen anytime, anywhere. The Science360 for iPad 

app provides easy access to engaging S&E videos and images produced by NSF and its partners, 

or gathered from NSF-supported scientists, colleges and universities, and centers, and also 

breaking news stories about scientific discoveries by NSF-supported researchers. The Science360 

for iPad app has been downloaded more than 1.2 million times. The Science360 Network 

website is located at http://science360.gov/files; Science360 Radio is located at

http://science360.gov/radio/; information about the Science360 for iPad app, including how to 

download it for free, is available at http://science360.gov/ipad/.

The NSB’s Science and Engineering Indicators, comprising high-quality, policy neutral, 

quantitative data on the U.S. and international science and engineering enterprise is now 

available in mobile form on table versions of Android and IOS: iPad–

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/science-engineering-indicators/id688898067?mt=8&ls=1; 

Android – https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=gov.nsf.sei.
29

VII. FLAGSHIP INITIATIVE

NSF OPEN GOVERNMENT PLAN 2.0 OPEN DATA ACCESS FLAGSHIP INITIATIVE

As part of the FY 2012 NSF Open Government Plan 2.0, NSF focused on open data access as its flagship 

activity, directly embracing transparency and openness: Open access to digital data created as a result of 

Federal agency research investments. Indeed, access to digital data produced by the NSF-funded 

research community was the most popular request cited during NSF’s initial open government 

engagement with the public via IdeaScale on what data the public considered to be most highly 

valuable.

On February 22, 2013, the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) released a memorandum, 

“Increasing Access to the Results of Federally Funded Scientific Research,” that called on all Federal 

agencies with R&D budgets with annual expenditures of $100 million or more to provide for access by 

the public to peer reviewed journal publications and to provide a plan for managing scientific data in 

digital formats. 

Identification of public data access as NSF’s Flagship open government activity was principally motivated 

by the importance of this issue, not only for the U.S. research community but also for the international 

science community. The large data public access stakeholder community (PIs, libraries, publishers, 

institutions, etc.) coupled with international and other constraints all combined to make this a 

challenging and game-changing topic to address. The current two-page data management plan (DMP), 

which has been a mandatory component of all proposals since January 2011, must contain not only how 

the data resulting from a successful award will be managed and preserved but also any legal constraints 

that would limit access for reasons, for example, arising from personal privacy, confidentiality, public 

safety, or national security.

NSF’s public access plan (15-52) has been approved by OSTP and the Office of Management and Budget 

(OMB) and was released on March 18, 2015; it can be found at:

http://www.nsf.gov/news/special_reports/public_access/index.jsp. Also at this website are (1) 

guidance on searching NSF awards and associated publications and (2) a mechanism for providing 

feedback to NSF. The plan calls for deposit of journal articles and juried conference papers in the NSF 

Public Access Repository, which will be hosted by the Department of Energy, Office of Scientific and 

Technical Information (DOE/OSTI). The plan builds on existing NSF policies, which require that NSF 

grantees will share their data with other scientists and will submit their findings for publication. The 

specific policy may be found at: http://www.nsf.gov/publications/pub_summ.jsp?ods_key=aag. Changes 

to NSF policies to reflect requirements for deposit of journal publications and juried conference papers 

will be announced through NSF’s well-established, annual cycle of public notice and comment through 

the “Federal Register” and are expected to become effective in January 2016 and to apply to eligible 

publications and papers based on awards resulting from proposals submitted on or after the effective 

January 2016 date. The NSF repository itself is scheduled for release by the end of calendar 2015 and 

will be available for voluntary deposits.
30

To further encourage NSF PIs to share data, NSF, as of January 2013, will accept listing citable datasets 

and software in addition to publications when PIs identify their five significant accomplishments in 

submitted proposals. NSF already has activities in the public data access space, for example NSF’s BIO

Directorate is piloting public data access activities for the biology community as represented in its NSFfunded iPlant and DataDryad9 efforts. NSF’s MPS Directorate is exploring, via a pilot, use of data 

repositories that could be used in support of open access. 

Implementation of the public access plan is expected to focus initially on systems for managing peer 

reviewed journal articles and juried conference papers that are reported during the period of the award, 

enabling NSF to link deposit with reporting, thus facilitating compliance and minimizing burden for 

awardees and staff. Over time, the system will be expanded to engage other federal agencies in a 

federated system and to explore ways to capture information on publications funded by NSF but 

released after the period of the award. In addition, NSF has funded a number of supplements to existing 

awards, designed to encourage scientific communities to explore ways to improve data management 

and data management plans in support of public access goals. In the future, NSF expects to stand up 

consultation activities associated with data management with the goal of increasing identification, 

description, and discoverability of data that result from research investments. Based on those 

consultations, NSF may, in the future, propose additional changes to its implementation of the current 

data management plan requirement at the foundation, directorate, division, or program level as 

appropriate for the scientific research activity.

OTHER 2.0 INITIATIVES

In addition to open access NSF undertook two additional flagship activities: Enhancements of NSF’s 

merit review process and increased use of technology in the review process not just for more efficient 

operation but also for increased broadening participation. During 2012 and 2013 NSF initiated merit 

review pilot activities, and will continue to explore innovative approaches to enhance the merit review 

process. Two promising results from the pilots were use of pre-proposals as a triage mechanism and 

exploration of the use of “reverse game theory.”

10 In the area of increased use of technology during the 

review process, NSF has substantially increased its use of virtual participation. Virtual participation has 

the benefits of reduced burden on the reviewers (not having to travel; not subject to adverse weather, 

etc.) as well as the potential for increased participation by under-represented groups.

NSF’S OPEN GOVERNMENT PLAN 3.0 FLAGSHIP

Similar to the NSF Open Government Plan 2.0, for version 3.0 NSF will pursue multiple flagship 

initiatives. The first is directly applicable to the open government transparency efforts and is NSF’s 

issuance of a notice to NSF awardees: "Transparency and Accountability at NSF" (Notice 136) dated 

March 2014.

11

 One component of this notice has to do with communication to the public: “It is more 

important than ever to justify the expenditure of public funding.” Initially this will be addressed by 

 

10

 http://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2013/nsf13096/nsf13096.jsp

11

 http://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2014/in136/in136.pdf
31

improving the readability of research abstracts, “...ensure that our award Abstracts and Titles clearly 

convey to the public justification for our actions.” NSF has already undertaken a training program for its 

program staff in writing effective abstracts and titles to support this initiative. 

The other aspect of this initiative has to do with accountability of investments. NSF directorates and 

offices are in the process of examining process improvements, at all levels or the organization and 

stages of merit review, with the goal of strengthening the alignment between investment decisions and 

NSF’s mission “to promote the progress of science; to advance the national health, prosperity and 

welfare; to secure the national defense... .” 

NSF is looking forward to making its public communication of NSF award abstracts more 

understandable, and in the process more justifiable, by making them more readable. 

Details on these activities may now be found at the publically available site: 

http://nsf.gov/od/transparency/transparency.jsp

In developing Open Government Plan 3.0, an IdeaShare (internal online mechanism for NSF employees 

to share/discuss ideas) campaign was initiated to solicit candidate NSF flagship ideas from NSF staff. The 

campaign resulted in 14 suggestions, all of which were very good. A panel of judges looked through all 

of the suggestions using: promotes best practices of open government; consistent with NSF mission; is 

actionable (budget, workload) and; of potential use to other federal agencies as judging criteria. 

Three of the 14 submitted ideas have been selected as NSF flagship activities. The first is to provide a 

more accessible, informative and interactive interface to the NSF awards database by incorporating 

visualization tools (transparency/participation). The goal is to provide additional information that may 

not be obvious when looking at text. For example, visualizations can show relationships between 

concepts being explored. In addition, the visualizations will provide the user the opportunity to “drill 

down” to obtain for detailed information. Clearly, this flagship initiative is complementary to the 

transparency and accountability initiative previously discussed. This activity is now being actively 

pursued and being evaluated. The second idea from the IdeaShare campaign is providing bibliographic 

metadata of NSF sponsored research (transparency/participation). Making this information readily 

available will promote collaboration and increase the impact of the research. This idea is still under 

consideration. The third, and final, IdeaShare concept is to include a “tweet widget” on the NSF 

homepage that would present current NSF tweets and thereby present what are currently the “hot 

topics” in the S&T communities (transparency/participation). The currently accessible NSF home page 

now contains a tweet widget. 

NSF invites and encourages the public to submit ideas regarding this plan and how NSF might further 

improve its transparency, participation and collaboration efforts. Ideas may be submitted to 

opengov@nsf.gov.
32

APPENDIX 1: NSF OGD DATA AND REPORTS COLLECTION 

Below is a complete listing of NSF data collections available either via the NSF open government website 

(http://www.nsf.gov/open) or Data.gov (http://www.data.gov), along with brief descriptions of their 

contents. These will be augmented periodically as new, high-value datasets are identified and converted 

to the necessary machine-readable format. 

 Comprehensive Information on Federal Spending by Agency and Spending Type

http://www.usaspending.gov/index.php

 NSF Research Grant Funding Rates: Current Year 

An XML file containing current year NSF funding rates for competitive research proposals by 

organizational unit. The funding rate is calculated by dividing the number of awards by the 

number of awards and declines. 

http://catalog.data.gov/dataset/nsf-research-grant-funding-rates-current-year

 NSF Research Grant Funding Rate History 

An XML file containing FY 2001 - FY 2011 NSF funding rates for competitive research proposals 

by organizational unit. 

http://catalog.data.gov/dataset/nsf-research-grant-funding-rate-history

 NSF Obligations for Top 200 Institutions by Fiscal Year 

An XML file containing FY 2001 through FY 2011 NSF obligations by institution for the top 200 

recipients defined in terms of total NSF funding received in the fiscal year. 

http://catalog.data.gov/dataset/nsf-obligations-for-top-200-institutions-by-fiscal-year

 NSF State Obligations by Fiscal Year 

An XML file containing FY 2001 through FY 2013 NSF obligations by state and account. 

http://catalog.data.gov/dataset/nsf-state-obligations-by-fiscal-year

 NSF Budget History by Account from FY 1951 

An XML file containing NSF budget history by account from FY 1951. 

http://catalog.data.gov/dataset/nsf-budget-history-by-account-from-fy-1951

 NSF Average Dwell Time by NSF and Directorate, FY 2001 - FY 2011

An XML file containing FY 2001 through FY 2011 NSF Average Dwell Time by NSF and 

Directorate. 

http://catalog.data.gov/dataset/nsf-average-dwell-time-by-nsf-and-directorate-fy-2001-fy-2011
33

 Early and Later Career Principal Investigator Count Percentage and Funding Rates

An XML file containing Count and Funding Rates for NSF Early and Later Career Principal 

Investigators (PIs). 

http://catalog.data.gov/dataset/nsf-early-and-later-career-principal-investigators-pis-countand-funding-rates

 NSF Funding Rates by Principal Investigator Demographic

An XML file containing a history of NSF Funding Rates per Fiscal Year (FY) with Principal 

Investigator (PI) Demographics. 

http://catalog.data.gov/dataset/nsf-funding-rates-by-principal-investigator-pi-demographic

 NSF Freedom of Information Act Report for the fiscal years listed below

Statistical information on the number of FOIA requests received and processed by NSF 

beginning with FY 1998, including response times for FOIA requests, the number of appeals 

received, and other statistics on NSF's FOIA program. 

o Reports for October 1, 1998 through September 30, 2013

http://www.nsf.gov/publications/pub_summ.jsp?ods_key=ogc14001| Data.Gov

 NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program Award Recipients, 2000-2012

NSF's Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP) provides three years of support for 

graduate study leading to research-based masters or doctoral degrees in disciplines relevant to 

the mission of the Foundation. This dataset includes GRFP award recipients. 

Data.Gov 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 

2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014

 NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program Honorable Mention Recipients, 2000-2012

NSF's Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP) provides three years of support for 

graduate study leading to research-based masters or doctoral degrees in disciplines relevant to 

the mission of the Foundation. This dataset includes GRFP Honorable Mention recipients. 

Data.Gov 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 

2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014

 NSF Grants Management and Information on Research Spending and Results

http://www.research.gov/

 NSF Spending Under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009

http://www.recovery.gov/Pages/TextViewProjSummary.aspx?data=recipientAwardsList&Rende

rData=ALL&State=ALL&Agency=49&Amount=ALL&AwardType=CGL
34

 Performance of NSF Major IT Investments 

http://it.usaspending.gov/?q=node%2F359&calctype=sa&agency_id=422&Submit=Go&calctype

=sa

 Research Spending and Results (Tool Catalog)

Research.gov Research Spending and Results is an online, user-friendly platform to access and 

search detailed information about federally funded science and engineering research and 

education, giving the general public, the scientific community and Congress visibility into the 

results achieved with federally-funded research. Research awards are easily searchable by 

agency, awardee, award amount and date, state and congressional district (where award was 

made and the work is being performed), and key word such as a field of science. Information 

can be reviewed online or exported to various file formats, such as XML, CSV and XLS. Detailed 

information on federally funded research can be found for multiple agencies. Information 

provided for each award includes: Award recipient (institution and researcher), Award Amount 

and funds obligated to date, Period of Performance, State and Congressional district of where 

the award was made and where the work is being performed., Award Abstract describing the 

research effort, Citations of Journals Published as a result of the award. 

http://catalog.data.gov/dataset/research-spending-and-results

 Science and Engineering Indicators: 2014 

Science and Engineering Indicators (SEI) comprises quantitative data on the U.S. and 

international science and engineering enterprise. The "indicators" are quantitative 

representations that provide summary information on the scope, quality, and vitality of science 

and engineering. 

http://www.nsf.gov/statistics/seind14/

 Science and Engineering Indicators: 2014 State Data Tool 

The State Data Tool draws from the National Science Board's (NSB's) Science and Engineering 

Indicators report. This tool allows for interactive visual exploration of state indicators covering 

the role of science and technology (S&T) in state and regional economic development. 

http://www.nsf.gov/statistics/seind14/index.cfm/state-data

 Key Science and Engineering Indicators: Digest 2014 

This digest of key S&E indicators draws from the National Science Board's Science and 

Engineering Indicators report. The digest serves to draw attention to important trends and data 

points from across Indicators and to introduce readers to the data resources available in the 

report. 

http://www.nsf.gov/statistics/seind14/index.cfm/digest
35

 SESTAT (Tool Catalog)

National Survey of College Graduates (NSCG), National Survey of Recent College Graduates 

(NSRCG), Survey of Doctorate Recipients (SDR). 

http://catalog.data.gov/dataset/sestat

 WebCASPAR (Tool Catalog)

The WebCASPAR database provides easy access to a large body of statistical data resources for 

science and engineering (S&E) at U.S. academic institutions. WebCASPAR emphasizes S&E, but 

its data resources also provide information on non-S&E fields and higher education in general. 

https://ncsesdata.nsf.gov/webcaspar/

WEB CONTENT 

 Directorate and Office Advisory Committees 

General information about and links for NSF's Directorate and Office Advisory Committees 

and Topic Specific Advisory Committees. 

 e-Gov Content Inventory

An inventory of the content that NSF makes available on its website. 

 Speeches by the Director and Deputy Director

Recent speeches by the NSF Director and Deputy Director 

http://www.nsf.gov/news/speeches/

 Speech Archives (older speeches, as well as speeches by former Directors and Deputy Directors) 

http://www.nsf.gov/news/speeches/speech_archives.jsp

 Testimony Before Congressional Hearings 

NSF Testimony - Current Congress and Previous Congresses. 

NSB Testimony. 

TOOLS 

 NSF Calendar 

An Events Calendar shows upcoming events, NSF-related congressional hearings, National 

Science Board (NSB) and other meetings and more. 

http://www.nsf.gov/events/ 

 NSF Staff Directory

Locate staff by searching or browsing staff and offices. 

http://www.nsf.gov/staff/
36

 Open Data

As required by the Open Data Policy and OMB Open Data Supplemental Guidance, NSF 

maintains a Public Data Listing in the JSON, XML, and HTML formats comprising our inventory of 

publicly available agency datasets. 

http://www.nsf.gov/data/ 

RECORDS AND REPORTS 

 NSF Conference Report

OMB Memorandum M-12-12 requires federal agencies to report by January 31st of each year, 

information on all agency-sponsored conferences from the previous year where the net 

expenses for each single conference were in excess of $100,000. This report is also required to 

include the agency head's waiver for any single conference with net conference expenses that 

exceeded $500,000. 

 NSF Open Government Directive Plan 

The plan serves as the roadmap for NSF's plans to improve transparency, better integrate public 

participation and collaboration into the core mission, and become more innovative and 

efficient. 

 NSF Reports to Congress

Updated May 27, 2014 

This web page provides links to agency reports to Congress required by statute. 

 NSF Strategic Plan for Fiscal Years (FY) 2014-2018

Investing in Science, Engineering, and Education for the Nation's Future sets the Foundation's 

direction for the next five years. 

 NSF Performance 

Submitted with the FY 2015 NSF Budget Request to Congress, NSF performance information 

including NSF Performance Framework, FY 2013 Annual Performance Report, FY 2015 Annual 

Performance Plan and other information. 

 FY 2013 Performance and Financial Highlights (PDF) 

The report highlights key information from NSF's FY 2013 Agency Financial Report (AFR) and 

Annual Performance Report (APR). 
37

 FY 2013 Agency Financial Report (AFR)

The first of three reports providing financial management and program performance 

information for FY 2013 to demonstrate accountability to our stakeholders and the American 

public. The AFR focuses on financial management and accountability. 

 

 Previous Years Performance Information

Performance information for previous years can be found in Annual Performance and 

Accountability Reports and the Performance Reports Archive. 

 NSF Chief FOIA Officer Report 

Annual Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Officer Report for 2013 describing steps NSF has 

taken to apply the presumption of openness, ensure NSF has an effective system for responding 

to requests, increase proactive disclosures, greater utilize technology, and reduce backlogs and 

improve timeliness in responding to requests. 

 NSF Data Quality Standards

NSF has developed information quality guidelines designed to fulfill the OMB guidelines. 

 NSF Collaboration With Other Federal Agencies 

August 16, 2012 

A list of NSF's programs that are conducted in partnership with other federal agencies. 

 Motor Vehicle Management

NSF executive fleet vehicle disclosure. 

 Review of Web Measurement and Customization Technologies 

NSF is required to review its use of web measurement and customization technologies annually 

to ensure compliance with all laws, regulations, and OMB guidance. 
38

APPENDIX 2: CITED URLS (in order of appearance) 

 Public Access Plan

http://www.nsf.gov/publications/pub_summ.jsp?ods_key=aag

 eGov Content Inventory

http://www.nsf.gov/policies/egov_inventory.jsp

 Records Retention Schedule

http://www.nsf.gov/policies/records/index.jsp

 Science and Engineering Indicators State Data Tool

http://www.nsf.gov/statistics/seind14/index.cfm/state-data

 Science and Engineering Indicators Digest

http://www.nsf.gov/statistics/seind14/index.cfm/digest

 Federal IT Dashboard

http://www.itdashboard.gov/

 NSF Webinars

http://www.nsf.gov/events/event_group.jsp?group_id=20018&org=NSF

 Directorate for Biological Sciences/Environmental Biology Blog

http://nsfdeb.wordpress.com/

 Social Media Sites (complete list at: http://www.nsf.gov/social/) 

http://www.flickr.com/photos/nsf_beta

http://www.youtube.com/user/VideosatNSF

http://twitter.com/NSF

http://www.linkedin.com/company/national-science-foundation

 NSF Partnerships

http://www.nsf.gov/about/partners/fedagencies.jsp

 NSF Open Government Plan

http://www.nsf.gov/open/
39

 Networking and Information Technology Research and Development (NITRD)

http://www.nitrd.gov/

 FOIA at NSF

http://www.nsf.gov/policies/foia.jsp

 Data.gov

http://www.data.gov

 Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP) API

https://explore.data.gov/developers/docs/nsf-grfp-awardees-and-honorable-mentions-2000-

2012

 NSF Funding Rate History API

https://explore.data.gov/developers/docs/nsf-funding-rate-history

 NSF Digital Strategy

https://www.nsf.gov/digitalstrategy/

 NSF Open Data

http://www.nsf.gov/ data

 NSF API Developer Resources

http://www.nsf.gov/developer/

 Privacy and Compliance Reports

http://www.nsf.gov/policies/privacy.jsp

http://www.nsf.gov/policies/pia.jsp

http://www.nsf.gov/policies/privacy_act.jsp

 Whistle-blower Protection

http://www.nsf.gov/oig/whistleblower.jsp

 Records Management

http://www.nsf.gov/policies/records/index.jsp

 Congressional Requests for Information

http://www.nsf.gov/about/congress/nsf-congress-reports.jsp

http://www.nsf.gov/staff/staff_list.jsp?orgId=5210&subDiv=y&org=OLPA 
40

 Declassification of Documents

http://www.nsf.gov/pubs/manuals/gpm05_131/gpm8.jsp#850

 News from the Field

http://www.nsf.gov/news/news_list.cfm?nt=12

 Science and Engineering Visualization Challenge

http://www.nsf.gov/news/special_reports/scivis/index.jsp

 Multimedia Gallery

http://www.nsf.gov/news/mmg/

 Mobile App

http://science360.gov/ipad/
41

APPENDIX 3: LIST OF ACRONYMS 

API Application Programming Interface 

BFA Office of Budget, Finance and Award Management 

BIO Biological Sciences Directorate 

CIF21 CyberInfrastructure Framework for 21st Century Science and Engineering 

CIO Chief Information Officer 

COV Committee of Visitors 

CTO Chief Technology Officer 

CSV Comma Separated Values 

DARPA Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency 

DEB Division of Environmental Biology 

DoD Department of Defense 

DoE Department of Energy 

EaSM Decadal and Regional Climate Prediction Using Earth System Models 

ENG Engineering Directorate 

EPA Environmental Protection Agency 

EPSCoR Experimental Programs to Stimulate Competitive Research 

EOP Executive Office of the President 

FOIA Freedom of Information Act 

IRM Office of Information and Resource Management 

IT Information Technology 

MPS Mathematical and Physical Sciences Directorate 

NARA National Archives and Records Administration 

NASA National Aeronautics and Space Administration 
42

NIH National Institutes of Health 

NSB National Science Board 

NSF National Science Foundation 

OD Office of the Director 

OGC Office of the General Counsel 

OGD Open Government Directive 

OIG Office of Inspector General 

OLPA Office of Legislative and Public Affairs 

OMB Office of Management and Budget 

OSTP Office of Science and Technology Policy 

PI Principal Investigator 

POR Project Outcome Report for the General Public 

R&D Research and Development 

S&E Science and Engineering 

S&T Science and Technology 

SAO Senior Accountable Official 

SBE Social, Behavioral and Economic Sciences 

SMART Senior Management Advisory Roundtable 

STEM Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics 

USDA United States Department of Agriculture 

XML eXtensible Markup Language