APPENDIX VI

NSF Report

OCEAN SCIENCES DIVISION

OCEANOGRAPHIC FACILITIES DETAIL

Operations

*Plus $1.6 M from ODP (1993 and 1994), $1.8 M (1995)

Infrastructure

Centers and Reserves - -

(Apr. 1995)

NSF FY 1996 BUDGET REQUEST

OCEAN SCIENCES

Request is $205.6 Million

Increase of $12.2 Million or 6.3%

Major Research Initiatives

(April 1995)

UNOLS COUNCIL MEETING

MONTEREY, CALIFORNIA

APRIL, 1995

OCEANUS: Reports on Research at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (Fall,1994)

"As it is, NSF chronically underfunds ... U.S. research fleet ship time by about 10 percent ($4 to $5 million of a proposed $55 million annual budget)."

• Richard F. Pittenger
• Associate Director for
• Marine Operations

RESPONSE

NSF strongly disagrees with the Woods Hole statement. The facts are incorrect and the structure of the US academic research ship support system is missrepresented. The US academic researh fleet or UNOLS fleet is a national facility system with many participants and shareholders. Ascribing all sea going research projects and responsibilities to NSF and then accusing us of chronic underfunding is an improper and misleading mechanism to argue a separate issue - i.e. Arctic research facility requirements.

• Donald F. Heinrichs
• Acting Division Director

NSF NATIONAL PERFORMANCE REVIEW

NSF IN A CHANGING WORLD (Strategic Plan)

Reafffirming Core Values

Committed to supporting and promoting:

• The most creative ideas and capable researchers selected by merit review
• Path breaking research at many points on the frontiers of science, mathematics, and engineering.
• Excellence in education and in the development of human resources.
• The effective discovery, dissemination, integration, and application of new knowledge.
• A partnership of trust with scientists and engineers that serves the best interests of the American people.

The NSF Mission

Initiate and Support:

• basic scientific research and research fundamental to the engineering process,
• programs to strengthen scientific and engineering research potential,
• science and engineering education programs at all levels and in all the various fields of science and engineering,
• programs that provide a source of information for policy formulation, and other activities to promote these ends.

NSF NATIONAL PERFORMANCE REVIEW

Reinventing government

Examination of all aspects of NSF operations

Emphasis on procedures to gain efficiencies

Planning issues

• Potential changes in funding levels
• Elimination of current programs
• Addition of new programs
• Infrastructure requirements
• Reorganization plans
• Staff needs

Initial planning assumptions

• Static budget over next three years

Administration 3, 5, 7, 9 discussions

• FY 1996 budget is base
• FY 1997 budget down 3%
• FY 1998 budget down 5% (or additional 2%)
• FY 1999 budget down 7%
• FY 2000 budget down 9%

NSF as whole

• FY 1996 operating budget is $3,223M
• FY 2000 operating budget of $2,933M
• Reduction - - - $290M

NSF NATIONAL PERFORMANCE REVIEW

NSF facilities planning

• Infrastructure planning
• All facilities under review
• Congressional interest
• Advisory committees
• Are all activities supported by the NSF appropriate?
• Are the modes of support appropriately balanced?
• Issue: Appropriate balance between support of research and support of research facilities or instrumentation.
• Plus issues on NSF university relations, budgets and innovative programs, merit review improvements, and performance measures.

NSF priority statement

• People
• Instruments
• Infrastructure/facilities

The physical infrastructure is an enabling aspect of NSF's activities. It helps create an environment in which effective progress is possible.

Many areas of science ... require dedicated research platforms that are beyond the size and scale available to individuals or small groups. NSF must provide a variety of instruments and facilities necessary for the conduct of pioneering research and education.

NSF MODES OF SUPPORT

The National Science Foundation funds a broad range of activities focused on strengthening the nation's scientific and engineering research enterprise. Support for research and education activities comes in many forms. Research project awards are made to individuals and small groups of investigators and include support for postdoctoral researchers and students. NSF also supports research centers, national user facilities, development and acquisition of instrumentation for individual or shared use, graduate and postdoctoral fellowships, systemic educational reform activities, and workshops and conferences. These activities can be characterized as follows:

(From NSF budget book)

NSF FACILITIES

The National Science Foundation supports large, multi-user facilities which require long-term commitments for support. These facilities are usually of a scale too large, complex, or expensive for individual or small groups of researchers to construct. They meet the need for multi-user access to state-of-the-art research facilities that would otherwise be unavailable. Support for these unique National facilities is essential to advance U.S. research capabilities required for world-class research. Support also includes funding for staff and support personnel to assist scientists in conducting research at the facilities.

NSF supports the following facilities:

* Other facilities include physics, materials research, ocean sciences, atmospheric sciences, and earth sciences facilities.

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