IS NSF STARTING TO RESEMBLE A PORK BARREL?
Up until now, the NSF has largely avoided the congressional earmarks that burden the budgets of other agencies. Even though Congress relishes pork, the NSF tradition of awarding funds strictly on the basis of peer review has generally been honored. However, the National Science Board has approved more major research projects than the NSF budget can accommodate. Nothing wrong with that, there are a lot of good ideas out there. So by what peer review process does the NSF then decide which projects to include in its budget request? According to NSF’s budget request for FY 03, “The Director selects from the group of NSB-approved projects.” That’s it? The Director selects? NSF Director Rita Colwell thinks this is a fine selection process, but according to this week’s Nature, others see it as a threat to NSF integrity. Former APS President Jerome Friedman testified in May that NSF should submit a full list of approved projects in prioritized order, along with an explanation of the criteria.
