Geography and Spatial Sciences Activities at the

National Science Foundation

MAPPS: April 2015

NSF is an independent agency of the Executive Branch of the US Government

President

Office of Management &

Budget

Science Advisor: Office of Science & Technology Policy

Other Boards, Councils, etc.

Cabinet

DOAg DOC DoD DoE DoEd HHS HUD DoI DoJ DHS DoL DoS DoT DoTrs DVA

Independent Agencies

NSF NASA EPA Smithsonian NRC Other

4201 Wilson Blvd., Arlington, Virginia

NSF is an institution with real people who welcome inquiries and communication.

The NSF Mission• To promote the progress of science

• To advance the national health, prosperity, and welfare

• To secure the national defense(NSF Act of 1950)

The NSF VisionA nation that creates and exploits new concepts in

science and engineering and provides global

leadership in research and education.

Scientists and institutions

responding to broad civilian

scientific needs of the nation

NSF Is a Science Management Agency

50,000 Annual Competitive Proposals

1,200

full-time

employees

250,000 reviews

(50,000 reviewers)

7,000 people in

advisory groups

About 12,000 new competitive awards plus another

roughly 10,000 continuing award actions that obligate about $7.0 billion

annually for academic, industrial, non-profit, governmental recipients.

NSF Core Values - 1• Scientific Excellence – engaging the vision and

expertise of our staff with that of the scientific community to create a portfolio of awards that support transformation and innovation;

• 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;

• Learning – continually identifying opportunities for learning and professional growth inside and outside the agency, and sharing our best insights with others;

NSF Core Values - 2

• Inclusiveness – seeking and embracing contributions from all sources, including underrepresented groups, regions, and institutions;

• 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.

The NSF is Organized into Seven Directorates

Inspector General

National Science Board

DirectorDeputy Director

Staff Offices

Computer & Information

Science&

Engineering

Engineering Geosciences Mathematics& PhysicalSciences

Social, Behavioral& Economic

Sciences

Education & Human Resources

Budget, Finance & Award Management

Information Resource

Management

Biological Sciences

GSS

Directorates Are Divided into Divisions;Divisions Are Divided into Programs or Sections

Social Behavioral and Economic Sciences

Behavioral & Cognitive Sciences

Social & Economic Sciences

National Center for Science &

Engineering Statistics

SBE Multidisciplinary Activities

Geography & Spatial Sciences

Anthropology Programs

Psychology & Linguistics Programs

Economics

Decision, Risk & Management Sciences

Methodology, Measurement & Statistics

Sociology

Political Science

Law & Social Science

Science, Technology & Society

GSS VisionThe Geography and Spatial Sciences (GSS) Program of the National Science Foundation seeks to advance discovery, basic understanding, and education in geography and the spatial sciences.

GSS MissionThe mission of the NSF Geography and Spatial Sciences

Program is:

• To stimulate and support basic research in geography and the spatial sciences;

• To advance the development and capabilities of geographers and spatial scientists; and

• To foster the involvement of geographers and spatial scientists in interdisciplinary research.

Geography and Spatial Sciences Program

• Special concerns of the GSS Program:

o Supporting the highest-quality basic research to advance theoretical understandings in geography and spatial sciences, including regional science.

o Advancing development of the people engaged in geographic and spatial science research and education.

o Supporting the development of new methods, tools, and resources for geographic and spatial science inquiry.

Much of NSF’s Funding Goes to

Support Basic Research

What is basic research?“It’s like true love!”

You can’t really define it,but you know it when it’s there.

Basic scientific research is grounded in a broader theoretical framework.

Focuses on one or a few research questions grounded in that broader framework.

Uses scientifically sound approaches to assess the viability of answers to those questions.

Focused results contribute to enhancement of broader theoretical knowledge.

NSF funds Basic Science Research.

• It's not “either/or”.

• Basic research results often have great direct and indirect utility and applicability.

• But at its core, basic research is first and foremost about broader theoretical development, not the focused application of specific research results.

• Analysis and synthesis are favored over prescription.

Basic "vs" Applied Research

As a result...

Basic scientific research -

• Contributes to general understanding.

• Is either well grounded in a general theoretical framework or generates development of new frameworks.

• Is valuable even if we don’t care about its specific findings or applications.

• Often increases our knowledge of how we expand our knowledge.

What Kinds of Projects Might Be

Potentially Transformative?

• Projects that show promise to change the ways that communities view or think about topics and/or the ways that communities conduct research on those topics

• Projects for which one can envision significant larger-scale, longer-term contributions across multiple communities

NSF’s Review Criteria

• Intellectual Merit: The potential to advance knowledge

• Broader Impacts: The potential to benefit society and contribute to the achievement of specific, desired societal outcomes.

o Advance knowledge and understanding within its own field or across different fields?

o Suggest and explore creative, original, or potentially transformative concepts?

o Sound rationale and mechanism to assess success

o Qualifications of the individual, team, or institution to conduct the proposed activities?

o Adequacy of resources

o Societal benefit or advance desired societal outcomes?

NSF Proposals: Rigorous Review

• External reviewerso They tend to be specialists; relevant

theory and technical details matter.

• Advisory panel memberso They largely consist of generalists;

so broader significance matters.

• Program officerso We’re the investors, seeking “big bangs for our bucks.”

Research &

Education

Communities

NSF

Proposal

Generating

Document

Program

Officer Analysis

&

Recommendation

It takes about 6 months to process a proposal.

Division

Director

Concur

Organization

submits

via

FastLane

Minimum

of 3

Reviews

Required

Ad hoc

Panel

Both

Proposal

Processing

Unit

NSF Program

Officer

Returned as Inappropriate/Withdrawn

Organization

Award

via DGA

Decline

4-5 months 30 days

Proposal Preparation Time

Proposal received by NSF Div. Dir. Concur Award

Review of Proposal P.O. Recommend DGA Review &

Processing of Award

Some Special Competitions that

Geographers Actively Participate• Environmentally oriented competitions

o Dynamics of Coupled Natural and Human Systems (CNH)

o Ecology and Evolution of Infectious Diseases (EEID)

• Cyberinfrastructure-oriented competitionso Core Techniques and Technologies for Advancing Big Data Science &

Engineering (BIGDATA)

o Software Infrastructure for Sustained Innovation (SI2)

o Secure and Trustworthy Cyberspace (SaTC)

• Major Research Instrumentation (MRI)

• NSF Research Traineeship Program (NRT)

• Competitions resulting from the SBE 2020 initiativeo Interdisciplinary Behavioral and Social Science Research (IBSS)

o Building Community and Capacity for Data-Intensive Research in the SBE Sciences and in Education and Human Resources (BCC-SBE/EHR)

In Addition to Its Standing

Programs, NSF Has Many

Special Funding Opportunities

Check the NSF website for more information

or contact relevant program officers

RUI/ROA

WSC

CDI

EAGERRAPID

EaSM

Contact Information

Thomas Baerwald (tbaerwal@nsf.gov, 703-292-7301)

Holly Hapke (hhapke@nsf.gov, 703-292-8457)

Sunil Narumalani (snarumal@nsf.gov, 703-292-4995)

gss-info@nsf.gov

Geography and Spatial Sciences Program

National Science Foundation

4201 Wilson Blvd., Arlington, VA 22230