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NSB News Release

Reexamining NSF’s Merit Review Process

January 17, 2024

The National Science Board and National Science Foundation recently established a joint NSB-NSF Commission on Merit Review that is holding meetings and listening sessions to solicit feedback from the science and engineering community.  

The Commission is reviewing the efficacy of the current Merit Review policy and associated criteria to support the NSF’s mission to create new knowledge, fully empower diverse talent to participate in STEM, and benefit society by translating knowledge into solutions. It is studying how current policy balances the two fundamental criteria in the Merit Review process, Intellectual Merit, or the potential to advance knowledge, and Broader Impacts, or the potential to benefit society and contribute to the achievement of specific, desired societal outcomes, and will also assess how NSF implements its policy and evaluate the agency’s accountability measures.

The Commission plans to share a preliminary set of recommendations for public comment in May 2024 and a final report with recommendations to strengthen NSF’s merit review policy in December 2024. 

“Commission members, made up of Board members and NSF staff, are gathering information from academic, industry, government, and non-governmental communities to ensure that our widely respected and used merit review process continues to effectively guide NSF’s funding decisions,” Stephen Willard, Chair of the NSB-NSF Merit Review Reexamination Commission, said.  

“The CHIPS and Science Act, in particular, emphasizes the importance of the Broader Impacts criteria and its role in developing STEM talent,” Dan Reed, the Chair of the Board, said. “We want to ensure that the NSF’s merit review policy continues to address this important element along with Intellectual Merit to ensure our future STEM workforce is both capable and representative of society.” 

Get involved 

The NSB-NSF Commission on Merit Review hosts bimonthly meetings that are open to the public. During the meetings, Commission members explore the current landscape and review its impact on NSF’s funding portfolio. They often invite experts to speak on specific topics that could help strengthen NSF's merit review process. 

All open meetings are livestreamed and posted on the National Science Board’s YouTube account. The most recent public meetings can be found here: 

  • May 24, 2023: MRX Meeting featuring Susan Renoe, the Executive Director of the Center for Advancing Research Impact in Society, who joined Commission members in a discussion of the Broader Impacts criteria and impacts of its implementation. 
  • May 8, 2023: MRX Meeting prior to the quarterly National Science Board meeting. 

Bimonthly meetings will be held at least until November. Upcoming meetings will be announced on the Board’s meeting calendar and livestreamed and stored on YouTube. 

The Commission will also report out on August 15 – 16, 2023 during the quarterly Board meeting. Details will be posted here and widely announced. 

Additional opportunities to learn more about NSF’s merit review process: 

For questions on how to get involved or to learn more about the Commission, please email: meritreviewcommission@nsf.gov and follow the National Science Board account on Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook for updates.  

 

About the National Science Board

The National Science Foundation Act of 1950 charged the NSB with two roles: governing board of the NSF and advisor to Congress and the President on policy matters related to STEM research and STEM education. Selected for their distinguished service and accomplishments in academia, government, and the private sector, the Board’s 24 presidentially appointed members are leaders in STEM research and education.

Media Contact: Elizabeth Jeffers, National Science Board, (703) 292-7496, ejeffers@nsf.gov

The U.S. National Science Foundation propels the nation forward by advancing fundamental research in all fields of science and engineering. NSF supports research and people by providing facilities, instruments and funding to support their ingenuity and sustain the U.S. as a global leader in research and innovation. With a fiscal year 2023 budget of $9.5 billion, NSF funds reach all 50 states through grants to nearly 2,000 colleges, universities and institutions. Each year, NSF receives more than 40,000 competitive proposals and makes about 11,000 new awards. Those awards include support for cooperative research with industry, Arctic and Antarctic research and operations, and U.S. participation in international scientific efforts.

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