Partners

These benefits are diverse but nevertheless very real. Public spending on fundamental research is an investment in the future - one which is indispensable to the Nation's long-term economic well being, environmental protection, public health, and national security. NSF's programs provide educational benefits that include improved teaching of science, mathematics, and engineering. These outcomes lead to a better prepared workforce, and to a better understanding and appreciation of science and engineering by the public.

In day-to-day operations the Foundation's most direct interactions are with these partners:

• Grantees, most of them at colleges and universities, benefit directly from NSF funding. These partners include individual scientists, engineers, and educators; officials who lead the universities; and students who receive financial aid and the educational benefits of campus-based research. In addition to the direct benefits, NSF-supported research and education helps to create the next generation of educators, researchers and administrators for academia.
• Private sector business and industry benefit from ideas generated by NSF-supported research and education. A well-prepared general workforce benefiting from NSF's efforts in the schools and a technically skilled workforce of scientists and engineers are critical to the success of the U.S. economy. NSF's programs contribute to the improvement of education in schools, colleges, and universities.
• Other Federal agencies rely on fundamental research produced by NSF-funded researchers and on the availability of a workforce upgraded by NSF programs. Moreover, many of these agencies' programs are carried out in formal partnership with NSF.
• State and local officials look to NSF as a stimulus for economic development through its support for research in small businesses and industry-university partnerships.
• Schools and communities benefit directly from NSF-funded improvements in curricula, instructional strategies, teacher preparation and educational technologies which lead to systemic educational reform.
• Policy makers and researchers in all these sectors rely on NSF as a source of reliable data and analysis pertaining to science and engineering.
• Communications media inform the public about new developments in science and engineering. They rely on NSF and NSF-supported researchers for news, and they are essential in building public support for science.