Customer Service at the National Science Foundation
April 2001
The National Science Foundation (NSF) is a service-oriented
federal agency, working with scientists, engineers,
educators and major institutions by providing grants,
contracts and cooperative agreements. Overall, NSF
supports about 200,000 individuals and 1,800 colleges,
universities and other institutions throughout the
U.S. and overseas.
How NSF serves its communities. NSF processes
about 30,000 proposals for funding each year, and
uses almost 50,000 scientists, engineers and educators
to evaluate proposals, either independently, or as
part of a panel of reviewers. NSF also awards over
$200 million in professional and service contracts
each year, including logistics support for polar research
programs, ocean drilling projects, information systems
support, special studies and analyses, and a host
of other smaller service support activities. NSF also
provides information to its wide-ranging constituencies
through FastLane and other Web-based sources to increase
process efficiency.
How NSF is measured against other government agencies.
NSF has always been active in soliciting grass roots
responses from the science and engineering (S&E;) community
to determine how well the foundation's processes are
working, and where improvements are needed. In part,
the Government Performance and Results Act (GPRA)
reporting procedures address some of these concerns.
Starting in 1999, NSF also began participating voluntarily
in the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI)
- a survey designed to compare federal agencies' performance
against a private sector benchmark. NSF's survey used
a broad definition of its customer base in its survey
that included a random sampling of all award applicants
- both awarded and declined.
How NSF is doing. According to ACSI results,
NSF is rated very high for accessibility and usefulness
of information provided. Nearly 80 percent of NSF's
customers surveyed over a two-year period approve
of NSF's work in providing current, relevant and helpful
information. Persons and institutions that have been
declined for awards rate NSF just as highly in providing
information as those who have been approved.
NSF's customers also trust the agency's ability to
administer its grants and awards system fairly and
competently. More than two-thirds of all applicants
(both awarded and declined) express confidence in
NSF's ability to do a good job, and three-quarters
of awardees say the same. These figures compare favorably
to other government agencies surveyed.
Where NSF seeks improvement. NSF is currently
reviewing management practices at several levels to
increase efficiency and service to the science and
engineering communities. NSF will develop a plan to
improve its capacity to manage large-scale facilities
projects. The agency will also complete a study to
determine the impacts of increased size and duration
of grants, and the perceived burdens on researchers
of the proposal writing process. Committees of visitors
and advisory committees will monitor how program officers
and proposer submissions implement both merit review
criteria. NSF will also complete work this year on
a five-year workforce plan to determine the future
needs of NSF to meet a growing and diverse portfolio
of activities.
To improve customer service, NSF is addressing two
concerns raised in the customer service surveys: providing
adequate time for applicants to prepare proposals;
and informing applicants of funding decisions as quickly
as possible. The agency's 2002 GPRA performance goals
sets targets of a minimum of three months for time
to prepare proposals and a maximum of six months for
processing 70 percent of all proposals. NSF is revising
internal tracking and clearance procedures to achieve
more timely posting of announcements on the Web, and
is also streamlining internal processing through improved
electronic systems and sharing of "best practices"
across the Foundation.
NSF is continually seeking improvements to provide
useful, easy-to-understand information on the Web,
and high-quality, timely proposal processing. In addition,
NSF seeks to enhance its ongoing interactions with
customers - scientists, engineers, educators and the
public.
For additional information about the NSF FY02 Budget
Request, see the budget
page.
|