More About National Board
The National Science Board oversees NSF as it carries out its statutory
responsibility to maintain the health of the Nation’s
science and engineering enterprise by funding research in all the
basic sciences and engineering. NSF also supports innovative education
programs from kindergarten through graduate school, preparing future
generations of scientists and engineers and contributing to a more
scientifically literate workforce and society.
The Board establishes NSF policies, identifies issues that are
critical to NSF’s future, approves NSF’s strategic
budget directions, approves annual budget submissions to the Office
of Management and Budget, and approves new programs and major
awards. The Board analyzes NSF’s budget to ensure progress
and consistency along the strategic direction set for NSF and
to ensure balance between initiatives and core programs.
In its role as policy advisor to the President and the Congress,
the Board initiates and conducts studies on a broad range of policy
topics related to science and engineering research and education,
presents the results and Board recommendations in reports and policy
statements to the President and the Congress, and makes these documents
available to the research and educational communities and the general
public. On a biennial basis, the Board publishes Science
and Engineering Indicators, a detailed examination of the
state of science and engineering in the United States.
Through its major policy studies, the Board makes important contributions
to the national policy debate on critical issues in science and
engineering. Examples include Environmental
Science and Engineering for the 21st Century
(2000), Toward
a More Effective Role for the U.S. Government in International Science
and Engineering (2001), Federal
Research Resources: A Process for Setting Priorities
(2001), Science
and Engineering Infrastructure for the 21st Century: The Role of
the National Science Foundation
(2003), and The
Science and Engineering Workforce/Realizing America’s Potential
(2003).
The Board is also responsible for several national
honorary awards. The Board presents the Vannevar Bush Award
to a person who has made outstanding contributions to the national
welfare through public accomplishments in science and technology.
The Board’s Public Service Award is presented to a person
and to a group in recognition of their contribution toward increasing
public understanding of science or engineering. The Board also approves
the Alan T. Waterman Award, which the NSF Director presents to an
outstanding young researcher for support of further research and
study.
Members of the National Science Board
The Board is composed of 24 part-time members appointed by the
President and confirmed by the Senate. The NSF Director, who is
also a presidential appointee confirmed by the Senate, serves on
the Board ex officio. The members are selected on the basis
of their distinguished service in science and engineering research
and education. Board members are chosen to be representative of
scientific, engineering, and educational leadership throughout the
Nation.
Members are appointed for six-year terms. One-third of the Board
is appointed every two years, and no member may serve more than
two consecutive terms. The Board Chair and Vice Chair are elected
from the membership to serve two-year terms.
How the National Science Board does its work
The Board takes action during regularly scheduled meetings, which
usually occur six times a year. In accordance with the Government
in the Sunshine Act, meetings of the Board, its committees, subcommittees,
and task forces are open to the public, and announcements of forthcoming
meetings appear on the Board’s web page and in the Federal
Register.
Also in accordance with the Government in the Sunshine Act, discussions
of certain topics, such as personnel matters, budget development,
NSF awards and agreements, and Board honorary awards, take place
in sessions closed to the public. The outcomes of these discussions
are usually reported in open sessions, as appropriate.
The Board accomplishes much of its background work through standing
and ad hoc committees, subcommittees, task forces, and commissions
that are established as needed for specific assignments.
The Executive
Committee is the only Board committee established by legislation.
By statute, the NSF Director chairs the committee, and four other
members are elected from the Board. By custom, the Board’s
Chair and Vice Chair are elected as members of the Executive Committee.
The committee acts for the Board, if necessary, between Board meetings
and in the absence of a Board quorum. The Executive Committee reports
annually to the Board.
The Board’s four standing committees
are Audit and Oversight, Education and Human Resources, Programs
and Plans, and Strategy and Budget. There are two standing subcommittees:
the Subcommittee on Science and Engineering Indicators under the
Education and Human Resources Committee, and the Subcommittee on
Polar Issues under the Committee on Programs and Plans. Ad hoc administrative
committees oversee the processes related to honorary awards and
nominations for appointment to the National Science Board. Other
ad hoc committees and task forces analyze major policy issues to
bring before the Board, with recommendations for action.
The Executive
Officer, who reports directly to the Board Chair, serves as
Director of the National Science Board Office (NSBO). The NSBO is
the focal point for coordinating the development and analyses of
a broad range of policy-level issues and strategies requiring Board
attention and/or action. The NSBO also provides staff support and
administers Board operations.
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