National Science Board Charts 2030 Vision

The National Science Foundation stands at a moment of transition as it anticipates the Senate confirmation of its next director, Sethuraman Panchanathan . The National Science Board, the agency’s governing body, likewise has its sights set on the future. At its latest meeting last month, the board elected engineer and former astronaut Ellen Ochoa as its new chair, and it released Vision 2030 , a roadmap that charts out agency priorities for the coming decade.

The report recommends NSF and other stakeholders prioritize efforts that deliver social and economic benefits from NSF-funded research, develop a more diverse and multifaceted STEM workforce, expand research infrastructure across the country, and foster international research partnerships. It also outlines a number of more specific steps for the board itself to undertake, such as reassessing the organizational structure of NSF, including the idea of adding a new directorate focused on translating research into applications.

Panchanathan, a board member since 2014, expressed enthusiasm for the report at the meeting. “In having been part of this over the last two years, I think the elements of the Vision document are fantastic. And I think those are things that are very important for the nation, for the science and technology community,” he remarked.

Board to review research translation mechanisms

The Vision 2030 report builds on the board’s latest Science & Engineering (S&E) Indicators , which stressed the U.S. is no longer the “uncontested leader” across fields. It observes that although the U.S. S&E enterprise has continued to grow, it performs a shrinking share of the world’s R&D, adding that in 2019 the U.S. “likely ceded” its longstanding lead in annual R&D spending to China.

Pointing to the rapid global growth of industries that rely on knowledge and technology, the report cites research suggesting such industries accounted for 17% of U.S. gross domestic product in 2013, more than the share of any other individual sector at that time. It asserts that “if the U.S. is to ensure a strong economy and national security, it is vital that a significant share of future scientific breakthroughs and world-changing innovations be made here.”

The report warns, “While the U.S.’ decentralized, bottom-up approach to S&E research produces new knowledge in many disciplines, it can result in that knowledge being siloed and less likely to make the leap from the research environment to industry.” Moreover, the report adds that the U.S. faces increasing competition from countries that use more centralized systems to steer their research investments.

According to the report, NSB is planning to assess NSF’s organization, funding models, and programs, with a focus on identifying new ways of fostering the exchange of ideas and expertise between federal agencies, academia, and industry. It will also evaluate how the “broader impacts” criterion NSF uses in its merit review process “could better meet societal needs.”

One specific option NSB plans to study is the creation of a new directorate in the agency dedicated to the translation of research advances into new technologies. The report notes that NSF has already created an array of programs designed to encourage translation, including the Industry–University Cooperative Research Centers, I-Corps, and Convergence Accelerators. In Congress, a bipartisan group of lawmakers led by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) has recently proposed creating a Technology Directorate within NSF with funding that would grow over four years to more than four times NSF’s entire current budget.

The board also more generally suggests the U.S. should focus on remaining competitive in “fields of the moment,” such as artificial intelligence and quantum information systems, while continuing to make broad investments in fundamental research, which it refers to as the “seed corn” of the S&E enterprise.

Worrisome workforce trends flagged

Identifying an urgent need to better equip the U.S. workforce with technical skills, the report states, “Our message must be clear: Just as illiteracy is unacceptable, it can no longer be acceptable for anyone to be ‘bad at math.’”

Lamenting that U.S. math and science test scores at the K–12 level rank persistently well below those from many other countries, the report calls for an “all hands on deck” effort to modernize the U.S. STEM education system. At the same time, it stresses the nuances of STEM workforce needs, endorsing a “pathways model” that places a new emphasis on retraining and skilled technical career programs , which prepare students for STEM jobs that do not require an advanced degree.

It explains, “Because entry into the STEM workforce is not always via a linear high school-university-workforce path, the U.S. must offer individuals, from skilled technical workers to PhDs, on-ramps into STEM-capable jobs. The U.S. must also deepen partnerships between educational institutions and the business sector to prepare Americans for the industries of the future and support reskilling and upskilling of incumbent workers so that they can better navigate rapid changes in the world of work.”

The report states NSB will advocate for improved STEM instruction at all education levels and for increased investment in NSF’s workforce programs, such as Advanced Technological Education, Research Experiences for Undergraduates, and graduate fellowships. It will also explore options for “increasing the attractiveness of conducting academic research in the U.S. and the retention and productivity of researchers,” such as by reducing administrative burdens and providing better support to long-term nontenure researchers.

In addition, NSB will focus on ensuring NSF works to increase the attractiveness of STEM careers for people from underrepresented groups and to help them rise to leadership roles. The report stresses that progress in increasing STEM workforce diversity has not kept pace with demographic trends, estimating that participation rates for women and Black and Hispanic individuals would each have to increase by a factor of between two and three by 2030 to match their representation in the general population.

Beyond building up the domestic STEM workforce, the report recommends that the U.S. work to continue attracting STEM talent from around the world.

It notes that foreign-born individuals working in the U.S. currently comprise over half of the PhD-holders in some STEM fields, but that recent declines in foreign enrollment and “stay rates” of international students suggest that opportunities are growing elsewhere in the world. The report states NSB plans to improve data collection on the talent migration of U.S. and foreign-born citizens and will encourage the government to maintain visa policies that are “clear and consistent.”

The report also emphasizes that international collaboration is increasingly central to science, noting that in 2018 nearly a quarter of all research papers had authors from two or more countries. Accordingly, the board suggests NSF expand programs that invest in international scientific collaborations to tap into talent abroad as well as research facilities that are increasingly too costly for nations to build on their own.

Expansion of regional infrastructure could address inequities

The report expresses support for expanding the “geography of innovation” across the U.S. to help every state benefit from the nation’s scientific investments.

Specifically, it suggests, “More regional, integrated suites of midscale research infrastructure — including cyberinfrastructure — would catalyze research across a range of institutional types, diversify the S&E enterprise, and lay the groundwork for greater geographic distribution of S&E-based industries.”

More broadly, it states the board plans to work with state and industry stakeholders to assess NSF’s investments in research and infrastructure, “with an eye toward identifying mechanisms that can best develop capacity and further establish a network of S&E hubs across the country.” The board will also advocate for increased funding for public universities and continue to document the impact of disinvestment in higher education.

Board members sketch out next steps

At its meeting last month, NSB members discussed how they will begin implementing the report’s recommendations. As a first step, the Vision 2030 task force suggested the board develop a measurable plan that establishes what elements of the report to focus on first. Several members emphasized the plan should be viewed as a “living document” that the board could shape in response to changing circumstances and priorities.

Since the report’s release, seven members have rotated off the board, including its previous chair Diane Souvaine. Board member Victor McCrary, the vice president for research and graduate programs at the University of the District of Columbia, has taken over for Ellen Ochoa as vice chair.

Five new members have also been appointed: former congresswoman and Air Force Secretary Heather Wilson, Catholic University of America provost and physicist Aaron Dominguez, University of Tennessee, Knoxville materials engineer Sudarsanam Suresh Babu, University of Massachusetts Dartmouth mathematician Melvyn Hoff, and IBM Research Director Dario Gil, who is also a member of the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology. Roger Beachy, who chaired the Vision 2030 task force, was recently appointed to a second six-year term.

Speaking to the report’s emphasis on forming partnerships with organizations from other sectors, Beachy said, “We need to engage the potential partners early on in this discussion and draw them on board. Their voice on Capitol Hill is far stronger than ours.”