MAJOR AWARD DECISIONMAKING AT THE NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION -- Copyright -- Preface -- Contents -- Executive Summary -- BACKGROUND -- FINDINGS AND CONCLUSIONS -- Clear Rules of the Game -- Primacy of Technical Merit -- Appropriate Roles of Peer Reviewers and Staff -- Public Documentation of Decisionmaking -- More Stringent Setting of Priorities -- RECOMMENDATIONS -- Recommendation 1: Justification for Major Project Awards -- Recommendation 2: Involvement and Support of the Research Community in Planning -- Recommendation 3: Primacy of Technical Merit Criteria -- Recommendation 4: Human Resource Development and Equal Opportunity as a Criterion -- Recommendation 5: Cost Sharing as a Criterion -- Recommendation 6: A Two-Phase Merit Review Process -- Recommendation 7: Reorienting the NSB Workload -- Recommendation 8: Planning the Review Process and Criteria -- Recommendation 9: More and Better Public Documentation of Award Decisions -- Recommendation 10: More Recompetitions -- 1 Major Awards at NSF -- OVERVIEW OF MAJOR AWARDS -- MAJOR AWARDS AND MERIT REVIEW -- MAJOR AWARDS AND THE NSB -- NSF ORGANIZATION AND STAFFING FOR MERIT REVIEW -- OVERALL CONCLUSIONS -- Clear Rules of the Game -- Primacy of Technical Merit -- Appropriate Roles of Peer Reviewers and Staff -- Public Documentation of Decisionmaking -- More Stringent Setting of Priorities -- 2 Planning Major Projects -- BACKGROUND: PROJECT PLANNING AND BUDGETING AT NSF -- Long-Range Planning at NSF -- Annual Budget Process -- MAJOR PROJECT PLANNING AND BUDGETING -- Capital Facilities Planning -- FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS ON PLANNING AND BUDGETING -- Findings -- Recommendations -- Recommendation 1: Justification for Major Project Awards -- Recommendation 2: Involvement and Support of the Research Community in Planning -- 3 Awarding Major Projects: Criteria and Review Procedures.

BACKGROUND: THE MERIT REVIEW PROCESS AT NSF -- Current Review Criteria -- Review and Selection Criteria for Major Project Awards -- Findings and Recommendations on Criteria -- Recommendation 3: Primacy of Technical Merit Criteria -- Recommendation 4: Human Resource Development and Equal Opportunity as a Criterion -- Recommendation 5: Cost Sharing as a Criterion -- NSF PROCEDURES FOR REVIEWING PROPOSALS -- Proposal Review Process -- Peer Review Modes -- Selection of Reviewers -- Policies and Procedures for Dealing with Bias and Conflict of Interest -- Award Decisionmaking -- Findings and Recommendations on Review Procedures -- Recommendation 6: A Two-Phase Merit Review Process -- 4 Awarding Major Projects: NSB Role, Review Process Design, and Decision Documentation -- NSB ROLE AND PROCEDURES -- Findings and Recommendations on the NSB Role -- Recommendation 7: Reorienting the NSB Workload -- DESIGNING THE REVIEW AND SOLICITATION PROCESS -- Proposal Review Planning Requirements -- NSB Approval of Solicitation Announcements -- Findings and Recommendations on Proposal Review Planning -- Recommendation 8: Planning the Review Process and Criteria -- DOCUMENTING AWARD DECISIONS -- Findings and Recommendations on Award Documentation -- Recommendation 9: More and Better Public Documentation of Award Decisions -- 5 Recompetition of Awards -- PROJECT CONTINUATION AT NSF -- Findings and Recommendations -- Recommendation 10: More Recompetitions -- 6 Looking to the Future -- A Biographical Sketches of Panel Members -- B Major Awards Supported by NSF -- TYPOLOGY -- Center Programs -- National User Facilities Run by Consortia -- Unique National Centers and Facilities Run by a University -- International Projects -- BUDGET BREAKDOWN -- Centers -- Facilities -- Disciplinary Research -- PROGRAM BALANCE -- Astronomy -- Materials Science -- Geosciences.

C Awards Approved by National Science Board, FY 1986-1992 -- D Major Award Criteria from Recent Solicitation Announcements -- ENGINEERING RESEARCH CENTERS (ERCS) (FY 1990) -- NSF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY CENTERS (STCS) (FY 1990) -- EARTHQUAKE ENGINEERING RESEARCH CENTER (FY 1986) -- NATIONAL HIGH MAGNETIC FIELD LABORATORY (NHMFL) (FY 1990) -- NATIONAL CENTER FOR GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION AND ANALYSIS (FY 1988) -- MATERIALS RESEARCH LABORATORIES (MRL) (FY 1992) -- E The Ten Case Studies -- References.