How the Stimulus Might Affect NSF Grantees

March 4th, 2009

Posted by: admin

Nature.com has a short article describing how the stimulus and omnibus funding will likely be used by the National Science Foundation and the Department of Energy.  In part due to reporting requirements, the stimulus funding is going to focus on increasing grant acceptance rates.  In other words, already awarded grants will not get a bump, but those grants that were rejected because of insufficient funds, or those currently awaiting a decision, stand a chance of receiving funds.  Statistics given in the article – a decline in the acceptance rate from 33 percent to 26 percent between 2000 and 2007 with no significant change in the proportion of highly rated proposals -  suggest the stimulus money (roughly 17,000 grants worth) – could help a number of faculty maintain their jobs (or bolster their tenure cases) in an era when universities will be tightening their belts.

NSF now has a website with its guidance on stimulus spending, as well as a placeholder for required reports on its spending.

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