National Science Foundation: Under the Microscope
National Science Foundation: Under the Microscope was a 73-page report released on May 26, 2011 by
Report
The May 26, 2011 report "National Science Foundation: Under the Microscope" was highly critical of the National Science Foundation (NSF). Conservative Republican Senator Tom Coburn from Oklahoma argued that poor management and practices at NSF, "waste, fraud, duplication and mismanagement" have resulted in losses of over $1.2 billion, with a further $1.7 billion in unspent funds.[6] The report fingered several studies that exemplify "waste and duplication" in its press release:
An "$80,000 study on why the same teams always dominate
The report has recommended to clarify and establish guidelines on what is meant by "transformative science", measure success and ensure accountability, improve grant accountability, reduce duplication, consolidate the Directorate for Education & Human Resources and most controversially, eliminate the Social, Behavioral, and Economics Directorate which receives a total of $200–300 million per year.[6] The press release noted that "The social sciences should not be the focus of our premier basic scientific research agency".[6] Coburn questioned whether "these social sciences represent obvious national priorities that deserve a cut of the same pie" as the natural sciences.[7]
Reception and critique
In 2011, NSF replied to the report, saying that it "has been diligent about addressing concerns from members of Congress about workforce and grant management issues, and NSF's excellent record of tracking down waste and prosecuting wrongdoing is apparent" from the report itself, and that even some of the cases featured in the press release, like the inappropriate actions in the Antarctica facility, were internally reviewed and dealt with within the NSF.
Controversy arose from the fact that the report highlighted many studies as pointless or wasteful, and made fun of them as "silly", or not "serious science".
Several professional associations of academics, such as the American Political Science Association and the Association for Psychological Science criticized the report.[14][11] Academics allege that the report had inaccurate descriptions of their research, often misinterpreted them, or lacked the understanding of the underlying goals.[9][2][3] Others described it as "flat-out inaccurate".[15] Professor John Hibbing noted, it is "legitimate to ask what kind of scientific research is important and what isn't", but a nonscientific report by a politician may not be the best way to achieve this goal.[9]
On July 11, 2011, the
Impact
The report started a controversy, which resulted in a
References
- ^ a b The Unexamined Society David Brooks, The New York Times (July 7, 2011)
- ^ a b c d e Boyle, Alan. "Cosmic Log - Funny science sparks serious spat". Cosmiclog.msnbc.msn.com. Archived from the original on 2011-05-30. Retrieved 2011-09-09.
- ^ a b c "Coburn's NSF Idiocy : Mike the Mad Biologist". Scienceblogs.com. Archived from the original on 2011-09-06. Retrieved 2011-09-09.
- ^ a b "Science GRO plays offense and defense in wake of new congressional attacks on behavioral science". Apa.org. June 2011. Retrieved 2011-09-09.
- ^ a b Mervis, Jeffrey (2011-06-03). "Social Sciences Face Uphill Battle Proving Their Worth to Congress - ScienceInsider". News.sciencemag.org. Archived from the original on 2011-08-14. Retrieved 2011-09-09.
- ^ a b c d e "Dr. Coburn Releases New Oversight Report Exposing Waste, Mismanagement at the National Science Foundation - Press Releases - Tom Coburn, M.D., United States Senator from Oklahoma". Coburn.senate.gov. 2011-05-26. Archived from the original on June 6, 2011. Retrieved 2015-10-14.
- ^ a b JENNY MANDEL of Greenwire (2011-05-26). "Sen. Coburn Sets Sight on Waste, Duplication at Science Agency". NYTimes.com. Retrieved 2011-09-09.
- ^ "Senate Report Finds Billions In Waste On Science Foundation Studies". Fox News. 2011-05-26. Retrieved 2011-12-17.
- ^ a b c Pappas, Stephanie (2011-05-26). "Scientists Cry Foul Over Report Criticizing National Science Foundation - Technology & science - Science - LiveScience - NBC News". NBC News. Retrieved 2011-09-09.
- ^ Mervis, Jeffrey (2011-05-26). "Senator's Criticism of Science Foundation Draws Fire - ScienceInsider". News.sciencemag.org. Archived from the original on 2011-09-03. Retrieved 2011-09-09.
- ^ a b "All of Science Stands Behind Behavioral Science at NSF - Association for Psychological Science". Psychologicalscience.org. Retrieved 2011-09-09.
- ^ Environmental policy UC davis. June 2011
- ^ a b Poeppel, David (2011-07-15). "Coburn wrong on research - POLITICO.com Print View". Dyn.politico.com. Archived from the original on 2012-03-27. Retrieved 2011-09-09.
- ^ "APSA Responds to Senator Coburn's Report on NSF Funding | APSA". Apsanet.org. Retrieved 2011-09-09.
- ^ Koerth, Maggie (1999-05-17). "Coburn anti-NSF report misleading, factually incorrect – Boing Boing". Boingboing.net. Retrieved 2011-09-09.
- ^ Letter from AAAS
- ^ Brad Johnson How One GOP-Controlled Committee Is Waging A War On Science HPMG News, 06/24/2014
- ^ Eli Kintisch,Should the Government Fund Only Science in the "National Interest"? National Geographic News. October 29, 2014