NSF'S HIGH TECH EXPERTISE HELPS CLINTON ADMINISTRATION "RE- INVENT"
GOVERNMENT

September 13, 1993 -- Vice President Gore's National Performance Review
(NPR) recommends that  the National Science Foundation (NSF) expand its
use of innovative  technologies in order to improve productivity, contain
costs, and better  serve its "customers."

As part of the NPR initiative, NSF plans to further automate its 
electronic information processing capabilities which enable it to 
receive, award, review, and administer research grants.  In addition, 
implementation of NPR recommendations will enable NSF to empower more 
grantees with greater decision-making authority over their grants, and 
streamline certain procedural and reporting requirements for merit  review
panels.   The agency will also implement changes proposed  government-wide
in personnel management and procurement.

According to Frederick M. Bernthal, acting NSF director, the agency has 
always been at the "cutting-edge" among federal agencies in using 
innovative technology to fulfill its mission.  "We've worked hard to 
develop a reputation for being creative and resourceful in minimizing  the
burdens placed on our grantees and our staff," he added.

The NPR report recommended two areas in which NSF, because of its past
experience in implementing innovative procedures, should concentrate its 
efforts. Expand the Automation of Grant Processing Functions and
Information  Dissemination

Bernthal said that a task group at NSF is planning the move toward 
"paperless" processing of federal research grants through the use of 
innovative information technologies.  He said the agency will expand its 
capabilities to receive, review, and process grant proposals 
electronically.  The improvements will also enable NSF to disseminate 
more information associated with grants administration as well as  improve
financial transactions with grantees.

The NPR report recognized NSF's leadership role in using innovation and
advanced technologies to enhance its productivity in reviewing and
processing  proposals and awards, which has enabled staff to focus its
efforts on improving  the quality of their work.  Since the early 1980s,
NSF's workforce has remained  about the same size while the number of
grant proposals received has more than  doubled and its research budget
has tripled.  NSF now receives annually more  than 30,000 proposals.  The
burgeoning workload has been handled, to a great  degree, from increased
automation.

Bernthal said the agency has also developed a model electronic financial
management system that enables it to transfer funds quickly to grantees
and  improve its ability to account for and monitor expenditures.

Expand the Federal Demonstration Project

In another area related to the streamlining of the processing of  proposals
and awards, Bernthal said that NSF will help identify  additional
procedures and regulations relating to the Federal  Demonstration Project
(FDP), and seek to expand the number of federal  agencies and universities
participating in the FDP.

NSF conceptualized and implemented the FDP in the mid-1980s as an 
experiment to increase researchers' productivity by empowering them to 
identify and modify burdensome administrative procedures while 
maintaining accountability to the government.  The changes include 
managing and reprogramming research budgets, sharing research equipment, 
and enabling grantees to carry forward unobligated grant funds to the 
next funding period and authorizing grantees to incur certain pre-award 
costs at their own risk.  Bernthal said that because of the FDP model 
there is more effective use of federal research funds and administrative 
time and costs have been reduced.

Other Agency Improvements

Bernthal said that NSF will also implement a number of other reforms,  some
of which are specific to the agency.

For example, NSF is required to maintain information on the nature, 
function, and operation of advisory committees.  It is also required to 
publish announcements of these meetings in the Federal Register even 
though by statute they are closed to the public because they review  grant
proposals and make funding decisions.  Elimination of the  regulations
requiring the publication of announcements will help NSF  reduce its
administrative burdens.

Bernthal noted that the proposed overhaul of the federal personnel 
management system should make it easier for then agency to hire the 
scientists and engineers it needs, many of whom are "detailed" to the 
agency from colleges, universities, and other institutions.  Revised 
procurement requirements will also enable NSF to be more flexible in 
automating further its innovative information processing capabilities, 
specifically in the purchase and installation of the newest computers  and
other equipment.

The National Science Foundation is an independent agency of the federal
government established in 1950 to promote and advance scientific progress
in  the United States.  NSF accomplishes its mission primarily by
competitively  awarding grants to educational institutions for research
and education in the  sciences, mathematics, and engineering.

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