GoKawiilNSF Shifts Grant Strategy Toward White House-Directed Research Priorities
The National Science Foundation announced plans to restructure its funding model, moving away from its traditional practice of soliciting proposals shaped by the scientific community toward a 'portfolio-based' system blending investigator-driven research with agency-directed initiatives tied to White House priorities. The change was outlined in a September 10 letter from acting director Brian Stone, though specifics on the new directed programs were not disclosed. NSF staff, speaking anonymously, worry the shift will further erode funding for curiosity-driven basic research that has defined the agency since 1950.
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This marks a structural change in how one of the US's largest basic-research funders decides what gets studied, potentially giving political appointees more influence over scientific direction than the research community itself. Coming amid broader Trump administration efforts to cut science budgets and prioritize fields like AI, the move signals a deeper reorientation of federal science policy away from open-ended discovery research.
- NSF is adopting a 'portfolio-based' funding model blending investigator-led and agency-directed research.
- The change aligns NSF priorities more closely with White House objectives, including AI research.
- Staff fear the shift will reduce support for traditional curiosity-driven basic science.
Source: nature.com — Garisto, 2026-09-11
Published there as: “NSF moves to overhaul funding approach in line with White House priorities”
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