On April 30, the US National Science Foundation (NSF) enforced a freeze on all funding actions, halting both the awarding of new research grants and the distribution of funds for existing grants. This decision, communicated via an email, lacked specific reasoning and is indefinite. Concurrently, NSF leadership implemented a new policy mandating the screening of grant proposals for alignment with agency priorities. This has provoked concern among staff about the integrity of the review process. The NSF is already facing turmoil, including significant grant terminations and leadership change, resulting in considerable uncertainty in the research funding landscape.
The policy prevents the NSF, one of the world's biggest supporters of basic research, from awarding new research grants and from supplying allotted funds for existing grants.
One NSF staff member noted that while good science can still find funding, the policy has the potential to be Orwellian overreach in its execution.
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