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transformation in roles and priorities caused by the end of the Cold War or changes in scale or scope as a 

 result of attempts to balance the Federal budget, there are substantive policy questions about how the 

 academic, private sector, and government members of partnerships can and should interact Difficult issues 

 that require attention as partnerships are reformulated include what is the role of the Federal government in 

 support of research and education? what is an appropriate role for the private sector? what does world 

 leadership mean' and how can we assure the American public reaps the benefit of these investments? For 

 NSF, there is the additional question of NSF's role and the impact on NSF programs and functions of 

 changes in activity or funding levels at other agencies 



NSF's principal partners are the institutions and individuals of academia who conduct the research and 

 education projects in which NSF invests Together, academia and NSF are developing new approaches to 

 research and education activities, involving in the process the private sector, other agencies, and others with 

 a stake in the science and engineering enterprise. 



Even as NSF works to address the difficult policy issues described above, this strategy has been successfully 

 incorporated into activities across the Foundation. Examples include: the GOALI program (Grant 

 Opportunities for Academic Liaison with Industry); Alliances for Minority Participation, memoranda of 

 understanding and joint program activities with approximately 20 other Federal agencies; and international 

 partnerships that provide opportunities for collaborative research, research visits to laboratories and 

 academic institutions in other countries, coordinated international research programs, and joint funding of 

 major research equipment 



FY 1997 HIGHLIGHTS 

 PREPARING FOR THE CHALLENGES OF THE 21 ST CENTURY 



LEARNING 



While America's system of higher education is the best and most inclusive in the world, the educational 

 system overall traditionally does not prepare the vast majority of students for dealing with the rapidly 

 changing, scientifically and technically challenging situations predicted for the 21st century Through 

 education programs, research activities that aim at better understanding the learning process, and activities 

 that link learning and education, NSF is working to position the nation to meet the learning needs of the 21st 

 century 



Systemic Reform: NSF's focus is on treating whole systems as the most effective way to make 

 improvements in science and mathematics education Building the capacity for change through the 

 commitment and involvement of broad partnerships in the development of goals, solutions and actions can 

 result in significant, long-lasting impact Total system reform is based on the underlying belief that ajl 

 students can learn and achieve in science and mathematics at much higher levels than presently attained 

 Investment in the systemic reform of K-12 education continues to increase in FY 1997. Funding for the Urban 

 Systemic Initiatives increases by 20 percent to $67 million The Rural Systemic Initiatives increase four-fold 

 to more than $10 million These increases will be offset by a $13 million decrease in the Statewide Systemic 

 Initiatives, as part of the phase-out of awards planned at the program's inception. 



Learning and Intelligent Systems: We are in the midst of a revolution in the interaction between human 

 learning and technology, similar in potential impact to the revolution created by the invention of movable type 

 and the printing press Research is now beginning to yield tantalizing insights into how both living organisms 

 and artificial systems process information to achieve remarkable levels of performance across a wide range 

 of activities Research in various fields bearing on learning and intelligent systems is at a juncture where 

 seminal, concerted action will result in significant, even revolutionary, intellectual advances NSF has used 

 the Opportunity Fund to provide seed funding for this emerging area Investments across the Foundation for 

 these activities in FY 1997 are estimated at $23 million. 



