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KEY PROGRAM FUNCTIONS 



In response to the Government Performance and Results Act (GPRA) of 1993, NSF has been 

 planning for increased examination of the results of its portfolio of investments This section of the 

 budget is organized to provide, simultaneously, a substantive justification of the FY 1997 request 

 and a preliminary picture of how NSF will use performance in the budget process in the future. 



NSF's investments are expressed in terms of key program functions: Research Project Support 

 (which includes Research Projects and Centers), Research Facilities, Education and Training, and 

 Administration and Management. This categorization is an extension of what NSF has previously 

 exhibited as "Modes of Support" resulting from intense examination of NSF activities through the 

 GPRA and National Performance Review processes 



Budget by Key Program Functions 



(Dollars in Millions) 



The key program functions themselves are mutually reinforcing, working in concert to support 

 NSF's goals While the NSF budget has been divided into support for particular key functions, 

 many activities actually cut across even this very streamlined structure. For purposes of providing 

 a more complete description of NSF activities, this section also includes a component on activites 

 that cut across the research and education subtotal (that is the portfolio of investments NSF 

 makes) in the table above. 



Research Project Support 



Support for research projects totals $1,659 million in FY 1997, an increase of $106 million, or 6.8 

 percent, over the FY 1996 Estimate Research projects provide support for individuals and small 

 groups devoted both to disciplinary research in traditional fields and to cross-disciplinary fields. 

 Also included within this function is support for centers, based on the premise that some scientific 

 questions and research problems can best be addressed through the multidisciplinary, long-term, 

 coordinated efforts of many researchers. Support for centers totals $209 million in FY 1997, an 

 increase of $7 million, or 3.6 percent, over the FY 1996 Estimate 



