50 



Other Highlights 



• In order to provide the best returns on public investments In research, engineering, and 

 education activities, NSF staff work to reduce administrative burdens on grantees as far as 

 possible Electronic communication presents NSF with unique opportunities to reduce the 

 administrative burden on the research community and on NSF in many parts of the proposal, 

 review, and award process A key part of this effort is Project FastLane, a three year 

 experimental program utilizing advanced information technology to explore methods to re- 

 engineer and streamline the way NSF does business with the research community In October 

 1995, participation in FastLane was expanded beyond the original 16 universities and now 

 includes over 100 institutions This group represents a broad cross section of NSF funded 

 institutions including large universities, state colleges, community colleges, minority institutions 

 and museums In FY 1995, the Graduate Research Fellowship module was particularly 

 successful having over 20% of its applications submitted electronically Another notable 

 success was that 10% of all cash requests from institutions were submitted to NSF via 

 FastLane. All requests were processed within 5 days (and 90% were processed within 3 

 days) The standard for processing these requests is 90% within 5 days In FY 1995, 800 

 reviews were submitted via FastLane This resulted in a savings of 200 hours of processing 

 time 



• NSF has implemented a site on the World Wide Web that has drawn critical acclaim from our 

 customers and the trade press The NSF home page (and associated sites developed by 

 NSF research directorates and staff offices) has provided a number of benefits to NSF and to 

 the communities we serve 



1 The NSF website serves as a very effective vehicle for communicating with the 

 external research community The home page has expanded the overall audience for 

 NSF information and enabled us to reach target audiences more quickly 



2. The "instant" access made possible by dissemination on the World Wde Web has 

 helped us to make important science news and information (e.g., press releases) 

 available quickly and to a broader audience 



3 The NSF home page has given NSF the opportunity to create an unprecedented 

 global science information network that showcases the accomplishments of NSF- 

 sponsored research projects and centers 



4 Feedback from our external customers regarding the NSF home page has provided 

 valuable insights on their information needs 



• The NSF Information Center annually responds to over 50,000 requests for information from 

 external audiences about NSF programmatic and operational activities In a recent pilot 

 project, the Center worked with the Office of Polar Programs to develop a profile describing 

 facets of the Antarctic and Arctic Research Programs. The profile included frequently 

 requested information that could be disseminated directly to customers through the Center, 

 thereby freeing the program staff from handling numerous routine inquiries This pilot will be 

 expanded to other program areas of NSF and should result in significant time savings from 

 customers and program staff. 



• FinanceNet is the Internet's worldwide home for public financial management FinanceNet 

 began as a concept at the National Performance Review in early 1994 and is now operated by 

 NSF under memoranda of agreement with agency members of the U.S. Chief Financial 

 Officers Council. FinanceNet seeks to achieve its goals by (1) encouraging dialog for the 

 sharing of ideas, best practices and successes through subscriptions to a series of 30 public 



