National Science Foundation: Use of Cooperative Agreements to Support Large Scale Investment in Research

The National Science Foundation (NSF) Director and the National Science Board requested that the National Academy of Public Administration (the Academy) review NSF’s use of cooperative agreements (CAs) to support the development, construction, commissioning, and future operations of state-of-the-art, large-scale research facilities. Specifically, the Academy was asked to:

• Address how CAs are currently used at NSF, examining the effectiveness of NSF’s current CA policy;
• Compare the CA mechanism with other federal funding mechanisms;
• Ascertain how comparator scientific agencies manage similarly large, complex research facilities projects; and
• Identify potential improvements to the NSF’s processes that support large-scale research facilities.